This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
On August 2, 2019, a significant milestone was reached in the US House of Representatives as more than half of Democrats expressed support for launching impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
According to media tallies, 118 out of 235 voting Democrats have publicly stated their support for beginning the procedures aimed at removing Trump from office, with congressman Ted Deutch of Florida becoming the 23rd Democratic lawmaker to support the proceedings since former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress.
Deutch's support came after Mueller's testimony, in which he "confirmed the damning conclusions of his report," which detailed how Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election campaign in a "sweeping and systematic fashion" in Trump's favor.
The Mueller report also set out how the Trump campaign welcomed Russian help and repeatedly lied about it, and provided evidence for 10 instances of potential obstruction of justice by the president.
Democrats argue that it is their constitutional duty to take action when they see evidence of presidential wrongdoing, regardless of the political ramifications.
Meanwhile, congressman Will Hurd, the only African-American Republican in the House and the only Republican representing a district on the US-Mexico border, announced he will not seek re-election in 2020, joining five other Republicans who have announced their retirements in the last two weeks.
