director as well. we'll leave it on that note. thank you for dlaekt and very blunt and important apology. >> my pleasure. >> that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer reporting. erin burnett "out front" starts right now. >> donald trump's national security adviser says he is putting iran on notice. the president about to swear in the secretary of state. we're going to take you inside the oval office for that this hour. and trump's surprise visit to dover air force base tonight, paying respects to a fallen navy seal. what went wrong in the first military raid? let's go "out front." >> good evening to all. i'm erin burnett. we begin with breaking news. the white house putting iran on notice tonight. trump's national security adviser appearing in the briefing room to deliver a threat. >> president trump severely

criticized the agreements reached between iran and the obama administration as well as the united nations as being weak and ineffective. instead of being thankful to the united states in the agreements, iran is now feeling emboldened. as to have day, we are officialing putting iran on notice. >> that warning coming on the heels of iran's missile test launch and the big question tonight is what action will trump take? the team tells us they're reviewing all the options and nothing is off the table. that's a very significant statement. it comes as trump is moment as way from swearing in rex tillerson. he'll be at the center of so many of the crucial decisions on iran. he was approved earlier today with four votes and many voting against him though raised questions specifically about him and iran. we're going to speak to a key senator, a top democrat on the foreign relations committee in just a moment. first, michelle kaczynski is at

the state department. putting iran on notice, is this trump's new red line? >> hi, erin. definitely being presented as a hard line on iran. maybe somewhat blurry one at this point. but the white house is saying that it is dedicated to holding iran accountable after this latest missile launch. and it is considering a whole range of options in a response and, yes, that does include a military one. >> a tough line on iran at the white house today. >> as to have day, we are officially putting iran on notice. >> reporter: national security adviser michael flynn offering a cryptic warning after iran tested another ballistic missile sunday. >> the obama administration failed to respond adequately to tehran's malign actions including weapons transfers, support for terrorism, and other violations of international norms. >> reporter: the new administration making its clear it believes the missile launch violated a u.n. resolution. flynn's comments today follow

this warning from u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley yesterday. >> the united states is not naive. we are not going to stand by. we're going to act. we're going to be strong. we're going to be loud. and we're going to do whatever it takes to protect the american people. >> there is a new sheriff in town. his name is donald j. trump and we're not going to follow the policies of the prior administration. >> reporter: wanting to send a strong message but how the u.s. will act is unclear. administration officials say they're not taking any options off the table including a military response. the former deputy national security adviser for president obama, ben rhodes, lashed out on twitter while russian intervention and ukraine increases, flynn takes time to criticize obama and not putin. iran has launched ballistic missiles several times over the last few years. january 2016 the obama administration's treasury department did impose sanctions specifically targeting those helping iran get supplies for

its missile program. but prior tests have gone down with no more response than statements of condemnation. experts say the missile tests while provocative do not violate the nuclear deal. the u.s. and o five other countries helped negotiate. >> sml say that tre are those in iran who are actually trying themselves to undermine or sabotage the nuclear agreement that we reach with iran. they're trying to take provocative actions to get us to respond and get us to pull out of the agreement. >> reporter: president trump on the campaign trail talked about getting tough on iran but not necessarily ripping up the nuclear deal. >> it's a horrible agreement. i will make that agreement so tough and if they break it they will have hell to pay. >> here at the state department, they're not using the same language at the white house as the white house is at this point. keep in mind secretary of state rex tillerson was just confirmed today. they're not saying definitively that this missile launch violated the u.n. resolution. they're saying things like it was a defiance of it. it was inconsistent it with. it was provocative and not

completely clear right now what are the options that white house is talking about. erin? >> all right, thank you so much, michelle. and out front now, the top democrat on the foreign relations committee. senator, this front and center for you tonight now. i know you voted against president obama's iran deal. i was a carefully considered decision. you wrote he will consequently about why you chose no. to date trump administration saying the missile test was provocative. they're putting iran on notice s that right move? >> well, i think the trump administration needs to work with congress. there is strong support in congress to make sure that iran understand thez cannot violate ballistic missile obligations without a consequence. we can toughen sanctions. there are other things we can do. can work with allies in regards to the violations of ballistic missile obligations. they also are financing terrorism. you need to be mindful of how we can go after them for those 5:00 test. they have human rights violations. so we understand in addition to

the nuclear program, there are other issues. and congress is willing to work with the administration in a responsible way with our international partners to isolate iran on the activities. >> i know among your frustrations is once the sanctions dam was unleashed, when the deal happened, it's pretty hard to plug that if not impossible. you heard donald trump saying he'll sob tough on iran. if they break that deal, there will be hell to pay. do you think they should try to oipt back up? is that even a possibility on your horizon? >> we don't need to open up the nuclear agreement. we can deal with ballistic missile violations. there is a series of actions that we can take that can effect iran's ability to obtain weapons. so we can do. that working with our international partners. so there are steps we can take that can respond to what iran is doing. and we need to do that. >> so today you voted against rex tillerson as secretary of state. bees to be formally sworn in by the president. he was confirmed. do you trust him to get iran

right? this is now going to be on his desk. >> mr. tillerson is now or shortly will be the secretary of state. we want to work with him. he will be our chief diplomat. i will do everything in my power to make sure that he promotes americans' values, stand up to rush yachlt russia's activities have been very much against our interests. and we need to make sure they understand that we're going to be as tough with russia as the president just said with iran. >> now you have been out outspoken about donald trump's travel ban. one of the first moves he made since coming into the office along with the wall. you met with john kelly about your concerns. what did he tell you? >> well, he told us it was a rough beginning and that they are committed to keeping america safe. and we're committed to keeping america safe. this executive order does just the opposite. it isolates america from other countries around the world. it compromises america's leadership on the refugee issue.

it promotes the anti-american rhetoric that can be used by recruiters for terrorist organizations. so what we heard yesterday was that they're committed to the policy. we believe the only thing we can do right now, what we should do, is repeal this executive order. it's offensive. it's not what america stands for. we don't impose bans on people based upon their religion. >> did he talk to you about how long the ban would last? whether more countries would be added? anything about their intent? >> i think the administration's made it clear that they intend to keep this ban in place. i think congress needs to speak and say no. this is unamerican. it's not keeping us safe. it's just the opposite. it makes us more at risk. refugees had not caused problems in our country. they're properly vetted. so i think it's now up to congress to take action to reverse what the president has done. >> before we go, judge gorsuch, some colleagues are threatening a filibuster. you called republicans' actions

in your word reckless. the big challenge for you, of course, is this. should democrats now be equally as reckless? or should they give gore susuch fair and speedy hearing? >> we need to carry out our constitutional responsibilities. we do understand that republicans in the senate, what they did to president obama was outrageous. but they did to the office of the presidency and not considering a supreme court appointment in a ten month period. we're suspicious thou process will play out with judge gorsuch. so we're careful to make sure we have adequate time that, we can understand all of his judicial philosophy that, we can see whether, in fact, he is mainstream or not. there is a lot of cases he was involved in that give many of us heart burn. we're asking a the love tough questions. we're not going to rush this. >> but you're not holding it up or support a filibuster or anything like that, right? >> i must tell you, it depends on how the process unfolds.

while we understand how we've been treated in the past and we're very suspicious as to how the republican leadership will treat us on this nomination. >> all right. thank you so much, senator. thank you tonight. >> thank you. >> and "out front" next, donald trump grappling with the first combat death. he won't to dover air force base tonight. and the president about to swear in his secretary of state. we'll go inside the oval office with you for that and confirmation chaos on capitol hill today. >> he personally went after me. he personally offended my integrity. you didn't object then, did you? but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

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>> reporter: a solemn day for the new commander in chief making his first trip to dover, delaware, to meet with the family of william ryan owens who was killed over the weekend in yemen. president trump called owen's family tuesday, the white house said, to recognize his sacrifice and years of dedicated service to his country. >> he went back, deployed 12 times because he loved his country and he believed in the mission. and knowing that we killed an estimated 14 aqap members and that we gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on american soil is something that i think most service members understand that

that's why they join the service. >> reporter: white house press shawn spicer clarified an issue and said in a successful raid against al qaeda, brave use forces were instrumental in killing an estimated 14 aqap members and capturing important intelligence. today's spicer sought to qualify the definition of success. >> it's hard to ever say something was successful when you lose a life. you never want to call something a success 100% when someone is hurt or killed. >> reporter: it was the first covert operation under president trump. cnn learned planning for the operation began months ago during the obama administration. but for operational reasons, including the schedule of moonless nights needed to obscure the approaching missions, it couldn't be done before obama left office. president trump authorized the mission fairly quickly. in order for an operation like this to be planned as thoroughly as you need to plan it, you often create a cell of

contrarians who are poking holes in every one of your steps along the way. >> reporter: the team ran in trouble with drones overhead the whole time, navy seals working together with uae special ops approached the sight with the special ops team was spotted and a fire fight ensued. the terrorists took cover in a nearby building. an air strike was called in against the building. officials say 13 civilians were killed in the raiding including an will 8-year-old. her father was the u.s. born cleric that direct add tacks against the u.s. and killed in a u.s. drone strike in 2011. three u.s. service members were wounded and navy seal owens was killed. ospreys were launched to retreat the wounded. one made a hard landing due technical problems. the aircraft was deliberately destroyed by the u.s. defense secretary james mattis left a dinner saturday evening to address the mission that was fraught with risks. >> those things will happen in

operations like this. to there is a clearly ary is assess ment. you mitigate the risk as best you can. there will often be casualties. that's just the nature of this business. >> reporter: still, administration officials stress u.s. commanders were able to gather computer hard drives that may provide crucial details on terrorist operations. and the white house kept this visit under wraps in private for much of the day at the request of ryan owen's family and out rev inspe of respect for the family, there were no pictures. and the last few minutes, president trum dp comment on his visit to dover. he called it very sad and very beautiful during the swearing in ceremony for rex tillerson. >> thank you very much, jim acosta. as jim said, the president arrived back at the white house from his visit to dover air force base with the owens family. you see him there get off marine one. and as jim said, he said it was a very sad, very beautiful visit

with mr. owens' family. john mcchoir, former navy seal who you just heard from and the former "new york times" reporter, best-selling author. the latest book "the prisoner" just hit bookshelves this week, yesterday in, fact. let me just start with you, alex. the raid was a success. of course, he is getting a lot of criticism for using that word because an american lost their lives and civilians that lost their lives as well. is the criticism warranted? >> i don't think we know what they got. it seems tactically they ran into serious problems they were not expecting. and one thing we were talking about is why they went in with ospreys which are loud and, you know, the special forces have silence blackhawks. i don't know fit was a tactical decision because of distance. you know, they're it in the middle of the desert. >> and the approach would have been heard using the much louder aircraft. general marks? >> yeah, i was going to sashgs

i'm not going to second-guess any decision that was made by a combat anlt commander or the commander on the ground who has the responsibility to execute this mission as to what type of aircraft or what type of personal protection the detailed planning for every one of the missions is exhaustive and they go through scenarios upon scenarios to ensure they get it right. guess what, war has costs. and things will go wrong. >> so, john, one of the things when alex said it depends, you know, we don't know what they got. obviously this is the second major read in yemen in two years putting u.s. lives on the line. they go in, they have something very special. something very significant. do you have any sense of what intense jens we can be talking about? >> first, my heart goes out to the familiar live the fallen and the wounded. i'll tell you, he put his brothers first. but the intelligence locations

and any movements, anything can help us get an edge on the war on terror. >> alex, what you are learning in your reporting as to why, you know, we do know they were planning for this for a long time. something happened they did not expect. >> they're not going to have strategic surprise. these people know that we want them. >> right. >> and they know that we're targeting them. so the best thing is a tactical surprise. and why they didn't have that, i suspect there is a lot of smart people asking that question right now. in tampa, you know nshgts pentagon. >> and trying to understand. general marks, here's what we know. 40 people were killed. 14 of them at least were al qaeda fighters. 13 of them were civilians. six of those children. 7 of them women and, of course, the navy seal. we know they spent weeks doing this. planning this raid. how could all these civilians have ended up in the line of fire? >> well, you know, erin, that's what will be uncovered over the

course of the next couple of days through a very, very thorough after action review on every aspect of this operation from planning, execution wit withdraw, et cetera. the thing to realize is decisions -- the decision point for execution is a certain time line associated it with based on how fast it takes to get to the objective, how much time you have on the objective, what are you trying achieve? and then how do you get away from that? and while you're en route, intelligence is updated. you have amazing capabilities. so that the men and women that are about to execute this operation of getting vet latest so they get a better sense so that they hopefully can overpower the objective, be as deadly and as accurate and precise as they k how civilians in the collateral damage assess ment always goes to what is on the objective that we don't want in the object sniff those assessments take place. the arrive afl civilians on the

objective was identified once they got in contact. i can tell you, if they had known that in advance that, would have been an abort mission. they would have tried to clear that away. >> john, let me give you a chance. if they had known that in advance, right, they would not have gone ahead with this mission. forget whether these were the children of al qaeda or whatever. they were children. >> well, just like the general said, there is so much detail planning that goes into the type of missions. and that's because thing dozen go wrong. and good intelligence saves lives is not going to fall in our l.a. we need to risk our lives to go in and protect our country. but had we had intelligence like this we probably would have aborted. >> does this chase him, donald trump? >> no, absolutely not. as we can see, donald trump has his opinions and he does not change them in response to a sing ale attack going wrong. in my books, it's easy. but in the real world, it's hard. >> and, of course, do you write

about a lot of these things happening as you reported on them over the years. thank you so much. all three of you. and next, go nuclear. that's what trump is telling troenz do about his supreme court pick. we're live on capitol hill to nice. plus, fashion faux pas. jon stewart sounds off on tru trump's presidential style. >> the president sets men's fashion and this is -- i saw the inauguration. super long tie. dead animal on head, boom. the future of business in new york state is already in motion. companies across the state are growing the economy, with the help of the lowest taxes in decades, a talented workforce, and world-class innovations. like in plattsburgh, where the most advanced transportation is already en route. and in corning, where the future is materializing. let us help grow your company's tomorrow - today at esd.ny.gov adios, honey, hasta la vista, baby.

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ladies and gentlemen. the president of the united states. >> thank you very much. just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at dover. very sad, very beautiful. ryan a great man. tillerson, i first want to congratulate you and your entire family and it is that an incredible honor. you bring the unique skills and deep, deep insights and i got to see it firsthand into foreign

diplomacy, our nation needs to foster stability and security in a world too often trapped and right now it's trapped. in violence and in war. you understand that the job of our diplomats and the mission of the state department is to serve the interests of the united states of america to make our nation safer, our country more prosperous, and our people much more secure. and that mission you also understand the importance of strengthening our alliances and forming new alliances to enhance our strategic interests and the safety of our people. your whole life has prepared you for this moment. and you really have had a tremendous life heading up one of the great companies of the world and doing it

magnificently, absolutely magnificently. i can say this is a man that is respected all over the world before you even begins. but now he's beginning his big, big and most important journey. this is where you were meant to be right here today at this cross roads in history. it's time to bring a clear eyed focus to foreign affairs, to take a fresh look at the world around us, and to seek new solutions grounded in very ancient truths. these truths include the fact that nations have a right to protect their interests, that all people have a right to freely pursue their own destiny, and that all of us are better off when we act in concert and not in conflict. and there's rarely been conflict

like we have today in the world. very sad. i'm excited for you. i'm excited for your family. and perhaps most importantly, i'm excited for our great country. though you inherit enormous challenges in the middle east and around the world, i do believe we can achieve piece and stability -- peace and stability in the very, very troubled times. may god bless new this journey and may god bless our very, very special and great country. thank you very much. mike, can you do the honors. thank you. [ inaudible ] >> please place your right hand

on the bible. and repeat after me. i rex tillerson do solemnly swear -- >> i rex tillerson do solemnly swear, that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> against all enemies foreign and domestic. zbh against all enemies foreign and domestic. >> that i will bear truth and allegiance to the same. >> and i will bear truth and allegiance to the same. >> i take this obligation freely. >> without any meantal reservation. >> without any meantal reservation or purpose or evasion and i will well and faithfully discharge the duties zbl -- >> discharge the duties. >> the office upon which i'm about to enter. >> the office upon which i'm about to enter. >> so help me god. >> so help me god.

>> first, i want to express my profound thanks to president trump for giving me this extraordinary opportunity to serve my country. also want to thank vice president pence for giving me the honor of swearing me into this office today. i have a few folks in the room that are with me that have helped me over the last month to get to this point in confirmation. they represent a much larger cadre of people who worked

enormously long hours, tirelessly helping me and guiding me through the confirmation process and to them i will always be eternally grateful for the sacrifice they made of their time and effort this past weeks. i've also received over the last month so many messages, letters, phone calls of best wishes and encouragement, prayers from family, friends, and colleagues who know me well. but i've also received an enormous outpouring of wonderful messages from people all over the country whom i do not know. words of encourage ment and their prayers. and it's their message that's are going to really stand in steadfast reminder to me as i enter the responsibilities of secretary of state. as i serve this president, i serve their interests and will always represent the interests of all of the american people at all times. and again, mr. president, thank you for this extraordinary

opportunity.

thank you, everybody. great honor. >> thank you guys. >> rex tillerson now the secretary of state as you saw sworn in by mike pence, commenting donald trump returning from dover air force base. the body of a slain navy seal came back from the yemen raid and speaking somber and subdued as the swearing in happened. i want to bring in "the washington post" political reporter abby philip and mark preston as we were sitting here together watching we all noticed donald trump, yes, he was reading. he read very carefully from the prepared remarks. but he was clearly somber, subdued. zbh right. and literally had to par take in what has got to be the hardest thing to dozen a commander in

chief. we often say like he's the president of the united states, leader of the free world, commander in chief. well today he had to take that responsibility to a place that nobody wants to go. he actually have got to give him props that he would get on marine one, that he would get to andrews air force base and greet the family and there be for when this navy seal's body returns. >> you know, we have seen these moments where he is sober. that first meeting with president obama in the oval office. you saw he was very different. i think we saw another moment like that today where the weight of the office was obviously on his shoulders. z >> and did he read from the remarks. they were prepared. he stwuk them. there were a couple traditional asides. it's sad as one of them. but all leave ti aside, i was very serious what he had to say. and one thing he said stood out to me. i'm curious what you thought about it.

he said when introducing prechl tillerson, it is a time as a nation we act in concert, not no conflict. >> that's very interesting that he would say that considering the environment in washington this week in particular and in just the 13 days since he's been sworn in. you know, i think the president views the world as being something that needs to be kind of revamped and rethought. and he wants the united states to look inward and what is interesting about rex tillerson's job as secretary of state is that he has to put in place a foreign policy that actually is a little bit of a departure from what past secretaries of state have done. trump wants him to help disentangle the world from conflict so that he can refocus inward on some of the domestic problems whether they're political or economic. and so that's very challenging. i think trump understands the gravity of the job that tillerson is n and also, you know, president obama mentioned

when he was on his way out that there are moments in this job that remind you of how hard it s i think trump had one of those moments today. >> he had one of those moments as he was about to swear in his secretary of state. i did think it was significant that he read from the prepared remarks and that they included that act in concert, not conflict uk read too much into it? but a nod to i understand. that's not how people perceive me or my goals to be, but i'm going to come out here and say this. >> leadership comes from the top and leadership needs to come from him. when president obama came in 2000, he ran in 2008 and came in as president, he talked about bringing hope and change. he certainly wasn't successful in changing washington. donald trump said the same thing. i'm going to change washington. it's been a very divisive first couple weeks of the presidency. a lot of that divisiveness is coming from 1600 pennsylvania avenue. >> very tough ten days. in the past 24 hours, a different story. >> a big difference.

and i would say what we saw today is very much like what we saw yesterday. this was -- he had a good day yesterday. the supreme court announce ment went very, very well. it was scripted. he stayed on message. you know what? he got a lot of good reviews for it. and one thing we know about donald trump, he watches television. and he is sensitive. i think he understood and we saw it today obviously was a very different situation that the mood of yesterday, we saw today. >> right. >> the demeanor. >> all of you staying with me. because next, donald trump, president urging republicans to go nuclear to defend his supreme court pick, announced, of course, just last night. we're live on capitol hill. plus white house sources tell cnn trump is angry with the roll youst the traff rollout of his travel ban. so who will pay the price? that means you can take a universe of data - in your case literally - and turn it into medical discoveries, diagnostic breakthroughs...

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the president talking about the nuclear option to get supreme court nominee neil gorsuch confirmed. that would mean he is confirmed by a sim ma'am jort, not the of

60 votes now required to break a democratic filibuster. >> reporter: as donald trump's choice for the supreme court made the rounds on capitol hill, senate democrats were struggling with this key question. how hard should they fight the selection? of judge neil gorsuch to serve on the high court. trump warning that his party may try to cut out democrats altogether. urging senate majority leader mitch mcconnell to allow just 51 republicans to confirm gorsuch rather than the 60 votes required now. >> 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. >> reporter: democrats are firing back. >> that's enormously unhelpful. that's a threat. >> reporter: but feinstein

declined to say if she would back a filibuster. >> do you think democrats should filibuster this nomination? >> i'm not there yet. i can't say. >> reporter: liberal democrats are still fuming at senate republicans for refusing to even have a hearing, for former president obama's supreme court nominee garland and they believe gorsuch is too conservative for the job. >> yes, i'm going to -- i personally going to fight as hard as i can in order to block this confirmation of neil gorsuch to the supreme court of the united states. >> reporter: yet other democrats say since trump is not affecting the ideological balance of the court, they should save their firepower and the filibuster for the next fight when trump may replace a more liberal justice. senator joe mansion bluntly issuing this warning to his party. >> if we're ever going to be back into the majority, they're going to have to learn to work with moderates if not they're

going to be in this super minority. >> reporter: the white house is hoping to win over mansion and nine other democrats who are up for re-election in states trump won including missouri senator clair mckas kel. >> i want to listen and learn. but no way we should give up the 60 vote margin which is the filibuster. >> reporter: the battle comes as tensions turn to rage over trump's cabinet. with republicans taking an unprecedented step to change the rules in advance two of trump's cabinet nominees. after democrats boycotted a committee vote on tom price's nomination to have health and human services and the treasury department. jeff sessions is a step closer to becoming attorney general but only after a divisive vote in committee. >> we have an important job to do here and requires that each and every one of us understands the nominee's record accurately.

it's not our job to shade his record. >> and, erin, to night two republican senators say they'll get to vens betsy devos' to be education secretary. and that's going to require vice president mike pence to come to the senate and break a tie to ensure this nomination gets confirmed. it's a sign that no matter how controversial the nominees may be, they're going to eventually get their job if republicans stay largely united. >> all right. thank you. and my panel is back with me. let me start with you. senator collins voting against defe devos. she is going to get approved. those are very significant statement thez have now made to this president and to this administration. >> right. these two senators are the first people to go against one of his nominees. and my understanding is that this was -- they liked her.

they sprekt respect herd but th simply didn't feel she knew enough about education. and those hearings were very rocky. she had -- she had a lot of problems. and in the end their phones were ringing off the hook. they looked at it seriously and they decided they wouldn't go. every republican i spoke to today said she'll make it through. but there is a little bit of concern that the fact that these two senators did this, that maybe -- i stress maybe -- someone else might flip over. >> then, of course, she doesn't. >> right. >> it would be stunning after all this and all these delays and shenanigans and things people despise about washington that are going on all day long that he's going to get all the nominees through. after all of the complaining. >> and how amazing was it a few moments ago we see rex tillerson who got four democrats to vote for him.

yet, betsy devos is unable to get through unless the vice president has to goup and vote on her behalf. i do think it shows this, that donald trump didn't think deeply enough about whoe wa he wanted put into that department of education slot which is extremely important. there is a lot of money that goes into that department that has incredible amount of control with local school boards. >> the sense i heard was that they didn't feel she was well prepared and that people didn't -- she wasn't helped to prepare. but the secretary of education ends up being the one. it is really stunning. >> it is extremely stunning. and now we get to the issue of the nuclear option. the supreme court neil gorsuch. we had ben carton on the air earlier and refused to answer the question whether he would support a filibuster or not. i think man is incredibly qualified. yes, what happened to garland was not good. but do you think we're going to see a heated fight or will

democrats do the right thing and say let's just put someone who is qualified for the job. this is who it is? >> i think there regardless. i think the democratic sbas where republicans were in 200 w49 obama came n they want their party to fight. and you'll see, i think, a vast majority of democrats doing. that but given the nominee, given the person who gorsuch is and the fact that he is viewed as a reasonable juryist, he is ruled as largely in the line -- in line with scalia which does not shift the court dra matly to the -- dramatically to the right, i think we'll see democrats coming over and say give this guy a chance. at least give him a chance for a vote. and, you know, we may not get to the place where mitch mcconnell has to go nuclear. because they may be able to get to 60 without that -- without going that far. we don't know yet. and there are some indications that, you know, the usual suspects, the mansions of the world, the folks in red states

are going to give him a chance. zbh all right. let's hope. so because such a small things working add up to big things over time. thanks to awe. next, white house source telling cnn the president is upset with the way the travel ban has been handled s a power struggle brewing? as a control enthusiast, i'm all-business when i travel... even when i travel... for leisure. so i go national, where i can choose any available upgrade in the aisle - without starting any conversations- -or paying any upcharges. what can i say? control suits me. go national. go like a pro.

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president trump fighting back against critics of the travel ban tweeting everyone is arguing whether or not it is a ban, call it what you want. it's about keeping bad people with bad intentions out of countries. but the growing outrage over the rollout of the travel ban is forcing the white house to change course and fast. >> the rollout is fantastic. >> on his supreme court pick, the president has reason to be, to use a favorite trump term, br bragedocious. >> lining up and experienced team to shepherd his nominee

across capitol hill. >> we are a nation of immigrants and we must -- >> a stark contrast to the clumsy way team trump managed the president's executive order on travel restrictions. sources tell cnn the president has expressed anger to aides at the way that was handled. the fallout still sullying the new administration, high profile gop criticism still coming in. >> i think this was unnecessarily confusing and the way that was rolled out. and they deserve to give more clarity to the american people on a big decision like this. >> cnn has learned that white house is taking steps to try to avoid such confusion even the appearance of incompetence in the future. chief of staff rins priebus will take more control of functions like executive orders. it is authority priebus already technically had but was not able to fully exert given that power is splinlterred among several strong players from trump's son-in-law to counsellor to the

president steve bannen. one senior administration officials blames the sloppy rollout to irrational exuberance of trump aides eager to keep campaign promises but lacking experience to get it done right. trump aides say one of the biggest system failures was with fundamental communication, preparing not just the agency's who execute travel restrictions but are allies and advocates with talking points on how to defend it. message strategy is usually the job of white house communications director. but team trump doesn't really have one. press secretary shawn spicer does double duty. to remedy that, cnn is told that trump senior adviser kellyanne conway will take on more of the communications responsibilities. trump aides insist they're trying to course correct. organize the white house more traditionally or at least as traditional as possible with a press who himself often guides message for better or worse on twitter. >> dana bash is joining me now.

the chief strategist as you reported, plays major role in the drafting. now that they're trying to play cleanup here, what does that mean for his role? >> it is hard to imagine that his role is really going to be diminished. he has been very close with the president and, frankly, i am told even priebus, the chief of staff and the president's son-in-law, they're all still working together. and more importantly, the idea that steve bannen is going to sort of somehow walk away into the sunset is not going to happen any time soon. and what people have told me since the campaign, erin, is that the president, then candidate, really saw and sees steve bannon as an equal. i don't see that happen or changing. >> there is something people were saying that, i remember someone close to us saying

they're similar in age and experience. there was just sort of a peer for how he saw steve bannon as opposed to others. but you have some reporting there. that he's going to be taking more control. >> that's right. he's going to try. and that's what i sort of tried to lay out that it's not as if he didn't have that authority. he is the white house chief of staff. that is the job to make sure the trains run on time, the gatekeeper for the president. but also make sure when the president does something major like an executive order that it's thought through on all levels from the perspective of priebus, the good news is that this experience has made it more clear to the people around the praen president and the president himself that you need somebody responsible for that so this

disastrous rollout doesn't happen again. >> dana, thank you so much. >> thank you, erin. >> thanks to all of you for joining us. you can watch the show "out front" any time, anywhere go. to cnn go. we'll see you back here tomorrow. "ac 36 o" begins right now. >> good evening. thank you very much for joining us. we begin with breaking news. president trump and vice president pence making it official after a bruising con fi confirmation battle, rex tillerson is now secretary of state. the ceremony followed mr. trump's first taste of the consequences of the decision that's the president makes. >> i just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at dover. it was something very sad, very beautiful. ryan, a great man. secretary tillerson, i first want to