of..5. they have a dividend that continually grow at about a dollar. [closing bell rings] liz: neil, from september, october, november, i want you back. for now the dow finishes in the red for the third day in a row. we do have the nasdaq closing lower. that will do it for the "claman countdown." see you tomorrow. david: we have a second american company joining the trillion dollar club. amazon's market value crossing trillion dollar milestone during today's trade. it failed to close at that historic level. stocks starting off september in the reduction -- red. nasdaq is slipping further away from record territory. i'm david asman. look who is here? melissa: i'm back. thank you. i'm melissa francis. this is "after the bell." more on the big market movers. here is what else we're covering in the very busy hour ahead. fireworks on capitol hill the first day of hearings for the president's supreme court pick,

judge brett kavanaugh still underway, mired by protests and protesters. we're awaiting a statement from kavanaugh at any moment. we'll take you there live as soon as that happens. stunning news out of chicago. major announcement coming from mayor rahm emanuel this afternoon as protesters took to the street over the weekend to demand his resignation. the head of the afl-cio says unions will vote for democrats. because they have been better for american workers than republicans. that despite those historic tax cuts and record low unemployment. famed reagan economist art laffer will sound off on that one. among our guests this hour, former assistant u.s. attorney andrew mccarthy, new york congressman tom reed, and "wall street journal's" james freeman. >> we love them all. the dow closing in negative territory for the third trading day in a row. again it was much worse earlier. it was dragged down by shares of 3m, nike, disney. we know why nike cowas down.

nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. i want to focus own a positive. amazon, a trillion dollars, didn't stay in that category but hit it today. >> it was exciting, amazon, and apple, new all-time highs. we'll get to amazon's trillion dollar mark in a moment. let's look at the major averages. as you noted another positive we had been down nearly 160 points, dave and melissa. look, we're down just 11 as we close on the dow jones industrial average. the nasdaq and s&p up five straight months in a row. we talk about nike. colin kaepernick became famous as he led the protests for the national anthem. now he is the face of nike with the "just do it" campaign, believe in something, even if it believes sacrificing everything. this brought so much controversy, so many discussions whether or not he is the right person for that 30-year anniversary front and center job. meantime the stock tells you it is down 3%. foot locker, which sells a lot

of nike products. that was also down in sympathy. now to amazon's one trillion dollar market cap. it did cross, did not close above it, but hit an all-time high today. this continues to make more money and the stock has been a real winner. then the social media stocks. of course twitter has been a stellar performer, up over 100% in the last year but facebook downgraded to a neutral from a buy at nathanson. it is down 2 1/2%. snap down 2.8%. snap touched an all-time low falling in sympathy. so you can see all three social media stocks to the downside. we came up off our lows today. david: nicole, thank you. melissa. melissa: for more on amazon's record run, we have danielle dimartino booth, former federal reserve visor and gary b. smith, a fox news contributor.

gary b., it is amazon's world and we're all just living in it, is that the truth? >> you have to say without a doubt amazon is one of the greatest companies, certainly one of the greatest wealth creators. it has helped our lives frankly in some ways. it deserves to be a trillion dollar company and the great thing is, they're not resting on their laurels. remember way back when this started as an online book seller. look where they are now. i can't imagine where they will be five or 10 years from now. melissa: they're taking over the planet. i was in whole foods. i saw the amazon locker. i can drop stuff. i look at website i'm not amazon, has been purchased by amazon. at what point do we get nervous about the fact they're totally ubiquitous and you know, maybe jeff bezos is taking over the world and do we know what his intentions are? when do we start to get paranoid about this? into melissa, as a mother of

four i continuously fact check amazon. increasing arely in the back-to-school season, i found other vendors online were much better, much more competitive on price. so my one concern about amazon, again i'm speaking as a consumer, we're all consuming amazon, so i think that's fair, we are slowly becoming a nation of amazon primers. somebody who is all about the free markets and capitalism, i want to make sure other companies are allowed to compete in this space and amazon doesn't become so big all of a sudden the lowest prices we knew, we knew to love on amazon don't go away. that is my biggest concern. i don't like the idea of a monopoly. melissa: gary b., that is legitimate concern. they come in and kind of bully others out of the space t feels good to the consumer until you realize they're charging you a dollar or two more. in the grocery space, they start dominating brands there. something you like, you can only get it from them.

i don't know, at what point are we orworried about there? >> not worried at all. i mean that's what big companies do. that is what walmart did for years and years. look, when i hear danielle speak, you asked what's to worry about, she hinted at it, government coming in and deciding what's fair and what's not. what happens is monopolies on their own start to self-destruct. at&t, yes, they were hit by the government but why did they self-deinstructed? because wireless came to be. why did the u.s. steel, bethlehem steel, start to self-destruct, you had japanese and small foundries here in the united states to spring up. we don't have to worry about monopolies. if there was a netscape one day, it is fixed by a google the next day. i'm not worried at all. melissa: all right. david: i love gary b. i love gary b. guys, stay with us. we're awaiting remarks from judge brett kavanaugh at any

moment from the senate judiciary committee hearing to replace retired judge anthony kennedy. we have the latest on the back and forth and extraordinary poker face of judge kavanaugh. i have never seen anybody maintain a poker face for that long. reporter: he has a lot of attention. he has been able to focus through all of this. the hearing started slowly. 63 disruptions from protesters or democrats before lunch. protesters were talking about the possible position that judge brett kavanaugh could have on roe v. wade. the capital police arrested 22 people in the first hour of this hearing. the democrats say, that they're upset, they haven't had enough time to look over all of the documents. they're also upset they don't have all of the documents. they do have some 800, i'm sorry, 488,000 documents. 42,000 of which would be released yesterday. president donald trump has exerted executive privilege on

another 100,000 documents for when kavanaugh worked with president george w. bush. >> all of these documents will come out. we don't know what's in them but the question is, what are they concealing that you will have to answer to history for? mr. chairman, i renew my position to adjourn. reporter: senator chuck grassley allowed some of that frustration to play outgoing to opening statements. opening statements will be today. tomorrow starts the question and answers. some senators acknowledged the messy start. >> since your nomination in july you've been accused of hitting women, hating children, hating clean air, wanting dirty water. >> this drivel is patently absurd. reporter: senator chuck grassley said no one will leave the meeting room today unless all the opening statements are concluded, which also includes judge brett kavanaugh. >> i was hoping that the 10

minute rule would stand. everybody started exceeding their time limit. oy guess as long as we have to, we have to stay here and get this all done today, if we have to stay into the night, we're going to stay. reporter: short break right now. we expect judge kavanaugh to come up in the next hour or so. this is just the first day. tomorrow, again, will be question and answer portion. senator grassley would like to have a vote by friday. he does say if this drags out. he is ready and prepared to stay through the weekend. david: already dragged out. edward, thank you very much. our panel is back with us. we want to focus on the whole business aspect of the supreme court right now. gary, this is mother's milk. you were talking about with regard to amazon but this is a judge who overruled federal regulators, the bane of your existence 75 times. he called liz warren's financial

protection bureau unconstitutional. he is is not a friend of regulators. >> he shouldn't be. what he is a friend of, i would think we want in all supreme court justices, a friend of the law. he rules on what the law is. the supreme court does not set the law. everyone wants the supreme court to be making decisions outside of their purview. i think kavanaugh realizes that. that is why he is a friend of business. that is why he is a friend of the free market. the enemy of the free market you allude to is generally government. why they don't want kavanaugh in there. he would be great for the economy. david: danielle, the law changes as we change as a people and as technology changes. one of those changes would have been net neutrality where the government came into the internet and provided extra regulation for the internet this guy is very much against that he is for keeping the internet free from government regulation. is that a good thing? >> i certainly think that is a

good thing. all the anxiety and sideshow we're seeing today is nothing more than that, a sideshow. the democrats fear the pendulum has swung too far in their favor and it is about to swing back. there was a lack of check and balance in the supreme court we've had for years now. whether you're talking about the consumer financial protection bureau, irs, the ftc. david: or lawsuits. our lawsuits. he is doing as much as he can to stop frivolous lawsuits as well. >> exactly. and i think what he, what he demonstrates for us is a hopeful future. we've seen the economy flourish over the past few months because regulations have been torn down. i think that as a member of the supreme court that he would continue on that down that path. take away some of the overreach that we have seen on the part of regulators, that have made it that much harder to do business in this country. david: so far we've only seen, we haven't heard a word because of all of the pontificating on the part of the senators. we'll see what happens. danielle, gary, good to see you

both. thank you very much. melissa: republican senators breathing a little easier, getting one more vote to push kavanaugh's nomination over the top. arizona's governor announcing that former senator jon kyl will return to capitol hill to fill john mccain's senate seat. mccain's wife cindy, tweeting, jon kyl is a dear friend of mine and john's. it's a great tribute to jon is he prepared to go back into public service to help the state of arizona. kyle is highly rehe can ifed among congressional republicans an helping guide kavanaugh through the process. david: that is great to have cindy's check-off. she should have a say. brett kavanaugh expected to make some remarks soon on the first day of the his senate judiciary committee hearing. we'll take you back live as soon as this man begins to talk. tomorrow, heated questioning from democrats will start on his key stance on issues. why they haven't been given

access to thousands of docuements. former assistant u.s. attorney to andrew mccarthy sounding off. melissa: new reports republicans may abandon a second round of tax cuts planned ahead of the midterms. no. new york congressman tom reed on if this is indeed the case and why. david: also president trump says he is ready to cut canada out of a trade deal if necessary as details emerge from a new book alleging a former economic advisor once took papers off the president's desk to safe nafta. what's up with that? we're live at the white house coming next. >> our economies are integrated. three countries in north america, the economy is pretty integrated. it is pretty hard to see how that would work without having canada in the deal. ♪ts and the bandits, well, they got rocks. we protected your money then and we're dedicated to helping

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david: live look now at the senate hearing for brett kavanaugh as they set up for some key introductions from condoleeza rice, senator rob portman, and attorney lisa blatt. then we will hear from the man himself, kavanaugh will speak. we will take you there live for his comments as soon as they begin. melissa: struggling to reach a deal. president trump not backing down on removing canada from the new nafta deal. the two countries can't reach an agreement as trade talks are set to resume tomorrow. fox business's blake burman live at the white house with the latest. blake? reporter: could be potentially huge week on the trade front, melissa. as the top trade representatives between the united states and canada set to resume talks here in washington, d.c. as you mentioned tomorrow. over the weekend president trump sent out a multilayered threat in the sense in this tweet, he threatened both the canadians and also had a message to congress here at home this was the tweet the president sent out. he wrote, quote there is no

political necessity to keep canada in the new nafta deal. if we don't make a fair deal for the u.s. after decades of abuse canada will be out. congress should not interfere with these negotiations or i will simply terminate nafta entirely. we i will be far better off. he end ad follow-up tweet, we'll make a new deal or go back to pre-nafta. president's top economist here at white house, kevin hassett saying on fox business in the last half hour, he is optimistic that the u.s. and canadians will strike a deal. watch here. >> we're confident that the talks will go well and the agreement with mexico is designed to be attractive to canada. reporter: if the canadians are skeptical already that the president might not want a three-way trade deal between the united states, mexico and canada, bob woodward's new book set to be released next month could illuminate some of those concerns for the canadians because there is starting to be a drip, drip, from what is inside of that book.

"the washington post" obtained a advanced copy of it. the post went through the advanced copy. they say there is a section on it about nafta. and that the president instructed or at least expressed his frustrations to rob porter, then the staff secretary at the time. the president saying that he wanted to get out of nafta and do so quickly. this is the post's write-up about this section, they say, quote, under orders from the president, porter drafted a notification letter withdrawing from nafta but he and other advisors worried it could trigger an economic and foreign relations crisis. so porter consulted cohen, that being gary cohn, who told him according to woodward. i can stop this. i will just take the paper off of his desk. now the white house press secretary sarah sanders responded to this book in general, just a little while ago and this was her take on it, quote this book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees told to make the president look

bad. just starting to get some excerpts of this book coming out. it will be a talker here at the white house for days, if not weeks to come. melissa. melissa: blake, thank you. david: here is congressman tom reed, house ways and means committee member. first of all, congressman, can president trump pull out of nafta without congress? >> i think he can and he should if canada doesn't stay at the table and negotiate this through. it is time to move this ball forward. my agricultural communities across my district want to have access to the mexican market in an updated way. if mexico is only one to negotiate this out let's move forward with that and let canada take its own course. david: it is not a question that has been answered sufficiently. the former trade rep under president bush, bob zoellick said today in a "wall street journal," congress has authority to hold on to nafta or vote for a new deal. article one of the constitution is pretty clear. it says, it grants congress, quoting the constitution, quote, to regulate commerce with

foreign nations and lay and collect taxes, duties, excises et cetera. so, according to the constitution congress has to sign off on any trade deal of the magnitude of nafta. >> and also that is consistent with trade promotion authority. david: right. >> but at the end of the day let's negotiate this without with canada and mexico. if mexico is only one that will negotiate with us let's move forward. i think at the end of the day canada will come to the table. they recognize it is their interest to stay at the table, negotiate through and do a deal with mexico and canada at the same time. david: meanwhile i want to get back to the taxes which is melissa and mine favorite subject to talk about. tax cuts are clearly responsible for a large part of the economic boom we're in right now but not all folks from high-taxed states are crazy about the tax cuts. what about your constituents? are they in favor of the tax cut deal as being responsible for this economic boom? >> oh, absolutely. across the district from what i heard from a lot of folks, extra money in the paychecks, new job

opportunities experienced to the tax reform, tax cut bill they're seeing first-hand. that is a positive development. move forward to get the individual rates permanent and cornerstone of tax reform 2.0 to move forward with it. david: if the next tax cut bill makes the 10,000-dollar cap on state and local tax deductions permanent, of course a lot of people are complaining from your district about those caps, would you still vote for them? >> we have to look at the final package. i'm open to the caps sunsetting. we have seven years before the company expires we could deal with the real root of the problem. david: you said you're in favor of the caps sunsetting. i asked if you would be in favor of making the cap permanent? would you vote for a tax bill that made that cap permanent? >> you know, obviously i'm very interested in making permanent individual and business tax increases from ever occurring. we would have to balance that out. we should get our root cause of problem in new york state and

elsewhere in the high-taxed state. the spending out-of-state capital under control. we have seven years to do it. let's do it. david: i didn't hear ye, that you would sign a tax bill that made the tax caps permanent. >> i'm interested in taking care of persons and businesses i'm open to it. david: melissa: condoleeza rice is speaking on behalf of brett kavanaugh. that is not condoleeza rice. you see her to the side there. i will take you live as soon as the comments begin. david: that is rob portman. looking out for american workers. i want to hear from kavanaugh by the way. melissa: that would be interesting. david: why the leader of the nation's largest federation of unions says democrats might have an edge in the midterm elections. art laffer former reagan economic advisor sounding off on that coming up.

melissa: hurricane warnings in effect as tropical storm gordon makes its way to the gulf coast. we're tracking the storm. that's next. >> starting as early as this afternoon we will see heavy rain, high wind, as well as storm surge. now is the time to pay attention. ♪ your allergy pills? flonase sensimist relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist.

david: ohio senator senator robn is speaking now. lisa black, a former justice ginsberg law clerk, self-described liberal feminist speaking right after rob portman on behalf of brett kavanaugh. we're awaiting kavanaugh's opening statement that should happen any moment now after the lady speaks. we'll take you there live to his comments as soon as they begin. melissa: tropical storm gordon making its way ports the gulf coast promising upward -- president, what that was supposed to say. very windy times. earlier on twitter saying, quote, everyone in the path of

gordon, please heed the advice of the state and local officials and follow the national hurricane center for updates. the federal government to assist and be safe. fox news meteorologist adam klotz is live in the weather center tracking its path. adam, up to what speed wind will we be looking for here? >> we're up close to hurricane level. perhaps a category one hurricane by the time we make landfall. it become as category 1 hurricane at 74 miles-an-hour. we're projecting 75 miles an hour when it makes landfall t will be right in at that range, very strong tropical storm or lower end category 1 storm as it makes landfall in the next several hours. here is what we're currently seeing. here is the center of circulation. outer bands of very heavy rain hitting aplatch coal a la -- apalachicola, moving to pensacola. this is quick mover. this is the time stamp in the

corner this is the future radar. this is the send is testify circulation. obviously rain already falling, but it will make landfall likely around 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. here this evening. as it moves in that direction, heaviest rain, strongest storm surge are typically on eastern side. you will see the rain stretch off to the west including areas like new orleans but heaviest rain and wind is going to continue to be on the eastern side of the landfall. this is the hurricane warnings. that is where the winds are going to be strongest, getting up to 75 miles an hour as it makes landfall. biloxi stretching off towards the west. getting close to new orleans, but not making its way there. storm surge along the coast, anywhere from three to six is feet of total storm surge as it approaches next several hours. likely 7:00, to 8:00 p.m. i think the biggest concern with the system is going to be rainfall. as soon as it makes landfall it

will weaken the winds. six to 8 inches likely wide spread in some areas. we'll track it here in the weather center. melissa: adam, thank you for that. david: sue supreme chaos on capitol hill. the confirmation battle for brett kavanaugh is just beginning as top democrats are already calling for the hearings to be delayed. kavanaugh set to speak in just moments. we'll bring you those comments live. andy mccarthy, former u.s. attorney sounding off on today's events and what we can expect tomorrow. >> you're out of order. i will proceed. >> what is the rush? >> what are you trying to hide. >> take a deep breath, get a grip.

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david: right now lisa blatt is speaking. she was a law clerk for the liberal justice, ruth bader ginsberg. but she is a fan and supporter of judge kavanaugh. as soon as judge kavanaugh begins to speak we'll go to him live,. melissa: i am mild. we have andrew mccarthy, former u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. thanks for joining us. what do you think of what the democrats tried to do so far today, and how republicans have responded? >> melissa, i think it is predictable. the democrats really don't have a chance to knock this nominee

out on the merits. judge kavanaugh is as extraordinarily qualified as any nominee that has ever been sent up to the hill for this position. that's attested to by the fact that unlike many prior nominees, 300 published decisions in a dozen years as an appellate judge on one of the most important courts in the united states. so if this was just purely on merit, it would be over by now. what this is about is trying to gin up the democratic base for the november election. i must say, you know, i don't know that i'm representative of what the public thinks but from my mind, if this is the face of what they're trying to show the public about the way we should conduct our hearings, the way we should conduct business as important as selecting a supreme court justice where it is just mob rule and chaos amid the

process, it certainly turned me off. i imagine it turned off a lot of people. melissa: what do you think about the idea, they keep going back and forth of course about the documents, you know that he was part as a staff secretary when he was in the white house? ted cruz on one side saying this says nothing of his legal advice. it was basically about organizing paper. you see the other side saying that he is trying to hide the advice that he had given to the president and that has never been, no one has ever been able to do that before. who is right on that front? >> i think it is a red herring. you know, we're talking about a nominee, first of all, who has a long, long paper trail. they turned over almost half a million documents besides the 300 opinions that i have alluded to. it has been commented, practice certainly when justice kagan was nominated and confirmed during the obama years, that the administration withheld on executive privilege grounds

deliberative advice, that, that she gave in connection with the position that she had in the obama administration. but i really must say, as somebody who has practiced law for a long time, you know, when when kavanaugh was at the white house his client was the president and the president's official capacity. he has a duty to take the president's position. >> yeah. what they're doing is, they're changing the table. as you see up there. and judge kavanaugh is approaching the table. when he takes the mic we'll certainly take that sound live. but as you can see, it is taking a couple seconds for him to get in place. real quick what do you expect him to say? >> i expect him to be brilliant because that's what he is. melissa: okay. >> and i think he will, he will give a testament to his dedication to the rule of law. melissa: let's listen in. andy, thank you so much. >> i do. >> thank you. proceed with your statement, or

anything else that you want to tell the committee right now. >> thank you, mr. chairman. senator feinstein, members of the committee. i thank secretary rice, senator portman, and lisa blatt for their generous introductions. they are patriots who represent the best of america. i'm humbled by their confidence, i'm proud to call each of them a friend. over the past eight weeks i have witnessed first-hand the senate's deep appreciation for the vital role of the american judiciary. i have met with 65 senators, including almost every member of this committee. those meetings are sometimes referred to as courtesy calls but that term understates how substantive and personal our

discussions have been. i have greatly enjoyed all 65s. in listening to all of you i learned more about our country and the people you represent. every senator is devoted to public service and the public good and i thank all the senators for their time and their thoughts. i thank president trump for the honor of this nomination. as a judge and as a citizen i was deeply impressed by the president's careful attention to the nomination process and by his thorough consideration of potential nominees. i'm also very grateful for his courtesy. at the white house on the night of the announcement the president and mrs. trump were very gracious to my daughters, my wife, and my parents. my family always cherished that

night, or as my daughter liza calls it, her debut on national television. [laughter] as a nominee to the supreme court i understand the responsibility i bear. some 30 years ago judge anthony kennedy sat in this seat. he became one of the most consequential justices in american history. i served as his law clerk in 1993. to me, justice kennedy is a mentor, a friend, and a hero. as a member of the court, he was a model of civility and collegiality. he fiercely defended the independence of the judiciary, and he was a champion of liberty. if you had to sum up justice kennedy's entire career in one

word, liberty. justice kennedy established a legacy of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. i'm here today with another of judicial heroes, my mom. 50 years ago this week in september 1968 my mom was 26 and i was three. at that time my mom started as a public school teacher at mckinley tech high school here in washington, d.c. 1968 was a difficult time for race relations in our city and our country. mckinley tech had an almost entirely african-american student body. it was east of the park. i vividly remember days as a young boy sitting in the back of my mom's classroom as she taught american history to a class of

african-american teenagers. her students were born before brown versus board of education or bowling versus sharp. by her example my mom taught me the importance of equality for all americans. equal rights, equal dignity, and equal justice under law. my mom was a trailblazer. when i was 10 she went to law american university, and became a prosecutor. i am and only child. my introduction to law came at our dinner table when she practiced her closing arguments on my dad and me. her trademark line was, use your common sense. what rings true? what rings false? one of the few women prosecutors at the time, she overcame barriers and was later appointed by democratic governors to serve as the maryland state trial judge. our federal and state trial judges serve on the front lines

of american justice. my mom taught me that judges don't deal in abstract principles. they decide for real cases, for real people, in the real world. and she taught me that good judges must always stand in the shoes of others. the chairman referred to me today as judge kavanaugh. but to me that title will always belong to my mom. for 12 years i have been a judge on the u.s. court of appeals for the d.c. circuit. i have written more than 300 opinions and handled more than 2,000 cases. i have given it my all in every case. i am proud of that body of work and i stand behind it. i tell people, don't read about my judicial opinions, read the opinions. i have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague

and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, merrick garland. my judicial philosophy is straightforward. a judge must be independent and must interpret the law not make the law. a judge must interpret statutes as written. a judge must interpret the constitution as written informed by history and tradition and precedent. in deciding cases a judge must always keep in mind what alexander hamilton said in federalist 83, the rules of legal interpretation are the rules of common sense. a good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy. as justice kennedy explained in texas versus johnson, one of his

greatest opinions, judges do not make decisions to reach a preferred result. judges make decisions because the law and the constitution as we see them compel the results. over the past 12 years i've ruled sometimes for the prosecution and sometimes for criminal defendants. sometimes for workers, and sometimes for businesses. sometimes for environmentalists and sometimes for coal miners. in each case i have followed the law. i do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. i am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. i'm not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. i am a pro-law judge. as justice kennedy showed us, a judge must be independent, not swayed by public pressure.

our independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. in our independent judiciary, the supreme court is the last line of defense for the separation of powers and for the rights and liberties guaranteed by the constitution. the supreme court must never, never, be viewed as a partisan institution. the justices on the supreme court do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. they do not caucus in separate rooms. if confirmed to the supreme court i would be part of a team of nine, committed to deciding cases according to the constitution and laws of the united states. i would always strive to be a team player on the team of nine. throughout my life i have tried to serve the common good, if

keeping with my jesuit high school's motto, men for others. i spent my career in public service. i have tutored at washington jesuit academy, a rigorous, tuition-free school for boys of low income families. at catholic charities at 10th and g, i served meals to the homeless with my friend father john. in those works i keep in mind the message of matthew 25, and try to the serve the least fortunate among us. i know i fall short at times but i always want to do more and do better. for the past seven years i've coached my daughter's basketball teams. i love coaching. all of the girls i have coached are you are you a some. special congratulations to the girls on this year's sixth grade

cco team. chloe, alex, ava, sophia, and margaret. i love helping the girls grow into confident players. i know that confidence on the basketball court translates into confidence in others aspects of life. title ix helped make girls and women's sports equal and i see that law's legacy every night when i walk into my house as my daughters are getting back from lacrosse, or basketball, or hockey practice. i know from my own live that those who teach and coach america's youth are among the most influential people in our country. with a kind word here, and a hint of encouragement there, a word of discipline, delivered in the spirit of love, teachers and coaches change lives. i thank all of my teachers and coaches who have gotten me to

this point. and i thank all of the teachers and coaches throughout america. as a judge i sought to train the next generation of lawyers and leaders. for 12 years i have taught constitutional law to hundreds of students, primarily at harvard law school. i teach the constitution separation of powers protects individual liberty. i'm grateful to all of my students. i after learned so much from them. and i'm especially grateful to the dean who first hired me, now justice elena kagan. one of the best parts of my job as a judge each year hiring four law school graduates to serve as my law clerks for the year. i hire the best. my law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. a majority of my 48 law clerks

have been women. more than a quarter of my law clerks have been minorities. i had far more african-american law clerks than the percentage of african-american students in u.s. law schools. i am proud of all of my law clerks. i'm grateful for my friends. this past may i delivered the commencement address at catholic university law school. i gave the graduates this advice, cherish your friends, look out for your friends, lift up your friends, love your friends. over the last eight weeks i've been strengthened by the love of my friends and i thank all of my friends. i'm greatful to have my family behind me. my mom rightly gets a lot of attention but a few words about

my dad. he has an unperilled work ethic and gift for making friends with people, regardless who they are or where they come from. my dad and i are both passionate sports fans. when i was seven he took me to the 1972 nfc championship game at rfk stadium, just two miles from here. upper deck, section 503, row 3, seats 8 and 9. when i was 17 we sat in the same seats for the 1982 nfc championship game. in 1995 when i was 30, we were at camden yards together cal ripkin played in his 2131st consecutive game and broke lou gehrig's seeming unbreakable record. so many other games with my dad. a lifetime of friendship forged in stadium seats over hotdogs and beer.

my daughters margaret and liza will be in and out of this hearing room over the next few days. they are strong girls. dedicated students, outstanding athletes. in the time since you last saw them at the white house ceremony on july 9th, i'm pleased to report that margaret has gotten her braces off, and has turned 13. margaret is the sweetest girl you will ever know. as for liza, i tell her every night that no one give as better hug than liza kavanaugh. finally i thank my wife ashley. she is a strong west texan, a graduate of abilene cooper public high school, and the university of texas at austin. she is now the popular town manager of our local community. this is not exactly been the summer she had planned for the

family but i'm grateful for her love and inspiration. ashley is a kind soul. she always sees the goodness in others. she made me a better person, and a better judge. i thank god every day for my family. mr. chairman, senator feinstein, members of the committee, i look forward to the rest of the hearing and to answering your questions. i am an optimist. i live on the sunrise side of the mountain, not on the sunset side of the mountain. i see the day that is coming, not the day that is gone. i am optimistic about the future of america. i am optimistic about the future of our independent judiciary. i revere the constitution.

if confirmed to the supreme court i will keep an open mind in every case. i will do equal right to the poor and to the rich. i will always strive to preserve the constitution of the united states and the american rule of law. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, judge kavanaugh i have something to say to the committee before that, we have been here approximately 8 hours. you had a lot to hear today, and listen to. i think it very noteworthy that no one has seriously questioned your qualifications to receive a promotion to the nation's highest court. and they have learned a lot about you being an exceptional teacher, coach. volunteer and dad. i thank you very much for your

statement, questions for the records are dumont day -- due on monday september 10 at noon, we notice judge kavanaugh's markup meeting thursday september 13. this timeline is consistent with how -- >> that is chairman of committee doing housekeeping about what is happening, what is proceeding after, we heard a very powerful emotional patriotic entertainment of a day of political rhetoric. melissa: 8 hours deep into the day. dayism on. david: one person weighing in president trump, a display of how mean, angry and despicable the other side is, they will a anything and are only looking to inflict pain and embarrassment

to one of the most highly renowned jurist to appear before congress. melissa: andy is with us, what did you think? >> i thought it was light on the law. you really got from judge kavanaugh was a commitment that in his mind, most important thing about judging to be independent and interpret the law rather than to make it. which and i think structurally the right cord, and says he has a work product of 300 appellate decisions, if you want to see how he works that out, he spent most of his time, introducing himself to the country as someone who down to earth, likable, a real family guy, big sports fan and the kind of guy you would like too have a beer with. melissa: and -- >> in a preceding like this.

melissa: he made point he was an advocate of women. go ahead. >> i'm sorry. i was going to say in this kind of a theater that is probably the best approach. melissa: yeah. david: andy, u undoubtedly, he will be asked time and against for his opinion on things like roe v. wade and he will not answer, he will be criticized for not answers by democrats. we know that is going to happen. on the other hand that is what ruth -- did during her nomination, some people say this is ginsberg standard, said a judge sworn to decide in in disregard for specifics of particular case but display disdain for the entire judicial process, should he not, if he is

attacked for not giving answers read that beginnings berg ginsberg standard? >> i expect him to do that, and as many peoples as it takes, everyone has made up their mind on how they are going to vote, this is more of a statement for november election. >> he went a long way to make point that justices are not supposed to be on either side, he is a team player, not wearing a jersey for one side or the other. that is how he has approached his life, that how he will approach this, do you think he made that sale? >> i think yes. he certainly made the case as well as you can make it i think he said he is kno is an umpire,e best metaphor for this i don't

know that it will bring around anybody who is not already predisposed in way they are going to vote. but i think in terms of making case to american people in a political way, which is what this is about today, it a home run. melissa: andy thank you so much. and david, you heard him say he will follow statutes as written, he looks to history for precedent. sounding very. the traditionalist. david: he is, anthony scalia is his role model, said if it is not written in the constitution, then it can't pass the muster of a courtroom, bottom line scalia passed senate without one negative vote, he ge got 100% oe votes passed for him in 1980. now a days probably a guy same in terms of conservative liberal, brett kavanaugh is, as scalia will get zero democrats

voting for him. melissa: he made the point he decided on side of environmentalist he takes cases as they come, we'll see. david: "evening edit" starts now. >> not move forward mr. chairman. >> i thorough understanding of the nominate he put before us. >> this is first confirmation hearing for a supreme court justice that i have seen according to mob rule. >> we believe this hearing should be postponed. >> i call for a debate or a vote. >> can't explain to you we're having a hearing, it is not in order, we're not in executive session. liz: supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh just finished delivering his opening statement, it was chaos today, dozens of protesters arrested, democrats demanding postpone