House Passes Motion Blocking Bid to Impeach Trump

Lawmakers voted 332 to 95 to table resolution, with Republicans joined by majority of split Democratic caucus.

The House voted Wednesday to block an effort to impeach President Trump, in the first test of the divisive issue since Democrats took control of the chamber.

Lawmakers voted 332 to 95 to table the resolution, with Republicans joined by a majority of the split Democratic caucus in passing the motion.

The vote to table the resolution comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has worked to avoid launching impeachment proceedings, which she sees as premature and politically risky.

Because Mr. Green’s resolution is privileged under House rules, it forced a vote—on whether to table the motion, setting it aside; refer it to the judiciary committee; or hold a vote on the article of impeachment. When Republicans held the majority, Democrats forced a vote twice. In both cases, the GOP successfully moved to table the resolution.

If the House ultimately voted to impeach the president, the measure would fail in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The impeachment push has split the party, and roughly 90 of the 235 Democrats in the House have said they support opening an impeachment inquiry into the president, and support has risen steadily in recent months.

Those opposed to impeachment, often in the political center or from districts that supported the president in 2016, see it as a move that alienates voters and is very unlikely to result in the president being removed from office.

Mrs. Pelosi has tried to hold the Democrats together. She opposes starting impeachment proceedings, instead saying the focus should be on current investigations into Mr. Trump.

In one effort to keep the party united, Mrs. Pelosi is looking to set up a meeting with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

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