It’s becoming increasingly clear that the end is near in former President Donald Trump‘s hush money trial in Manhattan.

With the defense having nearly wrapped its cross-examination of Michael Cohen — Trump’s former attorney and fixer and a pivotal witness for the prosecution — closing arguments look likely to begin early next week.

As Day 18 of Trump’s criminal proceedings in New York wound down Thursday afternoon, Judge Juan Merchan laid out the road ahead in the heavily scrutinized and historic trial.

“I’m doing everything possible to avoid big breaks,” Merchan said, with Memorial Day weekend looming.

Court is not in session Friday, and there will be no proceedings next Wednesday.

Hashing out the remaining schedule was just one of the big notes hit on Thursday. Here’s what you missed:

Fireworks over a phone call

The most gripping moment came when Blanche became animated while discussing a 2016 phone call during his cross-examination of Cohen — much of which was dedicated to painting Cohen as a dishonest and untrustworthy witness who couldn’t be counted on to accurately detail his dealings with Trump from nearly a decade ago.

The heated courtroom exchange came as Blanche repeatedly pressed Cohen about a phone call he said he had with Trump on Oct. 24, 2016, about the $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels that Cohen facilitated. Daniels alleged she had an affair in 2006 with Trump — which he denies.

Cohen testified he got ahold of Trump through Keith Schiller, Trump’s bodyguard, to “discuss the Stormy Daniels matter and the resolution of it.”

Blanche noted the short nature of the call, roughly 90 seconds, as Cohen had texted Schiller about a teenager he said had been prank calling him — what Blanche insisted was the real subject matter of the call.

Raising his voice, Blanche blasted Cohen’s account of talking to Trump that night, calling it “a lie!”

Cohen said he “believed he was telling the truth, based upon the records and documents” he reviewed.

“We are not asking for your belief,” Blanche snapped back. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”

Blanche also grilled Cohen about the circumstances of his 2018 guilty plea on a series of federal charges related to the Daniels payoff and suggested that Cohen sought to shift blame to others for his problems.

“Do you agree with me that when you plead guilty of a crime and you are lying, that’s not accepting responsibility, is it?” Blanche asked.

“I accepted responsibility and I am suffering the consequences as a result,” Cohen said.

Trump’s allies fill the courtroom

After days in which potential Trump running mates and even the speaker of the House came to attend the trial, Thursday appeared to be the day for much of the far-right House Freedom Caucus to come and show their support for Trump.

Among those present were Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who previously backed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for president, was there as well. So too were Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., and Virginia state Sen. John McGuire — Good’s primary opponent.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who’s one of Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case, was spotted in the court’s overflow room, sitting near reporters. Both Clark and Trump have pleaded not guilty in that case.

Trial’s end draws near

The judge sought clarity from both the defense and prosecution on how much longer they might need with witness testimony before moving to closing arguments. He indicated that he wanted to avoid any extended break between closing arguments and jury deliberations, noting their are several days on the horizon when court will be out of session.

Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said he would likely be done with his cross-examination of Cohen by mid-morning on Monday, adding that the defense would soon notify the judge of any witness plans on their end.

Blanche earlier said that he might call an expert witness if he deems it’s necessary. Court documents show that former Federal Election Commission chair Bradley A. Smith is the defense’s expert witness on file. Smith could speak to the federal election laws that relate to the case.

“We anticipate reaching a decision, at least with respect to any other witness very soon, today,” Blanche said, adding that any additional witnesses would not be testifying for long.

One question Blanche promised to soon clear up: Whether his client will testify. Trump said before to the trial that he would “absolutely“ testify, but has since changed his tune, saying he would do so only if necessary.

“[T]hat’s another decision we need to” make, Blanche said.

With that, the judge told attorneys on both sides to be prepared to begin their closing arguments on Tuesday.