Sen. Rob Portman, another prospective swing vote, explained he will vote “no” on witnesses now.

The Republican from Ohio reported in a assertion: “I do not think that supplemental witnesses are essential.” 

Portman continued: “I have explained regularly for the past four months, since the Zelensky transcript was very first introduced, that I believe that some of the President’s steps in this case – such as asking a overseas place to examine a probable political opponent and the delay of help to Ukraine – had been mistaken and inappropriate. But I do not believe that that the President’s steps rise to the stage of eradicating a duly-elected president from business office and taking him off the ballot in the center of an election.”

Why this issues: The Senate requires 51 votes to approve a motion to have witnesses. If all 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats vote for witnesses, at the very least four Republicans would have to have to sign up for them to go a movement.