UPDATE: 1:50 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday unveiled last-minute changes to his resolution laying out the rules of the Senate impeachment trial, allowing additional time for opening arguments after several Republican senators objected to the original guidelines.

The new rules allow both sides 24 hours spread over three days not two to present their evidence. The House evidence will also automatically be admitted into the Senate record without a vote.

PREVIOUSLY:

WASHINGTON The third impeachment trial of a U.S. president in history is set to kick off this week in the GOP-controlled Senate, where Republicans have all but promised a swift acquittal of Donald Trump and argued against the inclusion of new evidence and witness testimony during the proceedings.

Before the seven House impeachment managers can begin presenting their evidence, senators must finalize and pass a resolution authored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) laying out the rules governing the trial.

Under the proposed rules, both sides would be allowed 24 hours of opening arguments over just two days beginning Wednesday, followed by a short period of questioning and then a vote on whether to even consider witnesses and additional evidence. If the Senate doesnt allow witnesses, the trial could be over by the end of next week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday blasted McConnells proposed rules, accusing the Republican leader of choosing a cover-up for the President rather than honor his oath to the Constitution.

For weeks, he has insisted that he will adhere to the rules used during the Clinton impeachment trial and that fair is fair but his proposal rejects the need for witnesses and documents during the trial itself, Pelosi said in a statement .

In contrast, for the Clinton trial, witnesses were deposed and the President provided more than 90,000 documents, she added.

The seven House impeachment managers, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), echoed Pelosis disproval.

A White House-driven and rigged process, with a truncated schedule designed to go late into the night and further conceal the Presidents misconduct, is not what the American people expect or deserve, they said in a statement .