Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) is said to be proposing the idea of Republicans offering their Democrat colleagues a “one-for-one” witness swap in the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

Toomey has floated a possible trade during discussions with several senators in the past week, three unnamed Republicans told the Washington Post.

The Post reports:

Toomey has confided to GOP senators that proposing a “one-for-one” deal with Senate Democrats may be necessary at some point, particularly with pressure mounting for witnesses to be called, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

…

The proposal also came up in private conversations at Monday’s closed Senate GOP lunch, according to the officials and a Senate aide briefed on the meeting.

Toomey, who is not up for reelection until 2022, is close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). He is not close with the president or top aides in the White House.

McConnell, however, is so far discouraging Toomey’s suggestion from becoming the party’s position. Instead, he told Senate Republicans during Monday’s lunch to wait on any witness deal proposal until after Trump’s legal team is done making its defense on the Senate floor, underscoring a position he has held for weeks, the officials said.

It is unclear who or if Toomey has particular witnesses in mind for testimony. Republicans in the House and Senate have called for testimony from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), former Vice President Joe Biden, his youngest son, Hunter Biden, as well as the so-called “whistleblower,” whose complaint sparked the House Democrats’ impeachment effort in September.

The development comes as Democrats are renewing their call to hear from former National Security Advisor John Bolton, whose upcoming book claims that President Trump sought to tie U.S. military aid to Ukraine to investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden, according to a New York Times report. The Bidens face ongoing allegations of corruption regarding their dealings with Ukraine.

As Breitbart News reported:

Hunter Biden was paid “as much as $50,000 per month in some months” as a board member of Burisma Holdings, a natural gas firm owned by a member of the Ukrainian oligarchy.

Vice President Biden was heavily involved in mediating U.S. policy towards Ukraine. When a Ukrainian prosecutor launched a corruption investigation into the energy company Hunter Biden was board member of, Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to the country if the Ukrainian government did not fire the prosecutor. As John Solomon of The Hillreported, Biden’s threat would have thrown the former Soviet republic into insolvency at a time when Ukraine was fending off threats from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

In a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, the former vice president bragged about his successful use of these strong-arm tactics to get the prosecutor fired, saying that he told the Ukrainians, “If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.” Biden then boasted, “Well, son of a bitch, he got fired.”

The Times’ report has also prompted moderate Republicans such as Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to signal further interest in Bolton appearing before lawmakers.

“I think with the story that came out yesterday, it’s increasingly apparent it would be important to hear from John Bolton,” Romney told reporters. “I, of course, will make a final decision on witnesses after we’ve heard from not only the prosecution but also the defense. But I think at this stage it’s pretty fair to say that John Bolton has a relevant testimony to provide to those of us who are sitting in impartial justice.”

In a separate statement, Murkowski said she was “curious” what the former Trump official had to say about the recent alleged revelations.

“I stated before that I was curious as to what John Bolton might have to say. From the outset, I’ve worked to ensure this trial would be fair and that members would have the opportunity to weigh in after its initial phase to determine if we need more info,” she said. “I’ve also said there is an appropriate time for us to evaluate whether we need additional information —that time is almost here. I look forward to the White House wrapping up presentation of its case.”

Earlier Monday, President Trump denied the Times’ report in an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the allegations unequivocally “false.”