President Trump has opted against pressuring Senate Republicans to immediately dismiss articles of impeachment, sparing the party the prospect of a clash at the outset of an election year.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone signaled during a Thursday meeting with key Senate Republicans that Trump has concluded he has more to gain politically from presenting a detailed defense at trial than from no trial at all, said GOP sources familiar with the discussion.

That decision should shield Senate Republicans from the damaging backlash from the conservative base that might ensue — at the onset of GOP primary season — if Trump demands that they use their 53-seat majority to shield him from an impeachment trial.