By
Steve Muchoki
April 16th, 2024
On Wednesday, the U.S. House voted to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The proceedings are forwarded to the Senate which will make the final call on Trump’s impeachment.
U.S. President Donald Trump becomes the third president in history to be impeached by the House. The announcement came on Wednesday, December 18, when the Democrats voted for two articles – obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
This historic vote comes after the House Democrats conducted an inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. The impeachment process isn’t over yet though. The proceedings now move to the Senate for the next trial. Thus, the Senate holds the final decision if it plans to convict Trump or to acquit him.
Note that the conviction or removal of Trump will require a minimum of 67 votes. Moreover, the Republicans currently hold an edge in the Chamber. Also, there is no indication as of now that Republicans will vote against Trump or in favor of his conviction.
Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, said:
“Wednesday’s vote “is only step one out of two to complete the impeachment — and it is well understood that step two (a vote in the Senate) will almost certainly fail.”
Impact of Trump Impeachment on the Stock Market
While many might have expected that trump’s impeachment will leave jitters in the stock market, it’s not entirely true. As said, the current expectations are that Trump will continue to remain in the office.
The stock market indices like Dow Jones and S&P 500 are currently trading at their all-time highs. Experts say that there won’t be a much reaction to this news on Thursday. In its report, popular publication MarketWatch wrote:
“The impeachment battle has largely been ignored by investors. Indeed, the S&P 500 has added substantially to year-to-date gains, which now stand at more than 27%, even as the impeachment proceedings have taken shape. The Dow is up more than 21% so far this year, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.19% has advanced around 33%”.
It is sure that the news has added enough uncertainty on Wall Street. But a Reuters report notes that history suggests that Wall Street has no reason to worry much. In 1974, during the talks of President Nixon’s impeachment, there was initially some volatility in the market. However, later that year, Nixon himself resigned after which the market gained some stability.
Similarly, during 1998, Wall Street weathered the impeachment news of President Clinton, who was later acquitted by the Senate.