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.
Randal Hill, a former NFL wide receiver, is optimistic even in the face of the protest controversy that has divided America. He told Cheddar Big News that one of the best things about sports leagues is how they can heal national wounds.
Friday's strong employment report, showing an addition of 201,000 jobs in August and a 2.9 percent rise in wages, is a "tribute to Republican leadership," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, said in an interview on Cheddar.
Margaret Sullivan, media columnist at the Washington Post and former New York Times public editor, said that the anonymous op-ed that has roiled the Trump administration was not the most honorable way for a staff member to air grievances with the president.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Nate Boyer, a former NFL player and Green Beret, is the man behind Colin Kaepernick's protests in 2016 when he suggested that the quarterback kneel instead of sit during the National Anthem as a sign of a respect. Two years later, Boyer believes people are missing the point of his protest and not listening to both sides of the issue.
Comedian Erin Gibson said that she believes Louis C.K.'s return to comedy is not welcome and hasn't been earned. Gibson believes retribution is necessary in order to re-enter the comedy space.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Lance Ulanoff, tech and social media expert, and Ian Sherr, executive editor of CNET News, agreed that Google's decision to not send a top executive to testify to Congress alongside Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey is going to cause significant damage among lawmakers for the company.
Whichever "senior official" wrote the unsigned New York Times op-ed slamming President Trump should come out of the shadows and resign, said Marc Lotter, former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence.
The New York Times published a scathing Op-Ed written by an unidentified senior official in the Trump administration, setting off a firestorm of speculation about who the insider is. The writer said he and others in the White House were part of “a quiet resistance” to keep the president in check.
