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Trump was impeached in December for pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rivals and withholding aid to the country.

Monday will mark the second day for Trumps lawyers to make their opening arguments. They are not expected to use the full 24 hours theyve been given. After those arguments, senators will proceed to a 16-hour question-and-answer period before taking a contentious vote this week on whether to bring in additional witnesses.

Democrats will need at least four Senate Republicans to join them in order to achieve their demands. While GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are among the senators who could be open to calling witnesses, Democrats appear less optimistic that they will get the votes they need.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) declined on Sunday on CBS Face the Nation to forecast whether four Republicans would call for more witnesses, but made clear where he stood.

Im not going to vote to approve witnesses, because the House Democrats have had lots of witnesses, we heard from them over and over and over again this week, Cotton said. We dont need to prolong whats already taken five months of the American peoples time.

One of the House impeachment managers, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), also declined on Sunday to predict whether the Senate would have enough votes to bring in additional witnesses.

Im just not going to give up on the Senate and Im not going to draw any conclusions, although I know theres a lot of speculation about what they may do or may not do, Demings said on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Im not going to draw any other conclusions.

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Senate Republicans push back on calls for more impeachment witnesses - POLITICO

Sen. Angus King predicted that ten or more Republican Senators wont be able to defend hiding Boltons testimony, so they will vote for documents and witnesses.

Sen. King (I-ME) said on MSNBC:

I dont have a feel for it based upon any conversations. Okay? A reporter came up to me saying who are the people you think? I dont have names. I dont even I couldnt look at the list and say yes, no, yes, no. I think its very hard for anybody to say that theyre not interested. I think there will be ten or more that will say, we at least have to look at calling witnesses an then we go and talk about each one individually.

So Ill be surprised if the motion fails, you know, the Republicans ought to build a statue of Mitch McConnell on the mall because thats party unity the likes of which is never seen. I dont think that will happen. I think you will see a number of perhaps double digits of Republicans are going to say, look, we cant defend this.

Sen. Kings prediction matches up with other reports that a group of Republican Senators is about to break with the Trump/McConnell cover-up and vote for subpoenaing documents and witnesses.

If the resolution on documents and witnesses passes, then there will be a series of votes on who and what gets subpoenaed, and the sham impeachment trial vanishes and a real process takes its place.

The argument being made by Trumps lawyers is embarrassing, and if vulnerable Senate Republicans want to avoid the wrath of the American people, they will need to vote in favor of documents and witnesses.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook

Mr. Easley is the founder/managing editor and Senior White House and Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA.Jason has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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Sen. Angus King Predicts 10 or More Republicans Will Vote For Docs And Witnesses - PoliticusUSA

Former Sen. Jeff FlakeJeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeThe Hill's 12:30 Report: House managers to begin opening arguments on day two Flake: Republicans don't speak out against Trump 'because they want to keep their jobs' GOP senator calls CNN reporter a 'liberal hack' when asked about Parnas materials MORE (R-Ariz.) said on Monday that someRepublican senators dont speak out against President TrumpDonald John TrumpSchiff pleads to Senate GOP: 'Right matters. And the truth matters.' Anita Hill to Iowa crowd: 'Statute of limitations' for Biden apology is 'up' Sen. Van Hollen releases documents from GAO investigation MOREs behavior because theyre afraid of how it could affect their chances at the ballot box.

Do you think, senator, that you should have spoken up more? Do you regret that you didnt speak up more? And why is it so difficult for Republicans to speak up against this president when they dont believe what hes doing? host Gayle KingGayle KingFlake: Republicans don't speak out against Trump 'because they want to keep their jobs' Lifetime to release sequel to 'Surviving R. Kelly' Bloomberg attacks Biden's experience: 'He's never been the manager of an organization' MORE askedFlakeon "CBS This Morning."

"Its difficult because they want to keep their jobs."@JeffFlake on why he thinks Republicans don't speak out against President Trump. pic.twitter.com/jBpRGWwDnH

Well, because they want to keep their jobs, and the president is extremely popular among Republican primary voters, Flake said. That is a subset of a subset of a subset. But they are those who decide who represents the party and the general election.

Flake, who was very vocal in his criticism of Trump until the Arizona Republican retiredfrom the Senate in 2018, was also pressed about commentshe made last year in an op-ed in which he said that Senate Republicans will also be on trial when the upper chamber takes on Trumps impeachment case.

They are, in a sense, because this president wont be there forever, Flake said. Hell either be gone this time next year or four years from now. Then what happens to the Republican Party?

My fear is people out there know that, even if this is not an impeachable offense, that the president did something wrong and for Republicans to maintain that he didnt is just wrong, he continued. And this has long-term ramifications for the party if we act as if we are just devoted to the president no matter what out of this cult of personality that weve seen. We certainly saw it in the House.

He was also asked about his past criticism of Trump while serving in Congress and whether he wished he would have done things differently then.

You always look back and say I could have done this differently or that, he said.

But I did speak up and I decided that I would have to condone behavior I couldnt condone or accept positions I couldnt accept if I wanted to win reelection. Thats why I didnt," he added.

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Flake: Republicans don't speak out against Trump 'because they want to keep their jobs' | TheHill - The Hill

The sun sets over the US Capitol on the third day of the Senate impeachment trial Thursday. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption

The sun sets over the US Capitol on the third day of the Senate impeachment trial Thursday.

On the second day of their opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial, Democratic managers honed their case. They hope to persuade a narrow band of Republican senators to support the introduction of new evidence and witnesses.

And some Republicans have begun to voice concerns about the White House legal team's approach to the trial. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he wants the team to respond directly to claims made by the Democratic side.

This episode: campaign correspondent Scott Detrow, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and congressional editor Deirdre Walsh.

Connect:Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.org.Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.

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A Few Republicans And The American Public: Democrats Target Their Impeachment Message - NPR

JACKSON, Miss. - Republicans will continue holding most leadership positions during this four-year term in the Mississippi House, but Democrats and independents are included in the mix.

Y'all Politics pointed out that there are 44 Democrats in the House, or approximately 36%, and nearly that same percentage were named to leadership positions.

Republican Speaker Philip Gunn announced the House Committees this week.

Democrats will serve as vice chairmen on 17 of the 46 House Committees, with 1 Democrat named as a chairman in the House. Rep. Cedric Burnett is the lone Democrat chairman. He will lead the House Youth and Family Affairs Committee.

Two independents were given chairmanships, as well.

Rep. Angela Cockerham will chair Judiciary A with longtime Democratic Rep. Tommy Reynolds as the vice chairman.

New Independent Rep. Kevin Horan will be tested immediately as the chairman of Corrections. He will be joined by Democrat Rep. Carl Mickens as vice chair.

All committee chairmen, except for two, have served more than two terms. Republican Rep. Fred Shanks will lead the Constitution Committee after winning a special election in 2018. Rep. Burnett is now in his second term.

Below is a list of the Democrats named to Mississippi House Committee leadership:

Bryant Clark (HD 47) Vice Chair, Conservation and Water ResourcesCarl Mickens (HD 42) Vice Chair, CorrectionsCheikh Taylor (HD 38) Vice Chair, County AffairsPercy Watson (HD 103) Vice Chair, EthicsJohn Faulkner (HD 5) Vice Chair, Enrolled BillsChris Bell (HD 65) Vice Chair, Executive Contingent FundWillie Bailey (HD 49) Vice Chair, GamingTracey Rosebud (HD 30) Vice Chair, Interstate CooperationLataisha Jackson (HD 11) Vice Chair, Investigate State OfficesTommy Reynolds (HD 33) Vice Chair, Judiciary AKarl Gibbs (HD 36) Vice Chair, Local and Private LegislationAbe Hudson (HD 29) Vice Chair, Ports, Harbors and AirportsGregory Holloway (HD 76) Vice Chair, Public PropertyRufus Straughter (HD 51) Vice Chair, State LibraryDebra Gibbs (HD 72) Vice Chair, TourismKenneth Walker (HD 27) Vice Chair, Workforce DevelopmentCedric Burnett (HD 9) Chair, Youth and Family AffairsOtis Anthony (HD 31) Vice Chair, Youth and Family Affairs

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Republicans assigned to most top jobs in Mississippi House - WTOK