They will also try to keep the heat off Trump by attacking the Bidens and pushing other conspiracy theories about the elections.

“Leader [Kevin] McCarthy, ranking member [Devin] Nunes and Jim Jordan are taking preparation efforts to heightened levels with a work-around-the-clock mentality,” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, told POLITICO. “Depositions are being reviewed to show the inconsistencies from facts that we know exist."

The GOP has struggled at times to defend Trump amid a torrent of damning revelations in the Ukraine scandal, leading to some scattershot messaging throughout the conference. But Republicans have had weeks to sharpen and test their defense strategy and feel confident they’re ready for prime time.

And they could have some procedural tricks up their sleeves, too: Dozens of Republicans stormed one of the closed-door hearings to jam up the proceedings last month. And GOP members tried to force an Oversight Committee hearing to adjourn because it was taking place at the same time as one of the depositions.

“Leader McCarthy, Ranking Member Nunes and Jim Jordan are taking preparation efforts to heightened levels with a work-around-the-clock mentality,” Rep. Mark Meadows told POLITICO. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

The stakes couldn’t be higher for either party. Democrats, for the first time publicly, will try to make their case to the American people that the president deserves to be removed from office. And Trump is leaning on the nine Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee to serve as his first line of defense and act as a counterweight to Chairman Adam Schiff of California.

"They shouldn’t be having public hearings. This is a hoax," Trump told reporters Friday on the White House lawn.

Yet even as Trump dismisses the impeachment hearings, Republicans know the president will be watching closely.

To bolster Trump’s public defense, House Minority Leader McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Friday temporarily assigned Rep. Jordan (R-Ohio) to the House Intelligence Committee, which has emerged as ground zero for impeachment and will lead the televised hearings that kick off on Wednesday.

The first open impeachment hearing will feature testimony from William Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of State. Democrats are trying to show Trump conditioned military aid to Ukraine on investigations into his political rivals, including the Bidens.

“Jim Jordan has been on the front lines in the fight for fairness and truth,” McCarthy said in a statement. “His addition will ensure more accountability and transparency in this sham process.”

Jordan is the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, which has been one of the three committees conducting the closed-door depositions with impeachment witnesses. Many Republicans see Jordan as a capable messenger and effective questioner. And some House Republicans have expressed frustration that several Republicans on the Intelligence Committee have not been participating in all the depositions, unlike Jordan and some of Trump’s other top allies.

“You want your best contributors for ‘showtime.’ Driving public opinion is key to many — on both sides of the aisle,” one GOP lawmaker said. “Jordan is definitely a showman.”

The roster shakeup is sure to please Trump, who has urged Republicans to “get tough and fight” harder for him in the impeachment battle. Yet because of the impeachment rules approved by the House, Jordan will get only one five-minute round of questioning, unless other rank-and-file members yield their time to him.

Nunes (R-Calif.), the ranking member on the Intelligence panel, will get at least one 45-minute round of questioning, but can only yield his time to staffers.

That’s why Republicans also added Steve Castor, the Oversight Committee's chief investigative counsel who has been leading the Republican questioning during the closed-door depositions, to the House Intelligence Committee as a shared staffer.

Aside from adjusting their lineup of lawmakers on the Intelligence panel, Republicans also called their own witnesses for the hearings — but those requests are subject to a veto from Schiff and Democrats on the committee.

On Saturday, the GOP released their witness list, which includes the Ukraine whistleblower, Hunter Biden and his business partner. The wish list suggests Republicans plan to sow seeds of doubt about the origins of the impeachment probe and attack the Bidens as a way to justify Trump's push for investigations from Ukraine.

“You want your best contributors for ‘showtime.’ Driving public opinion is key to many — on both sides of the aisle. Jordan is definitely a showman.” A GOP lawmaker

The GOP also requested several of the impeachment witnesses who were already deposed by House investigators, a request that is more likely to be approved.

“This inquiry is not, and will not serve, however, as a vehicle to undertake the same sham investigations into the Bidens or 2016 that the President pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit, or to facilitate the President’s effort to threaten, intimidate, and retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously raised the initial alarm," Schiff wrote in a statement.

Republicans have been ramping up efforts to out the whistleblower in hopes of painting the person as politically motivated and undermining the whole complaint.

Democrats have warned Republicans' fixation on the whistleblower is both irrelevant — because the person's account has been largely corroborated — and dangerous, since outing the person's identity could expose them to security risks.

During the televised hearings, Republicans are also expected to emphasize that none of the impeachment witnesses heard directly from Trump that there was a quid pro quo — a way to put distance between Trump and any potential wrongdoing. They also plan to highlight that the aid did eventually flow to Ukraine without the investigations ever being opened.

“The Democrats have been extremely creative in connecting the dots between witnesses and motives without any firsthand accounts being used,” said Meadows, who has repeatedly argued that there is “no linkage” between the president and a quid pro quo.

Republicans may also try to argue Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory pushed by Trump and his allies. During the impeachment depositions, Nunes focused some of his questioning on the so-called Steele dossier from the Russia probe — a largely unverified document containing salacious accusations against the president.

And the GOP's witness list includes Nellie Ohr, who is married to Justice Department official Bruce Ohr. Her husband's relationship with former British spy Christopher Steele has been raised repeatedly by Republicans.

“The Democrats disagree that the Steele dossier, I’m assuming, has anything to do with Ukraine or originations in Ukraine. However, in the Steele dossier itself, it does source information from Ukraine. Were you aware of that, ambassador?” Nunes asked Gordon Sondland, Trump's ambassador to the European Union.

“Only recently, based on media reports,” Sondland replied.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.