Thread by @Grace_Segers

The ~vibe~ in the Senate chamber, a thread:

The atmosphere in the chamber is extremely focused, almost tense. Many senators are sitting up in their seats and taking extensive notes. 1/

During Pat Cipollone's brief statement in favor of the organizing resolution, Schiff watched him with a look familiar to those who were at the numerous Intelligence Committee hearings - engaged, attentive, but with a sphinxlike expression that betrayed no emotion. 2/

On the Republican side, Portman, Tillis and Lankford in particular seemed to be taking extensive notes. Among the pres candidates, Klobuchar and Bennet in particular seemed to be taking extensive notes. Warren and Sanders were not taking notes, but both were sitting forward. 3/

When Schiff made a light joke, there was minimal soft laughter, but none seemed to come from the Republican side. 4/4 (for now)

Senate chamber ~vibe~ thread is back!
Sekulow, the president's personal lawyer, spoke very loudly in the microphone, but gave an impassioned defense of the president. Sekulow directly addressed Schiff multiple times, who in turn stared back inscrutably. 5/

Some Republicans appeared to be more attentive as Sekulow spoke. Graham seemed to nod a couple times. Schumer, for his part, wore the wry smile he usually puts on whenever someone is saying something which he finds patently ridiculous. (He wears this smile a lot in the Senate) 6/

But other Democrats were giving Sekulow and later WH Counsel Cipollone extremely stony looks. Klobuchar was watching with arms folded, as was Patty Murray. Sanders had his hand in front of his face the whole time, but his brow was extremely furrowed. 7/

I noticed Tim Scott and Ben Sasse, who sit next to each other, passing notes. One would write on a piece of paper and pass it to the other, who would write his reply. 8/

When Cipollone referenced the presidential candidates, saying they would rather be in Iowa, Warren gave him a stony glare and Sanders' brow furrowed even more. 9/9 (for now)

We're taking names & checking vibes:
There was a moment of solidarity as manager Zoe Lofgren began speaking. When she referenced her time on the Judiciary Committee during the Clinton impeachment, Graham smiled and nodded. Graham was an impeachment manager in Clinton's trial. 10/

The impeachment managers are making good use of video. They have used video clips to highlight words from Trump and testimony from Vindman, Sondland and Hill. There is a man at the impeachment managers table with a laptop who seems to be supervising the powerpoint and clips. 11/

A stray and probably irrelevant note: newly minted Senator Kelly Loeffler has excellent posture. She and Murkowski have the best posture on the Republican side, while Tammy Baldwin has the best posture on the Democratic side. (I'm a recovering ballet dancer, I can't help it.) 12/

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I inform you that there are no glasses of milk in the chamber. (Senators can have a little milk, as a treat.) 13/

Via @juliaboccagno, my fellow Senate chamber vibe checker - Around 4pm, two of President Trump’s staunchest supporters strolled into the Senate chamber: Rep. Zeldin and Rep. Meadows. Both of them, along with Rep. Gohmert, are sitting in the back behind the Republican senators.

@juliaboccagno Another stray thought: this should be obvious, but if you see a senator tweeting right now, it is a staffer. Senators are not allowed to have cell phones inside the chamber. 15/15 (for now)

@juliaboccagno Vibe check time!!
We have heard a rumor that some senators are wearing Apple watches - Tim Scott appears to be wearing a shiny bracelet that resembles an Apple watch, but my eyes are too bad to know for sure. 16/

@juliaboccagno Speaking of Scott, he and Sasse continue to be extremely chatty and passing notes. Sasse also appears to have a stash of candy in his desk. At one point, he took out a green container of icebreakers and handed one to Scott. 17/

@juliaboccagno Zero sightings of milk so far. 18/18 (for now)

@juliaboccagno VIBE CHECK TIME
At the beginning of the day, the mood in the Senate chamber was tense and focused. Now, after roughly six hours, it is the exact opposite. Senators are restless and fidgety, frequently moving in their seats. 19/

@juliaboccagno Bernie Sanders has a habit of softly clapping his palms together repeatedly in front of his face before resting his clasped hands in front of him. He did this a couple of times while I was in there from about 5:30 to 6. 20/

@juliaboccagno Sasse and Tim Scott were not as chatty, although they did exchange a few notes. At one point, Sasse received a large manila envelope, which he then proceeded to open extremely slowly, presumably to quiet the ripping noise. It was still audible. 21/

@juliaboccagno Several senators on both sides of the aisle are no longer watching the videos presented by impeachment managers. During one video, Warner aggressively rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He then turned to chat briefly to Bennet. 22/

@juliaboccagno In fact, the only people in the chamber who still seem to be wholly engaged are the impeachment managers. They continue to take notes and confer, even as the senators' restlessness becomes more and more obvious. 23/23 (for now)

@juliaboccagno VIBE CHECK HOUR SIX: It's hour six, and the senators are *feeling* it.
McConnell has been largely expressionless while listening. But he betrayed a trace of annoyance when he started debate for the newest amendment, saying he would move to table it, as with all others. 24/

@juliaboccagno A few senators were absent as impeachment manager Jason Crow started speaking. Several filed in a few minutes after he started talking, with a few appearing to be chewing something. I'm assuming these senators were not chewing gum, because they were not chewing throughout. 25/

@juliaboccagno Senators continue to betray their restlessness. Bennet stood up and wandered for a bit down the aisle, like a passenger on an airplane stretching his legs. He quickly seemed to think better of it, and sat back down. 26/

@juliaboccagno Meanwhile, Sanders buried his head in his hands for about 10 seconds, as if he had a headache. He left the chamber shortly thereafter for a few minutes, and returned chewing something. 27/27 (for now)

Hey vibers, it's time to check in again.
The Senate reconvened shortly after 8pm. The senators seemed energized by their half hour break - Republican Mike Braun told reporters Republicans had gotten pizza, so that may have helped with the energy levels.

A few senators still seem to be taking extensive notes: Loeffler (whose posture remains perfect), Lankford, Portman, Sullivan, Baldwin, Stabenow and Klobuchar in particular. 29/

When impeachment manager Hakeem Jeffries said Trump made Nixon look like a "choir boy," Graham chuckled. 30/

There is still some sense of restlessness in the chamber. Murkowski is rocking on the two back legs of her chair, and Cassidy took off his watch and started fidgeting with it. 31/

One final observation: the lighting in the chamber reminds me of that of a casino. It's bright, artificial, and windowless, so you're unable to tell what time it is unless you look at the clock. Hotel California is getting stuck in my head unprompted. 32/32 (for now)

McConnell asked Schumer whether he would be willing to consider stacking any successive amendments, so that the Senate could vote on all the amendments at once. Schumer said that he would be willing to hold the votes on the following amendments tomorrow. 33/

McConnell then called for a quorum, which is essentially a roll call to ensure that a majority of senators are present in the Senate chamber. This is essentially a stalling technique, and allows Republicans and Democrats to consider next steps. 34/

In short: the end might be nigh! 35/35 (for now)

You thought!!! Schumer has proposed another amendment to subpoena documents from the DOD, signaling no deal with McConnell on closing shop for the night. 36/

Side note: I am significantly younger than most senators. Many of them have been serving in the Senate literally since before I was born. And I'm already tired at day one!!! This can't be easy for the elderly members of the Senate.

MILK WATCH: Still no milk in the Senate. 38/

Vibe check:
It's difficult to gauge from a distance whether people are spacing out, but it would appear to me that a good chunk of senators are spacing out. 39/

When Chief Justice John Roberts said Democrats had 38 minutes left to debate the 5th amendment, people on the GOP side audibly groaned. Cotton snorted when Schiff said he would be brief in making his closing arguments. 40/

Schiff did make the case for why Dems are going through these amendments. Schiff said that the purpose is "to make it hard for you to say no" to a fair trial. Essentially, Dems are forcing Republicans to go on the record about their opposition to calling for witnesses now. 41/

Of course, Republicans argue that the proposed organizing resolution allows for a vote on witnesses - just after initial arguments are made. 42/

When impeachment manager Sylvia Garcia began debating the 6th amendment, the GOP side of the chamber was nearly half empty, and a good portion of Democrats were absent too. 43/

After Schumer proposes a *seventh* amendment, McConnell calls for a five minute recess. Do I smell a deal in the works? Or is that just my exhaustion speaking?

When I did ballet, we were instructed to smile when we had to yawn on stage to cover it up. I referred to it in my head as a "smawn."

Senators clearly need to practice their smawns, because their yawns are not subtle. 45/

We've reached our eighth amendment, to subpoena Bolton. Jerry Nadler is speaking for the first time. Technically, he didn't speak before the Senate at all on Tuesday. 46/

VIBE CHECK: I'm so tired.

The ninth and tenth amendments have been introduced and tabled, mercifully with little debate.

The mood in the Senate is still restless. Several senators are standing around the border of the room. It reminds me of a long international flight, where you have to get up and stretch your legs or else you'll go insane/get a cramp. 48/

The tenth amendment, like the previous amendments, then was tabled along a party line vote. Republican Senator Susan Collins voted against tabling the motion, the first Republican defection of the night. 49/

Republicans applauded when McConnell said there were no more amendments to vote on, and announced the final vote on the resolution.

After over 12 hours of debate, the Senate has passed the organizing resolution by McConnell, without any of the 11 amendments proposed by Schumer. Shockingly, it passed 53-47. 51/

The trial resumes at 1pm ET tomorrow. 52/

Thank you so much for following along with my vibe check thread! It's been an incredibly long day. I will see you and the Senate vibes again in less than 12 hours. 52/52 (for real)