Go ahead and do it

Senate Republicans say there is an early consensus building within their ranks for a short impeachment trial that could see the GOP-led chamber vote on a likely acquittal of President Donald Trump without hearing from any witnesses.

Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said a growing number of the Senate’s 53 GOP members want to simply let House Democrats make their case to impeach the president and then hear a rebuttal from Trump’s team before moving immediately to a vote on the articles of impeachment.

  Bloomberg

And not hear from witnesses?

That would be a very bad look. Might even get a 2020 backlash from moderate Republican voters.

“I think people are starting to realize that could be a pretty messy and unproductive process,” said Johnson, who just days ago said he thought witnesses should be brought into the proceedings.

Senator Johson wasn't born yesterday. Cornyn, on the other hand...

Senator John Cornyn of Texas said his advice to the White House would be, “if you have the votes, let’s vote.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, has also been cautioning against having a lot of witnesses.

[...]

The White House would like to have “a lot of witnesses,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Tuesday on Fox News.

Just not the ones we've already heard from. Or the ones they've blocked from answering Congressional subpoenas. Or Trump himself.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t tipped his hand on how quickly he wants to move with the impeachment trial. On Tuesday, though, he said a Senate majority could end the trial after hearing arguments from both sides and without testimony from witnesses if “they’ve heard enough and believe they know what would happen,” he said.

He won't. But I wish he would. Fodder for another impeachment hearing if the Dems retake the Senate in 2020.

Although a two-thirds majority would be needed to convict the president, just 51 votes are needed to decide on witnesses or to move directly to a vote on the charges. It’s not yet clear McConnell would have 51 votes to block witnesses who may be called by House impeachment managers, or if 51 Republicans would back Trump’s call to bring in the Bidens and the whistle-blower.

If just four Senate Republicans decide they want to hear from witnesses, such as acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani or Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, they could join with every Senate Democrat to call them to testify.

Which is why what McConnell and Cornyn, et al., is just hot air.