What Went Down On Day 1 Of The Impeachment Hearings

Yeah, Amelia, I’ll add that this opening statement is so far — as should be expected — very foreign policy heavy. If this remains the theme of Kent’s testimony, it may not resonate with Americans who don’t, in general, care that much about foreign policy.

It makes sense to have Kent go first, because he has a longer and broader view about the past few years’ situation in Ukraine. Taylor was only appointed a few months ago, to replace Yovanovitch as the top American diplomat in Ukraine. Taylor’s testimony, on the other hand, may be a little more dramatic because he was included in more conversations about the quid pro quo than Kent. So that’s a reason for Democrats to put him second as well, if they want to build up to his testimony.

Insisting that the whistleblower testify has been a common Republican talking point in the past few weeks. Here are four ways Republicans have been defending Trump, which you might see during the hearing today: