DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS

Taking the spotlight in their bid to impeach President Donald Trump are three key Democratic Party figures: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler.

Ms Pelosi, 79, who often wears a bracelet with a live bullet to commemorate victims of mass shootings, retained the party leadership about a year ago after delivering a comeback for the Democrats in the mid-term election in November last year, in which the party gained a majority in the House.

Fellow Californian congressman, Mr Schiff, 59, began the impeachment inquiry by handing the President the moral advantage when he unwisely paraphrased Mr Trump's July 25 phone call to Ukraine's President, exaggerating the number of times Mr Trump had asked for an investigation of former vice-president Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

"Schiff is right 50 per cent of the time, and the rest of the time he messes up," a Republican analyst told The Straits Times.

Mr Schiff, however, recovered to run the process professionally, unlike New York congressman Jerry Nadler, 72, who a week ago was seen as rushing the impeachment hearing with palpably biased expert witnesses.

REPUBLICANS IN SENATE

If the Senate has to put the President on trial following his impeachment by the House, another veteran, 77-year-old Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will have his chance to run the process in a chamber where the Republicans have a comfortable majority.

Some senators will be watched for whether they deviate from the party line. They include Ms Susan Collins, 67, from Maine, up for reelection next year in a state won by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney, 72, who has been critical of Mr Trump, does not face re-election but is concerned about his legacy. He had called Mr Trump's suggestion that Ukraine investigate the Bidens "troubling in the extreme".

Senator Lisa Murkowski, 62, of Alaska, has expressed qualms over the alleged holding up of aid to Ukraine in exchange for that country investigating the Bidens.

Regardless, a vote to convict the President would expose a Republican senator to attacks from Mr Trump, and losing Republican supporters. Most analysts believe defections will be an exception and, given the Republican majority, the Senate would almost certainly acquit the President.