Donald Trump appears to be finally getting serious about his upcoming impeachment trial.

a man wearing a suit and tie: Butch Bowers served as an attorney in 2009 for Mark Sanford while a state House subcommittee considered the former South Carolina governor's impeachment.© Virginia Postic/AP Photo Butch Bowers served as an attorney in 2009 for Mark Sanford while a state House subcommittee considered the former South Carolina governor's impeachment.

The former president has hired Butch Bowers, a longtime Republican attorney with experience in election law, to represent him when the Senate considers an article of impeachment, likely in a matter of days or weeks.

The hiring comes after Trump opted against building out a war room or communications infrastructure to push back against impeachment when it was considered by the House. The former president had also initially struggled to find someone to lead his impeachment defense, as attorneys who previously represented him declined to sign on for a second trial and suggested his political opponents had a stronger case this time.

“This is political theater and I am neither a politician or an actor. I don’t see a role for me as a lawyer,” said Alan Dershowitz, the Trump-allied attorney who joined Trump’s impeachment defense team last January.