The Senate impeachment trial of President Trump began in earnest on Tuesday with a procedural clash over the rules at the heart of the proceeding.
What to watch for: Democrats will attempt to push the Senate to allow new witnesses and documents while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell aims to move things along as quickly as possible.
This post will be updated with new developments as the trial continues.
What they're saying: “The public is understanding how unfair Senator McConnell’s trial rules are and Republican Senators are beginning to tell him to change them," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday, after McConnell updated the Senate's roadmap for the trial.
- "There is no guarantee that Leader McConnell will allow these votes to take place later in the trial so now before any resolution passes we must do it," Schumer said, per Politico.
The highlights:
- McConnell's roadmap changed significantly in the early hours of Tuesday's debate — allowing each side 24 hours to present their opening arguments over three days, instead of two. That change means that the first days of arguments would max out at eight hours rather than 12.
- Evidence from the House's impeachment inquiry will entered into the trial automatically unless there are specific objections from a senator, in another change to McConnell's original plan.
- Schumer introduced two amendments — one to subpoena the White House and one to subpoena the State Department for documents related to the charges against Trump.
- McConnell successfully motioned to "table," or kill, the first amendment, with the vote falling 53-47 along party lines. Republican senators key to determining whether more witnesses or evidence are admitted to the trial — including Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Pat Toomey (Pa.) — voted with McConnell.
Inside the room:
- In the chamber, desks were covered in papers and notepads, including booklets with evidence produced during the impeachment investigation, Axios' Alayna Treene reports from the Capitol.
- Many of the senators scribbled handwritten notes throughout, and only water and milk (yes, milk) were allowed.
- To get around the rule of silence, some senators were caught flashing each other notes.
- Spotted in the audience: Alyssa Milano and former Sen. Jeff Flake.
- GOP Reps. Mark Meadows, Lee Zeldin and Louie Gohmert came in partway through and sat in the back on the Senate floor.
Watch:
- Adam Schiff argues for additional evidence: "The truth will come out"
- Pat Cipollone: Democrats want to remove Trump from 2020 ballot with impeachment
- Cipollone falsely claims Republicans were barred from impeachment depositions
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