Rand Paul may force vote to bring Hunter Biden as witness in impeachment trial

Sen. Rand Paul could force a vote on the Senate floor that would bring Hunter Biden or other White House-favored impeachment witnesses to an impeachment trial.

Paul said on Thursday he’s considering forcing votes on motions in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial allowing Trump to bring his own witnesses. The Kentucky senator and close Trump ally has urged Congress to call Hunter Biden as a witness for his work at a Ukrainian energy company.

The House’s impeachment inquiry is investigating whether the president abused his power when he pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for military aid.

Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged Republicans on Wednesday to limit divisive votes to bring in witnesses, senators believe they will be able to offer their own amendments on the chamber’s impeachment resolution. Some Republicans also want the Senate to call the whistleblower.

“I believe very strongly the president should be able to call his own witnesses,” Paul told reporters on Thursday. “The rules that are put forward will be amendable, so yes I will consider strongly that the president should get his full due process, which to me means bringing in his own witnesses.”

Such a vote would need a majority, meaning Democrats and a handful of Republicans can defeat them fairly easily. But those votes are likely to be difficult for GOP senators facing reelection who are trying to balance their support of Trump with appeals to independent voters.

“I think there’s probably a bipartisan concession that we’ll keep the trial [short] so it not go on and on and on,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said. “We just need to take this seriously.”