Privately, some Republicans hope that Trump’s legal defenders mount a substantive defense on the merits of the case instead of generalities about Democrats trying to overturn the 2016 election or broad claims that Trump did “absolutely nothing wrong” — as they did on the first day of the trial…

“The president’s team … has never presented its case since it did not do so in the House,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key swing vote. “Unlike the House managers, who partially presented when the motions were being debated, the president’s attorneys chose not to do that. It’s not finished yet … so it’s difficult to judge”

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said he hopes Trump’s team will present a “fact-based” defense that counters the Democrats’ case.

“I assume at some point they’re going to feature [Alan] Dershowitz and Ken Starr, people like that and talk about impeachment in the broader context of what that threshold is,” he said.