President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.

The House voted on two charges – that the president abused his power and that he had obstructed Congress.

Both votes fell along party lines with nearly all Democrats voting for the charges and all Republicans against.

As voting took place, President Trump was addressing a campaign rally.

He told a cheering crowd in Battle Creek, Michigan: “While we’re creating jobs and fighting for Michigan, the radical left in Congress is consumed with envy and hatred and rage, you see what’s going on.”

The White House released a statement saying that the president was “confident that he will be fully exonerated” in a Senate trial.

The proceedings on Wednesday began with members of Mr Trump’s Republican Party calling for votes on procedural issues in an effort to frustrate the process.

That was followed by a vote on the rules to be set out for the impeachment, which kicked off 10 hours of partisan debate on the merits of the two impeachment charges against President Trump.