Donald Trump impeached: Inside the chamber, the historic vote passed as metal detectors pinged outside

The article of impeachment will now be sent to the Senate

Credit: GETTY IMAGES

The muted response was perhaps a reflection that this had been a done deal long before members rose from their seats on Wednesday one by one to voice their views.

Maybe, in a way, it was a fitting inversion of the violent energy that had brought them to that point.

Almost exactly a week ago, in that very same chamber, security guards had dragged a chest across the floor to block an entrance and drawn their guns, training them on the door.

The House had been filled with the strange whirring sound of gas masks operating over the heads of congressmen who feared for their lives as they crouched on the ground.

The broken glass, attacks on police, chants for hangings and gleeful vandalism of the pro-Trump mob that had stormed the Capitol had shook congressmen to their core.

Their anger was plain to see on the House floor on Wednesday morning as congressmen, many recounting the terror they had felt the week before, pinned the blame on the president.

For Democrats, Mr Trump was “a real and present danger” to America, a man who could not be trusted in office a single day more, let alone the seven before his official departure date.

For Republicans, it was more complex. Most stuck by the president, condemning the violence while tiptoeing around Mr Trump’s role in riling up supporters before they marched on the Capitol. 

Throughout the proceedings the ping of metal detectors newly placed outside the chamber was a reminder of the events that had led to that historic moment.

When the voting began, there was a rush of congressmen to the front as they grabbed green voting slips for aye to impeachment, red for nay, before signing them and handing them in.

The scene was a reminder of another threat that hangs over not just Congress but the country, with members universally wearing face masks (under the threat of fines).

Once submitting their vote — some did so remotely — the congressmen hung around like bored school children awaiting a parental pick-up, nattering and checking their phones.

Some stared up at the giant electronic voting board that had been beamed above the heads of reporters sitting in a balcony watching on. 

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Every congressman’s name was listed alphabetically. It took more than 20 minutes for the votes to be tallied, their decisions lighting up next to their surnames. 

It soon became clear a Republican rebellion was on. In the end, 10 politicians in the same party as Mr Trump would tick the box for impeachment. 

Yet the vast majority of Republicans House members did the opposite. No fewer than 197 voted against impeachment, despite many being in the Capitol the week before when it was attacked. 

Another 20 minutes after Ms Pelosi’s gavel came down and the House was empty, the lights dimmed.

Just about still visible above the chamber was an American eagle in the ceiling, pure white, gripping the words of the country’s motto.

“E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.