A month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump, on October 31, the voted on a resolution establishing procedures for public hearings during the impeachment proceedings. Pelosi and Democratic lawmakers asserted that the Constitution does not require the House to formally vote in order to initiate impeachment, but they eventually relented and agreed to hold a vote for the whole House. Trump and Republicans had criticized the closed-door nature of hearings and depositions and attacked Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff for his handling of evidence and testimony. But the House passed HR 660, the rules resolution, in a vote of 232 to 196. All Republicans and 2 conservative Democrats voted against, while former Republican-turned-independent Justin Amash voted in favor. The Trump administration expressed pleasure at Republicans' show of unity.

The rules resolution was sponsored by Democrats in response to Republicans' critique of the initial impeachment proceedings. Trump and company repeatedly claimed that Pelosi's first announcement was illegitimate and unconstitutional, despite the Constitution's provision that the House enjoys the sole power of impeachment. They have slammed the proceedings as secretive, biased, and unfair to the president in terms of due process. The new resolution addresses those concerns, setting up explicit procedures. Schiff and the Intelligence Committee will hold open hearings, summarize the findings, and send a report to the Judiciary Committee. Both Republicans and Democratic lawmakers will receive equal time to question witnesses. Republicans can subpoena their own witnesses, as long as Schiff or the Committee approves. The Judiciary Committee will draft articles of impeachment and vote on them. Once the articles are voted out of committee, the House will take a final floor vote on impeachment charges before forwarding approved articles to the Senate for trial, likely before the year end.

The resolution, in addition to giving Republicans powers enjoyed by minority parties during the Nixon and Clinton impeachments, also invites Trump to personally participate in the impeachment hearings. The president and his attorneys can cross-examine witness and subpoena their own, again with the approval of Schiff or the Committee. But Trump's participation could lead to a bad outcome for him if he incriminates himself or opens new avenues of investigation. As polls continue to show growing support for Trump's impeachment among the American people, the strategy of Trump and his allies becomes more difficult. After the rules resolution, Republicans can no longer attack the procedure, and they must address the substance. That probably means more Republicans will argue that the quid pro quo of Ukrainian military aid for a Biden investigation is not impeachable, a claim that will be awkward to defend in public hearings. History shows that open hearings can hurt the popularity of politicians, and Trump should not be much different.