i think there are eight senators already who have talked about the need to have a vote and his qualifications pure not just the senate, but look at the widespread support that came out for judge gorsuch last night across the spectrum. no matter your philosophical view of the court, i think his qualifications for the court, academic background make him an unbelievably highly qualified person. it is not just chuck schumer, i think the rest of the senate as he goes -- hold on. i understand. i think chuck schumer has shown. chuck shumer has shown that he's more interested in politics than moving the government along. i think that has troubled -- i would ask you. the question needs to be asked of chuck shumer why are you stalling these nominees. there's a point in which they need to get asked why are they obstructing government at every step of the way? there's an elment to which they need to be held accountable as well. they held certain standards in

place for their nominees, both for the bench and for the cabinet. the question is are they going to live up to the same standards. i think the goal, the goal is to get -- when -- again, i would go back. chuck shumer is not innocent in this. there's a lot of comments that he's made. lot of politics that he's played. at some point chuck shumer needs to be held accountable for his actions and his words. >> president invoked the possibility on the supreme court challenge possible of going the route of the nuclear option. if it gets to that point, is the white house comfortable with that path? >> i think the president made clear his goal today which is number one he believes that judge gorsuch is unbelievably qualified and that he will get nominated, not on confirmed, but done so with a large bipartisan

vote. as i said at the outset, republicans looked at the qualifications of the two justices that got through in the obama administration and, while they may not have agreed with their judicial philosophy, definitely agreed that they were qualified to be confirmed and they did so. i think we ask that we be held to the same standard that the democrats used when they had nominees up. the president made very clear that the decision is something that we would rather not have to go down, but also that it ultimately is up to senator mcconnell. >> thank you, sean. just one question today. >> yeah. >> leading up to judge gorsuch's announcement last night and him coming out after, there were still rumors that judge hardiman was going to be nominated and he, in fact, drove to washington. >> no, john, he didn't. that was misreporting. my understanding is judge hardiman never left the

commonwealth of pennsylvania. i can't be held accountable for reports that falsely stated that he was here. he never was at the white house. my understanding is he had a meeting in eastern pennsylvania with another judge. again, i don't track his where abouts but my understanding is that he never left the commonwealth of pennsylvania yesterday. we announced when we were going to make this announcement. i think it was a phenomenal way to introduce judge gorsuch to the american people and to the united states senate. we invited democratic leaders, democratic members of the senate judiciary committee. unfortunately none of them showed up. but it was an tune for them and the american people to see an amazing choice that the president made for the bench. >> sean, my question is -- >> you said one. >> i didn't ask a question. my question is simply this. with the support that he received to call the president, would it be safe to say judge

hardiman will be on deck if there's another vacancy soon, say justice kennedy retireing? >> i think there's a lot of vacancies that we see throughout the government. he's an impressive, impressive juryist. obviously the four that made that final list for the president were unbelievably impressive. i don't want to get in front of the president. hopefully he continues to have the president's support. president was unbelievably impressed. we'll have to see what vacancies come down the pike. anita? >> i do have two quick questions about something you mentioned at the top. first you mentioned the three folks that are being nominated for the department of justice. why are they being nominated now before senator sessions is there? is there because there was a lack of people? or is it just because of the whole issue with the acting attorney general? >> it's the normal process of getting those. i mentioned the deputies, the

actings are in the pipeline. we announced one the other day for home land. we've got the commerce previously announced. so this is just a continuation of the process to fill. >> then senator sessions, in speaking with him? >> of course. these are people he's clearly aware of and supportive of, 100%. >> second question was, you mentioned tomorrow the meeting with the harley davidson executives. there was reporting that he was supposed to go to lockheed tomorrow. that was cancelled because of the company. can you talk ab that? >> look, it was easier for the executives to come here, considering the week, all of the activities that have been going on. we figured the easiest thing to do. no decision had been made or announced as to what we were doing. ultimately the easiest thing to do in accordance with the president's schedule was to invite them here to washington. we're not concerned. we're not concerned about that.

we're concerned about american jobs, moving this economy forward. we're excited to welcome them here to washington to talk about the great works they do and the thousands they employ. with that, we're gonna be here a while. we'll go to the second skype seat from cleveland, ohio. natalie? >> secretary spicer, thank you very much for this rare opportunity. i appreciate it. >> natalie, you're coming back. >> i will quickly ask two questions if i may. the first one trump has been quick to take action on several issues he's addressed along the campaign trail. with that in mind, he made a stop here in cleveland and he said he would like to make cities like ours the economic envy of the world. a bold statement. our viewers would love to know an example, specific example, as to how he plans to do this sooner than later. >> that's a great question, natalie. it's not just cleveland. it's detroit and so many of the other cities around the country. you heard the president talk

about the need to rebuild our inner cities. we were really impressed with cleveland this past july. we were there for the national convention. people of cleveland, their desire, the rebound the city has taken. i think when you go to whether it's a city like cleveland or detroit through different tax and regulatory measures, there's a way that we continue to bring manufacturing back, we continue to bring jobs back. whether it's harley davidson or lockheed or boeing or the gm fiat, ford, these companies he continues to talk with ab how they can bring jobs back. that was another one of the conversations we had with the pharmaceutical companies yesterday. how can they bring jobs back? how can we ease regulations to do that? it's ab making sure that we have an environment, natalie, that allows more cities to compete, to grow the manufacturing base and to recognize the things that we can do tax wise, regulatory wise to allow that to flourish.

yeah, cecelia? >> steve bannic can be heard saying islam is a dark religion, not a religion of peace, a religion of submission. does the president share those beliefs on islam? >> the president has been very clear that his number one goal is to not target any one religion, but places and areas we believe there's an issue. that's what the executive order was all about the other day. making sure areas we don't feel have the proper mechanisms in place to secure security when they travel to the united states, that we know they're coming here for peaceful purposes. the president's number one goal is to focus on the safety of america, not the religion. he understands that it's not a religious problem, it's a radicalization problem. there's a big difference between is islam andis lambic terrorists. >> is there anything you want to elaborate on? >> i think i made it clear there's a difference between the

president's view. >> there have been multiple reports of people landing saturday in the u.s. with valid visas who were denied entry and placed back out of the country. does that in violation of at least five of the federal judges orders that came down. is the white house working to ensure that those people illegally deported can return to the u.s.? are these court orders causing any second thinking about certain aspects of the order? >> we issued earlier today some clarification, an update from the council's office that clarify section 3c and 3e that legal permanent residents lpr's do not -- we no longer need a waiver. initially as the program was lifting off, the idea was they would go through, be granted a waiver, of which everyone was issued a waiver coming in. in the sake of efficiency, we have interpreted the guidance to all of these agencies to both the acting secretary of state, the acting attorney general and the secretary of homeland

security that the guyance all individuals are responsible for the imphrementation of this order that that does not apply. they no longer need a waiver. because if they are a legal permanent resident, they won't need it any more. >> on the president during his campaign said that he supported a re-establishing of legislation which would separate the investment banks from the commercial banks. there's legislation on both the house and the senate side. it's in the republican program. mr. mnuchin on the hill by senator cantwell was a little more ambiguous on this issue. i wish you could say something on where this is going. >> we've got to get a treasury secretary confirmed. i think that when we sit here and get asked questions about policy and you go department after department, whether it's treasury, energy, epa, hhs, hud,

education, the list goes on and on. you ask about issues and where the president's agenda is. the reason the president nominated these highly qualified people was to implement his agenda. senate democrats continue to hold that up. you're asking us about how we're going to move forward on an agenda. at the same time, the democrats are holding up the confirmation of these highly qualified people. until that occurs, it makes it a heck of a lot harder. major garrett. >> broad topic i'd like your take on which is dissent within the administration. specifically related to the president's lunch with rex tillerson today. over 1,000 employees said that. it is the president's position rex tillerson when confirmed should go through the process, meet with those people and have a dialogue? is it the president's point of view that when there is dissent it can be rooted in a

philosophical disagreement that's not necessarily in defiance of his orders? and there can be a dialogue and it can inform him differently? >> the president always -- >> he said a couple days ago they should get out. >> just to be clear on this. every american has a right to speak their mind. that's one of the amazing beauties in this country. you have the ability to write what you want. people have a right to speak out. that's not hampered. the point that i was making then is if you believe so deeply that the policy is offensive to you, you have to understand the job, the way our government works, we elect a president. that president gets to carry through their agenda that they set out with the american people during the campaign. and so they have a right to express it. i think secretary tillerson has a very open mind and a desire to meet with people and hear ideas as does the president as

evidenced what he's done through the transition and what he's done since becoming president. he's met with group, businesses, association, republicans, democrats, independents that have been supportive of him, that have not been supportive of him. and i think that he's going to continue to do that. people have a right to speak their mind. i think there's a difference of expressing concern and not implementing in a lawful order as the acting attorney general did the other night. i don't mean to keep coming back to this, but you're asking what we will do when rex tillerson becomes. i can't answer your question. democrats are slow walking this nomination. to presuppose what rex tillerson will do. we're being asked what they will do when they get into office and the democrats won't let them assume this. we all know the votes are there for them. i understand that. again, for me to presuppose what secretary tillerson is going to

do prior to him actually getting sworn in, he probably will. i don't know. but it would be irresponsible for me to answer a question about what he's going to do before he becomes sworn in. >> senate democrats have been described as bitter over the manner in which judge garland was treated when he was nominated for the supreme court. do you feel that the president feels that bitterness is well founded? >> i don't know. i'm not a senate democrat. i think they have a right to feel the way they do. we've explained our position both during last year when this was going on. we felt as though this was up to the voters to make a decision on it. as i pointed out yesterday, so many voters made up their mind based on who they believe the candidates were to appoint mr. trump then, mr. trump, then candidate trump, now president trump was very clear about the type of people that he was going to put forward, both in a list of ten, then a list of 11.

i think the american people knew clearly where he was going to go. he followed through on that campaign promise. i think when you look at the number of people who solely base their vote on that, never mind then you expand that, it was clear that was an important factor in the election. so i understand it, but i think we had an election. it was a major issue in that election. even when you look across the spectrum, republican, democrat, liberal, conservative, judge gorsuch has an unbelievable record and is being praised for that record because of that. >> i want to ask you finance. i heard there was going to be a morgan between president trump and jp morgan's ceo. can you tell us who else will be there? what message does the president have on finance reform? it seems like financial reform has fallen by the way side. >> i wouldn't agree with that.

when you look at regulatory reform, tax reform, all of the steps he's been taking to help the economy grow and to create jobs that's right in that wheel house. i hope to have further updates on the schedule tomorrow. >> i have a question ab foreign policy, but i wanted to follow up. you said lpr's no longer need a waiver. but you didn't answer the question ab people who were put on planes back to where they came from. what happens to them? >> they may go through the process. if they are an lpr, if not they go through the application process. if they are a legal permanent resident, then they are waived, they can come right through. >> they can come back again. >> that's right. i don't know how many cases that applies to. i know if they are not a legal permanent resident, they have to go back. that's part of this vetting process. >> my question is about the fightings in ukraine and russia and russia backed rebels are moving the lines forward. i'm wondering if the president

feels that russia is testing him because this is coming so early in his administration before he's had a chance to fully assemble his team and what he plans to do. >> the president's been kept aware of the national security team as a whole what's been going on in the ukraine and we'll have further updates as we go on. >> on the campaign last january donald trump promised he would get rid of gun free zones in military bases. when can we expect details on that? >> i think you have seen the president has been very active in terms of getting executive orsd out and following up on the campaign pledges. last night being another example of that. we'll con to move through this process and we'll have further updates on where we are. with that i want to go to my third skype seat. >> commander spicer, pleasure. thanks for your service to america. thanks for the opportunity. i have got a broad question. the federal government is the

biggest landlord in america. it owns two-thirds of a billion of acres of america. does president trump want to start returning to people's land to the people? and in the mean time, for a second question, since that's in fashion these days, can he tell the forest service to start logging our forests to provide jobs for americans welt for the treasury and not spend $3.5 billion a year fighting forest fires. >> i think the president has been very clear that as part of an energy solution that we've got to utilize the resources that we have, that the federal government own, whether that's the forests or natural resources or minerals that exist above and below the ground. we too infrequently look at our own resources and counted too much on foreign sources of energy. we're going to continue through the interior department an governor perry goes through his

confirmation process, to get those individuals through. but then working together in areas where they have overlap and all areas where they will act individually to realize, to look at those natural resources that we have, figure out how to best utilize them to benefit not just our energy but also economic growth opportunities with that. daniel happer? >> talking about executive orders. you haven't explained why the president is using the executive order in the manner he is doing. why not take this extreme vetting to congress and have a congressional bill? what is the philosophy? >> i don't think it's a binary choice. he has talked about especially in the area of immigration, he's been very clear that this is a huge priority for him. i think that he is going to continue to look at this from a wholistic aspect. in other words, visas, visa reform, the wall, our southern

border, our northern border. all of these things, vetting. there's a very very comprehensive -- most things he can do through executive order, he will. those things he can do through working with congress, legislatively, he'll continue to do as well. >> president's top trade adviser told the financial times yesterday that he believes the euro is grossly under valued and germany is benefitting from that and that's why we have a huge trade deficit with germany an europe. does the president agree with that, that the euro is under valued? >> when it comes to currency valuation, i'm not gonna get -- we have a secretary of the treasury that's in the confirmation process. once that traps i think then secretary mnuchin will be able to address that as well. >> dan housely 7 news boston. like to ask you about -- >> thought you were gonna ask about the patriots.

>> i will if i get a second one. you talk about kelly aswald shepherding judge gorsuch around capitol hill? >> sure. senator aot is someone who is respected on both sides of the aisle. she is a former attorney general. she understands the judicial process very well. but she's also -- this process is a relationship process. you're going around introducing a judge, someone who is not generally that exposed to the legislative process, tkefr nately not the congressional process. >> relationship with president trump. >> i think that shows as i have mentioned several times both through the transition early. the president is not holding some kind of test about what degree of support you had for him. he wants the best and brightest to continue to serve this country in whatever capacity they can. i think senator aotte very helpfully offered up her services. she has relationships on both sides of the aisle. she has a tremendous amount of

experience in this field. i think the president thought that she was extremely qualified to do this to help shepherd this qualified justice through this process. so she, as well as the team that we've gathered for individuals on staff here are going to help get judge gorsuch through the nomination process. i would say as a side note, if you look at the amazing job that's been done to get these individuals through the process, despite all of the hype, this individual will face this problem or what's the one person. each of them have really sailed through this process. story after story says democrats tried to land, take them out, couldn't land a glove. they're unbelievably qualified. unbelievably prepared. i think the same process that we followed with this is going to be followed with judge gorsuch. >> unbiased native, can you offer your super bowl pick? president trump has shown an

affinity for tom brady. >> i think you know where i come down on that one. >> senators merkowsky said they will vote no on betsy devos nomination. my questions are, how confident are you that you have all of the other republican senators locked down? what's the level of concern in the white house that her nomination will fail? >> zero. i have 100% confidence that she will be the next secretary of education. she is unbelievably qualified. an educator, advocate for students, teachers, parents. i think the games that are being played with betsy devos are sad. she is someone who's been a tireless advocate over the last couple decades to really support reforms that benefit children. they will be the real winners of her as secretary of education. >> in terms of the two republican senators voting no on betsy devos and republicans on

the hill last week, earlier this week ab how you dealt with the travel ban. is there more the trump administration and trump himself should be doing to ensure that his party is on the same page with his priorities? and secondly, can you give us more of an understanding of was there a discussion about the risks involved in this? was this a straight forward decision? do you still view it a success? >> so first, i would just note that i have heard story after story in the last 40 days about how, whether going back to the last question ab these nominees and not getting through. rex tillerson was going to go down. so and so. every one of them after they got to meet with both senat shown why the president chose them. because they were unbelievably qualified, unbelievably ready to lead an agenda of change. i think the same will be true for everyone else who is

remaining. the vote hasn't taken place. i think we've had some concerns in the past. when these nominees have met with them an shared with them their thoughts throughout the process. again, you can go back, story after story, each one of these folks who i have heard isn't going to make it, has gone over the finish line each time. we hear it over and over again. yet we succeed every time and yet another road block is put up. this person won't succeed. yet you look at each one of these people going through the process and it's worked beautifully every time. with respect to yemen, i think it's hard to ever say something was successful when you lose a life. but you've got to understand chief owens, he went back deployed 12 times because he loves this country and he believed in the mission. knowing that we killed an

estimated 14aqap members and that we gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on american soil is something that i think most service members understand, that that's why they join the service. and so you never want to call something a success 100% when someone's hurt or killed, and that was the case here. but i think that when you recognize that an individual like this loved this country so much and deployed over and over again because he knew that the mission that he was conducting was so important to our protection, our freedom, our safety. and i know that when the president spoke to karen and his wife and talked about the three children that he left behind, she continued to be impressed --

to impress upon the president that while it was an unbelievably sad and emotional time for her an her family, that he loved doing this. and so, you know, again, i don't think you ever call anything a 100% success, but what he did for this nation and what we got out of that mission, i truly believe, and i know the president believes, is gonna save american live. with that let me go to the last question on skype and then we'll con. jeff jobe from south central kentucky. jeff? >> thank you for allowing me to be part of the white house press briefing. clearly anyone paying attention will see president trump is acting on his campaign promises. this in itself gives hope to my state and particularly the region in which i grew up appalachian. we've seen countless politicians make promises about state and national levels and not only forget us, but to turn on us. so my question is, how soon or

when will the rules restricting coal mines, coal burns and coal exports be reversed? thank you. >> thanks, jeff. i talked about this couple times so far, but i believe, or the president has very clearly stated that clean coal in particular is an issue that's so important to our energy, independence as well as our job creation in this country. so whether you're talking about kentucky, west virginia, pennsylvania or so many other places in this country that rely on coal, bringing the production of clean coal back is good for our energy independence. it's good for our economy, job creation. something that he continues to talk about and i think once we have secretary of energy confirmed, that we can continue to take steps to move forward. >> two questions for you. do you have a sense that this president will be more

aggressive than his predecessors on seeking primetime air play for his announcements? and, two, top democrats are asking the defense department to investigate possible violation of the constitution. can you give us -- i don't know whether you saw that story. can you give a response? >> i think on the air time issue, that's something we are not particularly suffering from when it comes to attention. i think the president does a phenomenal job of getting attention and getting his message out. his use of social media in particular is something that when you look at the number of people, we did something like 11 million people watching the address on facebook live last night. obviously if we have important issues to discuss with the nation or announcements to make or nominations, then we'll request time. i don't think that's something that we spend a ton of time figuring out. i think we're doing pretty well on that front. i'm sorry, second question? >> requesting democrats to

investigate flynn for possible violation of laws? >> so general flynn, like i think probably countless if not hundreds of retired flag officers joins a speaking bureau and has given speeches at various places. i think that is something that is kept in practice and the department of defense is the appropriate place for them to review it. as i said, when you look at so many countless retired flag officers, that's something that generally keeps them doing. >> general flynn offered criticism about the obama administration. do you think we should expect to hear from this administration about whether it be on foreign policies or other issues criticism of the previous administration going forward. >> i think area where there's going to be a sharp difference, in particular national security, contrasting the policies that this president is seeking to make the country safer, stronger, more prosperous. he's going to draw those distinctions and contrast out.

but in this particular area, the president, when it came to the iran nuclear deal, was very, very adamant and his opposition to the deal and to its imphre phreu kaeugss. he's going to make sure to know the american people know some of the deals and things that were left by the previous administration that he wants to make clear what his position is. and his opposition to them. and you know the action and the notice that he put iran on today is something that is important. the american people voted on change. this is another issue that he was very clear about. so with that, thank you guys. i'll see you tomorrow. have a good day. >> all right. that was sean spicer wrapping things up at the daily press briefing at the white house. of course, we've been bringing that to you live. there's been absolute news coming out of that every day. he covered everything from the looming fight over president

trump's supreme court pick to clean coal and the u.s. military operation in kwrepbl and calling out iran. hello everyone. i'm sandra smith. we had a lot of news coming out of there. michael flynn did make an appearance at the top end of the press briefing along with the deputy national security adviser who was also present. he said we are putting iran on notice. their actions were provocative and in defiance of the u.n. resolution. this white house condemns their recent actions that put americans at risk. so a lot coming out of that meeting. we want to bring in chris plant a syndicated talk show host, leslie marshall also a talk show host and a fox news contributor. also making an appearance, by the way, leslie and chris, was a few skype appearances by local reporter. some were coming in from cleveland ohio, providence, rhode island. what did you make, chris, what stood out to you in that briefing today? >> well, gosh.

they covered the waterfront up and down. i think the supreme court nominee sort of front burner right now. and dealing with the obstructionism of the democrats because they feel bitter, word used in one of the questions, about holding up barack obama's nominee last year. and the democrats have decided in sort of a child-like way that they're going to obstruct. they're going to prevent him. they're going to ruin his life, destroy him in the eyes of his children because they have a pet petty partisan bone to pitch. >> sandra: let's bring you in on this. there was a reference to the president telling republicans to use the nuclear option to confirm his supreme court pick. white house press secretary spicer responded to that. said that's not something we'd like to go down. it's ultimately up to mitch mcconnell. your thoughts, leslie? >> well, listen, chris.

i haven't heard the supreme court nominee's children being threatened. god, i would hope not. what i think -- chris, on my side of the aisle, on the left, is the concern as to whether this individual can be part of the judicial branch. we have three branchs of government and beholden to the constitution an not to the man who nominated him. there have been some terrible things that are very scary that have been said and have been done in the past few days with regard to individuals who don't agree with the president. that i think is what the american people deserve is to have a member of the skorbgt regardless of who is nominating them, looking to the constitution. >> sandra: this is setting up to be quite the battle. sean spicer had some questions back to democrats. he said are dems going to live up to the same standards they imposed on the gop? he directed something at chuck shumer a leading democrat. said he needs to be held

accountable for his words. >> yeah. welsh that's right. it's a classic sort of news media thing here. chuck shumer attacks. donald trump responds. and trump is the bad guy. it's like a hockey fight where you only see the second hit. leslie, there's no reason to be concerned about the constitutional grounding of the person that donald trump selected. that's absurd to suggest there is. when it comes to the rules of the senate and whether they get this nominee through or not the nuclear option should be called the read option. the republicans should be referring it from this day forward as the reed option because harry reid is the one who introduced these tactics to the senate. they should be used against them because what's good for the goose is good for the gander. trumping up things about the constitutional grounding of this nominee is out of the blue and what i said was they want to destroy him in the eyes of his children. that's what they do. they smear. the truth is not something that

comes to the dance when it's time to smear people in washington. >> sandra: thanks to both of you for standing by through that press briefing. we have more to get to. full senate vote is under way on secretary of state nominee rex tillerson. that is happening right now. the results as soon as they happen. if confirmed the rough road tillerson will likely face as america's top diplomat. we'll keep watching it for you. senate finance committee overcoming strong objections by democrats approving the nominations of tom price for health secretary and steve mnuchin for treasury secretary. both advance to the full senate after the committee changed the rule allowing for a vote with no democrats present. many democrats are vowing to try and block judge gorsuch's nomination to the supreme court. utah senator orrin hatch has a big say in all three nominations as chairman of the finance committee and a member of the judiciary committee. he joins me now.

good to see you, senator. first, can you just give us your thoughts on the state of business and the state of politics right now as we just came out of that white house press briefing? >> my gosh. first time in my history and the history of the finance committee that democrats even refuse to show up for hearings and for markup. >> sandra: what does that say? >> it says they're a bunch of juvenile idiots is what it says. it's one thing to wage a good fight and do the best you can. we understand that. but to just not even show up? not even come? that's another matter. and so today i invoked the rules. we went ahead and put both nominees, mr. mnuchin and the congressman out. >> sandra: what is this battle going to look like for the supreme court nomination? donald trump announcing last night neil gorsuch. what is that going to look like,

senator? >> it shouldn't look bad. neil gorsuch is clearly one of the finest judges in the country today. highly respected by just about everybody. has a masters degree, a ph.d. from oxford. this is a man who is even tempered, who believes he ought to follow the rule of law, follow the statutes even if he disagrees with them. he's a judge's judge. i don't see how the democrats can raise a legitimate issue against him. he's gonna go through and we're gonna get him through. >> sandra: i know you have to go vote. but what did you make about president trump telling republicans to use the nuclear option to confirm his supreme court pick? >> i hope we don't have to do that. let's face it. we didn't start this battle. we didn't start using the nuclear option. they did. there are enough democrats who are reasonable people, it seems to me, who really want to quit making the senate look like an

oddball club, to stand up and vote for somebody of this quality. he has zero votes against him on the court of appeals. he was 100% passed. just tells you they're playing politics on everything. it's catching up with them. people are starting to say, my gosh, what a bunch of dunces. >> sandra: you've served nearly half your life in the senate. you just heard from sean spicer. do you think democrats are sad, he said? i take it that's something you agree with. >> well, i do agree. i get along well with my colleagues. i have always gotten along well. to have them turn around and do this, pull some of these juvenile maneuvers just because they're upset that trump or upset at anybody is juvenile and it's unbecoming to them. i feel sorry for them that they have to act that way. we can't put up with it. >> sandra: senator orrin hatch, we'll let you run off to your

vote. thank you very much for stepping away to join us. >> nice to be with you. >> sandra: you just heard the frustration from senator hatch. democrats coming out swinging after the nomination of neil gorsuch to the supreme court. what does he have going for him or against him? ♪ across new york state, from long island to buffalo, from rochester to the hudson valley, from albany to utica, creative business incentives, infrastructure investment, university partnerships, and the lowest taxes in decades are creating a stronger economy and the right environment in new york state for business to thrive. let us help grow your company's tomorrow - today at esd.ny.gov one nation in all of human history was built on that bedrock, ours. freedom has made america exceptional,

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>> much more ahead on what is another extremely busy news day. president trump's national security adviser michael flynn has just ripped into iran, warning that country is on notice. we'll explain what that might mean. plus the senate holding a final vote to approve the president's secretary of state nominee in rex tillerson. who will have to deal with iran? among a host of other foreign policy issues? all of that and, beyonce is pregnant with twins. i'll see you in 17 minutes. >> sandra: president trump heaping praise on judge neil gorsuch calling his

qualifications beyond dispute. calling on democrats to treat him with respect. >> i want to have him go through an el began process as opposed to a demeaning process. it's been very demeaning on the other side. they want to make you look as bad as possible. the press can be very demeaning, too. i'm sure the press will be dignified in this case. >> sandra: the constitutional attorney who argued the bush versus gore case in florida supreme court, joe degeneva is the former u.s. attorney and former federal prosecutor. all right. so, joe, i'll start with you first. give it to us. what are his assets? what are we looking at? >> judge gorsuch is a superb judge. he's been on the circuit for more than ten years. he has a beautiful writing style. he's an intellectual an originalist which means he believes in interpreting the constitution according to the intention of the drafters. he believes you read statutes to

try and find out what they mean and not look to legislative history which means absolutely nothing. he's young. he's 49. has a fabulous family. he's a great individual. most importantly he's a great legal thinker in the scalia tradition, and i think that the objection to him by the democrats will be personal and they will be out of order and he will be confirmed ultimately because he is a superb jurist. >> sandra: might we know that democrats are about to dig in. this battle could get ugly. what are the liabilities of the supreme court nominee? >> he really doesn't have anything other than a response to oppose anybody who follows the rule of law rather than twisting the law to accomplish democratic policy objectives. there's nobody on trump's list of judges that the democrats wouldn't be opposing because they want to use the courts to

accomplish their social and political agenda rather than have justices who are neutrally interpretive. the one thing he's got going for him is he's replacing justice scalia. the stakes are a lot smaller in this case than they will for another vacancy. so i think it would be a mistake for the senate democrats to make this world war ii, require the republicans to take the nuclear option and blow up the filibuster because that will only lead to their detriment if there's another vacancy. >> sandra: what do you make of president trump saying use the nuclear option? is that a possibility? >> it ear a possibility although i think the republicans don't really want to do that. president trump was throwing down a marker. he was warning the democrats who, remember, started this fight back in 2013 when harry reid majority leader changed the rules so there could be no filibuster of united states district court justices and

court of appeals judges and all cabinet nominee. that was the first change in the rule in a century. and now the option is available for mitch mcconnell and the senate republicans to change it for supreme court nominees. the democrats do not want to push this. and the president was giving them a warning. if you do, we will ask the senate to change the rule. i think the democrats will not eventually push for a full filibuster. they will try to fight. they'll make some noise. and then they'll walk away and allow a vote and he will be confirmed. >> sandra: mike, that being said, some do say this is republicans getting taste of their own medicine after what we went through with president barack obama. at the end of the day, where does this all go? >> certainly not a taste of their own medicine. i think what the republicans are asking for is for the democrats to treat trump's nominee the way the republicans treated theirs which is with respect, no threat

to filibuster and in many cases overwhelming bipartisan support. it's not a taste of their own medicine. i think it's a cease and desist on behalf of the senate democrats and echoing what joe just said, i think they might be smart enough not to run that risk in this contest. >> sandra: joe, i point that out. we just heard sean spicer the white house press secretary, he said are you going to live up to the same standards that you imposed on the gop? >> welsh there's no question about that. they changed the rules. the republicans have absolutely played by the rules. they did not allow a vote on meritt garland. there has not no person who has nominated a person during an election cycle. the democrats are playing a dangerous game. they are preventing the government agencies from functioning. no secretary of the treasury. foreign markets very upset about the fact that there is no secretary of the treasury.

democrats are playing with united states currency, with the goodwill of the american people. if they continue this up, they are going to pay the same price in 2018 that they paid in 2016. there's part of me that just wants the democrats to continue to do this so that they can continue to inflick wounds on himself. but it's not good for the country. >> sandra: quite a battle brewing. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> sandra: and senate voting on the state of who could be our next secretary of state. rex tillerson. the results as soon as they come in. and if confirmed, the rough road tillerson will likely face as america's top diplomat.

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>> sandra: a number of the president's cabinet nominees have been cleared by committee,

but democrats are not going to let neil gorsuch off the hook so easily, promising an all out war against the conservative darling. mike emanuel live from capitol hill. the supreme court nominee paid a visit to capitol hill today, mike. how did that go? >> well, sandra, good afternoon. judge neil gorsuch has been doing some initial outreach. he met with chuck grassley a short time ago. senator grassley said essentially he's looking forward to a thorough vetting of judge gorsuch but hinted that he does not want any unnecessary delays and top senate leaders are also talking about this critical high court nomination. >> we democrats will insist on a rigorous but fair process. there will be 60 votes for confirmation. any one member can require it. many democrats already have. and it is the right thing to do.

>> senator barack obama, not senator hillary clinton, not senators joe biden or ted kennedy. in fact not a single one of the democrats that still serve with us opposed him. >> reporter: we've got breaking news on the senate floor. rex tillerson has been confirmed to be the next secretary of state. 52-42 is the vote so far. all he needed was a simple majority. bottom line, republican votes carried the day. he did get a little democratic support. democrats have complained that they were worried that tillerson may be a yes man to the president. he's walking into a difficult situation at the state department after a bumpy weekend, bumpy rollout of the travel ban, but bottom line, rex tillerson is the next secretary of state, just been confirmed on the senate floor. sandra? >> sandra: thank you for that breaking news, mike emanuel. national security adviser michael flynn making an appearance at the white house

briefing today. national correspond anne jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. right at the top we saw him walk up to the podium. what did we learn? >> well, this is somewhat unusual sandra to have the national security adviser come to the white house press briefing. he was responding to two stories, in fact. a story that fox news broke just two days ago about an iranian ballistic missile test that took place on sunday. we broke that story. and then the u.n. security council called an emergency meeting yesterday. they met. there is -- it's not clear what came out of that meeting. we're understanding from those present that members of the security council are asking the u.s. to provide evidence of the iran ballistic missile. we also reported last night that we've learned of another ballistic missile test carried out by tehran in the same area about 140 miles outside tehran. and that one came on december 6th. there have been about 12 of

these missile tests since the nuclear deal was signed. it's in violation of apparently in violation of u.n. security resolution 22331. what mike flynn said today was that as of today, quote, we are officially putting iran on notice. he then criticized the obama administration saying it failed to respond to tehran's maligned action. unusual, very strong statement from the national security adviser from the white house today. we'll have more details toepblt. >> sandra: after that 4 p.m. meeting the national security council will be holding a background briefing for reporters. jennifer griffin, good to see you. we will be right back.

>> fox news alert. a full senate vote continuing right now on secretary of state nominee rex tillerson. as you just heard from the chief congressional correspondent, mike emanuel, he just reported tillerson appears to have enough votes at this time to be

confirmed. at last count, 52-42. it appears he has enough votes for confirmation. the former ceo of exxon mobil, rex tillerson. here's shep. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast, 3:00 on capitol hill where senators have confirmed trump's pick for secretary of state, the former exxon mobil boss, rex tillerson. the democrats have slowed his roll but they can't keep him from filling his cabinet. president trump says he wants the confirmation process for judge gorsuch to be elegant and dignified. though if that doesn't work out, he said the senate republicans should go nuclear. an explanation on that. and a warning to iran. breaking this afternoon. the trump administration hitting back after the country's recent missile test and warning the iranians, america is putting you on