What happens next?

The Senate is taking a quick break to get themselves organised -- and thank goodness. This is quite the turn of events. 

When they return, we expect they'll open a period of debate on whether to call the first witness, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. The vote on whether to subpoena her will again be decided by a simple majority. 

If the vote passes, which feels likely, the Senate would then adjourn for the day, giving Beutler, the House managers and the defence time to prepare. 

Why Beutler? 

The quiet Republican Representative jumped into the spotlight late last night, after a few undecided Republicans seemed to seek clarity on what Trump knew during the riot. The question of Trump's state of mind emerged as a key point for those undecided Republicans. 

Just a few minutes after the trial adjourned for the day, CNN broke a story regarding a phone call with Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump. 

The CNN story claims the pair got into a shouting match as the riot was unfolding, with McCarthy begging the then-President to call off the rioters and Trump responding rather coldly. 

Beutler was one of the Representatives quoted in the article who had a firsthand account of the phone call. She issued a statement affirming the account. 

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Why would the House managers call her and not someone with more direct knowledge of Trump's state of mind -- like McCarthy himself?

I think it's because Herrera Beutler would be a friendly witness. As a moderate rank-and-file figure, she has far less at stake than someone like McCarthy, who first seemed to blame Trump for the riot and then later traveled down to Mar-a-lago to directly ask for Trump's support in upcoming elections. 

But expect the Republican senators planning to acquit to get hung up on that question. 

It's about to get politically messy.