House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler opens the markup of the articles of impeachment yesterday. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios: "I'm not in the camp of calling a bunch of witnesses [in President Trump's impeachment trial]. ... I think as an American, the best thing we do is deep-six this thing."
The big picture: Many Senate Republicans told Axios that they trust Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's judgment on whether to accelerate the vote to acquit the president.
- "Senate Republicans are coalescing around a strategy of holding a short impeachment trial early next year that would include no witnesses," The Washington Post reports.
- Why it matters: That "could clash with President Trump’s desire to stage a public defense of his actions toward Ukraine that would include testimony the White House believes would damage its political rivals."
"Several GOP senators ... said it would be better to limit the trial and quickly vote to acquit Trump, rather than engage in what could become a political circus," per the Post.
- "The emerging Senate GOP plan would provide sufficient time, possibly two weeks, for both the House impeachment managers and Trump's attorneys to make their arguments before a vote on the president’s fate."
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