When House Democrats, led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), impeached then-President Donald Trump in 2019, the procedure was a spectacle of feigned seriousness for one of the most blatantly partisan acts in U.S. history.

The two impeachment counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, were passed on a party-line vote and established a new standard that every president can be easily impeached if the opposing party controls the House of Representatives.