BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

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If you thought former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial would end today, you were wrong. 

The Senate voted this morning to debate whether to call witnesses in Trump’s case — a move that could drag out the trial and potentially open the floodgates to a slew of subpoenas on both sides. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) — the lead Democratic impeachment manager — wants to call Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), who recounted a conversation that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had with Trump, in which Trump allegedly said that the protestors cared more about the election that McCarthy did. Herrera Beutler has spoken publicly about this for weeks.

This doesn’t mean that witnesses are guaranteed to be called — the two sides have to agree on a resolution to call them, as well. But this is now a live issue that the Senate has to deal with. Trump’s defense team was stunned and upset by the move. Now they’re threatening to ask for hundreds of witnesses, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the House impeachment managers.

Republican Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Ben Sasse (Neb.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted with all Democrats to debate the witness questions.

So what happens now? Let us try to explain:

→ The Senate is frozen, for the moment, in recess until 12:30 p.m. The body now has to now pass a resolution that would approve which witnesses are called and what the rules are for deposing those witnesses. Open questions include, but are not limited to: How many lawyers will be allowed in the room? Where will it be? Who will have access to the deposition and when? That resolution is subject to a 60-vote threshold, and is amendable and debatable by the Senate. In other words, it will need Republican and Democratic buy-in. 

→ Could that resolution come together today? Maybe. But also maybe not. Trump’s lawyer Bruce Castor told us they will call “lots” of witnesses — a signal that the GOP side is not going to give in to a narrow witness list. Jason Miller approached reporters with a paper saying they had 301 witnesses they wanted to call. 

→ One GOP senator told us that Trump’s defense team offered to enter the Herrera Beutler statement about her conversation with McCarthy into the record in lieu of deposing her. This is not likely to be enough. 

→ Republicans are complaining that Schumer has “caved in to the left wing” of his party by allowing the House managers to push for witnesses. Schumer aides say he has deferred to the House impeachment managers on whether to call witnesses.

→ How long will this trial take now? We don’t know the answer to that. If and when the resolution comes together and there’s a decision on the number of witnesses, they’ll need to be deposed. That could take a matter of days, but it could be longer. The trial will be frozen in the interim.

→ Is this good or bad for Joe Biden’s agenda? We think it’s bad — but it’s too early to tell. Can the Senate move a Covid-relief bill in the middle of an elongated impeachment trial? Remember, unemployment insurance runs out on March 14. 

→ Will this change any Republicans’ minds? Well, it depends on what we learn from the depositions. Remember: Democrats need 17 Republicans to convict Trump. Still doesn’t seem to be happening. 

There was some drama. Romney and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Utah) appeared to have a heated exchange on the floor. We asked Jonhson about it.

“It’s grotesque that you guys are recording us."