The moment the House voted to impeach President Trump without waiting for the courts to enforce subpoenas, it was a foregone conclusion that the Senate would ultimately vote to acquit. But Republicans may have chosen the worst possible path to get there, leaving their supremacy in the Senate and the White House as vulnerable as possible.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska all but sealed the deal on the Senate’s decision to block witnesses in the impeachment trial, sparing Republicans the spectacle of John Bolton testifying against Trump under oath. But the vote could prove a Faustian bargain for Republicans, one they’ll likely rue in the end.