Report: GOP Sen. Toomey proposing impeachment trial witness deal


Over the last few days, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has spoken with several of his Republican colleagues about the possibility of having two witnesses appear during President Trump's impeachment trial, three GOP officials told The Washington Post.
One of the witnesses would be called by Republicans, and the other by Democrats, the officials said. The Senate is scheduled to vote later this week on whether to have witnesses in the trial, with Democrats urging lawmakers to allow testimony from witnesses with firsthand information on Trump and the Ukraine scandal. On Sunday night, The New York Times reported that former National Security Adviser John Bolton writes in his forthcoming book that Trump said he wanted to withhold military aid to Ukraine until officials there launched investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Toomey, who is not up for reelection until 2022, is close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), but not President Trump or his top aides, the Post reports. Toomey has discussed his "one-for-one" proposal with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), the Republican officials said, as well as Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). On Monday morning, Romney said Bolton's testimony was "relevant," adding that it is "important to be able to hear from John Bolton for us to be able to make an impartial judgment."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Strike a pose at these 7 fashionable hotels
The Week Recommends Make these hotels in Macau, Italy and Washington, D.C., your personal runway
-
'Gen Z has been priced out of a future, so we invest in the present'
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'
-
Trump DOJ said to pay $5M to family of Jan. 6 rioter
speed read The US will pay a hefty sum to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6