When I first heard the 12 hour day rule, I though that was something that none of the Senators would want. Giving in on that was easy. As for admitting the House evidence, it was going to have to come in at some point, now McConnell made it look like he is trying to be fair.
Imagine now, the media is reporting how fair McConnell is, just as the Democrats are trying to portray the Senate as unfair. Well played, Mitch!
This was likely a bi-partisan rules change. Nobody wanted to miss out on cocktail hours.