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There are two competing explanations for Mitch McConnell’s abrupt change in the length of the impeachment trial (to three days, from two).

One is that Republican senators facing tough elections this year didn’t like the perception that they were supporting a sham trial and forced McConnell to make the change. “The fact that McConnell had to make significant changes to rules just before the vote suggests he has less control over the trial than widely believed,” Judd Legum, author of the Popular Information newsletter, wrote.

The other is that the whole thing was a set-up. Josh Schwerin, a Democratic strategist and former congressional aide, wrote: “Mitch McConnell intentionally gave his vulnerable members a win on process. This was probably the plan from the beginning. It cost him nothing.”