The Point: A historic, chaotic end to a historic, chaotic year

View this email in your browser December 20, 2019  | by Lauren Dezenski Programming note: The Point will be off next week, but we'll be back December 30 for a special edition looking back at the end of the year -- and the decade.  From all of us at The Point, happy holidays! ✨ A historic, chaotic end to a historic, chaotic year In a year chock full of historic moments, the House of Representatives closed out its final session of 2019 with the most significant thing it can do. The House impeached President Donald Trump on Wednesday night -- the apex of action it can take to check a president's power. But it's not the end of the road for the House's impeachment effort.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for an ensuing trial that would determine whether Trump stays in office or is removed. It's a wonky, procedural step, but that holdup is throwing off an already fraught impeachment process in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the chamber is at an "impasse" around the rules that would govern the trial. Those rules haven't been set -- but that didn't stop the House or the Senate from leaving Washington for the rest of the year, throwing the entire process into a limbo that will last into 2020.  We still don't know when the Senate trial will begin, though House Democrats are privately preparing for it to start as soon as the week of January 6.  The delay also exposes a parliamentary gray area: Some argue that Trump is not officially impeached until the House transmits the articles to the Senate.  At least there's one end-of-December bright spot: The House, the Senate and the White House appear to have all pulled together to avoid another government shutdown.  The Point: Depending on where you stand, you may not remember 2019 fondly, but you'll certainly remember it.  -- Lauren And now, the week in 13 headlines: Monday Schumer says McConnell is 'totally out of line' for taking cues from White House on impeachment  House Judiciary Committee releases report explaining impeachment charges Tuesday Giuliani says Trump still supports his dirt-digging in Ukraine McConnell rejects Schumer's call for witnesses at impeachment trial  Wednesday Nancy Pelosi won't commit to sending articles of impeachment to Senate The inside story of the House's impeachment of Donald Trump As House votes to impeach Trump, McConnell pushes 13 judge nominations through Senate Thursday Buttigieg faces first night as top target on Democratic debate stage Washington Post: Trump said he believes Ukraine interfered in 2016 election because 'Putin told me' An impeached Trump tries looking ahead, but uncertainty threatens Senate vindication Friday Trump agrees to deliver State of the Union on February 4 Trump set for Mar-a-Lago to mix it up with club members as Senate trial looms Trump set to sign spending bills, avoiding another holiday shutdown QUOTE OF THE DAY "No President has ever done what I have done for Evangelicals, or religion itself!" -- President Trump, tweeting his response to an op-ed in the Christian magazine Christianity Today calling for him to be removed from office.  LAUREN'S GOOD READS Chris' always sharp winners and losers from last night's debate The Faroe Islands are the US and China's new battleground Are you a wine cave? Take this quiz to find out! (Lauren is a cheese cave) Asking the tough questions this holiday season: Is tinsel canceled? A lobster heist in Boston? 4 real!  MUSICAL INTERLUDE No one does it better than Bruce: "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST Once the holidays are over, we'll slide into the true 2020 election season VERY fast. The Democratic National Committee has announced its qualification requirements for the next debate, hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register in Iowa in January.  Candidates will need to receive either 5% in at least four DNC-approved national or early-voting-state (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada) polls or receive 7% in two early state polls. Five candidates have already made the cut, per Politico: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. ONE BIG SPEECH February 4   The date of the next State of the Union speech. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited Trump on that date (the day after the Iowa caucuses, for those keeping track). Trump has accepted.  We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. Follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter. Subscribe to The Point unsubscribe from this list    Copyright © 2019 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Add us to your address book Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters.​