The Senate is moving into its final phase of President Trump’s impeachment trial. The chamber will continue its debate over whether to call additional witnesses this afternoon and will move to vote on witnesses this evening. Here’s how the rest of the trial could play out:
If the Senate votes to call additional witnesses, such as former national security adviser John Bolton, the trial will likely extend into next week, and a final vote won’t occur until after the State of the Union address. Democrats would call on Bolton, and Republicans would almost certainly subpoena Hunter Biden and maybe even the anonymous whistleblower.
Right now, it looks like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has the votes to block additional witness testimony. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, was considered one of the swing votes on witnesses. But he came out against additional testimony on Thursday night, bolstering GOP confidence.
But McConnell’s victory isn’t set in stone. Earlier this week, the Senate GOP raised concerns about at least two other Republican senators (Pat Toomey and Rob Portman), and Mitt Romney and Susan Collins have already pledged to vote with the Democrats in favor of witnesses. Lisa Murkowski is a wild card who could go either way.
If McConnell keeps his party together and the vote for additional witness testimony fails, the Senate will likely proceed to the final vote Friday night (or possibly early Saturday). McConnell will motion to vote on the House’s two articles of impeachment, but because this request is amendable, the Democrats will likely try to delay the inevitable acquittal by forcing some tough votes or offering amendments. “We’re looking at all of our parliamentary options to try to force as many votes as we can to put Republicans on the record,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy.
Even so, some senators have said they expect an acquittal soon. Republicans are prepared to stay in session for as long as it takes, according to Sen. John Barrasso. “As we did with the organizing resolution, we’ll be prepared to stay through to completion,” the senator from Wyoming said.
The last scenario, and the most unlikely, is a 50-50 tie. If the Senate deadlocks on the vote to call additional witnesses, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts could vote to break the tie as the impeachment trial’s presiding officer. It’s unclear how Roberts would vote given his reluctance to wade into the political drama surrounding Trump’s impeachment, and some Republicans have predicted he would refuse to vote entirely, causing the motion to fail.
Either way, the impeachment trial of Trump will be over shortly, almost certainly resulting in acquittal on both articles of impeachment. The only question remaining is: When?
