mitch mcconnell is always looking two or three years down the line. warren is sort of the face of the party where her states don't line up. that maybe a good move so while elizabeth warren was energized d raises mon and is enlarged by the progressive left by what's happening. >> mcconnell is setting up warren as a fixture that republicans can run against. it is peeling back the layers of senate strategy. >> eli, in the film of "absence of malice." we know senator mcconnell is the wise and old guy, is he that smart? >> i don't know if he's that smart. i am not buying the theory that this is a plot making warren front and center. she may already be that. i don't think that's what happened. mitch mcconnell gave warren and democrats of a slogan of his words you can put on t-shirts. she persisted of a hashtag that's already on twitter. that does not change the fact that jeff sessions is now the attorney general and you know democrats can think back to november when they learned, you know, pretty painfully, you have to offer voters something more than simpl

they're not archaic, mitch mcconnell was enforcing them. we've seen the senate going down this road. and i heard one senator apologizing, and harry reid campaigning from the senate floor when he was attacking mitt romney in 2012 and again, of course, donald trump. that's against senate rule. it's been out of control for a long time and happy to see the majority leader enforce it. >> and it's not only the republicans, democratic senator joe manchin warned the senate could, quote, his words, disintegrate if senators don't change their bitter partisanship. >> let's be clear about one thing. senator elizabeth warren was setting herself up for a presidential run and that's it. that's the reason she did what she did. that's in herself interest and that was all. reco regarding the senate, it's the greate greatest deliberative body. when harry reid changed the rules in 2013 invoking the nuclear option and warn republicans, i don't think that they should invoke the nuclear operation recording president trump's supreme court nominee. i think they sho

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we'll have to see how mitch mcconnell responds. you heard the president saying ultimately it is up to the senate majority leader how he wants to proceed and, of course, in order to gauge that, he'll have to see how democrats respond. but democrats already threatening to filibuster this vote. they are fuming because president obama's pick for the supreme court to replace antonin scalia never got a hearing. so that's part of what is at the root of this. democrats also make the argument they feel as though judge gorsuch is too conservative on various points. so you will see that come into play on the broader debate. again, the president really drawing the battle lines here, andrea. >> and kasie hunt, already i saw one of your notes that there were seven democts saying that they would vote for him. they need eight to block. but if this does reach a fight over whether it should be a filibuster or a simple majority, ultimately the republicans will win. they have certainly 51 votes. it's just that it's something that neither side really w

that's a hell of a question for mitch mcconnell. >> reporter: it is, and look, i mean, mitch mcconnell is a guy -- i think there are competing impulses for mitch mcconnell, specifically, i mean, forget donald trump in this particular instance because there is on the one hand somebody who has devoted his entire life, most of his adult life, to this senate. and he angry harry reid, then the democratic leader changed the rules on almost everything else except supreme court nominees. he's also incredibly -- he's an incredible hard-nosed strategic political tactician on the other hand. the reality is the politics have changed up here over the course of the last decades and pretty sharply just in the last ten years. and i think he's trying to take that into account as well and i have to say, from conversations i've had up here over the course of the last day, it sounds like he's leaning in that direction. when i talked to republicans, they say one way or the other, gorsuch is going to get confirmed and in that i hear, hey, we've been talking to leaders and, you know what, if we can convince

mitch mcconnell is an ultimate insider. he's a pro. the sort of guy said to younger members and had it said to me let them relax, it's much better than drawing attention. it's like mitch mcconnell was either pushed by sessions to do this or maybe he got a call from the white house to do it but it was short-sided and stupid and it is another big win for elizabeth warren because of their own missteps. >> mitch mcconnell told nbc news, a spokesman said elizabeth warren, i can't say this with a straight face, had been warned many times. >> had been warned many times? >> and then said, yet she per s -- persisted to which she said, you're damn right. >>> we are waiting word from the federal court president trump's executive order will go forward barring people from entering the country. judges for washington and minnesota challenging the ban and defended their arguments in a telephone hearing with judges on the ninth circuit. the trump administration attorneys were pressed for why this month's long vetting procedures already in place were in

but my view of this, not only mitch mcconnell and the senate in general. they will seat this nominee. and i think the democrats know that. and i think they are frightened of the prospect of what the majority leader may do. i hope it doesn't come to that. i don't want to change the filibuster rule. i suppose that he will. i hope that he does. what an outstanding nominee. this is someone i think is very, very difficult to oppose. lou: i couldn't agree more. congressman, come back soon. up next, president trump taking aim at what he calls the dishonest left-wing media. >> they are so biased and really it's a disgrace. some of the media are fantastic and fair. but so much of the media is opposition party. knowingly saying incorrect things. lou: the media opposition party. we take that up and much more here next. my business was built with passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark

it's a completely uncivil place that i don't know mitch mcconnell can repair even if he wants to. i'm not sure we want to repair it until after gorsuch is confirmed. >> tucker: it's an uncivil country out all of a sudden. you wrote a book on the fourth way, what's the fourth way? >> the fourth way is a succession to big government, ronald reagan's attempt to roll it back, tony blair and bill clinton's two rebranded, the fourth way is to merge it with what donald trump wants to do infrastructure, a 350 ship navy which i think he should get, the wall which i think you should get, regulatory reform. and reagan republicanism. paul ryan republicanism, we need entitlement reform. "the fourth way" is a merger of the two brands of republicanism out there. of president trump one, he should get what he wants. paul ryan is actually the soul is our ideology and big reforms on the entitlement side and that's the way to do it, merge them. >> tucker: if those groups can live together, that would be formidable, thanks a lot for the spread of >> always a pleasure, send your last guest a copy of th

mitch mcconnell cut into our time. please come back. >> thank you. >> thanks so much. >>> coming up, democrats want briefings on what michael flynn told the fbi. we're going to go live to capitol hill to talk to senator gary petters. >>> president trump wants to relive the old days of the campaign trail. he'll be holding his first rally paid for by the campaign since taking office. this weekend in florida, some thousand-plus days until the 2020 election. >>> vice president pence is on his way to a security conference in germany where he and other members of the trump administration will face questions about russia from america's allies. we'll be right back. we've done welln life, with help from our advisor, we made it through many market swings. sure we could travel, take it easy... but we've never been the type to just sit back... not when we've got so much more to give when you have the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. ameriprise have you any wool?eep, no sir, no sir, some nincompoop stole all my wool

it is not. >> [imitating mitch mcconnell] i am mitch mcconnell. >> so much has happened. needless to say, long days, short weeks. >> used to say that. >> i used to. i do not say that as much, my days are not as long. >> thanks for that. >> well done. greg gutfeld is seriously the brother i never wanted. okay. there is a 200-day agenda. he started to lay it out. maybe in the media, they have looked at it, the progress so far and said, there are no 1000-page bills that are expanding the roles and the size of government, there for they are not doing anything. which would not be the case. >> four weeks and five hours into a presidency, we have a media that is focusing on this little event or the constant back and forth he has with the media. but when you peel that away, look at what else is going on. talks about the regulations rolled back, which he did. we have tens of thousands of jobs committed to staying here, tens of billions if not hundreds of billions of dollars in committed investments. stock market is up 10% since he has been elected. consumer confidence at 6-year hi

had a chance to nominate somebody mitch mcconnell said, no way, donald trump, then candidate donald trump, president trump said during a debate, he said the message to mitch mcconnell is delay, delay, delay. that meant whoever the republican nominee was was going to be somebody who everybody voting for them knew was going to pick the choice on the court and it kept liberals from having another seat on the court. so in retrospect, that was quite a move by the senate majority leader. >> absolutely. and it was a move that faced a lot of second-guessing at the time, particularly at times when clinton was way ahead of trump in the polls, a lot of republicans were saying, maybe we should just confirm garland, obama's nominee because clinton may put in somebody more liberal and it turned out that not only did that not happen but the supreme court vacancy was probably an issue that helped propel trump to victory. the exit polls do suggest that the supreme court was more of a motivating factor for trump voters than it was for clinton voters. ruth, will the court, presuming that -- or assumin

i think mitch mcconnell really helped it make it a viral phenomenon today. there was something that went out from chuck schumer's staffer about an hour before elizabeth was silenced on the floor that was -- had a hash tag, let liz speak, which was the one that ended up going hyper viral along with the bits from mcconnell raising his finger in an extremely condescending manner. i'm not sure why he went about it in any way, shape or form about it in that way. but it became this huge viral phenomenon. people were making their own memes. people were doing things that weren't official. they were cobbling together pictures of feminist leaders. >> here is one of the protest took down. >> oh, i love that. >> that battle flag. any of the others stand out to you? >> i didn't know how to post on top of the pictures as many people do. but i put up a picture of shirley chisholm. they all three almost became separate hash tags. and there is talk about t-shirt, hats. somebody is going to make a bunch of money off the slogan. it means a lot. who was it? who heads the planne

that's a hell of a question for mitch mcconnell. >> reporter: it is, and look, i mean, mitch mcconnell is a guy -- i think there are competing impulses for mitch mcconnell, specifically, i mean, forget donald trump in this particular instance because there is on the one hand somebody who has devoted his entire life, most of his adult life, to this senate. and he cares deeply about it. he was very legitimately angry harry reid, then the democratic leader changed the rules on almost everything else except supreme court nominees. he's also incredibly -- he's an incredible hard-nosed strategic political tactician on the other hand. the reality is the politics have changed up here over the course of the last decades and pretty sharply just in the last ten years. and i think he's trying to take that into account as well and i have to say, from conversations i've had up here over the course of the last day, it sounds like he's leaning in that direction. when i talked to republicans, they say one way or the other, gorsuch is going to get confirmed and in that i hear, hey, we've been talking to

he voted against mitch mcconnell's wife. elaine chow was confirmed. she got 94 votes. 90 something votes. he voted against the other leader's wife. that is unheard of in the united states senate. >> what's funny about that is there were some democrats who worried that chuck schumer wouldn't be willing to fight enough. but, i mean, you know, given what dana and david are saying, we also have to remember that the precedent for this was set by republicans over the last eight years. democrats are just adapting a sort of tea party strategy in washington to deal with this new administration. it would be unprecedented if the last eight years hadn't happened, but because it did, i think the democratic base is saying republicans did this, and they were rewarded with the white house, the house, and the senate. it's hard to -- the sort of trade-off here is a little bit -- the calculus is different, and i think some democrats, you know -- they are looking at 2013 when republicans failed to show up at an e.p.a. confirmation hearing meeting for one of president oba

>> i am not surprised in a mitch mcconnell came up with a procedural way to interrupt what the senate democrats were doing on the floor of the senate. he knows they're there for the second all nighter in a row. he knows they're tired, he knows that's a good time to try to provoke, poke people. that's not politics, that's human nature. what i am very surprised by and i hope it's viewed by republicans as a political failure and not as a political success. what i'm surprised by is that he chose the widow of martin luther king jr. as the hill he wanted to die on here. by using coretta scott king's words as the way that he shut up elizabeth warren, he is exhibiting the kind of profound indifference to the racial contours of the jeff session nomination that i wouldn't have expected from somebody as savvy as mitch mcconnell. if they did that on purpose to be racially provocative, to stir you racial currents here, i think that's scary and gross. if they did it accidentally, i think it's political malpractice. but i think they've just turned this issue and elizabeth warren and the jeff session

mitch mcconnell is a savvy operator. i don't think he usually does stuff that he doesn't mean. if he meant to make this a race fight even more than it already was over jeff sessions, katie by the door in terms of what comes next. >> we have quite an evening unfolding and a lot of news to break this hour. more on that story. but first we're looking at the lawyers here for president trump asking for that urgent hearing tonight, trying to get the travel ban reinstated. they ran into tough questioning by federal judges, as did lawyers for washington state challenging the ban. >> an extraordinary legal battle over the fate of the travel ban. >> a three-judge panel is considering an argument on whether to keep a hold on the order. >> is there any reason for to us think there's a real risk? >> the president determined that there was a real risk. >> i can't believe we're having to fight in a court system to protect the safety of our nation. >> it seems like trump's real ra rage is he just found out there were two other branches of government. >> some things are law. some things are com

what happens if mitch mcconnell does in fact go nuclear on judge gorsuch? >> well, we'll have to see how many of his colleagues will stay with him on that. you will remember the expressions of outrage when we opened up the nuclear option for the executive appointees and there was an understanding at the time that the supreme court would be different and it's going to take a lot of republicans having to eat a lot of crow and reversing a lot of statements to go along with mitch mcconnell jamming a supreme court appointee through on the nuclear option. >> you'll be involved in the confirmation hearings on the supreme court. do you believe that the judge deserves an up or down vote or do you support the idea of a filibuster being used? >> i think the 60-vote rule, i'm sure that the majority leader will go to and the key question is, does he go along with the other four appointees and rebuild the gang of five that was such a bunch of special interests activists with judge scalia under the direction of chief justice roberts? and i think that's what we need to exp

lou: there is only one person who can go nuclear, and that is senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. the president called on him today. >> i would say if you can, mitch, go nuclear because that would be a absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. lou: going nuclear would al you lou republicans to confirm neil gorsuch with a simple majority vote. 'll lk about the dems obstructionism with the chairman of the house freedom caucus, congressman mark meadows. >>> also tonight, the senate voted to confirm rex tillerson as secretary of state. his confirmation comes on the same day that the trump administration condemned iran for its recent ballistic missile test. >> instead of being thankful to the united states in these agreements, iran is now feeling emboldened. as of today, we are officially putting iran on notice. lou: and president trump says it's time to put an end to the carnage in chicago to end the violence. already 51 people have been murdered in chicago. pastor darrell scott met with the president today and he joins me tonight, as we discuss solutions to th

he was accompanied by vice president mike pence to meet with mitch mcconnell. and senator chuck grassley who will chair the confirmation hearing just announced it will be held in about six weeks. all of this unholding as battle lines over the nomination are being drawn. republicans seeing this as a first step toward remaking the court for the long run. democrats under intense pressure from the rank and file to stop it. president trump, this is yet another promise kept to his base. >> i promise to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our constitution. millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. >> standing here in a house of history and acutely aware of my own imperfections, i plemg that i will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitution and laws of this great country. >> let's start our coverage with peter alexander at the white house. after 10, 11 days, even republicans were concerned about what they saw as a chaotic begin

did mitch mcconnell give her a gift and create her campaign slogan of 2020? >> i think the thing about this that is incredible is that more people are reading the coretta scott king letter criticizing jeff sessions, and i hope everybody do, and i hope all youriewe do, and more people are reading it because of what mitch mcconnell did, than they ever would have paid attention to c-span. >> what about c-span? >> i think it's fabulous and wonderful, but the reality is more people now understand that coretta scott king went to extraordinary measures to say that jeff sessions was racist, had oppressed peoples' voting rights, and that's a terrible thing, and if that's a great spin for the republican party -- >> it changes nothing. that's why it's such drama. >> the fact that coretta scott king's letter means nothing to the republican party, it's an indictment, and especially right now, and you know, the reality is this is, i hope -- >> there's no redemption in the democratic party. >> michael, it's her talking. >> well, first of all, the guy doesn't do a lot of stu

i remember when ted cruz called mitch mcconnell a liar. i thought he should have sat his butt down and not spoke for the rest of the session. i was so angry about that. >> i wanto play a clip that goes to something johnust said. this is a voter we have in o and asked about what elizabeth warren did last night. she went on to read thel letter. here is what part of the voter said. >> she does it in a calculating manner. it doesn't matter whether they are a democrat or republican. they calculated they was on tv before they did this. they initiated a response to talk about. >> that's a voter seeing this all as political theater and nothing more, howard. >> i think the mistake was -- i agree again with john. we need more comedy in the political, comity. >> we have plenty of comedy. we have plenty of that. so, in general, i agree. i think the mistake that mcconnell made was to stop the reading of a letter by coretta scott king. i can't imagine what was going through his mind. >> the voters point was the opposite point. he seems to be a supporter

but if you're mitch mcconnell, is that the hill you want to die on? really? >> exactly, i don't get it but it happened and it happened here tonight and wow. >> stunning. we will have more on that tonight. >> have a great show. thanks, rachel. >>> and thanks to you at home for joining us at this hour. this is turning out to be a very interesting night in the news. not only do we have the remarkable turn in the senate, senator elizabeth warren according to mitch mcconnell running afoul of rule 19 saying she can't impugn a senator, they're saying she impugned a senator when she read a letter that had been written to the judiciary committee when jeff sessions was nominated to be a federal judge in 1986, it was a letter from the widow of the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. that is being considered immuning a senator and they've use itting to shut up elizabeth warren on the floor of the senate. incredible. and the optics of calling coretta scott king an epithet, saying her words are an epithet that can't be spoken in the united states senate. yeah. we'll have

can he work with paul ryan and mitch mcconnell in finding an area to find commonality. >> shepard: mcconnell said earlier today for me, he was very specific for me, but he's mitch mcconnell. he says in isn't happening. sounds like this is d.o.a. >> shepard: that is probably right. >> shepard: and then this matter of entitlement. before the advent of the tea party republicans have been talking about entitlement spending. they say if we don't do something and do it now, the system will collapse. where are those voices? >> shepard: some people don't want to attack donald trump. some have raised their hands and said different things get their heads chopped off. many won't want to be the face of opposition. >> shepard: where is rex tillerson in this? >> we've seen him being behind the scenes. he's not been in a lot of meetings you'd expect the secretary of state to be. we've had reportings at political about how he wants to raise his profile. how much juice does he have when talking to donald trump. so far doesn't seem like a like. >> shepard: there was a time like a month ago or a little longer

mitch mcconnell saying, it could be on the other foot. of course, at that point, nobody thought we would have a republican president. you know, it seems like this was set up by your side. >> i think it's important, first, to remember that we are confirming a supreme court justice, not for four years, not for eight years, but for a lifetime appointment. i think it is too early to talk about nuclear options, filibusters. >> martha: why are democrats already talking about rejecting this person no matter who it is? >> there is only one senator who stepped out and mentioned filibusters. i think senator merkley is just expressing the anguish felt by democrats over the mistreatment of merrick garland. but that was then. now is now. we will all be focused on the next denomination. >> martha: you are saying, one of these two individuals, hardiman or gorsuch, at this point, perhaps one or both of them is acceptable to democrats? >> based on the research, alliance for justice has done, neither is acceptable. in fact, no one on that list of 21 names

. >>> right now on msnbc, mitch mcconnell's mistake this morning. three more senators read a letter from martin luther king's widow. the same letter senator elizabeth warren read to ban her from speaking over a debate over jeff sessions. will the extremely rare move silencing a senator backfire on the gop? and defending the ban. this morning, president trump tells a gathering of law enforcement officials his executive order on immigration is completely legal and, quote, perfectly written. this as a federal court panel is deciding right now whether the controversial ban can be reinstated. >>> plus, the dakota access pipeline gets the final green light. it sparked months of protests and the largest tribal gathering in nearly 100 years. what's next for the protesters? i'll ask taboo from the black eyed peas who vows to continue fighting construction of the pipeline. >>> i'm ali velshi coming to you live from msnbc headquarters in new york. we begin with the fehrwoirework capitol hill where democrats are staging their talk-a-thon, this time against jeff

. >> reporter: scott, in the second row here in the east room, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, and are for him, this is the culmination of one of the most audacious political gambits in the history of american jurisprudence, politics and supreme court because because it was mitch mcconnell who said to senate republicans during last campaign, "we are not going to move forward on then-president obama's nom 92 to replace antonin scalia. we are going to delay that red sox and bet that our nominee, whom ever it is, will win, and then make the foik put a conservative in the scalia seat on the supreme court." that audacious gamble has paid off, and you saw it in the full force of neil gorsuch tonight here in the east room, a conservative in the, let us say, long line of scholarly conservative jurists, like antonin scalia, and president trump is putting him before the united states senate to fill scalia's seat, and he said during the campaign, and i saw this at countless rallies across the country, the supreme court is important. if you consider the supreme court important, vote for m

mitch mcconnell still does not want to have a select committee to investigate what happened. senator lindsey graham wants answers, house oversight chairman jason chaffetz says it will work itself out and senator john mccain is slamming the entire administration as a dysfunctional mess. so where do things stand right now? reporting team is covering the three big angles of this story, hallie jackson, kasie hunt on capitol hill and pete williams covering the latest inside the justice departnt and the fbi. let's begin a the white house, with hallie jackson, hallie, look, it seems to me -- at least short term the biggest thing to clear up is what did vice president pence know and when did he know it? and at this point, when did he know it? >> reporter: we have new reporting, just in the last couple of minutes, i can share with you, this has been a question that nbc has confirmed via two sources here that vice president pence learned about this warning from the justice department, learned that mike flynn had been inconsistent or inaccurate with him thursday night. just before the m

>> eric: i think mitch mcconnell needs to do it now. i think it should go ahead and convene a senate and all he needs is a majority to change i it. bret baier insinuated what could happen. the theory is, they'll go to the hearing, democrats will filibuster, they'll play the tactics that they'll play and mitch mcconnell will invoke the nuclear option. do it now, and do it in front of that, don't let it get to that. chuck schumer basic leasing we're going to filibuster. they're telling you in advance that they're going to do it. do it now. there's no more filibuster on supreme court nominees and you've got your nominee. it may be don't want to do it right now because you think you're going to get this one through, but the next one will be certainly a dog fight. why not do it now? they're going to tell you in advance that they're going to be obstructionists. what the american judicial system work. >> what you're saying makes a lot of political sense for both political parties because you don't want your candidate politically bloodied on th

and we're closely watching remarks to be made by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. all eyes again on president trump and what he might say next when he speaks in just a few hours down in the palmetto state. the president boarding air force i just a few minutes ago, heading to south carolina for the rollout of the new dreamliner aircraft, all of this happening amid new turmoil at the white house. the white house looking for a national security adviser. nbc news learning who the president was referring to "general keith kellogg, who i have known for a long time, is very much in play fornsa, as are three hers. that after the president's top pick to replace mike flynn turned down the job, retired vice admiral and former navy seal robert harward saying, quote, this job requires 24 hours a day, seven days a week, focus and commitment to do it right. i currently could not make that commitment. but much of the talk this morning is still focused on president's free wheeling and at times contentious news conference yesterday afternoon. >> i inherited a mess, it's a mess. it w

mitch mcconnell says she was impugning the character of jeff sessions. should he be held for things he might have said 30 years ago? >> well, the whole point of a confirmation process, and you've watched a lot of these, alisyn, is to go back into historical record to see what people have said and done and what other people have said about what they've said and done. of course not. the whole confirmation process, and they'll do this with judge gorsuch as well, to go back to college, go back decades ago and see what the historical record says about this individual who is being offered a profoundly important post. look, at the end of the day, if the trump administration and the republicans in the last year have been characterized by one thing, it's been freight train politics. mitch mcconnell led the charge to design a supreme court seat without basis in dons tugs, to deny barack obama the constitutional right to put forward supreme court nominee, a travesty against the constitution. the president is down there writing executive orders that have caused judg

mitch mcconnell did not wait. within hours he put out a statement saying the process will not go forward. we will go now with an eight-member court. at that moment did you think that was the right call? >> no, i did not think it was the right call. i now do believe it was the right call. i was wrong. i thought the republicans would suffer from their unwillingness to permit a vote on judge garland. i also was of the view and still am that judge garland is absolutely qualified and is and was and has been the most conservative nominee to the supreme court by a democrat in 70 years since fdr nominated robert jackson as attorney general. i believe mitch mcconnell did the right thing. judge gorsuch is a near perfectly worthy successor to justice scalia, exactly the type of person donald trump said he would appoint. his demeanor, his academics, his track record is almost un-- >> bill: this is where we are. a contributor for the hill said this. constitutional attorney on the screen. gorsuch is unassailable in his experien

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is one who distanced himself from the president. >> we all get disappointed from time to time but i think it's best to avoid criticizing judges individually. >> travelers rushed to return to the u.s. >> coming here. that's what e we've always come here for. >> reporter:. >> among them, a woman who was detained last week and deported to austria where she's a permanent resident. visas for people from iran, iraq, and other muslim-majority countries were canceled when the ban took effect. and nearly 100 prominent tech companies including apple, facebook, and uber are fighting a legal brief opposing the immigration order. it argues economic growth and that are intimately tied. >>> ahead on "cbs this morning," we'll talk with cbs legal correspondent jan crawford about the courtroom battle over president trump's order on immigration. >>> betsy devos for education secretary, now, it may take vice president mike pence to cast the tie-breaking vote to secure her appointment and jeff sessions following some contentious questioning over his position on raese

so a letter from coretta scott king, mitch mcconnell rules, fulfills that mandate there? >> yeah, well, the reading of it during this debate on sessions, i guess, does it. and it's by giving it voice perhaps that does it. he said she was warned. i can't imagine that's going to help her cause much. >> senator warren talked about respect and decorum in the chamber. >> we have to treat each other with respect. this place is going to evolve into nothing but a jungle. i'm not perfect so i'm not going to act like i am. all of us have to take stock. we need to start thinking about how we might bring each other together in the best interests of our country. >> i thought that was an interesting remark. elizabeth warren on our air last night. saying remarkable hostility happening right now. and she feels she has to find other ways of voicing herrest from interrogatoriefrustration. >> it's interesting with what's going on, after they changed the filibuster rule which is is arcane development of procedure. 51 votes gets you, with the supreme court nominees, instead of 60. you can rea

after a stern look for most of that, mitch mcconnell gave her a chuckle. >> i think mitch mcconnell really understands how to weather these kinds of storms, and i think he is going to -- he understands that this is -- whether it's organized and paid for by the soros brothers, it's real in the sebs that there are a lot of people who are angry, but he is going to take his time while he has it. he has the senate majority. he has the house majority. he has the white house, and he is going to push through what he needs to push through for the time that he has left, and then if the tables turn, mitch mcconnell understands that the tables do sometimes turn. >> the seeds in that last question -- there were the seeds of something interesting, right? talking about coal jobs. you know, one of the things that the congressional republicans have to do and donald trump has to do is actually make good on some of these promises. donald trump went and said to those coal communities and said i'm going to bring back your jobs. that's hard given the kind of greater global forces and some of these things. if we

within the last few minutes senator elizabeth warren according to mitch mcconnell running afoul of senate rule 19 saying you can't impugn a senator. they're saying she impugned senator that had been red to the judiciary committee, a letter from the widow of dr. martin luther king jr. they've used it to shut up elizabeth warren on the floor of the senate tonight. just incredible. her words are an epithet that can't be spoken in the united states senate. when's the last time the audio live stream of a three-judge panel reviewing a temporary restraining order was not only live streamed on the internet machine but also broadcast live on television on national news. you are a civics dork between rule 19 and this, this is like a high holy day right now. there is a kid in your life who dreams about ever becoming a lawmaker or a lawyer or judge, the fact they got to listen in tonight to this incredibly tense dense, no nonsense cuts like a knife argument involving these three federal judges and the lawyers for the federal government and the lawyers for the state suing the federal government over t

so ultimately it will be mitch mcconnell's decision. and when you look at before the court battle over the travel ban, the democrats didn't have a lot of good arguments for locking neil gorsuch because he has bipartisan support. he has impressive history and resume on the lower courts. so really i don't even think a filibuster could have happened before this latest battle over the travel ban because he's gone the so much democrat support signaling that republicans could peel away some of these democrats to vote for neil gorsuch. i think they might not even have to use the nuclear option. it might not be necessary. >> how is all of this playing out inside the gop. >> you see what mitch mcconnell just said. he does not seem to be -- he's trying to have it both ways. but he wants to support what president obama has done, but he doesn't want to seem like they are enforcing some of the rhetoric that president trump made on the campaign trail about religious tests or a muslim ban. even though this order is not that. it's 7 countries that have

who won, who lost with mcconnell, mitch mcconnell rebuking elizabeth warren? who won nthat fight? >> mcconnell, keeping the vote going for session tonight. elizabeth warren wins because her e-mail list is bigger, her fund-raising has more money in her account. >> who was right? who was right? >> elizabeth warren. >> okay. tell me why. >> absolutely, elizabeth warren wins and the country wins because her -- just the appearance of the way he spoke to her and what he said and then you turn on the television this morning, and you see male pundit after pundit saying it has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman, it doesn't matter, it's just that his constituents don't like her. it does matter. >> how do they know? i go into this thing with dunninger, this thing about reading minds. judges tell me they can read trump's mind. >> you can't read anyone's mind but there's something you learn in the law that it is not just -- >> i agree. >> you can't always tell intent but if tsh. >> i agree with you. michelle, would never said ted kennedy -- they would have never told him to shut up

they feel mitch mcconnell is not listening to them. one of the organizers is a mom who majored in theater. tell me about why you're here and whether you have been paid to be here. >> i have not been paid to be here, i've spent my own and my husband's hard-earned money to be here today. we secured a permit for the area, we provided for trash receptacles, all of that actually cost us money. so no, i was not paid to be here. >> reporter: what is the message you want to give to mitch mcconnell? >> we're here to speak, we want to hold all of our elected officials accountable. senator mcconnell has decided to hold chamber of commerce luncheons and no town halls. we've invited him here to our crowd, to take questions from our crowd. we want engagement and a voice in our democracy. >> reporter: senator mcconnell's press person says they are in fact meeting with people, business leaders, students. is that good enough? >> it's not good enough. he has been -- the entire state votes. all of the constituents deserve a voice, deserve a meeting, dese

mitch mcconnell in a moment tried to shut down elizabeth warren. her colleagues are now standing on the floor of the senate and reading the same letter that got her shut down, and they're not setting her down. he knows that elizabeth warren is not sitting alone, nor is she standing alone out in the world, and millions of americans who are grossly offended by this attempt to shut down the free exchange of ideas. in what is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in the world. >> no matter where you land on this, both democrats and republicans think they're winning because they're speaking to their base. i do find it interesting. i guess that's the word i'll use right now. that democrats are reading the same letter right now. and have been reading the same letter, and they didn't invoke the rule. it's a little bit of come on, guys. some explaining t do as well. >> thank you, amanda. exactly. >> or they said it was scheduling conflicts. all too busy. >> we have something good i want to talk about. moments ago -- >> let's do it. >> -- president t

the president said he told mitch mcconnell to invoke the so-called nuclear option if necessary, allowing it to be approved by a simple senate majority. >> we end up with that, good luck. if you can, mitch, go nuclear because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. so i would say, it's up to mitch but i would say go for it. >> we're also following dramatic developments on capitol hill after a fiery hearing. the senate judiciary voting for favor for congressman sessions. minnesota senator al franken accused senator sessions of misrepresenting his record on civil rights cases. some of president trump's other nominees also made it through committee even though democrats boycotting those nominees weren't in the room and say they didn't know the vote was even coming. let's get some smr on all of this from our reporters. sara murray is outside the white house on the north lawn. senior congressional reporter manu raju is up on capitol hill. sara, first to you, tell us more. the president was blubt saying if necessary to the senate majority leader mitch

i want to play sound from senator mitch mcconnell at a town hall earlier. let's listen. >> i like what the president is doing. i think the president would serve himself better by not having as many controversies surrounding his statements because it tends to takes us off message. we are heading in the right direction on obamacare and tax reform. he is not going to take my