with help from Andrew Desiderio and Marianne LeVine

THE TRIAL FILES -- Pressure is building on the Senate GOP to haul in impeachment witnesses — and they’re searching for a relief valve. During a closed-door lunch yesterday, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) proposed the idea of a witness swap, in which both Democrats and Republicans would each get a witness in the trial. The idea — which wasn’t well received by either party — had been kicking around the GOP for weeks, but Toomey pitched the proposal after the NYT reported that John Bolton’s book will say President Trump tied military aid to investigations from Ukraine. WaPo’s Robert Costa with the story: https://wapo.st/2O1QkVK.

The Bolton revelations dropped a grenade right into the middle of the impeachment trial, putting Republicans on edge and renewing Democratic hopes for witnesses. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) predicted it will “strengthen the case” for witnesses, while Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said it is “increasingly likely that other Republicans will join” the push to hear from Bolton. But a fourth Republican voice demanding to hear from witnesses has yet to emerge. Still, Romney “made a strong pitch” for witnesses during Monday’s GOP Senate lunch, report Burgess and Bres. Much more on Mitt’s moment: https://politi.co/2U0mwML.

Congressional Republicans were caught off guard by the Bolton bombshell — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t even get a heads up about the manuscript — and their responses showed it. Republicans were all over the map in responding to the revelations, with some trying to undermine Bolton as a “disgruntled” employee who is trying to sell books, others dismissing the revelations as “nothing new” and some comparing the entire saga to the bitter confirmation fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Heather and Kyle with the dispatch: https://politi.co/2vsy4yi.

The Bolton drama dominated hallway chatter and press conferences on Monday. But one group not talking about Bolton? Trump’s defense team. With just a few passing references to the former national security adviser — and only one by name — the White House instead turned the Senate floor into a virtual impeachment of Joe Biden and Barack Obama, throwing some read meat to Trump’s allies and the political base. Trump’s lawyers sought to legitimize the Biden allegations and argue that Democrats set a standard with their impeachment charges that would have resulted in similar efforts to oust Obama. Kyle and Andrew break down day two of the White House’s arguments: https://politi.co/3aOUOsn.

Related reads: “Republicans show little enthusiasm for impeachment witness swap,” by The Hill’s Jordain Carney: http://bit.ly/2U1z72s; and “Key Senate Democrat says Trump team made ‘persuasive’ argument against obstruction article,” by USA TODAY’s Christal Hayes: http://bit.ly/2Rxn7Ut.

BAD FOR BIDEN? -- The Senate impeachment trial isn’t exactly good news for Trump. But Senate Republicans say it’s also going to hurt former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 bid. Trump’s lawyers Pam Bondi and Eric Herschmann spent a significant amount of time Monday arguing Biden should be investigated for corruption — prompting Republicans to raise questions about Biden’s viability. “Iowa caucuses are this next Monday evening and I’m really interested to see how this discussion today informs and influences the Iowa caucus voters. Those Democratic caucus goers, will they be supporting vice president Biden at this point?” asked Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

The Biden campaign and Senate Democrats are pushing back vehemently against the attacks on the former vice president and his son. Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for Biden, said Bondi was doing nothing more than spreading conspiracy theories. “We didn’t realize that Breitbart was expanding into Ted Talk knockoffs. Here on planet Earth, the conspiracy theory that Bondi repeated has been conclusively refuted,” Bates said in a statement. “Joe Biden was instrumental to a bipartisan and international anti-corruption victory. It’s no surprise that such a thing is anathema to President Trump.” Marianne with the story: https://politi.co/2uAPqbU.

GEORGIA ON MY MIND -- Rep. Doug Collins — the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee — plans to run for a Senate seat in Georgia, report your Huddle host, James Arkin and Bres. Collins’ expected entry in the race likely tees up a nasty intraparty battle in the GOP, since Collins will be challenging newly appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) for the post. As you’ll recall, Gov. Brian Kemp tapped Loeffler for the seat late last year after Sen. Johnny Isakson retired for health reasons. But Trump had lobbied Kemp to appoint Collins, who has been one of the president’s top defenders in the impeachment battle. Collins even reached out to the White House about launching a potential bid, according to a GOP official.

But Loeffler has been taking steps to show her loyalty to Trump amid buzz that Collins would be getting into the race. Yesterday, she attacked Romney, a frequent Trump critic, over his support for impeachment witnesses. Loeffler also signed her name to a resolution to dismiss the impeachment charges if the House didn’t send them over. And in another show of strength, Loeffler has promised to pour $20 million of her own money into the race. The story: https://politi.co/37xJUVL.

Some Republicans are already picking sides. While Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) didn’t call out Collins by name, she made clear that she backs Loeffler in the race. “Our party needs to do more than talk about supporting strong conservative women. We need to DO it.@kloeffler is pro life, pro gun and pro Trump,” tweeted Blackburn. “I’m proud to stand with Kelly. It’s time to support strong conservative women. Not oppose them.”

Related read: “Bill to create partisan primary for US Senate race advances,” via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse: http://bit.ly/2t1PBfK.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, January 28, where you can all stop doing the #DollyPartonChallenge, because Sen. Jon Tester just shut it down.

MONDAY’S MOST CLICKED: The big winner was Andrew, Kyle and Meridith McGraw’s preview on how Bolton could become a turning point in the trial.

BACK TO THE KITCHEN TABLE -- The House Democratic campaign arm is dropping $1 million on a bilingual ad campaign that tears into Mitch McConnell and House Republicans for “blocking bills that would lower drug costs and insurance premiums,” Ally Mutnick reports for Pros. Democrats feel like they won back the House majority in 2018 because they ran on kitchen table issues like health care. But there have been growing concerns, especially among front-liners, that Democrats are getting hammered by the GOP with impeachment attack ads this cycle.

DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos, however, said the health care ad buy is not a response to the GOP attacks. “This is no direct response to anything that the Republicans are doing,” Bustos told reporters during a conference call. “They’ve got a losing message on impeachment. We know it’s not working.” As Ally notes, the spots do not specifically mention any Democratic freshman by name and are not slated to run in markets that correspond to the most endangered members who have seen the most outside spending in their district.

Related read: “NRCC hires new senior adviser amid 2020 worries,” via Alex Isenstadt: https://politi.co/37vVKA0.

MCCARTHY ON MTR’S -- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is pushing back against Democratic efforts to hamper the GOP’s ability to use procedural tactics on the floor this week. In a letter to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, McCarthy asked the Democratic leader to reconsider his party’s strategy. “Simply put, this is wrong—and I believe you know it to be in bad faith,” McCarthy wrote in the letter, obtained by POLITICO. “In fact, we are unaware of the House ever debating matters of war and peace in such an unprecedented, irregular, and restrictive way.”

The House will vote Thursday on a pair of measures to crack down on Trump’s war powers, but Democrats have teed them up in a way that prevents Republicans from amending the legislation with a “motion to recommit.” Democrats are hoping to avoid an embarrassing repeat of last year, when Republicans forced the House into a do-over on a major bill on Yemen war powers because of procedural tactics. The latest from your Huddle host: https://politi.co/2O6oJT4.

VAN DREW NEWS -- GOP congressional candidate David Richter, who was supposed to face off against Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) in a primary, has decided to run in a different district, reports Matt Friedman. Van Drew switched parties last year after House Democrats followed through with impeachment and he quickly earned the backing of Trump, making Richter’s path to Congress more difficult.

But now, Richter will avoid the tough primary battle and seek his fortunes in a nearby district. “I’ve made my decision. I am going to step aside from the 2nd District race,” Richter, the former CEO of the construction consulting firm Hill International, said in a phone interview, adding that he is endorsing Van Drew. The latest: https://politi.co/2RwJx8m.

Related read: “Trump and Jeff Van Drew are coming to Wildwood at a moment of uncertainty for them both,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Pranshu Verma, Jonathan Tamari and Amy S. Rosenberg: http://bit.ly/30WVCXN.

IT’S FUN TO STAY AT THE U-S-M-C-A -- Trump will sign his signature trade deal with Canada and Mexico at the White House on Wednesday, after winning over Democrats and muscling the pact through Congress. But notably, the administration has some left key House Democrats off the guest list for the USMCA signing ceremony, per Jake Sherman, Sarah and Heather.

“It’s a little petty of him,” said Rep. Henry Cueller (D-Texas), referring to the president. “Actually, there were more Democrats who voted in favor than Republicans in the House side.” The full rundown in Playbook: https://politi.co/2U3gI5p.

CORONAVIRUS CONTINGENCY PLAN -- Freshman Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) has asked the FAA and Center for Disease Control and Prevention if they have “contingency plans” for the air travel restrictions that were put in place in response to the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China.

“Businesses in Minnesota and around our country rely on regular travel between our nation and many of those nations affected, including China. While I appreciate your work in protecting public health, I think it is important to remain calm while being vigilant,” he wrote. “As soon as possible, please provide the Minnesota delegation with any contingency plans your organizations have in response to this growing public health concern.”

TRANSITIONS

Prism Group has added Lucas White as a senior associate. He previously interned with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.).

Justine Sanders, who was deputy press secretary for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), has begun a new role as Rep. Chuck Fleischmann’s (R-Tenn.) communications director.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House gavels in at 10 a.m., with first and last votes expected between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Today’s agenda: http://bit.ly/37xReAN.

The Senate reconvenes at 1 p.m. and resumes sitting as a court of impeachment for the trial of Trump. The president’s defense team will conclude their presentation.

AROUND THE HILL

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) hold a news conference on the impeachment trial at 11 a.m. in the Senate Studio.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds his weekly pen and pad briefing with reporters at 11 a.m. in H-107.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) hold a news conference on travel to Poland and Israel to commemorate 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz at 1 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

TRIVIA

MONDAY’S WINNER: Dave Trahan was the first person to guess that Thad Stevens was one of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment managers who served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

TODAY’S QUESTION: From Dave: Who is the first United States official to be impeached by the House and tried in the Senate? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way at [email protected].

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