In a surprise move, the Senate voted 55-45 Saturday morning to call at least one witness in the second impeachment trial of former President Trump before recessing until 12:30 p.m. ET.
The big picture: The Senate was expected to wrap up the trial and cast a final vote by the end of the day. But lead House impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, announced Saturday morning that his team was seeking testimony from GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler to talk about her knowledge of a conversation between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6.
- Raskin said the managers would also like to subpoena Beutler for her notes.
- Beutler was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump.
Driving the news: All Democrats and five Republicans voted in favor of seeking witness testimony.
- The five GOP Senators include: Susan Collins (Maine), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Lindsey Graham voted in favor of seeking witness testimony.
- Trump’s defense team threatened this morning to subpoena House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a series of other witnesses. Other Republicans also said they'd drag out the trial if the House managers decided to subpoena witnesses.
This is a breaking story. Check back for live updates.
Of note: Shortly before reconvening for the trial on Saturday morning, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wrote in an email to his GOP colleagues that he will vote to acquit Trump.
