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But Romney's tactics drew immediate blowback from the right. Appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who is up for election this fall, tweeted that Romney "wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the @realDonaldTrump during their 15 minutes of fame."

Yet it was inarguable that the mood on Capitol Hill has changed drastically since the White House wrapped up two hours of its opening arguments on Saturday. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has been saying for weeks he doesn't want to hear from any witnesses, admitted it "could be" useful to hear from Bolton as long as the Bidens and other GOP-requested witnesses are hauled into the Senate trial, too.

We need to figure out whats best for the court of impeachment, whats best for country. And thats something we will have to consider," Graham said. But he doused the idea of only hearing from Bolton with ice water: "If we add to the record, we need to do it completely."

"It may move the needle," said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). "Im not going to deny its going to change the decibel level and probably the intensity with which we talk about witnesses."

A spokesman for McConnell said he did not have "any advance notice" about Bolton's book manuscript.

Romney added the caveat that he would still need to hear from the White House to make a final decision on whether to consider new witnesses, but hes said all along that he wants to hear from Bolton. He also said he could not say that Bolton's testimony would determine whether he ultimately votes to acquit Trump or not.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who is a key swing vote on witnesses, maintained his stance: He will make a decision on witnesses after the Senate's 16-hour question-and-answer period. At least four Republicans would need to join with all Democrats to advance the question of whether to seek new evidence and hear from witnesses.

So far, McConnell is prevailing. But after being down on their prospects last week, Democrats are wondering whether he could end up having to consider witnesses after all.

Its going to be hard to hold back. I dont know how they do it," said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Theyd be hard pressed not to have at least four or five of our Republican colleagues and friends that would vote for witnesses.

Senate Republicans discussed the news of Boltons conversation with Trump, reported by the New York Times, at a party lunch on Monday. McConnell reminded senators they don't need to make a decision on witnesses until later in the week, said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on Monday afternoon.

As Trump attacked Bolton's credibility, some top Senate Republicans used a variety of arguments to try to downplay the new information from Bolton. Party leaders have been relentlessly arguing that hearing new witnesses could tie up the Senate for weeks if and when Trump exerts executive privilege to block their testimony. Executive privilege generally extends to current staffers, unlike Bolton who Trump fired in September.

We learned nothing new, nothing new," Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), the number three Republican, asserted on Monday morning as Senate GOP leaders prepared to meet. "What weve now seen is a selective leak from a book. This is like Kavanaugh all over again.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), another member of the GOP leadership, said calling new witnesses would set an "incredibly dangerous precedent of frequent impeachments litigated by the Senate.

Im still of the view that the Houses job is to put the case together and they didnt do that. But members might decide its now the Senates job, Blunt said.

Democrats have made a consistent push since the start of the trial to subpoena Bolton, along with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Until Sunday evening, however, it seemed that Trump was on a glide path to acquittal by the end of the week.

But now Senate Republicans are sure to face growing pressure from inside and outside their ranks to justify why they dont want to hear from Bolton, who heard directly from Trump on the Ukraine aid issue. Boltons claims undercut a key argument of Trumps defense, which will hold its second day of opening arguments on Monday afternoon.

Trump's national security adviser from April 2018 to Sept. 2019, Bolton was among top administration officials who urged the president to restore aid to Ukraine. And he's long been respected by the Senate GOP. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) questioned the timing of Bolton's new revelations but didn't attack his credibility: "My guess is John Bolton tells the truth."

Bolton was also very critical of Rudy Giuliani's role in shaping Ukraine policy, calling him a "hand grenade" that would blow up on the White House, according to impeachment testimony from Dr. Fiona Hill, a former top NSC aide. Trump said early Monday that he "never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens."

Republicans "can deny and deny and deny. But Bolton has a credibility that surpasses Rudy Giuliani or Donald Trump, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Heather Caygle, Melanie Zanona and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.

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Bolton upends Republican fight against witnesses - POLITICO