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.
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Twitter is denying accusations that it's 'shadow banning' prominent conservatives online, but President Donald Trump is calling for an investigation. Michael Nunez, Mashable's deputy tech editor, explains the allegations and weighs in on their merit.
President Trump accused Twitter of so-called "shadow banning" high-profile Republicans from the platform. Twitter has said that, while some users appear to not be showing up in auto-fill search results, down-ranking the results has been based solely on user behavior, not on their political leaning.
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Republican Strategist Rick Wilson tells Cheddar Wednesday that Trump's private conversation with former attorney Michael Cohen reveals the president's intentions to silence women from his past.
Michael Cohen, the president's former attorney, released his secret recording of then-candidate Trump discussing payouts to a former Playboy model who claims she had an affair with him. The conversation sounded disturbingly calm and routine, says Republican political strategist Rick Wilson. This signals that "Donald Trump had a system in place inside of his organization that was devised and directed to deal with the women with whom he had various affairs."
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President Trump said the U.S. will work towards a barriers-free trade deal with the EU, easing tensions that had been weighing on lawmakers, markets, and corporations for days.
The First Daughter said she would close her namesake clothing, shoes, and accessories brand after 15 years in the fashion business. Trump said the decision stemmed from a career transition, though the company has seen sales fall as customers displeased with her father's policies, boycott the brand.
