'He thought it was going to be a disaster'

IMPEACHMENT. 2020 ELECTION. WASHINGTON. AND MORE FROM THE POLITICS WORLD.

Wednesday, November 6

Bill Taylor, the highest ranking U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, arrives on Capitol Hill on Oct. 22, 2019.

The first public hearings have been scheduled. We have Bill Taylor's transcript. And the White House has new hires to handle the impeachment inquiry.

Hi, OnPolitics readers! Yes, this is your usual daily impeachment update ... but before we get to that drama (oh, and there's drama), let's look at the elections that happened yesterday. We're here to talk politics, after all.

Takeaways from Tuesday's elections

•	Blue in Virginia: For the first time in nearly a generation, all the levers of power in Virginia are in the hands of Democrats. The Dems already occupied the top three statewide offices - governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general - before Tuesday's election. Now they also run the House of Delegates and the Senate, which they captured by flipping key suburban seats Tuesday.
•	Red in Mississippi: Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' won against Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, which means that the GOP will control all statewide elected offices in Mississippi and are expected to maintain super-majority control of the Legislature.
•	Who even knows in Kentucky: To cap off one of the wildest finishes to a gubernatorial election in Kentucky history, Democratic candidate Andy Beshear declared victory to supporters Tuesday night, moments after Republican incumbent Matt Bevin told supporters that he will not concede the race. As of 4:30 pm E.T., the Bevin campaign had formally asked for a recanvass of Kentucky.

And now, the stuff you're really here for.

The White House buckles up for public inquiries

As House Democrats scheduled impeachment hearings for next week, the White House said it plans to bring on two new staff members - a lawyer and a spokesman - to deal with the investigation. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and former U.S. Treasury Department spokesman Tony Sayegh are expected to work on "proactive impeachment messaging and other special projects as they arise," said a White House statement.

Ambassador Bill Taylor's transcript paints quite a picture

•	Taylor, the top American diplomat in Ukraine, told lawmakers that Ukraine's Secretary of National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Danyliuk told him on July 20 that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky "did not want to be used as a pawn in the U.S. re-election campaign."
•	When asked why Zelensky expressed concerns about his role, Taylor said: "I think it was becoming clear to the Ukrainians that, in order to get this meeting that they wanted, they would have to commit to pursuing these investigations."
•	Former National Security Adviser John Bolton "was not interested" in setting up the call between Trump and Zelensky on July 25 "because he thought it was going to be a disaster," Taylor told lawmakers.

Read the entire transcript here, if you'd like.

You heard right - public hearings have been scheduled

The first public impeachment inquiry hearings will be held on Nov. 13 with none other than Taylor ... and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch will testify publicly on Nov. 15.

The no-show list lengthens

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, State Department counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl and Undersecretary of State for political affairs David Hale were scheduled to appear Wednesday, but Hale was the only witness to show up.

For more, check out USA TODAY's live blog.

If you've had enough of this, it's time for a drink. Oh, and tell your friends to sign up to get OnPolitics in their inbox.

- Until tomorrow. Cheers!