Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) appears to be ready to move forward with setting ground rules for an impeachment trial without the support of Democrats, according to multiple media reports.
According to Politico, McConnell appears poised to pass a trial blueprint that does not set witnesses lists or make documents available until after opening arguments are made. Democrats have demanded that ground rules define a witness list before the trial begins.
CNN reports that McConnell has the support of a few key swing Republicans — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Ground rules only need a simple majority of 51 to pass, and the Republican caucus currently consists of 53 members.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not yet sent the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate and says she will not do so until she has confidence that the Senate will hold a fair trial.
More on this as it develops.