Impeachment trial of President Trump

A spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins says the Maine Republican believes senators should be able to “briefly state” their position on whether to convict or acquit Trump before taking the vote.

She said she “does not care” when that happens or how long the senators get.

Collins was one of two Republicans (alongside Sen. Mitt Romney) who voted with the senators who caucus with the Democrats in favor of having witnesses and documents at the trial. The motion failed 51-49.

Here’s the full statement:

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke with CNN’s Dana Bash about the failed motion that called for impeachment witnesses in the Senate.

Bolton in the news today: President Trump ordered former national security adviser John Bolton to help with the Ukraine pressure campaign to obtain damaging information, according to a report today from The New York Times, citing an unpublished manuscript of Bolton’s book.

According to the Times, Bolton wrote that Trump gave him the instructions in May. The conversation also included acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House lawyer Pat Cipollone.

Trump released a statement today following the Times report:

Senator John Barrasso speaks to reporters.

GOP Sens. John Barrasso and Roy Blunt say a deal has been reached on an acquittal vote next week.

The agreement would allow for four or five Democratic amendment votes tonight, and no weekend session. Closing arguments for both sides would occur on Monday.

Senators would deliver floor speeches on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

And an acquittal vote would occur on Wednesday afternoon — after President Trump’s State of the Union address.

McConnell and Schumer have a deal on this, the senators said.

The Senate just voted down a motion that would have allowed witnesses and documents at trial — but what happens next is unclear.

Senators are meeting to discuss the path forward. We’re not sure exactly when the Senate could move on to a final vote on the articles of impeachment against President Trump — but if it’s pushed into next week, it could conflict with several other big political events.

Here’s a reminder of what’s on the schedule for next week:

One GOP source says Democrats offered to go through three amendments tonight — if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would agree to a vote on Wednesday (after the State of the Union address).

If McConnell doesn’t agree to that offer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has threatened essentially to force as many tough votes as he can to inflict political pain on McConnell’s 2020 crowd.

The view for Republicans is that Democrats will want to get to Iowa (remember: the caucuses are on Monday).

The view from Democrats is that the GOP wants Trump cleared ASAP with as little pain to McConnell’s conference as possible.

When asked how his GOP colleagues feel about staying through the weekend or reconvene next week to finish the impeachment trial, Sen. Lindsey Graham said, “I think most people would like to get over like right now.”

A person involved in the floor discussions tells CNN the there are a number of different issues running up against one another in the current negotiations — a “clash of competing priorities.” 

Democrats are looking for a specific number of amendments and attempting to use the State of the Union as a bargaining chip.

Republicans are dealing with their own internal issues while also also trying to use the Iowa caucuses as a bargaining chip.

The discussions got to the point where it was clear no concrete progress would be made until both sides broke and met behind closed doors, so the decision was made to move forward with the vote and recess, the person says.

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch has retired, according to a senior State Department official. It is unclear when she retired, but the official said it was sometime in the last two weeks. 

Yovanovitch was a career foreign service officer for more than 30 years, who was pulled from her post as Ambassador to Ukraine at the order of President Donald Trump. 

Yovanovitch is the fourth top State Department official who has departed in the wake of the Ukraine impeachment inquiry. The others are former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor, former Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker, and Michael McKinley, the former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

NPR was first to report her retirement, which comes about two months after she provided public testimony as part of the House impeachment inquiry. She said she was “devastated” to find out that Trump had discussed her in such a negative way during his call with President Volodymyr Zelensky in July. She said Trump’s comments about her “sounded like a threat.”

Yovanovtich did meet with diplomatic security after the revelations earlier this month that Robert Hyde and Lev Parnas were discussing surveilling her while she was in Kyiv. That investigation has not yet concluded.

Pompeo has never defended Yovanovitch by name. During an interview in Ukraine today, when asked if he felt any moral tension about Yovanvotich, Pompeo said he did not. 

“We delivered for the President of the United States on a Ukraine policy that will benefit the American people I hope for years and years to come,” Pompeo said in an ABC News interview.

More background on Yovanovitch: In May 2019, Yovanovitch was recalled to Washington, months earlier than expected. The State Department said at the time that Yovanovitch was “concluding her 3-year diplomatic assignment as planned” and that her departure aligned with the presidential transition in Ukraine. 

The Senate is on recess as Senate leadership try to negotiate a path forward on the impeachment trial.

Republicans are meeting in the Strom Thurmond Room, which is near Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office and the Capitol Rotunda on the second floor of the Capitol.

A big part of the debate among Republicans now is when senators would begin floor speeches.

Sen. John Cornyn told CNN Democrats want to try to “embarrass” the President by insisting on a Wednesday acquittal vote — after the State of the Union. Cornyn said they would try to move it up, including potentially with a weekend session.

But the talks will continue.

Asked by reporters what’s next, Sen. John Thune said simply:

Meanwhile, Democrats are meeting in the LBJ Room, their normal meeting room just off the Senate floor.

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says senators are discussing the next steps in the impeachment trial. 

Read McConnell’s statement in full below:

A majority of the U.S. Senate has determined that the numerous witnesses and 28,000-plus pages of documents already in evidence are sufficient to judge the House managers’ accusations and end this impeachment trial.

There is no need for the Senate to re-open the investigation which the House Democratic majority chose to conclude and which the Managers themselves continue to describe as “overwhelming” and “beyond any doubt.” Never in Senate history has this body paused an impeachment trial to pursue additional witnesses with unresolved questions of executive privilege that would require protracted litigation. We have no interest in establishing such a new precedent, particularly for individuals whom the House expressly chose not to pursue.

Senators will now confer among ourselves, with the House Managers, and with the President’s counsel to determine next steps as we prepare to conclude the trial in the coming days.

After the vote to call witnesses failed, Sen. Chuck Schumer spoke outside the Senate floor calling it “a grand tragedy.” 

“America will remember this day, unfortunately, when the Senate did not live up to its responsibilities, when the Senate turned away from truth and went along with a sham trial,” Schumer said.

He said he will now going back to the Democratic caucus to discuss what they’re going to do next. 

The Senate just voted down a motion to allow witnesses and documents at the trial.

Now, they’re on another break. The recess, announced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ahead of the witness vote, will allow more time for more negotiations with Schumer about an endgame to the impeachment trial, reports CNN’s Manu Raju.

We’re still not sure exactly what will happen after the recess.

The Senate just voted down a motion to compel witnesses and documents at the impeachment trial.

The final vote was 49-51 to defeat the motion.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Mitt Romney voted with the senators who caucus with the Democrats in support of the motion.

Watch the moment:

The Senate just came back following a break.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that they’ll now take the vote on considering witnesses and documents.

Sen. Susan Collins is “trying to help come up with a solution here,” a source says.

“She thinks everyone should have an opportunity to state their views on the record — but she’s not looking for extra time for speeches. In fact, she doesn’t care how much time members get. She thinks the speeches can be short,” the source went on.

CNN has reported that GOP senators are split on next steps in the impeachment trial, with some favoring a quick acquittal and others supporting the opportunity for senators to deliver speeches. 

As the break continued and Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell’s conversation came to a close, McConnell convened with his top aides including his floor director and chief of staff. They were joined by Sens. John Thune, John Cornyn and at one point John Hoeven who seemed most interested in getting a sense of where things stood.

McConnell’s crew convened for several minutes with staff taking turns explaining something to members. Then, Laura Dove, McConnell’s floor director, seemed to seek approval from Thune on something. Once Thune indicated he was in support, she turned to McConnell and then buzzed away.

Meanwhile, a series of bipartisan odd couples were spotted on the floor. After 10 days of intense partisanship, Senators were literally crossing the aisle with Kyrsten Sinema, a closely watched Democrat from Arizona, making her rounds to visit with GOP colleagues including James Lankford, Mitt Romney and Thune (the GOP whip). We still don’t know how Sinema plans to vote on impeachment.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski was seen with Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz. Roy Blunt was with Sheldon Whitehouse, and there appeared to be a very animated conversation between Ted Cruz and Amy Klobuchar that Kristin Wilson spotted through the Democratic cloakroom door.

The Chief Justice could also be spotted chatting up Lindsey Graham.

One of the things being debated right now is whether senators will have the opportunity to speak on the Senate floor before casting votes.

CNN’s Phil Mattingly reports that two closely watched Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, “have made clear they need to opportunity — or believe they should get the opportunity to speak on the floor to be able to express their views.”

Earlier today, Murkowski announced she is a no on the vote to bring in witnesses and documents. Collins has said she would vote yes for witnesses.

Watergate whistleblower John Dean is joining Anderson Cooper to answer your impeachment questions live at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Submit them here and tune in to get caught up on the impeachment trial. It will air at the top of your screen here.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are engaged in a rather intense discussion on the Senate floor ahead of an expected vote on witnesses.

The conversation did not look heated, but did look direct.

The two talked directly with their respective floor generals – Laura Dove on GOP side and Gary Myrick on Democratic side – doing a good chunk of the talking.

They spoke for a good 10 to 12 minutes before Schumer went to go huddle on his side.

The Senate just finished debating on whether to compel witnesses and documents. The vote on that question is expected in moments.

There is significant frustration among GOP senators who want to close out the impeachment trial and don’t see the value of pushing this into next week. 

On the other side, there are the senators who want an opportunity to express their views on the floor. 

Why this matters: Because McConnell basically can’t do anything without 51 votes and if he doesn’t have them, he’s forced into the scenario that has transpired since this morning – trying to figure out a way to bridge the gap (hence the talk of the supplementary resolution to guide the remainder of the trial).

Add on top of that, the White House desire to get this done before the State of the Union, and Democrats unwillingness to agree to any resolution that doesn’t go beyond that date, and well, here we are.

During the break in proceedings, a number of senators also met with McConnell, including Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney and Lamar Alexander.

Lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff rebuked President Trump’s legal team, claiming White House counsel believes the President “has a God-given right to abuse his power, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

More on Dershowitz’s role in the trial: Dershowitz argued on the Senate floor Wednesday that – hypothetically – a politician trying to win reelection is acting in the national interest, and therefore a quid pro quo aimed at boosting reelection chances cannot be impeachable.

After those comments, he faced considerable scrutiny from critics who said he was essentially arguing that politicians could do anything in service of reelection because they viewed their reelection as being in the national interest. However, Dershowitz said that’s not what he was arguing and he “never said” a president can do anything to get reelected.

“I have never said that a president can do anything if he believes that his election is in the public interest to get reelected,” Dershowitz told CNN. “That’s simply false.”

White House legal counsel Patrick Philbin argued for President Trump’s acquittal today, claiming the impeachment “denied all due process.”

Philbin and Trump’s legal team have argued this week that there is no need for more witnesses in the impeachment trial.

The President’s attorneys are now making remarks at the trial. They will spend the next couple of hours arguing against calling witnesses and bringing in more evidence.

“The House managers have said throughout their presentation and throughout all of the proceedings here again and again that you can’t have a trial without witnesses and documents, as if it is that simple,” Deputy White House counsel Patrick Philbin began. 

He said this argument by the House is “a trope being used to disguise the real issues.”

The senators are back from a break.

Lev Parnas walks to the office of Sen. Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Wednesday, January 29.

A lawyer for Lev Parnas, the businessman and associate of Rudy Giuliani, has written to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell detailing some of what his client would say if called to testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial.

Parnas would detail “the efforts he and a handful of Republican operatives engaged in over a period of months, to remove Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and gather ‘dirt’ on Joe and Hunter Biden,” the lawyer, Joseph Bondy, wrote in the letter.

Minority leader Chuck Schumer just spoke to reporters during the break and said he’s “going to use whatever power we have” to prevent the final votes at the trial from being “rushed through.” 

He continued: “Members have the obligation to tell the American people and tell the people of their states why they’re voting” to convict or acquit the President.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler is not on the Senate floor today because he returned home to be with his “wife at this time.”

The announcement today on Twitter follows one made by him on Sunday saying he’d miss parts of the trial to help take care of his ailing wife.

Nadler added: “On Monday, I will be in New York with her to meet with doctors, determine a path forward, and begin her treatment. I am sorry to miss some of the Senate Impeachment Trial, which is of critical importance to our democracy.”

Nadler’s role in the trial: As a House impeachment manager, Nadler is part of a select group of lawmakers acting as prosecutors for House Democrats and arguing the case against Trump in the Ukraine scandal.

The New York Democrat has played a key part in the House managers’ efforts to present a constitutional case for removing Trump from office.

In his closing remarks this afternoon, Lead House Manager Adam Schiff referenced a report that former White House chief of staff John Kelly said without witnesses the Senate trial is “a job only half done.”

“I have to say I can’t agree” with Kelly, Schiff said. “Trial without witnesses is no trial at all.”

“You know, as well as we, that there are others you should hear from,” he told senators.

House Majority leader Mitch McConnell just announced a 15-minute break.

House manager Zoe Lofgren invoked history on the Senate floor today when calling for a vote to allow national security adviser John Bolton to testify in the impeachment trial.

Lofrgren mentioned how past national security advisers to Presidents George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama testified in Congressional investigations during their tenure.

Bolton in the spotlight today: Trump ordered Bolton to help with the Ukraine pressure campaign to obtain damaging information, according to a report today from The New York Times, citing an unpublished manuscript of Bolton’s book.

According to the Times, Bolton wrote that Trump gave him the instructions in May. The conversation also included acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House lawyer Pat Cipollone.

Trump released a statement following the Times report:

One source says the big rub here is that members want a chance to speak, and each senator is entitled to 15 minutes.

Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowksi want a timeframe similar to Clinton trial, which amounted to about three days of deliberations, the source says. Democrats are warning they have a bunch of amendments if that timeframe is not agreed to. 

Remember: The Senate floor will be shut down Tuesday afternoon for a security sweep before the State of the Union.

The White House wants the trial done by the State of the Union, but given the demands of senators to speak, it’s unclear whether McConnell can make that happen. 

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said this morning that he doesn’t believe there is anything Democrats could have done differently to persuade Republican senators to support witnesses in the impeachment trial.

Murphy added that the House impeachment managers “did a fantastic job in making their case.”

“They hit all the right notes,” he said.

Former White House chief of staff John Kelly is weighing in again on impeachment, now saying if there are no witnesses — which seems almost all but certain — that “it’s a job only half done.” 

 Kelly described Bolton as “a copious note taker.”

Earlier this week: Kelly said he believes John Bolton’ allegation that President Trump told the former national security adviser that US security aid to Ukraine was conditioned on an investigation of the President’s political rivals, adding that Bolton should be heard from.

“If John Bolton says that in the book I believe John Bolton,” Kelly said Monday night when asked about the leaked draft manuscript during remarks at the Ringling College Library Association Town Hall lecture series, according to the Herald Tribune of Sarasota, Florida.

Kelly said Bolton “always gave the President the unvarnished truth” and is a “man of integrity and great character.”

The final vote to acquit President Trump may be delayed until next week, according to GOP and Democratic sources. 

At this point, it seems unlikely that a final vote to acquit Trump will occur tonight, but things remain extremely fluid.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is considering offering a resolution that would structure the final stages of the trial, which could include a final vote as late as Wednesday of next week. This could change because a source familiar says the White House is pushing for a final vote Tuesday — the same day as the State of the Union.

Asked when the final vote would be, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said: “Wednesday of next week. That’s what McConnell is proposing.”

The resolution may set up a process that would allow senators to speak about their views on the floor in an open session. Senators who have not spoken on the floor for days are eager to get a chance to speak.

More on the trial schedule: There’s serious discussion that the Senate will NOT be in session this weekend and the chamber would return Monday to finish up the process, which would include closing arguments from both sides.

This could and is designed — at least in part — to spur talks between McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. 

Sen. Tim Scott arrives at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, January 30.

Before the impeachment trial gaveled back in this afternoon, Sen. Tim Scott discussed John Bolton’s allegations and why he will vote to acquit President Trump.

And Sen. Shelley Moore Capito argued Democrats didn’t have overwhelming evidence, and they undermined their argument by asking for more witnesses. 

Sen. Rob Portman, another potential swing vote, said he will vote “no” on witnesses today.

The Republican from Ohio said in a statement: “I do not believe that additional witnesses are needed.” 

Portman continued: “I have said consistently for the past four months, since the Zelensky transcript was first released, that I believe that some of the President’s actions in this case – including asking a foreign country to investigate a potential political opponent and the delay of aid to Ukraine – were wrong and inappropriate. But I do not believe that the President’s actions rise to the level of removing a duly-elected president from office and taking him off the ballot in the middle of an election.”

Why this matters: The Senate needs 51 votes to approve a motion to have witnesses. If all 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats vote for witnesses, at least four Republicans would need to join them to pass a motion.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who just announced she’d vote no for witnesses and documents at the impeachment trial, has released a statement on her rationale.

Murkowski was one of four key senators we had been watching. She and Sen. Lamar Alexander said they will vote no, while Sens. Susan Collins and Mitt Romney will vote yes.

Here’s her full statement:

Lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff used his opening remarks this afternoon in the impeachment trial to address the New York Times report that claims the President ordered former national security adviser John Bolton to help with the Ukraine pressure campaign to obtain damaging information.

Schiff added: “So here you have the President saying John Bolton is not telling the truth. Let’s find out. Let’s put John Bolton under oath. Let’s find out who is telling the truth. A trial is supposed to be a quest for the truth. Let’s not fear what we will learn,” Schiff added.

According to the Times, Bolton wrote in a manuscript that Trump gave him the instructions in May. The conversation also included acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House lawyer Pat Cipollone.

The Times reported:

Chief Justice John Roberts just announced there will now be “up to four hours of argument by the parties, equally divided, on the question of whether or not it shall be in order to consider and debate under the impeachment rules any motion to subpoena witnesses or documents.”

The House managers are arguing in favor of witnesses and documents, while Trump’s attorneys are arguing against it.

Mitch McConnell said the Senate would take a break about two hours into the debate. 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, has indicated she will vote no on having witnesses appear during the Senate trial, according to her office today.

More on Murkowski’s importance in the trial: Murkowski was one of three GOP senators who hinted they might vote to have witnesses. The other two — Sens. Susan Collins and Mitt Romney — have said they will vote yes.

The Senate needs 51 votes to approve a motion to have witnesses. If all 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats vote for witnesses, at least four Republicans would need to join them to pass a motion.

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, who has not said much during the trial, told reporters: “Let me be clear, Lamar speaks for lots and lots of us.”

What this is about: Last night, Sen. Lamar Alexander, Republican from Tennessee and a potential swing vote, announced that he will vote no on hearing from witnesses at the trial.

When CNN’s Manu Raju asked if he believes Trump acted inappropriately, Sasse didn’t answer and walked away.

The Senate is back in session. We’re expecting there will be four hours of debate on the question of whether to compel witnesses and documents.

The vote on that key question is expected between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET. If the GOP blocks the motion — which seems likely — they could move to cast final votes on the two articles of impeachment.

President Trump has released a statement about a New York Times report that claims the President ordered former national security adviser John Bolton to help with the Ukraine pressure campaign to obtain damaging information.

Earlier today: The report from the Times cites an unpublished manuscript of Bolton’s book. CNN has not seen a copy of the manuscript.

According to the Times, Bolton wrote that Trump gave him the instructions in May. The conversation also included acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House lawyer Pat Cipollone.

The Times reported:

A source familiar tells CNN that Democrats are debating their amendment strategy at lunch right now — and it’s clear that Democrats are not concerned if the trial drags out until next week, as the GOP is threatening.

They do plan to offer a number amendments but it’s unclear how many.

President Trump ordered former national security adviser John Bolton to help with the Ukraine pressure campaign to obtain damaging information, according to a new report from The New York Times, citing an unpublished manuscript of Bolton’s book.

CNN has not seen a copy of the manuscript.

According to the Times, Bolton wrote that Trump gave him the instructions in May. The conversation also included acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House lawyer Pat Cipollone.

The Times reported:

Hear the latest details:

A White House official tells CNN it is possible that the Senate impeachment trial could drag into next week, and that aides are preparing for that potential.

Remember: We’re not sure exactly when the trial could end. GOP sources and senators have said Trump is likely to be acquitted in the early morning hours of Saturday, but timing is fluid.

Senate GOP leaders want to end the trial quickly once the witness vote goes down. But they need 51 votes to do anything.

What’s happening right now is leadership is trying to gauge how quickly they can end without drawing objections from several members of the conference, specifically on the issue of deliberations, according to two sources.

We’ve long noted that deliberations — which would take place in closed session — are a wild card, with GOP leaders saying they’d like to move without them. But they’d need 51 votes to do that.

Add into that uncertainty about how many motions Democrats will offer and the timing for the final vote is very fluid at the moment.

Part of what’s happening right now is a warning shot: If you want these things, it means this could run into the Iowa caucuses and and beyond the State of the Union.

The ongoing GOP and Democratic lunches should add some more clarity to things, and McConnell will likely address this at some point.

More context on Cornyn’s warning: Moments ago, Sen. John Cornyn warned that the trial could extend past today. 

One of his aides explained that Cornyn is saying that if Democrats choose to drag this out super late tonight, Republicans will adjourn for the day and come back Saturday. If Democrats do the same dilatory tactics on Saturday, Republicans will adjourn and come back Monday — which is Iowa caucus day.  

Right now we don’t know how late Democrats want to drag things out, nor what the GOP’s threshold is for triggering adjournment.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey told CNN that while Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president — which is at the center of the articles of impeachment — is not perfect, it doesn’t rise to the level of impeachment.

Toomey added that he is writing an op-ed explaining his rationale. 

He added that witnesses “don’t add anything that is necessary at this point” in the trial.

GOP Senator John Cornyn appeared to warn that if Democrats do not reach an agreement to vote on the articles tonight then it could potentially drag over into next week and bump into the Iowa caucuses and the State of the Union address. 

Senator John Cornyn also reacted to Sen. Lamar Alexander’s no vote on Senate witnesses, saying: “We always knew this was going to be a cliff hanger,” he said.

“We have some very independent thinkers in the Republican caucus, and I think Senator Alexander’s statement was a principled one and makes the important point that if impeachments become routine then we might as well call off elections,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that if Republicans vote against having witnesses and documents at trial, the US is “headed towards the greatest cover-up since Watergate.”

“It is deeply disturbing that on something of such importance to the future of our democracy, a few of my Republican colleagues announced last night they vote against hearing additional evidence,” he said.

Schumer added that a majority of Americans want to see witnesses at the impeachment trial.

“It is clear where the American people stand on the issue. Republican senators who decide to go against the will of the people will have to reckon with it,” Schumer said.

He added:

Sen. Doug Jones, a vulnerable Democrat from Alabama, said he is “pretty close” to making a decision on if he’ll vote on convicting President Trump, but he told CNN: “I gotta get my head straight and go from there.”

He declined to say where he was leaning.

President Trump’s impeachment trial continues in Washington today but, The Brief’s Bianca Nobilo has been keeping track of the day’s headlines outside Capitol Hill.

 Here’s what you need to know:

Watch more:

It will take 51 votes in the Senate to either approve witnesses or block them from testifying.

Right now, it seems likely that the GOP has the votes — at least four Republicans senators would need to vote with the 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats in order to pass a motion for witnesses.

After Sen. Lamar Alexander announced he’d vote against witnesses last night, it comes down to three key Republicans. Here’s where they stand now:

Yes:

Undecided:

Sen. Lamar Alexander just spoke to a small group of reporters about his decision to vote against witnesses and documents.

“I concluded after nine long days, and hearing 200 video clips of witnesses from the House, I didn’t need any more evidence, because I thought it was proof the President did what he was charged with doing, but it didn’t rise to the level of an impeachable offense. I didn’t need any more evidence to make my decision,” he said.

He said he made his decision about the vote during this past week.

“I thought about it, but I wanted to wait until the very last minute because around here you never know what might happen. You might get a surprise during the question and answer period,” he said.

CNN asked him about the distinction he made between inappropriate conduct and impeachable conduct. Here’s how he responded:

Alexander said he thinks it was “inappropriate and wrong for the President to do what he did — and I think it was proved.”

He added: “The question is whether you apply capital punishment to every offense. And I think in this case, I think the answer is no, let the people make that decision… and especially since the election begins Monday.”

As the Senate continues with the impeachment trial today, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to combat human trafficking and then head to Florida. 

The order will create a new position within the domestic policy council that will be “solely devoted to human trafficking,” Director of Domestic Policy Council Joe Grogan told reporters today. 

The White House is hosting a two-hour summit on human trafficking to mark the 20th anniversary of the trafficking victims protection act. Trump will deliver remarks at the summit around 12:15 p.m. ET.

 Afterward, the President and first lady Melania Trump will head to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to the White House schedule.

We’ll see the Trumps leaving the White House around 4 p.m. ET on their way to Florida. Trump often stops to talk to reporters when he’s leaving the White House — although we’re not sure if he’ll do so today.

The Senate gavels into session at 1 p.m. ET. And while we’re not sure exactly how the day will play out (see more on that in the post below this one), we expect President Trump to be acquitted by the end of the session.

More specifically: Trump will be acquitted in the early morning hours of Saturday, according to GOP senators and aides.

And while the actual end-game was never in doubt — the President was always going to be acquitted — it’s jarring that the more than four months of investigations, inquiry, impeachment and trial will come to a sudden (and rather anti-climactic) end. 

Consider Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s departing words last night:

Senators are expected to vote this evening on the question of whether to compel witnesses and documents. We’re expecting that vote to fail: Republicans seem to have the vote to block the motion.

But what follows the witness vote is very, very fluid.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind, with the caveat that seriously — this is fluid. Both sides were still trying to figure it out last night: 

Remember: Things just aren’t locked into place yet, but rest assured, once the chamber gavels into session today, it will not adjourn until the President is acquitted.

It’s possible that the vote on witnesses and documents could end in a 50-50 tie.

Democrats need four GOP senators to join them to get to a 51-vote majority, but right now only two — Sens. Mitt Romney and Susan Collins — have said they’ll vote for witnesses. A third, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, is still undecided.

So will Chief Justice John Roberts break a tie? No. Seriously, the answer is no.

Is there precedent? Yes, see Andrew Johnson’s impeachment. Is that going to happen here? Nothing has signaled yes. And there are more than a few Democrats CNN has spoken to don’t want it to happen out of concern for future precedent. 

And yet: It’s a genuine issue senators have been trying to figure out. In fact, multiple people said it was a central topic of discussion at the closed door Senate GOP lunch yesterday.

The way the discussion transpired, according to one person in the room, appeared to be intended to press Republicans not to end up in the situation.

“It was made clear that it would just be easier to avoid 50-50,” the person said. 

Whether that happens is now up to Murkowski.

It could be the final day of the impeachment trial of President Trump: If the GOP blocks a motion to compel witnesses and documents — which seems likely — they could move to cast final votes on the two articles of impeachment.

Here’s what we’re watching today:

The Senate impeachment trial of President Trump resumes at 1 p.m. ET today.

Here’s how the day will play out: