House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) will miss a procedural impeachment vote on Tuesday due to an undisclosed family emergency in his home state of New York, the lawmaker’s aides told Politico.
Nadler will reportedly return to Washington, D.C., by early Wednesday latest, ahead of the full House of Representatives’ vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Fellow House Judiciary Committee member, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), will take over for Nadler in presenting the impeachment articles to the House Rules Committee, which is expected to advance the articles for a vote on Wednesday.
The rules committee gathered Tuesday morning to set the framework of a historic debate Wednesday and Thursday that will precede the vote.
The hearing was overseen by rules committee Chairman Rep. Jim McGovern and represents the last opportunity for Republicans to argue their case before the chamber debate and vote. Democrats, who hold the committee by a 9-4 margin, proposed rules for the debate, including how much time to allow and which committee chairmen are allowed to speak.
The UPI contributed to this report.