what a day. live-across presidency. - -- live-action presidency and live-action news. neil, it's all yours. neil: the trend these days of the news media. let's have kellyanne on and rip her a new one, say awful thing to her and go on and on about it. you chose a let's do a substantive interview, get into issues that matter and you moved the markets. that's what it's all about. the 1-2 from the president of the united states and with what kellyanne told you, we are off to the races. stuart: i already had it all from you. neil: would that that be true. that is just great stuff. it's great journalism. let's get stuff out there that

matters to folks on not our colleagues. this is the 1-2 he represent that had to bed well into record territory. as they say, roll the tape. >> lowering overall tax burden bigley it's coming along very well. i was going to be announce something i would say the next 2 or 3 weeks that will be phenomenal in terms of tax. >> we are excited in the next couple weeks on the president. this will be much more bold and ambitious. we are looking at the 1986 tax cuts by president reagan. we are looking at the re-ats of today's economy.

and really taking a yoke off the businesses as well. neil: you see what happened there. well. neil: you had the president of the united states and the woman who served him well echo the same thing, tax cuts, no need to worry, still on the table, still committed to them, still committed to doing them this year and still committed to them being ronald reagan like big. to add it all up the records are going down one after the other. on a blizzard because it is snowing, okay. what have you got? >> records across the board. we are the adjectives, phenomenal, bold, ambitious, the things are coming in the next two or three weeks, the president tells us we are expecting a tax cut. we are waiting for a catalyst to move the market to the upside. take a look and you can see the dow is up 126 points, the s&p

and nasdaq moving into record territory. different sectors where you see up arrows and record highs like costco, and southwest airlines. the president meeting with airline executives today. in addition oil moves higher, gold hovering around 3 months highs, the market was waiting for direction, 42 days less than 1% move on the dow jones industrial average. we did not see that in two years so the market soared when president trump was elected, we jumped 10% and stalled, now as he is putting to fruition the idea of the tax cuts and the pool back on regulation to name a few, you see the market pop again.

neil: it is uncanny, you were reporting earlier this morning this notion tax cuts look good, prospect look good, markets go up, dicey or delayed or watered-down not so good. >> direct correlation. sometimes you see whether the correlation can be fundamental or global politics, there's a great correlation, and tax cuts mean better economy boosting the stock market. >> how doable this is, still a front burner issue, that is the just we are getting from the white house was how doable is it? >> on capitol hill, one tax cut, they want tax reform. people want it in general and it is trickier when you get into the details but in principle it should be easy to get.

i think president trump would be wise to use the first month in august to get a big legislative accomplishment that all these executive orders doesn't do and it is good to lean on congress to get something done. and to build momentum for the rest of his agenda. neil: always the devil in the details, the president is a fan of big tax cuts but his incoming treasury secretary steve mnuchin has said maybe for the upper income revenue neutral, or no tax cut, their rate goes down, a lot of details, many working in congress as we speak but don't share, is it going to be the kind of thing that will be a task to get republicans altogether on this. >> people are unsure because

they don't know where the white house stands on it. in general there is agreement between the hill and the white house, they begin the discussion of the disagreements and there could be commonality. is he going to roll infrastructure legislation, we heard about that before he was into office, but in the airline executive meeting, he mentioned rebuilding airport and maybe i am reading too much into it, rebuilding airports in the tax talk, brings hand in hand, a lot is unknown. they haven't given us many signals, that is assigned they want to do it soon, two or three weeks to get something in the table, and to finally have something he can actually sign

probably. neil: the impact of any tax cut as you know better than most is how soon it comes into being and whether it is soon enough to be retroactive which i talked to a highly placed congressional source on this issue and the thinking was if we get something together by the summer it would be retroactive. if we can't, it won't be retroactive. big tax cut is big tax cut, retroactive one is all the better, how will that go down, the thinking would be better a delay tax-cut than none at all. >> the context of an entire agenda, the pushing gets delayed and everything else gets delayed and harder to do is. and getting the cabinet confirmed, a supreme court justice there will be serious momentum.

and there isn't much on the legislative agenda at this point that he is pushing and with the white house behind it if president trump uses the might of his office i don't see why it couldn't get done. neil: the idea of a border tax, and multinationals would read into this, the president gives and takes away, so whatever tax cuts or regulation comes, the flipside is they are feeling the pinch from the business and how it is impacted but are they weighing in the building behind you, the impact on multinationals? it could be a split. >> both ceos come every day almost like today and earlier this week, the tax gets more

pushback from republicans who don't want taxes in general, that might be a harder stretch, into building a mexican wall, things that have tangible projects that he can use to build momentum might be a strategy, then he gets some traction. that sort of stuff might be trickier unless he has a big package and encompasses all we are talking about in one big legislation. neil: good catching up with you. one other thing i wanted to convey, among the people i am talking to, republicans, we got to get this done in the process of getting done, even if it isn't put together in the summer. things are running, will pile more and even in obamacare, repeal and replace. of the train is moving slowly they will put more on the train.

that is how convinced they are that this tax cut is something they want to get done this year. remaining doubt is when it is retroactive or not but the thinking seems to be get it out by the summertime, make it retroactive to january 1st. it is not retroactive january 1st but from the day it becomes law. the only thing in doubt is the implementation date. they are very serious about moving on this encountering criticism that somehow they dropped the ball on this was that is an optimistic strategy and you know what happens to strategies in washington, oftentimes they fall apart. that is why stocks are up, investors very much delighted that the goal seems to be doable and these guys are very serious about it. we thought who could we send out in the middle of a blizzard?

do we like the least around here? we said connell mcshane. what is he doing? he drew the short straw and is outside covering a blizzard. look what you have to put up with. i was looking? connell: i want to thank you for using your considerable influence at the network to get me this assignment. they all wanted to be out here, adam schapiro and all kinds of people, i thank you for that. that said, we haven't had a lot of snow here in the northeastern part of the united states this year. there - it was 60 ° this time yesterday. i don't think you used me on your program. the other thing i would point out about this storm, maybe a foot of snow when all is said and done, making travel very difficult, do it with the car, or the weather, do it on foot in new york or philadelphia or boston or other places, there

have been thousands of flights canceled already, 3000, the number keeps going up at jfk airport, they have a ground stop in effect meaning the airport is not technically close. it is, in effect, closed, laguardia, queens, three inches of snow per hour. what that is doing is all but eliminating any visibility. you walk around, very difficult to see on the roads, new jersey official told us they added up 50 accidents on state roads and that was a few hours ago so the number continues to go up. connecticut, that number about 30. as we go into the day, we end up with a foot of snow, with this will continue into the evening rush, closer to a foot and a half like boston or a state like maine. for an area that hasn't been hit

hard, 60 ° temperatures 24 hours ago this will hit us hard today but we are a hearty bunch at least that is what they told me to say. neil: you are doing such a good job i wanted to pass along compliments from the control room team, we could send connell mcshane on every blizzard. thank you. connell: you are great. neil: connell mcshane in the middle of this blizzard. if you are outside the affected area, call us from far snow are your areas. the spoke system for air travel these days, flights are not getting in and out of this area, they are not getting in and out of your area as well come our way of saying -- to you as well. president trump is meeting with senators this hour to discuss neil gorsuch and his supreme court possibilities, looking better because of something that guy said about the guy who just

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public wifi for your customers. private wifi for your business. strong and secure. good for a door. and a network. comcast business. built for security. built for business. neil: we have this rally going on, a blizzard in the northeast going on and awaiting an appeals court ruling on the white house and travel restrictions, ban, whatever you want to call it, that could happen any moment. president trump is discussing the neil gorsuch with a number of senators the supreme court choice met with democratic senators. adam schapiro with the latest on that. he is being treated favorably wherever he goes. what is the latest? ashley: he might've won favor over the latest kerfuffle. let me get into the latest moving parts, neil gorsuch may consider the constitutionality of president trump's second-quarter on immigration

but as you mentioned is already in the hot seat and not even a member of the high court is the the ninth circuit court of appeals can come at any moment on a temporary restraining order that halted the immigration order that president trump issued. president trump has been critical of judges involved in the case, calling what he has heard from the judges disgraceful and referred to one of them as a so-called judge. supreme court nominee neil gorsuch met with richard blumenthal, democrat from connecticut and senator blumenthal recounted their conversation and several interviews, saying neil gorsuch recalled that disagreed with his characterization of the president at attacks as being demoralizing and disheartening, senator blumenthal said neil gorsuch specifically told him to feel free to go public with this. >> my strong hope is he will be more vehement publicly. he certainly expressed to me

that he is disheartened by the demoralizing comments made by president trump about the judiciary. >> reporter: president trump shot back this morning saying senator blumenthal misrepresented neil gorsuch edward, saying he never fought in vietnam, when he said for years he had, major lie, now misrepresents what neil gorsuch told him. neil gorsuch is meeting with democratic and republican senators ahead of his confirmation hearing which is yet to be scheduled. kellyanne conway says president trump continues to support his nominee to the high court and in a related matter i want to echo with the control room said, connell mcshane should cover all the blizzards and cold-weather going forward. neil: we readily agree with that. adam schapiro in washington. i believe the judge has come out

and said he did indeed say what senator blumenthal said he did. the thinking is that helps him with democrats who might be leaning on the fence. do you agree with that? >> thanks for having me. i don't know what was said in the room and it doesn't matter because we know neil gorsuch's record that judges should be independent from other political branches, it is important they do their job but the political branch do their job. neil: it is a break of etiquette, protocol, whatever the term is, for a senator to share such a conversation. the judge felt compelled to confirm it, not deny it. others in the room confirmed it but it was a tie against the president those comments were regrettable but back to the process and enhances the likelihood he will be approved

would he be approved by 60 votes, this nuclear option? >> every reason to believe he should be approved by 60 votes and more, he is a mainstream judge, he is conservative but in the mainstream and there is no reason for democrats to hold him up, they should hold a hearing as soon as possible and vote on him and give an up or down vote. the whole notion that we have to have this extra stand is not realistic and inappropriate. >> i wonder if democrats will not make this judge the fight but the next judge and by that i mean i could be wrong but he is replacing a like-minded conservative, antonin scalia a year after the fact but the real battle royal is in the next judgeship that comes up and that would be the one where it is going to be grenades back and forth. >> exactly right. you can't give short shrift to the important of any supreme

court seat but you are right, he will replace another conservative and in some ways it may be better for democrats to hold off and keep their powder dry and when you have a well-qualified nominee with such a 10 year record of opinions it is hard to oppose somebody who is candid and up front what they think about the law and their philosophy and neil gorsuch's opinions are clear and democrats give an up or down vote. neil: on the part of the president and what he said about the appeals court and the prior judge ruling against him. what do you make of that? for no other reason than it can hurt his chances, heard his case and be self-defeating. >> i don't think judge plastered make a decision based on what other people are saying in the political atmosphere the whole reason we have life tenure for judges is they don't have political pressure on them even when people, is it appropriate

to bring political pressure? happens all the time. president obama, what the supreme court does, this is not the first time a president has weighed on judicial decisionmaking a won't be the last but separate branches of government each do their jobs, judge plastered not be politicians in robes. he is just that kind of judge, he doesn't want to be a politician, he wents a decision based on the law congress passed in the constitution our framers wrote. neil: we will see how that goes. we hear from the san francisco appeals court. and the thinking goes along with the president all the way to the supreme court. and that is going that far. speaking of all things legal, the attorney general of the united states, which is a good

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can always play monday morning quarterback if we have any dust-up over the president's vetting policy if he had a attorney general in place at the time but, what will the difference be now that jeff sessions is in there? >> well, jeff sessions has a lot of work to do, just like you said.

donald trump certainly wouldn't have the rebellion two when acting attorney general refused enforce his ruling. i had never seen that before. i had never seen that before in politics. that is wild. jeff sessions has a big job. he is taking over bureaucracy staffed eight years by liberals and barack obama. conservatives are pretty food putting judges in place and supreme court, they're not so good with the federal bureaucracy. they try to get rid of it. they're battling career leftists as well as massive unions within the department of justice. sessions has a lot of work cut out for him to get people in line enforce trump's agenda. neil: you bring up a good point, chris, you often do, other appointees are coming under with departments not necessarily keen to have them there. i'm thinking about the palace revolt at the education department, leaking out a lot of stuff against betsy devos and her views on charter schools and all this other stuff.

rex tillerson he goes to the state department after being sworn in as secretary of state. we know it was someone at the state department released details on the call the president had with the australian prime minister. they're taking over their own little vipers nest. that itself is rather intriguing. >> yeah. i was, i had dinner last night with a guy. he went over to the broadcasting board of governors. the day he started as part of a landing team to do report for the administration there was article with "politico," inside stories, written by former voice of america intern and other guy acting director. people are feeling isolated. it will be difficult for them. lower level employees are well unionized are almost impossible to fire. next 120 days tore 90 days as landing teams get in place, suggestions to decapitate leadership roles in difficult organizations and replace them with some of trump people. problems go deeper.

they have is a long road. it will take them a couple years. neil: i always recount that story though, chris labor department, the labor and statistics division saying you know, neil, these chiefs come and go. we're here forever. the thinking being that the political heads are fleeting but the base, the bureaucracy, they're always there. which can be a little disconcerting. >> it is. i remember we see all this fighting about who will be the secretary of veterans affairs and va. what real difference does it make who the secretary is if people who work there can be accused of killing patients in their care around still be protected by unions? it doesn't really make a huge amount of difference if you don't see reform. neil: can not fire them. chris, great stuff. your insight, we're left with. chris bedford. daily caller news foundation, editor-in-chief.

just mention tax cuts look good and could be big and they're on despite what some are worried about or saying. 27 of the dow 30 stocks doing quite well. thank you. more after this.

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. . neil: all right, might be the president of the united states social venue tool but it is not helping twitter out with numbers that disappointed the street, particularly when it comes to revenue. shares are continuing to plunge even amidst talk there is

someone out there who might be interested in the company, combination of someone. something we'll get into with charlie gasparino. meantime i want to get into this. it shows how this nordstrom sentiment is building up now that nordstrom dropped the ivanka line of clothing and paraphernalia. it has the the upset. it had even kellyanne talking about it earlier this morning on "fox & friends." take a look. >> using her, who has been a champion for women empowerment, women in the work place to get to him. people can see through that. go by ivanka's stuff. i hate shopping. will get some myself today. neil: all right. and democrats are pouncing on that as, you can't do that. all right. charlie gasparino. this is something the president's not letting go of here. it kind of, remember the old stories about harry truman when his daughter was criticized in review and they reported it. this is taking to another level. what do you think?

>> part of me says why is the president of the united states going after a company for not, just because they don't want her clothes, they don't think it sells. that is free markets. if it sold they would do it. neil: i think he was suspecting other motives. regardless. >> here is the thing, neil. people are kind of missing this, that was my initial response. corporate america has been a tool of political correctness on the left for a long time. they give in, whether transgender bathrooms and every pc sort of schtick they can figure out they give into. if you're, corporate america is going to be used as political tool, as it often is, embracing certain left-wing dogmas, you know, every now and then the right is going to fight back. that is what is kind of going on here. let's be clear. these companies boycott, they don't advertise on certain conservative shows. i know for a fact when certain shows here, i think glenn beck, it was hard for certain

advertisers, they boycotted his show. neil: right. >> because he spoke about conservative values. that is how corporate america is. neil: a lot of rich conservatives shop at nordstrom? >> you would think. i think this could backfire on them at some point if there's a boycott but i'm just telling you -- neil: you expect at starbucks we'll do things to encourage refugees. i don't know how that connect. >> starbucks is a perfect example. you remember the race conversation? neil: absolutely. >> when you got the coffee in the morning. neil: got a lecture. >> somebody would lecture you about racism and whatever. the premise is -- neil: give me my latte and shut up. >> also premise of that, everybody is racist, especially if they don't order pumpkin spiced latte. my point every politically correct schtick they embrace, and now they're up in arms of donald trump takes a shot at them. too bad, deal with it. neil: that is very interesting point. why is it now an issue? because he made it an issue. flip it around and what it could

do to him? you were the first to cite when you target companies like boeing and lockheed martin, you could tank their stock. what if opposite boosts stock, you are no different than predecessor favoring solar? it is a dangerous area. >> area i would generally stay away from. i don't believe presidents should move stocks every day. if that is his intention, that is probably illegal to manipulate a stock for betterment -- neil: even though in the aggregates what he does can move markets. >> this is different with nordstrom. didn't say, crappy company. didn't say boycott the stock. they did something stupid, did something mean to my daughter who, always teaches me to do the right thing. i thought that was the best line of the whole tweet. neil: which probably would not have been the to respond to this at all, right? >> right. stuff with other companies is different. he, as a businessman, he has got to know he is moving their

stock. i have a real problem with presidents trying to get their way crushing a stock or pumping up a stock. that seems to medy, wonder when he talks about fake news and how the media obsesses, i'm looking at coverage for the heck of it, what he did yesterday. disproportionate coverage of elizabeth warren you how she was treated. >> sure. neil: virtually none intel in the oval office committing $7 billion to expanded factory and 3,000 jobs. you could say that was intended anyway. little coverage period. is that because it is good news for the president? couldn't you get both stories in? so. >> to be fair, these guys are on jihad against donald trump. neil:p of his making he went after them, right? >> some of it is fake news. that whole thing about the dossier, russian dossier, 90%

was false and wouldn't publish it until someone dis. neil: this does get what you're getting. this create as environment where they're happy to report the negative news around the divisive news and not so, anything that is as good? the. >> yes. that is one story. i think, i think they're out to get him. they're out to pump up a lot of negative stuff although the intel might be a different story because that was so baked in already. he has done other stuff for corporations, getting them in here. the other thing, corporate america how they embraced the left so long, that now they're getting their comeuppance, if you tell me corporations are in it for pure profit and looking to do the right thing, they're staying completely neutral i would point you to the starbucks racial conversation. they wanted people to have before they got their coffee. transgender bathrooms that target was offering. if i had a list, it would be a mile long, and if they're going to embrace leftism, every now and then they have to be prepared to be put directly in the political debate which is

what this guy ad nordstrom is doing. neil: do they still have the piano player or is that neiman marcus. >> that is interesting -- neil: neiman marcus, ralph? they used have it. put out of a job. >> by the way i bought a shirt in nordstroms in dallas, seven years ago. neil: really? >> last time i was in nordstrom. neil: all downhill for them since. >> of course. neil: we'll update you on the markets still soaring. update you on the battle for lawmakers attention. democrats going one way, republicans the other and never two in between. [phone ring] hi anne. so those financial regulations being talked about? they could affect your accounts, so let's get together and talk, and make sure everything's clear. yeah, that would be great. being proactive... it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. dearthere's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony.

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neil: what do you think of the tone in the senate right now, and what your party is pushing things too far, whether republicans are, what do you think? >> i don't think the tone is good. i think people quite frankly are sick of shenanigans in

washington, d.c., and have been for some time. >> this could very well spell the decline of the american empire in terms of direction we're going but i am absolutely convinced great nations, great republics don't die by murder. they die by suicide. neil: we were weighing this in this great international debate going on within our nation, this crisis, this moral dilemma, only one guest came to mind, joe piscopo. he joins us right now. joseph, we are a nation at war with itself. what do you make of this? >> stop the whining! neil cavuto, my dear friend, like chuck schumer, we used to do these characters, if i could just refer to the great "saturday night live" with respect, rob, and i did character, whiner doug. they whined about everything. and chuck schumer is whining

about donald trump and elizabeth warren. stop the whining, please! stop the whining. we got to make it work. you know what too, neil, if i may, they never come up with solutions. i don't have any hate toward anybody. i say that on the show. we should all get along. neil: i hear you. >> stop butting heads. happens in trenton, albany, state capitols, happens in washington, d.c. if you whine like on the radio, i will whine and complain but i come up with a solution. is that too much to ask, neil? neil: there are some cooler heads in both parties try to prevail and work with the other side. i give emanuel cleaver a great deal of kudos. he is trying to say there is a better way to do this. he agreed with those, a lot of those congressman and women who opted out of attending the inauguration but told a good many, it is a bad idea. i share some of your angst about this guy. it is a bad idea. we should all be here and honor the process. we're far past that now.

i don't know if this comes back and people are capable of dialing it back. so what are we in for? >> well i think, what the democrats have to watch out, you're talking to a live long former blue dog democrat, some of my best friends are democrats. i have no hate toward anybody but, you're going to lose the party. look what happened in this election how donald trump stepped up. he touched the tone of the people. he heard we the people. the people have awakened. now the democrats, when you say something bad, whether from performing stage or whether from the floor of the senate, you say something bad about donald trump, you're insulting tens of millions of american people who actually believe in this guy and believe you should give him a chance. neil: but you know, it is getting crazy. did you you read this story, maybe you covered on this show, a woman left her husband of 22 years because the guy voted for trump. i immediately heard that, there are other issues going on here. maybe he wasn't cleaning up

after himself or using that as excuse, but that is getting nutty? >> why do you refer to my exes? why do you bring that up? neil: i thought thought it was i. >> she will kill me for telling you this. i have this problem with me organically, honest. my ex, one of my exes, to be clear, she was a big fan of a former president, i don't want to mention the president's name. i was not. as soon he is one of the best presidents ever in history, she left me i was not really upset after that. neil: is that right? >> i let her go. neil: that was not the reason why particular thing happened. you glossed over that. which is fine. >> i glossed over that? thank you. thank you. neil: let me get your take -- >> go ahead. neil: how you're able to bridge the divide to get people like you, tout your name as gibe --

gubernatorial possibilities in new jersey, you can bridge the divide. donald trump bridged divide with republicans and democrats those that had it with the system. republicans think he is one of their own. he really isn't. democrats who think he has nothing in common with them, he really does. that is what people are looking for. >> exactly right. neil: i wonder if that will continue, given the experiences here and people constantly pounded with notion he is failing or this isn't working, they will he revert back to traditional petri dish politicians? >> i don't know. you need a leader on the democratic side. a leader with, stops just the head butting. just as an example, i went down to the assembly in new jersey, to meet some folks, giving some italian-american awards i was one of the folks. neil: that is odd they found some in southern jersey. remarkable. >> not you enough italians in new jersey. i go down to the republican caucus, in the assembly. they were very, very nice.

my buddy the minority leader took me over to the democratic side. it was great. it was nice. i talked to them. we hugged and we talked. you can work it out. i'm so convinced and driven to work it out, stop this partisan politics. it has got to stop. and republicans again, i don't want to say anything bad about anybody, they have got to just go with this president for now. the democrats as well. everybody has to be stop whining. give it a shot. they're not giving donald trump a chance, neil. jumping down every second they get, they jump down his throat. will he make mistakes? sure. neil: protests for the president to screw up something. >> right. neil: we assume he will so we preprotest, right. >> like the i the immigration bn pause, not a ban, it was pause. they were for donald trump waiting salivating. busloads of paid protesters ready to jump in. calm down. we're a great country. greatest country on plannest earth. a guy in charge doing what he

said he would do. calm down. stop the whining, neil cavuto. please stop the whining. neil: i'm not whining. joe, thank you, very, very much. we need that. >> god bless america, man. neil: need that in new jersey as well. a little more after this. with every early morning... every late night... and moment away... with every click...call...punch... and paycheck... you've earned your medicare. it was a deal that was made long ago, and aarp believes it should be honored. thankfully, president trump does too. "i am going to protect and save your social security and your medicare. you made a deal a long time ago." now, it's congress' turn. tell them to protect medicare. i'm raph. my name is anne. i'm one of the real live attorneys

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i examined my finances and i said, there is no reason why i shouldn't retire today. 10, 12 years earlier than i had anticipated. in the first year, mike's cash flow savings totaled $8,736. after 5 years, it will be over $40,000. it really is worth a call to find out if a reverse mortgage can help you too. call one reverse mortgage now and ask for your free information kit. neil: democrats at working retreat in baltimore, maryland where you find our peter barnes. what are they talking about, peter? port port hey,

>> as long as the president continues down this path, there is nothing democrats can work with him on. to protect the security of our nation -- neil: i apologize for that, peter. to president right now. this is coming in from the white house. meeting with top senators on judge gorsuch. >> qatar, couple countries, afghanistan, that is a tough situation. we'll do something about it. we'll have -- giving you good

information soon. we'll have good conversations with other world leaders over the next two hours. a lot of things are happening. a lot of positive things. i want to start by thanking senator manchin for having the courage to vote for somebody that is really very outstanding, really outstanding. as good they have seen in a long time. nominating the justice to the supreme court, a justice has always been considered one of the very important things that a president can do. i guess i'm looking for as much in defense and negotiating a lot of contracts with airlines and a lot of other people, when you get right down to it, the f-35 fighter is very important in all of the things we're doing is very important but i always considered, i guess a lot of people have, the supreme court nominees to be right up there, right up there. we'll take defense number one. i think, senator, we have to go

with defense of our country, number one. and right after that i suspect it is going to be supreme court justices. judge gorsuch is an exceptionally qualified nominee. probably rarely been anybody more qualified. he has impeccable academic and legal credentials. he went to columbia. very, very great student. he went to harvard. top of his class. he went to oxford, great student, great intellect. he has an outstanding record for 10 years on the bench. one of the great writers they say, legal writers. i have read some of the things he has written, believe me is a great, great writer. he will very much respect the constitution as written. and he will apply the law as written. he is a mainstream judge, very much mainstream, and i urge you call to confirm him. he has been doing verywell. a lot of people liking him very

much on the other side. i think because of politics they will perhaps not vote for him. that is a shame. that is not being honest. i have a couple people tell me from the other side, believe it or not i have a lot of friend on the other side too, and they think he is outstanding. then they go on to tell me they won't be able to do that. that is one of the reasons that our country is in stagnation in so many difficult forms, in so many different ways. i think it is very dishonest and very unfortunate. we'll see what happens. i think he is doing very well. and, i know that some people are going to come on board and hopefully we can do this in a very quick and civil manner. the cabinet slowly is happening. jeff sessions, you're very happy about that, because jeff is outstanding. we just swore in jeff sessions as attorney general. and i think he is going to be outstanding. thank you all for being here.

we'll have a good lunch. we'll talk about our supreme court nominee and someone who will do a fantastic job years to come. thank you very much. [inaudible] neil: that is the president, he is taking questions. can we go back to that? >> -- misrepresented. what you should do is ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record that didn't exist after years saying it did. ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. thank you. neil: all right. that is the president meeting with senators, democrat and republican. might be very influence of course, confirming judge gorsuch to be the next supreme court justice of the united states but he was referring to michael blumenthal, the connecticut senator who revealed a conversation with judge gorsuch

in his chambers, something normally not done. president came out with accuracy of that. we have confirmed and neil gorsuch confirmed he found president trump's disparagement of a judge that ruled against him before this appeal in the san francisco district court, so-called judge, and judge gorsuch had found those comments demoralizing and disheartening. he wasn't disparaging the president, saying he didn't like him using those words about a judge. so the words were accurate, whether the senator from connecticut should have revealed them or shared them, is in some dispute. normally those kind of things are not shared but they were here. they got out, and the president didn't like it. but what's done is done as they say. we'll have more after this. i apologize. we are going to blake burman who is at the white house here. blake, i mean now we get a sense, i apologize for the confusion, we get a sense,

blake, that the judge is kind of caught in between a rock and a hard place here. he probably didn't expect that would be revealed to the press, but it is. it is how he feels. bygones are bygones or what do you think? reporter: this is part of the outreach what we saw from the president moments ago. one of the interesting things, neil, about all of this is what you just watched inside of the, inside of the white house here. there were about half a dozen or so democrats involved in this meeting. so it is clearly part of the pitch here to try to get folks on to his side. as part of that pitch is, neil gorsuch going around to capitol hill speaking to folks. you're right, those comment got out. now the president trying to do what is a little bit of damage control with it. those six democrats you saw it on the screen there, but this is them trying to get past that, or the president, his administration trying to get past that filibuster level of 60

votes. nine democrats on their side. six in the white house this afternoon, to get past the filibuster level. so eventually it gets to simple majority up or down for neil gorsuch, republicans have that mark with 52 by their side. very interesting day here at the white house neil. yet another up with of those, we feel like we say it every day, as airline executives were here as well. the president made very interesting comments as it relates to tax reform. the president saying, and i'm quoting here, over the next two or three weeks there is something, quote, phenomenal in terms of tax. afterwards we asked the ceo of southwest airlines bit. this is what he said. listen. >> we had a he delightful meeting with the president meeting with president and his staff. imalso happy to report we're aligned on very key topics, income tax reform, regulatory reform and especially growing

our industry. reporter: neil, the sense we're getting at the white house, we press about the timeline and details what tax reform may or may not be. few details at this point, though the president says it is coming. as you mentioned the supreme court meeting underway here at white house. neil? neil: quickly on these in the room with the president on the supreme court issues. the democrats in attendance including heidi heitkamp of north dakota, jon tester of montana, john donnelly of indiana, obviously joe manchin of west virginia, chris coons of delaware, michael bennet of colorado, are they among the more persuasive of the butch that could make this whole "nuclear option" a non-issue? in other words they joined with 52 republicans you're close to the 60 you need anyway, and you're there? >> what is interesting about that list, when you look at it,

only senator coons is on the senate judiciary committee. not like president hauled in here the democrats on the committee to try to start that -- neil: you think he passed that to the full senate vote, right? reporter: correct. correct. this is clearly a group they feel they can start with or potentially maybe spread the worth amongst democrats. hey, we sat down with the president. this is what we heard. and clearly the white house feels this is a group at least they should start with.ting. blake burman, thank you, very, very much. reporter: thanks. neil: blake was touching on with the tax cut talk, that came up, i sound like a broken record with this. bears repeating. not a right or left thing, or red or blue. it is green and money like wall street likes to see a lot of, this wall street considered a republican bastion celebrated wildly under bill clinton presidency, didn't do that bad under barack obama presidency under notion anything that looks

good for their profits they're all for. this idea of tax cut are back on the table and look to be sooner rather than later, the fact is the administration went out of its way, as a number of prominent republican leaders in the senate and house to say this is not back burner issue. i talked to a very prominent figure in this debate echoed the same, saying something will be done, probably by the summer. it could be depending on the timing of this, even sort of backdated to take effect from the beginning of the year. a tax cut comes to fruition then would be backdated to january 1, maybe not. wall street follows tick per tick. better things for tax cuts, stocks look -- and. what did my panel think of it? jonathan hoenig of capitalist pig hedge fund manager. mark serrano joins us, former

bush 41 campaign advisor, gerri willis. jonathan you're hearing this talk, tax cuts back on, big ones coming. details to follow. what do you think? >> let's see them now, neil. if the president wants to create jobs we heard about that over and over again, tax cuts are most natural, easy way to do it. the president's job is protect rights, individual rights. tax cut are great part of that. unfortunately i think so much what we've seen president injecting himself into the economy almost on daily basis, neil, whether carrier, nordstrom. companies are not just thinking about tax cuts, thinking about risking humiliation if they don't follow the president's words or worst, declines in their stocks prices. let's get the tax cut first and foremost. then you see the economy thrive. neil: what do you make of that, mark? whether you think of powerful or bully pulpit type president single a company out could take it away? you get tax cuts and regulatory relief but could have a

president with protectionist bent, intent of embarrassing for any one one of a myriad of reass and you take bullish tone away, what do you think of that? >> anytime we see a new set of ceos meeting with the president they're acting out of self-interest and their self-interest is tied to a deal. he is cutting a deal in front of our eyes with the airline executives, they're coming out talking about rolling back regulations and cutting taxes. we're bringing jobs to the table. he will use every point of leverage and pressure he can utilize. if that means pressuring them in public with the media, he will do it. he is cutting a deal, he is putting pressure on them it works. i don't see this intervention in the economy. he will get government off the backs of these business leaders. neil: gerri willis how do you think this will fall out to jonathan's point at outset, we like the idea of tax cuts, bigger the better. we don't like necessarily the

idea whether it will be border or import tax, that could maybe lead to a protection it wave? not all companies feel that way. obviously if you're at walmart you're concerned about the price of goods coming into the country. less so if you're at ge, but factor that out? >> okay. lots of controversy overboarder adjustment, right? i'm hearing from my sources on the hill that folks are backing that, companies behind that are having a heck of a time getting their message across. having said that listen to the president this morning. he said he will have something in two or three weeks. what is that something? the president does not write legislation. it will be up to the ways and means committee to do that. i called them to find out. is two to three weeks appropriate deadline? here is what they said to me. we are moving forward as quickly as possible on comprehensive, pro-growth, tax reform legislation. that is not a resounding yes, right? i talk to more of my sources about this and here is what is possible in two to three weeks. a detailed outline of what that

plan could look like. so we might see things like tax levels. we might see things like the number of tax brackets for individuals. both sides want to reduce them from 7 to 3. things like that you might see publication on it in two to three weeks. but border tax, may or may not be part of it. there are still parts of this, highly controversial. we don't know how it is going to come out but at the end of the day some things are looking more likely than others like reducing the corporate tax level to 20%. neil: go ahead, jonathan. >> we know how it end, we know how it ends, neil, we know how central planning ends in north korea or cuba or communist russia or any of that. centrally-planned economy we're alluding to. tax cuts are great. to your point when government starts controlling antitrust and start controlling trade and giving favors to air year, airline associations not offered to other parts of the economy, that is cronyism so many of the president's party used to run against.

now they embrace. neil: mark, i want to get back to one of the tax cuts, one of the things i consistently hearing among republicans, that is where this battle royale will be i suspect, i could be wrong, few democrats will hop on board with this thing. so the battle is among republicans, those who want these paid for. those who are using traditional accounting, static accounting and to skew dynamic accounting, there is no way to factor in the bang for the buck for tax cuts, we can argue that until the cows come home. >> right. neil: they're going to be big and to gerry's point, they're going to be substantive. a corporate rate goes down to 20%, seven or eight rates that go to three, highest of which would be 33%, north of 40% if you include obamacare costs. those are big numbers and the question that will come up, and i will ask you, whether the markets will hold the

administration accounting feet to the fire? can they pay for this? will you? do you think it is important? >> i think it is important ultimately but in the beginning we've got to start somewhere. the place we start, we already have a blueprint. that comes from donald trump's campaign pledge for tax reform. you know, with the corporate tax rate, first and foremost but also individual marginal tax rates. so how we pay for it is very important but reality is, the best way we'll get this economy moving is through growth. how do we start growth? we have to employ tax reform as soon as possible. so look, there will be marginal democrats, many senators sitting in the room with the president a little while ago, are going to be very key i think to new tax reform as well as many in the house. largely republicans will have to carry it. get into fights with -- neil: gerri, make a point there. >> we're sitting on $20 trillion on federal debt. there have has to be some kind

of come-to-jesus moment on way we're spending, if neil says, huge cut in taxes how do we pay for that? how do we keep our kids having to pay for that? neil: depends if you like your kids. depends on the day, often times. guys, thank you all, very, very much. should add, a lot of conversations i had with some of the same ones, some other fbners have had, they will try to do this under budget reconciliation process. that gets a little wonky. that is my dull little world. what that means you only need a simple majority of senators going along with this. that is where this ultimately will be fought finally, yea or ney. wouldn't be type of thing that would require 60 votes as did the reagan cuts back in the early 1980s. you have to get into the method of that, how they would do that, how they would use budget reconciliation to achieve that. suffice it to say, they think, very comfortable coming up with a big plan that will require own

asimple majority. again on paper it makes sense. reality, might be another thing. you don't need to look at weather forecast on paper to know it is snowing outside in the northeast and it is coming down fast and furious. meteorologist rick reichmuth how long that will be lasting. i do know air travel is pretty much grounded throughout the northeast. how long will this go on? >> a lot of flights canceled today. there will be a trickle-down effect and a lot of people will not get out for a you few days of the storm. that is how strong it is. we were 62 yesterday in new york. right now 28. you get an idea how quickly the colder air came in. moisture is falling and cooling down temperatures. 28 degrees in new york. 31 in philly. 35 down in d.c. you see the snow, light snow in new york. most of the energy pulling off in across parts of new england. along with the energy though is really strong wind.

here is how this will play out. here is thursday 6:00 p.m. hanging around boston and towards portland, maine, and lake cod and islands. lake-effect snow kicks in several days. we'll see a few heavier bands move in there. you get an idea windwise, 47 in montauk, 41 in philadelphia. 43 in atlantic city. these are current wind gusts. snow on the ground blowing around causing whiteout conditions, in some cases because of that, where we have the pink, that is winter storm warnings. blizzard warnings in effect across eastern area of long island, coastal part of connecticut, towards rhode island and cape cod and the islands. blizzard conditions continue likely throughout tonight. snowfall primarily towards new england. we'll see a spot another exsix to 10 inches. by the time we're done we'll see a few spots over a foot. a lot of everybody six to 12 inches, something for

everybody finally across the northeast. neil: like being home from school. not sure my wife is keen with the concept but they are. thank you very much, rick reichmuth. we're on top of that. hopefully get connell mcshane back outside just for the laughs. we're also keeping on top of this new immigration order coming from the president, and how an appeals court in san francisco is going to rule on that. we do know, that a centcom commander is weighing the fallout on that as well after this. [ alarm clock beeping ]

weather. ♪ [ laughter ] cartoons. wait for it. [ cat screech ] [ laughter ] ♪ [ screaming ] [ laughter ] make everyday awesome with the power of xfinity x1... hi grandma! and the fastest internet. [ girl screaming ] [ laughter ] neil: we are still awaiting the appeals court ruling on the president's immigration order. so this next gentleman, admiral

william fallon, former commander during the iraq war. what this man has done during his career, stunning. admiral, honor to have you. thank you for taking the time. >> nice to be back, neil. neil: let me ask you about this. president says this is life or death issues he is convinced he is right on that issue but also criticized judges who criticize where he stands on these issues. do you think that kind of stuff and that kind of talk however passionate he feels actually boomerangs on him? >> you're talking about immigration, the immigration ban? neil: yeah. >> that is one really, i have two strong feels here. first of all this country is a nation of immigrants. it is where we came from. i think it is a tremendous strength of the country. the idea that we ban people, but again i think has been taken a lot of different ways, particularly in the hype. so, the other part of me is the feeling that certainly want wano

be mindful who is coming into the country and don't want to do things jeopardizing security here. seems to me, if not all the terrorist incident so far are people who have been in the country for some time and so, you have to wonder but the reality you want to have food border procedures. you want to have strong security. as best you can you want to screen people. you want to continue to be welcoming, have open doors to people that that are going to make this country better. and i think the way this has played out, it has not been particularly helpful in many places of the world. seems to me a lot of this is making good on campaign promises and statements. i understand that but i am a very interested in longer-term policies for this country and how we'll get moving on some of the things i think are really important for the long term such

as our relationship with china. so so many things to do. neil: on the china thing because you mentioned it, as long as i have interviewed you, been a while since the last interview, donald trump he over the years, china was always his number one worry. he never seemed to worry about russia. we can all agree to disagree, with whether they rigged their currency and trade numbers, he took a harder right turn of china and militarizing islands in south china sea. militarizing not too far off the coast of japan. he was concerned about it. the point china was, is, i suspect will be his number one worry, is he right to prioritize that way? >> worry may not be target word, in terms of interest, in international relations, because

it's a huge country. the largest population in the world. they have incredible economic linkage to us and rest of the world. they're an expanding power. they're coming back in their words. place of power and influence in asia in particular but it is usually important to us for the future. there is a tremendous potential, if we could figure out a way to work together on things. neil: how could we then, admiral? some say it would be reverse of what richard nixon did, using china as a wedge with russia, this time we use russia as a wedge with china. what do you make of that? >> ihey're different, certainly different countries. they're at very different stages of development and effect on us. china, i see is much, much bigger, more important from the standpoint of the potential for now and in the future.

russia, putin's russia has visions of returning to the grand old days of empire. they have got a heck of a long way to go but what they do have is very coherent strategy seems to me that they have been executing in their so-called near or abroad to regain influence and push us away. they gagged on nato coming close to them. they want to push back on that. he has seen opportunities to get involved in places traditionally -- syria, for example, was their niche in the middle east for many, many years. they saw an opportunity to get back in there and stick their thumbs in our eyes at the same time. so he has taken advantage of things, i think primarily because he has got an agenda that he's working. flip that around to china, and chinese much bigger, much more important longer term. yes they don't particularly care for our influence in asia because they view themselves as

the big power there. but they also recognize that there are tremendous linkages between the two countries. i see them very different in many respects. so i wouldn't, i just wouldn't elevate them to the same level at all in the discussion. china is much more important. neil: gotcha, sir. admiral women fallon, former director of central command during the iraq war. good catching up with you. what is going on the corner of wall and broad right now. stocks up appreciably. major averages in record territory. a lot buoyed about talk of tack cuts. there are a flip side to tax cuts that would blow a hole in the debt and deficit. there was a time we policed that. there was gramm-rudman and control over spending. for a while it worked beautifully. we'll talk to one of the principle architects phil

phil gramm to see if we have a will there is way. next. i'm connecting our brains so we can share our amazing trading knowledge. why don't you just go to thinkorswim's chat rooms, where you can share strategies with thousands of other traders? mmm, blueberry? tap into the knowledge of other traders on thinkorswim. only at td ameritrade. (snap) achoo! (snap) achoo! achoo! (snap) (snap) achoo! achoo! feel a cold coming on? zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a snap, and reduce symptom severity by 45%. shorten your cold with a snap, with zicam.

neil: you know there was a time when washington was serious about cutting spending and this gentleman was a key proponent of it, advocate for it, actually came up with a way to do it. there is a concept. talking about former republican senator phil gramm, one of the key names behind something called gramm-rudman hollings. a bipartisan effort to force budget savings and spending restraints. what a great concept back then, senator. where is the will to do that in either party now? >> neil, you are showing your age. neil: i am, my friend, i am. >> it was a while back. well, we had a crisis then. interestingly enough, we had our first vote to raise the debt ceiling above a trillion dollars

there was a bipartisan consensus that something needed to be done. as usual there wasn't much of a consensus as to what to do. and, the idea that we had was a simple idea, was to force congress to make hard choices. and today -- neil: mechanism was set in to do it. especially younger people or certainly anyone younger let's say than 80, you knew, and i'm joking, just that there was the will and there was a way and they obviously found ways around that since. but it can be done. i'm just wondering, everyone is for tax cuts. everyone seems to be for giving people more of their money. i don't know whether you're in the camp that equates it with spending cuts, that equal whatever you're doing in texas, but it can be done. where and how did the will get there to do it? >> well, it is hard to say. i think we, we were coming off of the 1970's where we had a

wasted decade. neil: right. >> not unlike the last eight years. we have had through slow growth which largely in my opinion we chose with restrictive regulations, with massive tax increases, that stifled growth and we left all of that money on the table, and then, we increased spending. and we're now facing a situation where when interest rates return to their historic norm, we've got a trillion dollars deficit a year until jesus comes back. and we've got to do something about it. neil: but does that make you today anti-tax cut, you have to pay for them as you would any new spending? how do you look at it? a lot of people say we have dynamic accounting and account for revenue from taxes. i understand that if you were working with old colleagues,

would you treat it the i same wy as spending or what? >> i think we need to have a rational tax code. we need to eliminate all the subsidies that distort resource allocation. we need a simpler system with lower rates and we will get economic growth. we have left a couple of trillion dollars on the table in the obama era because the economy didn't grow. you can't deal with the deficit if you can't grow. but having said, and i'll very much for tax reform that stimulates growth. but in the end, we have got to do something about spending. medicare is going to go broke in 11 years. social security will go broke in 17 years. under the obama program, medicaid will have 1/4 of the population under that program in five years. neil: something has got to be

done. >> this can't add up. this can't be paid for. and we've got to have reform. obviously we have to raise the retirement age. people have got to work longer. they are living longer. many of them are working longer. we ought to give them credit. they ought not to have to pay social security when they work longer, you but we have got to make some changes. neil: these are realistic changes. i keep jumping on you because we're coming to a break. senator, i do remember how you were the first to address that and actually find a way to deal with that we've forgotten that. but it has been done. there is a precedent. you're that precedent. senator graham, thank you very, very much. >> enjoy the snow. neil: it's snowing? we'll have more after this.

neil: ahead of the white house briefing with charlie gasparino i guess with a little pr briefing. what is going on, charlie? >> as you know trump's tweets against nordstrom and others, can move stock price, create intense anxiety and a public relations disaster for the targeted companies. we know the public relations industry is gearing up to protect companies against trump, against his tweeting. have rapid response to this. one new york pr you powerhouse firm actually has created a rapid response team to deal with trump's tweets.

this is what this company does. it goes to the corporate clients and others says, if you get targeted by donald trump, whether you're nordstrom or anybody else, here is how we will respond, here is what we will do to protect the brand. here is what we do to talk to reporters. we will try to limit damage caused which as you know, neil, is falling stocks prices. corporate america is taking this whole trump tweeting and attacks against it very seriously. they are the first company i have ever heard of stepping up to the plate to create a rapid response team. this is a big pr firm. based in new york city. represents a lot of corporations, as well as hedge funds and other small investment banks. so this is kind of real. i can tell you there is other companies talking about this. donald trump you know, maybe, listen, let's face it, regulation and public policy affect stock prices. always does. never has been done in the

deliberate, specific way until donald trump came around. you have the reaction. corporate america is gearing up for a battle royale. one way they will do can it through public relations, this one firm, has created a sort of a s.w.a.t. team to deal with it. i am sure you find other public relations firms doing the same. back to you. neil: fickle finger of presidential fate can have your company out there. thank you very much, charlie gasparino. lea gabrielle is talking us right now. we're looking at the president to boost the military. that is a big goal, right? >> it is, neil. the vice chiefs of the services have been on capitol hill basically saying that the military is depleted. in the words of vice chief of naval operations, we're able to put first team on the field our bench is largely depleted. vice chiefs have told the senate armed forces committee, long-term readiness is under steady decline because of higher demand on forces because of budget constraints and past

couple years. the officers gave specific examples. in the army three of 5brigade combat items too are ready fight. in marine corps, 80% of the aviation units are below training. navy is smallest it has been in 99 years, more than half of all navy aircraft grounded because they need i maintenance or spare parts. fa 18 hornet that is 50%. air force chief of staff says flying less hours than the hollow force chief of staff in the '70s. >> today's modernization is tomorrow's readiness. our average fleet is over 2 years old. we have 21 fleets of 39 aircraft exceed 27 year average. >> to put that perspective, the average commercial plane for u.s. airlines is 13 years old. the military is looking to

increase of its budget of $30 billion just for this year. neil: that is why trump keeps saying we have a world war i budget for this age. he might have have something to that. leah, thank you, very, very much. give you update on the market what is is going on. all three major stock averages well into record territory. time this, can't dispute it, better things for tax cuts and stocks, maybe the worse for bonds of the because that of course implies an economy that would pick up. not good for those who like safety and surety of dullness of bonds that tend to do low in inflation rate environment. that seems to suit investors just fine. right now i think we have jeff sessions. he is addressing those at the justice department, newly-minted and sworn in today after big back and forth. let's listen to this a while if we can. [inaudible conversations]

>> i got to say, hard to believe -- [inaudible] [laughter]. neil: all right. we're going to continue to monitor this. jeff sessions, the back and forth on that, probably one of the more controversial picks for president trump. he got through with a 52-47 vote. one democrat supported him. west virginia senator joe manchin. outside of that it was a soap opera to put it mildly. nothing approaching the craziness of betsy devos education secretary, she had to get in with a vote breaking a tie by the vice president of the united states. things going their way, and tax

cuts coming their way, the belief, i had it confirmed from a number of very high sources on capitol hill, who confirm with me big tax cuts are to be announced in a matter of weeks of the summer at the latest, the only question seems to be whether they will be backdated to january 1st. thinking being something like this. if it gets dragged beyond the summer and into the fall, they will be, to that date, they are approved then. earlier than that they will be retroactive to january 1. we're talking substantial rate cuts taking seven rates that we have now down to three. top rate 33%. middle rate of 25%. and a 12% bottom rate and 20% corporate rate. all investment-related rates will be cut at least in half. that is big. that is on. and republicans say, that is going to happen. we'll see. more after this. you want to protect it. at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you

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neil: all right. well, judge neil gorsuch as you probably heard making the rounds, meeting with a lot of powerful senators this guy is in that select bunch to put it mildly, republican steve daines of montana. he joins us here. senator, thanks for joining us and taking the time. >> thanks for having me. neil: you've been through a lot of soap operas, including the dust-up in the senate with liz warren and all of that. how did that go down? i don't want to get sidetracked. democrats made hay of it. republicans say they were following rules on conduct and how you refer to each other. it had to be tense because there you were in the middle of it all? >> well, i preside every tuesday night from 6:30 p.m. to eight p.m. neil: lucky you. >> i had no idea who would be speaking. typically you don't. when you're presiding officer you have to call balls and strikes according to rules of the senate. neil: that is a rule, right?

you can't disparage another member. >> words are you can't impune a fellow senator a sitting senator. so there are boundaries on that. that is to keep civility and statesmanship in this very important institution called the united states senate. let's not forget -- neil: she is quoting from a letter, sir, quoting from a letter written by coretta king 30 years ago, that doesn't make it right. >> it says direct or indirect. there were other statements that quoted from ted kennedy, that used very, very strong language that impugned jeff sessions. irony behind this, when jeff sessions gave the farewell speech after we approved him on the floor of the senate, jeff sessions talked about a relationship with ted kennedy. and how he and ted kennedy worked together to pass a prison reform bill. it doubles down on the unfortunate words that were used -- neil: you're a very diplomatic

man and i know most senators try to be but it zooms lucy goosie with these rules? how or exactly ted cruz can say mitch mcconnell couple years back he lied, again and again? or have senator cotton saying, you know, horrible things about harry reid? i can just easily name democrats done the same. is that a judgement call? how does that work? >> ultimately it is is. i think it is important we continue to enforce the rules of senate. we're a nation that believes in rule of law. important that we model that as senators. we don't want the senate to get to a point where you can't let your kids watch c-span anymore. we should be models with spirited debate, disagree strongly, but tell you what? name-calling and making outrage just statements that impune another senator is not allowed by rule 19. this rule applies to both sides of the aisle. both sides need to make sure they abide by this rule. neil: if i could switch gears,

thank you for indulging me, i was curious how that all went down, senator, on the separate issue with judge gorsuch. i'm getting a feeling, and i could be wrong, it is looking very good for his approval, the in fact the "nuclear option," mere majority may not be necessary. that he has enough democratic support that you guys won't have to use the option. am i right? >> i just finished up with a meeting with judge gorsuch. spent an hour with him in my office. this guy is a fellow werner. he is from colorado. i'm from montana. he brings that western common sense to the bench. he is impeccable credentials. columbia undergraduate. harvard law school. oxford for his doctorate. 10 years on the 10th circuit. this is guy, 49 years old. this guy is a rising star. he is exactly the kind of person, the kind of character qualities, mainstream type of jurist that should serve on the united states supreme court. neil: so i'm getting a sense

that maybe democrats are keeping their powder dry for the next court, justice opening, not this one. insofar as, the judge here would kind of be an even match for the guy he is replacing, antonin scalia. the next one will be the battle royale, what do you think? >> neil gorsuch a kind-hearted thoughtful person. that will come across when he goes through the hearing process. this is a very, very thoughtful man. he is a daddy, two daughters. he is a wonderful husband. he is an outdoors man. we had a lot of things in common that he talked about, but i tell you what he is very, very bright, very mainstream and he would be kind of guy i would proud to take alongside me in my pickup and drive around the state of mon nan at that and let montanas get to know him. montana is behind neil gorsuch. neil: senator, i know there is supposed to be confidence when

judge comes into your chamber and talks to you, but he was quoted after meeting with connecticut senator blumenthal for calling donald trump demoralizing and disheartening when he came to characterize so-called judge, referring to the judge who hot shim down and rejected president's argument that travel vetting would not stand legal salt. the judge seemed to confirm that he did say that. but, again it was not supposed to get out of that room but it did but are we to be surprised? of course a judge will defend a fellow judge, right? tell you what, tells me about neil gorsuch. this man is honest, this man stands by his word and this man is an independent thinker, we want a jurist, somebody serving on the united states supreme court that demonstrates the separation of powers. that is small sample of it, frankly. again it's a testimony to the kind of person that neil gorsuch

is. neil: he might have improved odds of getting democratic senators to support him. maybe it was a all strategy? >> if you believe in the separation of powers we should all believe in that as our founding fathers did, there is a little small example if somebody is not afraid to maybe make a comment about the executive branch. that again proves the independence of neil gorsuch, why he will be a great supreme court justice. neil: we'll watch it closely. senator daines, thank you very, very much. we're getting your kind of weather in new york, senator. >> let it snow. neil: we're not ready for that. senator daines, thank you very much. left of the screen we're focused on the white house briefing room. sean spicer is there. update us on where administration stands. a lot of democratic, republican senators, does have been meeting with president and others are meeting with the white house and favorably impressed with judge gorsuch, the president's pick to be the next supreme court justice of the united states.

the feeling seems to be very much on and looking better all the time. feeling seems to be as we take a quick break and tax cuts are on, sooner to happen rather than later. all the time when people raised serious doubts would happen. on that very issue to show you how serious republicans are about that we're learning now they are crafting legislation as we speak that will get out there soon. an issue will be raising with kevin brady the man who runs the house ways and means committee on my fox news show 4:00 p.m. eastern time. exclusive with the tax writer of the united states, the point man with all of this. it begins with kevin brady. it will end with kevin brady. he is with me at 4:00 p.m. meantime sean spicer now coming to the podium of the white house briefing room. >> hello, everyone. appreciate that help. as you just saw the president was honored to host the swearing

-in of attorney general sessions a short time ago. the justice department will return to it is original core mission to uphold the rule of law and to insure justice is administered and enforced impartially for all americans. attorney general sessions -- come on in. >> a little crowded. >> i'm sorry. it is a trump briefing. attorney general sessions is a world class legal mind and experienced prosecutor and the president is pleased to have him finally in place as our nation's top law enforcement officer. after the attorney general's swearing-in, the president signed three executives orders dedicated to standing behind police officers who risk their lives every day to protect us in our communities, reducing crime and stopping cartel violence of the first executive order directs newly-installed attorney general to develop a strategy for more effectively prosecuting people who commit violence against members of law enforcement. we must better protect those who protect us. our men and women in blue need to know we're with them 100% as

they patrol our streets. unfortunately this has not always been the case. law enforcement officials have been vocal about the lack of support they received under the past administration. this lack of support demoralized many officers and some cases led to their discouraging their engagement with local communities, only causing further harm and deterioration. it is imperative federal, state and local law enforcement agencies better coordinate and share information across jurisdiction to better serve and protect our communities. this order will start the important work of doing just that, instituting a holistic approach that involves the whole of government. it also directs the department of justice to work with other federal agencies, to come up with ways to further reduce violence against law enforcement, and orders a hard look how the department of justice and other agencies use their law enforcement grants of the second order establishes a task force lead by the new attorney general to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across america. together, the members of this

task force will come up with specific recommendations how we can change existing federal law to better prevent crime and i will prove public safety and develop stronger working relationships with our state and local partners. president's confident this task force will develop a systemic strategy to help further protect the american people. communities across the nation have been devastated by a surge in violent crime rates, particularly our major cities. over past eight years we had less focus on law and order. crime reduction will be clear priority for the white house. it focuses energy and resources of federal government to disman el transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels. it is important to emphasize we can not reduce crime in the united states without additionally addressing illegal immigration and illegal drugs. through this executive or the president instructs the attorney general to form a comprehensive and decisive approach to destroying transnational crime organizations and drug cartels.

these cartels represent a clear and present danger to our nation. they bring dangerous criminals, drugs, and violence to once peaceful neighborhoods, both here at home and in other parts of the world. they have fueled addiction and overdose deaths. they can no longer be allowed to operate with impunity in our country or our hemisphere. this order pulls together the experience and resources of federal agencies to work towards emphasizing specific goals in this regard. number one, upgrade the information gathering about the transnational organizations and cartels. without accurate information about these threats and ability and willingness to share the information we'll not be able to tackle this problem. important tonight the prior to the administration if you called the department of justice to ask for statistics, they never kept them. knowing what we're face something big part of addressing the problem. number two, improving speed and efficiency from removing criminal aliens, cartel members and people who help cartels from our nation. unlike last eight years, these criminals are finally going to

go home. three, shift whatever resources we can to tackling organizations and prevent them from disrupting our society any further. now, on to the president's schedule. this morning the president held a breakfast and listening session with key stakeholders in the airline industry. we have our participant list if you're interested. the president thanked the attendees for the 10 million jobs and one trillion in annual economic income activity. they contributed to our economy and praised them for moving approximately two million passengers per day inspite of the outdated infrastructure and equipment they have, in terms of air traffic control and other infrastructure measures

>> to forging, rather, public/private partnerships that will rebuild america's crumbling infrastructure. he pledged to work closely with the airline industry to modernize the technology system that keep our nation's airports running and expedite the approval process for future infrastructure projects. it's the president's goal to make sure the united states has the most advanced airline system in the world, and this meeting was an important first step in achieving that. after the executive order signing, the president spoke with the president of afghanistan and the emir of qatar. we should have readouts shortly on both of those calls. just concluding a few moments ago, the president held a supreme court and legislative listening session and lunch with democrat and republican senators. in attendance were senator chuck grassley of iowa, senator heitkamp of north dakota, senator tester of montana, senator donnelly of indiana, senator manchin of west

virginia, senator moore capito of west virginia, senator cornyn of texas, senator alexander of tennessee, senator coons of delaware and senator bennet of colorado. the president expressed his hope that the members and their colleagues will give judge gorsuch a fair or consideration and vote based on his qualifications to serve on the supreme court with over a hundred judicial nominations happening during this administration, it's critical to have an open dialogue and work towards bipartisan agreement so that our justice system returns to its important work on behalf of the american people. later today the president will speak with the emir of kuwait and the prime minister of iraq. he will provide -- we will provide readouts of those calls towards the conclusion of them. we also anticipate a vote to confirm secretary-designee price this evening or the early hours of friday. the president was glad to see that the army corps of engineers