Within the hallways of the U.S. Capitol, there is growing confidence by GOP Senators that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can whip his caucus to block a vote on witnesses Friday.
While returning to the chamber after a short break Thursday, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told Cheddar he's "feeling good" about tomorrow's expected vote.
Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters during the break that Republicans have the "momentum" to move to end the trial tomorrow without witnesses. "If we're able to say no [to witnesses] and go right to final judgment, we'd move in that direction and stay here until that work is decided and completed Friday evening. That's where all the momentum is now."
Still up for debate is what, exactly, happens, if the Republicans vote to end the debate on witnesses quickly.
Meanwhile, back in the chamber, lead impeachment manager Adam Schiff said witness depositions could be limited to just one week and said that the trial should not be rushed just because the State of the Union is Tuesday.
After the break, Senators asked two bipartisan questions, both of which were from senators who may still be undecided on the issue of whether to allow witnesses. First, Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) asked the defense team if the president would assure them that private citizens would not be directed to conduct foreign policy unless formally designated by the president and the State Department.
Murkowski and Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) submitted the second bipartisan question, asking if any action a president takes is inherently political and where the line is between permissible political actions and impeachable political actions.
In President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, there was only one bipartisan question asked, which Sen. Collins had signed onto at the time.
In a news conference, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he has ordered the state's hospitals to increase their capacity for intake at least by half, if not doubling it., and also revealed that New York had procured more medical supplies in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
While the spread of the coronavirus has caused millions of layoffs across the country, select businesses are on a hiring spree to meet increased demand related to the outbreak.
Stocks are down nearly 5 percent in volatile trading on Wall Street as investors wait for Democrats and Republicans to settle their differences and pass a nearly $2 trillion rescue package for the economy.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first case of COVID-19 in the Senate and raising fears about the further transmission of the virus among Republicans at the Capitol.
In its boldest effort to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve says it will buy as much government debt as it deems necessary and will also begin lending to small and large businesses and local governments to help them weather the crisis.
Malls, movie theaters, and retailers across the U.S. have been forced to close down to stem the spread of coronavirus, but cannabis dispensaries and retailers will stay open for business after a number of local governments deemed them “essential.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio 13th District) said on Friday that the $1 trillion stimulus package currently being negotiated by lawmakers won't be nearly enough to make Americans whole again.
During the Friday Coronavirus Task Force briefing, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. borders will be closed to nonessential travel with Mexico and Canada, beginning at midnight on Saturday.
The move underscores the pain being inflicted on U.S. oil producers by the abrupt crash in oil prices earlier this month, sparked by the outbreak of a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and exacerbated by the global response to the coronavirus.
New York is joining California in seriously altering daily operations after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he will sign an executive order mandating that 100 percent of the non-essential workforce stay home. The order will go into effect Sunday night.
