Sen. James Lankford James Paul LankfordMcConnell works to lock down GOP votes for coronavirus bill Charities scramble to plug revenue holes during pandemic Warren calls for Postal Service board members to fire DeJoy or resign MORE (R-Okla.) criticized Democratic House impeachment managers on Sunday, saying they want to slow down the Senate trial of President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE just as Republicans hope to wrap it up.

ABC’s George Stephanopolous asked Lankford on “This Week” why he wouldn’t want to call witnesses in the Senate proceedings. The senator responded “it’s the same reason” the House “didn’t want to hear from witnesses, apparently.”

“They wanted to move as fast as possible, and now they want to slow down the trial as much as possible in the Senate,” Lankford said.

“That’s just a very odd political strategy for them more than a fact-finding strategy,” he added.

.@GStephanopoulos: "Why not hear from the witnesses?"



"It's the same reason (the House) didn't want to hear from the witnesses, apparently," Sen. James Lankford says, adding that Democrats "want to slow down the trial as much as possible in the Senate." https://t.co/Y05UNTZORA pic.twitter.com/kUzv1UzJbs — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 26, 2020

The Oklahoma senator also criticized the House Democrats for expecting the upper chamber to act as a “special counsel” and seek out evidence in the case.

“That’s not really the task of the Senate,” he said. “The task of the Senate is to hear the trial. The House is actually the one gathering evidence for impeachment, so we’re acting on what they’re sending us.”

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The impeachment trial started last week and will resume on Monday.

House impeachment managers and Senate Democrats have been pushing to add more witnesses who didn’t testify in front of the lower chamber, like former national security adviser John Bolton John BoltonDiplomacy with China is good for America The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep DOJ launches probe into Bolton book for possible classified information disclosures MORE. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Trump expects to nominate woman to replace Ginsburg next week Video of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral MORE (R-Ky.) and other GOP senators have urged senators to allow opening arguments to be completed before considering witnesses.