WASHINGTON:  After months of hearings and votes in the House, the impeachment case against President Donald Trump is now in the hands of the Senate, where a trial to decide on the removal of a president set to get underway for just the third time in U.S. history.

The House formally handed off impeachment proceedings on Wednesday, voting to appoint the impeachment managers who will prosecute the House’s case for Trump’s removal from office, media reports said.

The managers marched across the Capitol to deliver the charges to the world’s most deliberative body in an archaic ceremony steeped in tradition.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has overseen the impeachment proceedings for the past four months, but power now shifts to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues in the Senate, who control a slim majority and can dictate terms of the proceedings if they remain united.

(With input from agencies)