Donald J Trump, US President | Credit | Bloomberg

The House has just passed a resolution formalizing the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

The 232-196 vote passed nearly along party lines, with no Republicans voting for the resolution. Two Democrats — Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey — joined Republicans in voting against it, reports CNBC.

The impeachment inquiry will continue, under the protocols described in the resolution.

Trump is accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine’s leader to dig up damaging information on a political rival – Joe Biden.

In July, he urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate one of the frontrunners to take him on in next year’s presidential election.

This matters because it is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.

The working theory among Democrats is there will be another week or two of closed depositions — and that public hearings before the House Intelligence Committee could begin as soon as the second week in November.

In a statement, the White House said that the vote by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic caucus does “nothing more than enshrine unacceptable violations of due process into House rules.”

The House is still investigating, and a vote to impeach Trump would happen after the House Judiciary Committee votes on the articles of impeachment.

After that committee vote, the articles, if approved, are given special status on the House floor and it requires a simple majority of voting lawmakers to approve them. This full House vote would be the vote to impeach the President.