"He wants to be able to bring up witnesses like Adam Schiff, like the whistleblower, like Hunter Biden, like Joe Biden," said Hogan Gidley, principal deputy press secretary for the White House.

On Thursday morning, a group of Republican senators met with White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to discuss strategy for a potential Senate trial which would likely take place in January, according to Politico.

Two attendees said that the White House wants the Senate to hold a trial of some length and not immediately dismiss any articles of impeachment with the GOP's majority, as some Republicans have suggested.

The White House and Trump's GOP allies decided instead "they want some kind of factual affirmative defense on the merits," said one attendee.

One attendee noted that the White House wants to show a commitment to due process, particularly since Republicans have criticized House Democrats for how they've conducted their impeachment proceedings.