URGENT – McConnell appears to have the votes to set impeachment trial rules without Democratic support

(CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to have the votes to set the ground rules of the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump — without Democrats’ support, according to Republican senators. All McConnell needs is 51 senators — or a simple majority of the 100-member chamber — and several key Republicans. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah have said they back the leader’s approach. This is different than the Senate trial for then-President Bill Clinton in 1999, when the ground rules were set by a 100-0 vote. This time it will likely be approved on a party-line vote.