Senate Majority Whip John Thune laid out potential procedure for Friday night -- assuming the witness vote goes down. This is still fluid, subject to change and there is still a fair amount of uncertainty, according to Thune.
But process he laid out potentially looks like this:
But process he laid out potentially looks like this:
He said that after four hours of debate, then there will be a vote on whether to call witnesses and seek documents.
Assuming that key vote fails, then he thinks that each side may want to huddle and discuss their next steps.
Assuming that key vote fails, then he thinks that each side may want to huddle and discuss their next steps.
Then, he thinks that McConnell will make a motion to go to final arguments, where both the House managers and defense team will make their final cases.
But that motion to go to final arguments is amendable, he said. That means Dems can offer any number of amendments
But that motion to go to final arguments is amendable, he said. That means Dems can offer any number of amendments
If the senators decide they want to deliberate, they can vote to go into closed session. Thune made clear he does NOT favor going behind closed doors, like they did in Clinton trial
Thune said there's significant support in the Senate GOP Conference to going to the final votes tomorrow night, no matter how late it is. He didn’t seem concerned about the optics of acquitting Trump in the dead-of-night.
But he said it's always possible that a final vote could be delayed to Saturday depending on how things go.
"I can tell you that we have a high level of interest in just getting this done," Thune said.
"I can tell you that we have a high level of interest in just getting this done," Thune said.
