Ambassador William B. Taylor (pictured) is a career diplomat. He was appointed by George W. Bush to be the ambassador to Ukraine in 2006. He retired after being replaced in that post by President Obama. After Ambassador Yovanovitch was forced out by the Trump administration, he was asked to come out of retirement and again be the ambassador to Ukraine.
No Republican can claim Taylor is some kind of "deep state Democrat". He is an honest man trusted by them to do the job properly in Ukraine.
But his testimony before Congress was devastating for the Trump administration. He told the truth -- and that truth may well be the "smoking gun" that proves a "quid pro quo" did exist. It could be the information that assures Donald Trump will be impeached -- and if there are some honest Republicans left in the Senate, even removed from office.
Here are some quotes from Ambassador Taylor's opening statement to Congress: