The House was busy on Wednesday, considering a range of divisive issues.
Here’s a roundup of what the chamber voted on:
Impeaching the president
Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, drafted an article of impeachment for President Trump over comments that the House condemned this week as racist. The vote constituted the first action by the House on a measure to impeach Mr. Trump since Democrats took control in January, even though party leaders had hoped to avoid such a move.
The House voted to table the articles, putting off a prolonged and contentious debate over whether Mr. Trump’s conduct warrants expulsion.
Read on: House Votes to Kill Trump Impeachment Resolution
Contempt citations for William Barr and Wilbur Ross
The House voted to hold Attorney General William P. Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for their refusal to turn over key documents related to the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Read on: House Holds Barr and Ross in Contempt Over Census Dispute
Health insurance tax
The House voted overwhelmingly to repeal a feature once considered central to the Affordable Care Act, a tax on high-cost health insurance plans aimed at containing costs. The tax prompted employers to rein in such plans and forced employees to spend more of their own money on their care, and it was also one of the main ways the health law was to pay for itself.
Unions never liked it, and neither did business groups or Republicans.
Read on: A Key Piece of Obamacare Finds an Unlikely Foe: House Democrats
Weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
The House gave final passage to measures that would block the sale of billions of dollars of arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, sending to President Trump a fresh rebuke of his administration’s efforts to circumvent Congress to help Persian Gulf allies prosecute a disastrous war in Yemen.
A smattering of Republicans and the House’s lone independent joined Democrats in three back-to-back votes, submitting for the record their stewing anger at Mr. Trump’s resolute support of Saudi Arabia and his use of emergency powers to sidestep Congress, this time with a declaration of an emergency over Iran. The votes likely set up Mr. Trump’s third veto.
Read on: House Votes to Block Arms Sales to Gulf Nations, Setting Up Trump’s Third Veto
Intelligence policy
The House passed a new intelligence authorization that will significantly expand prohibitions on disclosing the identities of covert agents and order new reviews of Russian and other foreign influence operations.
The measure must now be reconciled with the Senate’s version. If the two chambers come to agreement in the coming weeks and approve a final bill, it will be the first intelligence authorization bill to be passed since 2017.
Read on: House Passes Intelligence Bill That Would Expand Secrecy Around Operatives