With key votes ahead in the impeachment trial, North Carolina’s two U.S. senators - both Republicans - are weighing in on next steps.

Sen. Thom Tillis says he does not support a motion to call additional witnesses as part of the impeachment trial, and he plans to vote against removing President Donald Trump.

Sen. Richard Burr, meanwhile, indicated he agrees with an argument from the White House defense team that the allegations the president is facing do not rise to the level of removal from office.

Sen. Tillis on Witnesses

With a vote expected later this week on a motion to call witnesses as part of the trial, Tillis told reporters Wednesday he plans to vote 'no.'

Tillis argued that if Democrats wanted to hear from certain witnesses, they should have done it as part of their investigation over in the House.

“They get an ‘F’ for the work that they’ve done so far. I’m not going to reward them with taking more time in the U.S. Senate,” he said.

Over the weekend, The New York Times published a report that John Bolton, the former national security advisor, will reveal in his forthcoming book that Mr. Trump linked aid to Ukraine to investigations into Democrats like the Bidens.

For weeks, Democrats in the House and Senate have pushed to hear from Bolton.

When asked why he did not want to bring in Bolton as part of the trial, given that Bolton has indicated he has things to say, Tillis criticized the House’s handling of the impeachment investigation.

“Explain to me why they didn’t go through the process of subpoenaing him, challenging privilege if it was asserted, coming up with an accommodation,” he said. “All the things the Founding Fathers envisioned and that are in the Constitution and rights and privileges that the House chose not to exercise.”

Democrats have argued that the White House stonewalled their efforts to hear from certain key witnesses as part of the House probe.

Sen. Tillis on Removing the President

In December, Tillis called himself a “definite no” on removing Mr. Trump. That position has not changed.

“He has not been charged with having committed a crime. He hasn’t. It’s not in Article I, it’s not in Article II,” he said.

He indicated he agrees with an argument made by a member of the White House defense team - Alan Dershowitz - that the allegations against the president do not warrant removal.

Sen. Burr on Next Steps

On Tuesday, Burr also expressed agreement with Dershowitz’s argument.

“I think Alan Derschowitz said very well last night: ‘You blew it, House managers. The articles that you presented to the Senate don’t rise to the level of removal from office,’" he said. “So you may have impeached the president, great. They don’t rise to the level of removal. And if this Senate did it, then look out in the future. Every president will go through this.”

He made the comments during an interview on Pat McCrory's radio show on WBT Radio.

Burr also appeared to downplay The New York Times report.

“The hearsay that John Bolton or anybody else may bring to this is irrelevant, because even if the president said this, it does not raise to the level of removal from office, which is a sacred thing, because the American people have duly elected him,” he said.