The Note: Impeachment consensus emerges around speed -- and little else

The TAKE with Rick Klein

The basic facts aren't actually in serious question around the impending impeachment of President Donald Trump. But virtually everything about what those facts mean is under sharp dispute -- leading to mirror-image calculations around the political fallout.

Despite the slow-going inside the Judiciary Committee, with its detours into Burisma and Hunter Biden and talk of pots and kettles, impeachment is actually likely to move quickly from here. That's a sign more of nervousness than confidence -- inside both parties, actually.

It's telling that Democrats are more worried about defections than Republicans. Without apparent exception, even retiring Republicans seem ready to oppose impeachment; contrast that with Democrats in GOP-leaning districts who want to keep their jobs, and aren't so sure they should be on record trying to get Trump out of his.

"People have to come to their own conclusions," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday when asked about the pressure, or lack thereof, being applied by leadership to rank-and-file Democrats.

This stretch for the history books will record significant uncertainty about the political import of an exercise where both parties are eager to fast-forward to the ending. Perhaps the only thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on regarding the Trump impeachment is the eagerness to move on to something else.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

If Friday's vote is straight down party lines as expected, it could be seen as less exciting, but it will not be less historic.

Should the vote pass, it would be only the fourth time in the nation's history that members of Congress have formally drafted and advanced to the full House written articles of impeachment condemning the actions of a sitting president.

For those members in the House Judiciary Committee who place votes Friday morning, there will be no turning back. A vote is a vote -- a historic statement on the record.

Of course, this week will also be a moment for the president. While pros and cons of policy decisions he made in his first term will be debated for decades, and perceptions of him and his choices will invariably change with time, his legacy will have an asterisk due to this impeachment process as well.

It is up to him to decide how to respond to this moment, if at all. He has yet to show much interest thus far in reaching across the aisle or moderating his politics.

He can walk back, reign in or continue remarks -- off-handed, glib or otherwise -- about having foreign governments like China and Ukraine work with his personal lawyer to look into Americans he finds corrupt.

His decision will be his historic statement.

The TIP with Will Steakin

In a rare moment, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner weighed in on the political landscape looking ahead to 2020 on Thursday, making an argument against Democrats that's seemingly popped up more and more recently.

"We don't see anyone who can put together the Obama coalition," Kushner, who's also Trump's son-in-law, told reporters. The comment echoes fears some Democrats have expressed regarding the current primary field.

The White House adviser also boasted about Trump's reshaping and hold on the Republican Party, arguing that the president even appeals to former Democrats, like himself.

"I was not a Republican," Kushner said to reporters during a briefing. "Now I'm a Republican. I think the Republican Party is growing now that people like me feel comfortable being part of it."

Trump's full backing from the Republican Party, and Republican support generally, is a focal point heading into the campaign. A senior campaign adviser even argued Thursday that Trump had transformed the GOP from the "wine and cheese party" to the "beer and blue jeans party."

ONE MORE THING

Some top aides to President Trump appear to be warming to the idea of a short impeachment trial in the Senate and possibly not calling any witnesses at all, multiple sources familiar with internal deliberations told ABC News. The approach runs counter to what Trump has advocated publicly and what some aides have discussed, but according to sources familiar with discussions, the thinking inside the White House has begun to morph following the release of two articles of impeachment that appear more limited in scope than the White House had anticipated.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Friday morning's episode features ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce on what's next in the impeachment process. Then, a look at the results from Britain's high-stakes general election with ABC News Foreign Correspondent James Longman. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

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The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back Monday for the latest.