Public impeachment testimony is set to begin. Here are the lawmakers to watch

William Cummings | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Why a president can be impeached and remain in office Impeaching a U.S. president might not be the be-all-end-all for their career. We explain why this is the case.

WASHINGTON – Public hearings are set to begin Wednesday in the impeachment inquiry into allegations that President Donald Trump used military aid as leverage to pressure Ukraine into conducting investigations that stood to benefit him politically.

The House Intelligence Committee will conduct the hearings this week, which are scheduled to include testimony from Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine; William Taylor, who replaced Yovanovitch as the top American diplomat in Ukraine; and George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department who oversees policy in a half-dozen former Soviet states, including Ukraine.

In their closed-door testimony, Yovanovitch, Taylor and Kent raised concerns about the efforts of Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to push Ukraine toward opening investigations related to former Vice President Joe Biden and 2016 election interference. Taylor testified that the military aid was frozen for the explicit purpose of compelling Ukraine to begin the probes, contradicting Trump's claim that there was never a "quid pro quo."

Impeachment inquiry: Who are the 15 witnesses in the Trump impeachment inquiry and what have they said?

Republicans lawmakers on the committee will try to cast doubt on the testimony from the trio of diplomats – and on the impeachment inquiry in general. They are likely to try to change the focus by insisting that Trump had a legitimate concern about alleged corruption involving Biden and his son Hunter.

Here are the committee members to watch:

Adam Schiff

Schiff: WH building 'powerful' impeachment case House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says President Donald Trump's administration is "building a powerful case" for impeachment as a former White House national security adviser defied a subpoena on Monday. (Oct. 28)

Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was a leading Trump critic during the investigations into Russian election meddling, predicting after the midterm elections that Trump could "be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time" when he leaves office. He said in a USA TODAY op-ed that the president appeared to be "compromised" by Russia.

In the Ukraine case, Schiff said Trump is guilty of "abusing his power to the detriment of our national security and doing so to get yet another foreign country to intervene in our election."

Republicans called on Schiff to step down after the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller did not lead to official charges against the Trump campaign. They have repeated calls for him to resign amid the impeachment inquiry, implying that he manipulated witnesses. Trump alleged he doctored the transcripts in the case, despite the fact that Republicans were present for the testimony.

Devin Nunes

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and preceded Schiff as chairman, a role he used to defend Trump during the Russia probe. Nunes temporarily stepped aside from his leadership role during the probe amid an ethics complaint that said he briefed White House officials on classified material in the case without first sharing it with the committee.

Nunes called the impeachment inquiry a one-sided political "sham." Saturday, he submitted a list of proposed Republican witnesses that included Hunter Biden and witnesses he said could support Trump and Giuliani's theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was the true culprit behind meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Nunes asked for the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint helped spark the inquiry to publicly testify so Trump can "confront his accusers" and Republicans could find out who "may have fed the information" to him or her.

Jim Jordan

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, moved to the Intelligence Committee this month to help lead the defense of the president during the public hearings. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Jordan's addition would "ensure more accountability and transparency in this sham process."

During the initial hearings in the inquiry, Jordan repeatedly used his opening statements to condemn what he called the Democrats' unfair process in the impeachment probe.

Like Nunes, Jordan said the whistleblower should be compelled to testify, writing in a USA TODAY op-ed that "Americans should assess for themselves the credibility and motivations of the individual who initiated the inquiry."

Eric Swalwell

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., had been a zealous advocate for Trump's impeachment even before the Ukraine allegations became public, joining other Democrats who said the potential acts of obstruction of justice outlined by Mueller warranted the president's removal.

Swalwell, who was briefly among the large field of Democratic presidential primary candidates, is a former prosecutor who will be eager to put the Trump administration on trial.

Will Hurd

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, is a moderate Republican who has bucked the president, calling Trump's depiction of a crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border a "myth." Hurd, the lone African American Republican in the House, called Trump's tweet telling four minority congresswomen to "go back" to their countries of origin "racist and xenophobic."

Hurd has been highly critical of Democrats' handling of the impeachment process and backed calls for Hunter Biden to testify. The former CIA officer does not support the push to force the whistleblower to be unmasked.

Hurd will be a lawmaker to watch for any signs that Republicans from swing districts could break ranks and turn on Trump.

During an interview this week on "Fox News Sunday," Hurd said he believed Trump was trying to crack down on corruption in Ukraine, but "trying to get information on a political rival to use in a political campaign is not something a president or any official should be doing" and "would be a violation of the law."

John Ratcliffe

This summer, Trump pushed for Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, to become his director of national intelligence, but even Republicans said he was too partisan for the role.

Ratcliffe gained national attention for his aggressive questioning of Mueller.

"Donald Trump is not above the law. He's not. But he damn sure shouldn't be below the law," he said, scolding the former special counsel.

Here are the other members of the committee:

Democrats

Rep. Jim Himes, 4th District of Connecticut

Rep. Terri Sewell, 7th District of Alabama

Rep. Andre Carson, 7th District of Indiana

Rep. Jackie Speier, 14th District of California

Rep. Mike Quigley, 5th District of Illinois

Rep. Joaquin Castro, 20th District of Texas

Rep. Denny Heck, 10th District of Washington

Rep. Peter Welch, Vermont at-large

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, 18th District of New York

Rep. Val Demings, 10th District of Florida

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th District of Illinois

Republicans

Rep. Mike Conaway, 11th District of Texas

Rep. Mike Turner, 10th District of Ohio

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, 2nd District of Ohio

Rep. Chris Stewart, 2nd District of Utah

Rep. Elise Stefanik, 21st District of New York

Contributing: Christal Hayes and Bartholomew D. Sullivan