Thread by @Grace_Segers

Senate chamber ~vibe check~ day two:
The mood in the senator is subdued this morning. Senators are more energized than they were at 2:00 a.m., but several were spotted rubbing their eyes and yawning behind their hands. Which, as the kids say, is a big mood.

GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, a surrogate of the president, is sitting in the back of the room behind Republican staff, his arm perched on top of the chair next to him as if holding an invisible date. He seems annoyed with Schiff, and has raised his eyes heavenward a few times. 2/

Senators aren't chatting much yet. Ernst took out some gum and handed a piece to McSally and Cotton on either side of her, in case the vibe wasn't "college lecture" enough for you. Cardin is leaning his forehead in his left hand as he takes notes. 3/

Sanders, next to Cardin, continues to rest his head on his hand, and somewhat dramatically blew his nose at one point. 4/

Wicker smiled and shook his head when Schiff said Trump acted corruptly. Graham shook his head when Schiff mentioned the time when Trump asked Russia to hack the DNC. Graham also raised his eyebrows when Schiff mentioned Marie Yovanovitch and how she was poorly treated. 5/

The senators taking extensive notes yesterday continue to do so today - Sullivan, Loeffler and her excellent posture, Baldwin and Klobuchar. Our chatty friends from yesterday, Tim Scott and Ben Sasse, were not spotted talking or passing notes. 6/

As for your milk watch update: there is still no milk on any senators' desks. I got excited when I saw Tim Scott give a page a seemingly fresh glass of water for her to take away, but it turns out he just wanted a glass of water with ice. 7/7 (for now)

Interestingly, Nadler was out of the chamber for nearly an hour. Nadler was criticized by Republicans for his impassioned argument at around midnight Wednesday. He, along with the WH lawyers, was also admonished by Chief Justice Roberts for strong language. He's back in now. 8/

On Tuesday, senators seemed glued to their desks for most of the day, even if they appeared to be spacing out (or sleeping, in Risch's case). Now, senators are standing and milling about, exiting and reentering the chamber. 9/

I've noticed that a lot of the women in the chamber are wearing brightly colored blazers. Moore Capito is wearing a fun hot pink blazer, Shaheen a lilac one, Collins an eggplant one, Hirono a teal one, and so on. A few are also wearing scarves. 10/

One quick note: Sanders is wholly himself, on the campaign trail and in the Senate chamber. He spent most of the last half hour leaning back in his chair, fingers crossed and resting on his stomach. His head was either tilted up or resting on his chest most of the time. 11/

A note on men's fashion as well:
Kaine is wearing a lilac shirt and tie. Cassidy is wearing an orange tie. Many of the men on both sides are wearing red ties. Interestingly, Burr is wearing socks with his shoes today - he very noticeably wasn't wearing socks yesterday. 12/

When standing to give a roll call vote, some men choose to button their suit jacket and then immediately unbutton it again when they sit down. The general rule for suits is to have your suit jacket buttoned while standing, and unbuttoned while sitting. 13/

It's fun to see senators like Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton button and then immediately unbutton, since they're standing for about a second. Most senators just don't even bother to button when they stand briefly. 14/

Schiff, more than two hours into his argument, says that he has ten minutes left. "The end is in sight," he jokes.

I was in the chamber for the last 10 minutes or so of Schiff's introductory argument. Several senators were gone, and several were standing about the room. Manchin and Booker were standing in the back and chatting. 16/

Scott appeared to have a snack under his desk which he was sharing with Sasse. 17/

There was a palpable sense of relief when Schiff concluded. The Senate is in recess until 3:50. 18/

TOM COTTON HAS MILK! This is not a drill. He has a glass in addition to his glass of water. He is the first senator I've seen to request and get milk. I repeat, Tom Cotton has milk! 19/

Giving the people what they crave: more milk content.
My colleague @juliaboccagno rode the elevator with the page delivering Cotton's milk. I saw the milk delivered to Cotton on the floor and immediately rushed out to inform the world. 20/

Cotton appeared to be chewing a crunchy snack which presumably goes well with milk. Who said impeachment proceedings have to be boring? 21/

Okay, now that the important news is out of the way - senators were still trickling in when Jerry Nadler started speaking. I counted 8 Republican senators and 13 Democrats out of their seats when Nadler began. Most of them were filled by the time I left the chamber at 4:20. 22/

Extremely exciting news per @juliaboccagno: Senator Richard Burr has also received a glass of milk.

@juliaboccagno Incredible detail via @juliaboccagno: Cotton later received a second glass of milk. He opened his desk to grab a piece of Hersey’a chocolate, and he proceeded to bite the piece of chocolate and then sip his milk. 24/

More milk-related news: I've been informed that Ted Cruz drank milk at around midnight last night. Apparently, senators have to provide their own milk to the cloakroom, although they do keep it cold for senators.

Back to the ~vibe check~ thread:

If I had to describe the vibe of the Senate right now in one word, it would be "antsy." Senators sitting in their seats are fidgeting. At least a dozen senators stood up and milled around within the room while I was in there. 26/

At one point, Booker walked over to where Klobuchar and Coons sit. He leaned over their chairs with one hand on each like a proud parent in a family photo. Klobuchar looked up at him and smiled. I couldn't tell if Coons knew he was there. 27/

I've been keeping an eye on Bernie, because he's one of the more restless senators. He was rubbing his head a lot for the first few minutes I was there, before leaving the chamber for an extended period of time. He's one of the senators who leaves more frequently. 28/

House manager Jason Crow noted the seeming disregard of senators, asked Roberts if they should take a 15 minute break. McConnell stood and said the Senate would take a half hour break at 6:30 for dinner. Crow continued, but several senators stood up and left as he resumed. 29/

WHOA. A protester burst into the visitors gallery. He yelled something about "Jesus Christ" before he was physically pulled from the gallery by security. It was honestly alarming. 30/

A bit more information about the protester - he was white and looked to be about middle aged, although it's hard to tell from across the room. He entered from the far left door in the visitors gallery. He was quickly removed from the room. 31/

Other than that, the mood in the room was pretty calm. It was less restless than when I was in at about 5:00, although senators were still standing and milling about. Sasse and Tim Scott were frequently chatting and laughing. 32/

Not many Republicans looked directly at Jeffries while he made his case, and Republicans did not seem very receptive to his argument. Graham rolled his eyes when Jeffries played the clip of David Holmes' testimony about overhearing the July 26 call between Trump and Sondland. 33/

The Senate is now in recess until 7:05 p.m. 34/

When the Senate reconvened at roughly 7:20, Schiff said that arguments would continue for another 2-2.5 hours.

"As an encouraging voice told me: Keep it up, but don't keep it up too long. So we will do our best not to keep it up too long." 35/

Time for your regular ~vibe check~:
Ernst is clearly cold because she has a blanket on her legs, but certain senators seem to *have* a cold. Sanders has blown his nose several times today. I was able to hear him blow his nose over a video clip of the Sondland testimony. 36/

At one point, Cassidy pulled a box of tissues out of his desk drawer and offered to Perdue, who took two. Maybe they're all just allergic to impeachment proceedings! (ba dum tss) 37/

Scott and Sasse were chatty as usual. Twice, Sasse reached over and opened Scott's desk drawer, pulling a snack out. 38/

Schiff is making ample use of video clips featuring testimony from hearings in November. It's clear that most senators regard Schiff with a decidedly unfavorable view. There was scattered muttering on the Republican side when Schiff began to raise his voice. 39/

When Schiff mentioned his desire to see a diplomatic cable held by the State Department, and urged the senators to subpoena the document, Schumer smiled and stared pointedly at McConnell. McConnell looked straight ahead, inscrutable as ever. 39/

Schiff just said that we have about 20 minutes left tonight. As someone who was at the Capitol until 2 a.m. last night/this morning, this is welcome if somewhat unbelievable news. 40/

Here it is, your final ~vibe check~ of the night.
In the final half hour of the proceedings, the chamber had the same air as a high school class just minutes ahead of the bell. Senators were checking their watches and packing up their papers, clearly ready for the day to be over.

Several senators also stood and left the room. Cassidy paced back and forth for a few minutes before briefly leaving the room. At one point, Cotton stood up and walked to the aisle with Tim Scott and Portman. He made a "can you believe this?" gesture to Scott, who laughed. 42/

Scott and Sasse were chatty as usual, but several senators held sustained conversations. Sanders literally moved his chair so he could be closer to Cardin before whispering with him I'd say the loudest chatters were probably Risch and Crapo towards the end. 43/

The evening ended on a lovely, bipartisan note. McConnell noted that the Senate pages would be leaving. All 100 senators gave them a standing ovation. Schumer remarked that it was rare to see all senators stand in agreement, and wished them "beautiful and successful" lives. 44/

As a former waitress, I've been watching the pages work with interest. They were excellent; always anticipating when a senator would need new water, providing whatever they needed quickly and professionally. I'll admit, that ovation sincerely warmed my cynical reporter heart. 45/

That's a wrap for our ~vibe check~ inside the chamber for today. McConnell announced that the Senate will reconvene at 1pm tomorrow. I will be in the TL again tomorrow, providing critical information on milk consumption and senator posture. 45/45