court nominee and another one of the president's picks for his cabinet, will it really accomplish anything? >> and faceoff, sean spicer holding a daily briefing a few minutes from now. we'll bring it to you live, of course. let's start with the nuclear option. last hour, president trump telling his senate majority leader to, quote, do whatever it takes to secure the confirmation of his supreme court pick. >> if we end up with the same gridlock that they've had in washington for longer than eight years, in all fairness to president obama, a lot longer than eight years, i would say, if you can, mitch mcconnell, go nuclear. >> moments after president trump said that, the mitch to whom he was referring, mitch mcconnell, said this about the looming confirmation battle. >> in the coming days, i hope and expect that all senate colleagues will, again, give him

fairing consideration just as we did for the nominees of newly elected presidents clinton and obama. >> let's start with peter alexander who is at the white house this afternoon. peter, it would seem as if the gauntlet has been thrown down. >> reporter: the bottom line is, donald trump made this point. he didn't defer to the senate as one president might have done in the past. but mitch mcconnell has insisted that he believes that he has the necessary votes. they think they can get the 60 votes that would be necessary if they were not to get those, then it wouldequire what they refer to as that nuclear option that president trump was speaking about there where you basically overrule the traditions that exist in the senate body and it requires only a senate -- a simple majority, which would be the 50 votes which, of course, republicans have more than enough of right now. nonetheless, the sourt full-court press has been going on for hours. we've seen neil gorsuch, this federal appeals court judge

making his rounds on capitol hill earlier today. he was there alongside the vice president mike pence and met with mitch mcconnell and met with his home state senator, corey gardener. john cornyn of texas, chuck grassley will be meeting with him as well. here at the white house, that full-court press continues as well. president trump earlier meeting with some supreme court-oriented groups, groups that have issues before the court or they may that are important, small business groups, tax reform groups, anti-abortion rights groups all speaking out just across the board unanimously in support of the nomination of judge gorsuch. we've heard from wayne lapierre because of his role at the nra. he said that his group will do everything in their power to

help neil gorsuch win the nomination. if necessary, if they can't get that 60, then they may follow what president trump suggested, which is to pursue that nuclear option. craig? >> peter alexander for us at 1600 pennsylvania. peter, thanks as always. democratic senator sheldon whitehouse of rhode island is joining me now. he sits on the judiciary committee. you heard what president trump said there. what happens if mitch mcconnell does in fact go nuclear on judge gorsuch? >> well, we'll have to see how many of his colleagues will stay with him on that. you will remember the expressions of outrage when we opened up the nuclear option for the executive appointees and there was an understanding at the time that the supreme court would be different and it's

going to take a lot of republicans having to eat a lot of crow and reversing a lot of statements to go along with mitch mcconnell jamming a supreme court appointee through on the nuclear option. >> you'll be involved in the confirmation hearings on the supreme court. do you believe that the judge deserves an up or down vote or do you support the idea of a filibuster being used? >> i think the 60-vote rule, i'm sure that the majority leader will go to and the key question is, does he go along with the other four appointees and rebuild the gang of five that was such a bunch of special interests activists with judge scalia under the direction of chief justice roberts? and i think that's what we need

to explore in those hearings, will he go back to that special interests frenzy that they were under. >> we heard from senator manchin in the last hour, senator from west virginia. it is starting to sound like that may not be necessary. it sounds like they will probably be able to have enough democrats away to get the 60 votes. >> we'll see. that requires peeling away quite a number and i think it's a pretty grave concern, based on what the supreme court has done 5-4, taking away voting rights, opening up special interests flood gates of money with citizens united, going after people's access to the courts and the jury, protecting big corporatio corporations in virtually every way they can think of in terms of accountability, attacking the clean power plan. it's been quite a run by five

republicans and if we're going to rebuild that, i think a lot of democrats would have a lot of caution about that. >> yesterday, senator warren hatch, senator from utah, who has a reputation for being stately, shall we say, he called the democratic boycotts stupid. he called them idiotic. there have been a fair amount of shenanigans there on the hill for the past two weeks now. are we witnessing a breakdown of decorum in the upper chamber? has the game changed in the senate? >> it appears that it has changed a little bit in the sense that we've never seen nominees so poorly vetted and so burdened with financial disclosure problems and riddled with conflicts of interest being jammed through with so little real oversight. there is a true steam roller operation in place and what

we're trying to do is slow it down for things that in ordinary circumstances, republicans would expect on their side, which is things like for our new epa nominee, what was this dark money roll for all of the polluting companies? what's up with the 3,000 e-mails that have not been disemployeesdisclosed between him and the big fossil fuel companies? so these are not unreasonable requests and trying to stream roll them through has cause adjust fiable reaction on our side. if we can't even get honest answers to legitimate questions, then there is a problem here. >> next hour, there's a vote scheduled for rex tillerson for secretary of state. how are you going to vote? >> i'm going to be voting no. i checked with the

parliamentarian. i'll be voting "hell no." >> senator whitehouse, thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. >> two republican senators weighed in earlier today on whether they support going nuclear. take a look at what they had to say. >> the precise procedural steps have yet to be worked out, but one way or another, judge gorsuch, i believe, will be confirmed. >> i hope we can get 60 votes. this man deserves 60 votes based on the life he's lived and the way he's conducted himself as a judge and private citizen. but i am going to tell you, he will be confirmed one way or the other. >> that's a promise from south carolina senatorindsey graham. kasie hunt has been following the confirmation hearings. the judge has also been there on the hill as well, kasie, as you know. what are senators saying about him and this idea of going

nuclear? >> reporter: well, you just heard what i think is the important point here, craig, from both of those senators. they delivered that exact same line. he's going to be confirmed one way or the other and that tells you that the message has gone out among republicans that no matter what democrats do, they are going to push this through. so that suggests and there had been some questions about this because senator mitch mcconnell is going to have to make this decision about whether to change senate rules to force this through with 51 votes. why is that important? why has it been called the nuclear option? because it's something that just really ruptures kind of the culture and character of this place. this is a body that likes to think it does business in a kind of congenial, we're going to get along way. and if you do this, especially for a supreme court nominee, the bad blood that it generates is going to last for a very long time. the language that republicans are using right now suggests that they are going to push ahead with this no matter what.

now, the question then becomes, are there eight democrats who might be willing to vote with republicans to give them the 60 votes to allow them to hold the vote on this nomination once we get that far? and we're still in the early stages of trying to figure that out. there are some democrats who have already come out and said there's no way they are voting for him and that's, in many ways, an unusual thing. usually people wait until the hearings -- we go through the hearings, we learn more about the nominee. there are already democrats saying, no way are we going to vote for this guy. on the other hand, you do have a list right now that's still long enough to potentially give them the eight votes they need. and the question here is going to be the tension between you're a moderate democrat, up for re-election in two years, what do you do? do you side with republicans because the pressure fromhe liberal base right now is s intense, especially in the wake of that executive order. you couple that with anger over republicans blocking merrick garland and it's just a recipe

for democrats to have a very hard time voting to help donald trump in any way. and so that's a dynamic you're seeing play out right now. craig? >> kasie hunt for us on capitol hill this afternoon, kasie, thank you. let's get to our justice correspondent pete williams for more on who this potential supreme court justice is. chuck grassley says we could expect hearings to start in about six weeks. which areas of his career are we likely going to see highlighted during this confirmation process? >> that's easy. all of them. the way these confirmation hearings work, craig, they are going to ask about his judicial opinions, about statements and speeches he's written, articles he's written and a book he's written in which he argues in favor of laws against assisted suicide and said in an article and in some speeches that he thinks liberals too often turn

to the courts when they should be using the ballot box, when they can't get what they want from a popular vote, they get what they want and he seemed to criticize that. that's right out of justice scalia's playbook. he often said much the same. so anything he's ever said or written, especially his judicial opinions, will be gone over minutely and he'll introduce his family and answer questions, maybe a second day and then also be written questions and that's what he can expect in his confirmation hearing. >> in terms of the spectrum here, pete, and you just mentioned justice scalia, a lot of folks have talked about ideologically how similar he is to that justice, more conservative than scalia? less conservative than justice thomas? where does he fall in the spectrum? >> of course this is a difficult question to answer because a good question, it's hard to answer because he doesn't always agree with justice scalia.

sometimes he'd be more liberal and sometimes more conservative. i will say this, a group of legal scholars has tried to analyze that very question that you've asked and on the spectrum they put him towarded it conservative end of the spectrum more so than justice alito, more so than justice scalia came out given the totality of his opinions. now, the difficulty is the nature of the beast, some 10th circuit cases went there but there is very little overlap. it's a bit subjective but they say all in all, he would be more conservative than justice scalia. interesting, i think justice scalia might be early on in his tenure more conservative than he was towards the end because he got very interested in what would normally be considered sort of liberal interests in making sure that criminal defendants get their due, their

right to confront their accusers in court, only jurors can find facts that increase their punishment. >> justice correspondent pete williams, again, the prospective justice, 49 years old, if confirmed, he would likely be on the high court for a very long time. thank you, pete. that's going to bring us to the pulse question of the day. "should democrats try to block the gorsuch scotus nomination in retaliation for republicans blocking obama's pick last year?" pulse.msnbc.com. we'll check your results later on in the show. again, we're watching the white house briefing room. sean spicer set to address reporters roughly 15 minutes from now. sometimes he's a little early, sometimes he's a little bit late. when it happens, we'll bring it to you live. also, are democrats in danger of overplaying their hand in theight against the president's supreme court nominee?

senator ben cardin of maryland will join me. but first, bid budweiser weighing in on the debate. >> i want the brewed beer. >> welcome to america. these numbers are off the charts... sir! what's the status? there's a meteor hurtling towards earth. how long until impact? less than a minute. what do you want to do, sir? listen carefully... if we all switch to geico we could save 15% or more on car insurance. i like the sound of that. geico. because saving fifteen percent or more on car insurance is always a great answer.

a big, bitter fight shaping up on capitol hill, donald trump telling democrats to go nuclear if they don't give neil gorsuch an up or down vote. joining me now is a senator from maryland. always good to see you. thank you for your time this afternoon. what should the upper shame better do? up or down vote?

>> well, first, the way the republicans in the senate treated president obama with his pick for the supreme court, we have reason to be concerned that there will be a fair process for the democrats in the way that the senate will treat judge gorsuch's nomination. first and foremost, we want to have a fair process, have time to investigate and ask questions and know everything about him to see whether in fact his philosophy is mainstream or there is a person who has an objective that may not be mainstream on the court. that's our responsibility and we need the time to investigate that. >> so it doesn't sound like you're saying because republicans never gave merrick

garland the process, we just be obstructionists? >> i'm notaying that. we recognize president obama was not treated fairly so we are suspicious as to whether we would have the adequate time that we need in order to make sure that this nominee is properly vetted. >> i want to read this from "the washington post." you've probably already seen it. this was from a few hours ago. it talks about the idea of going nuclear. "if such a showdown occurs, it would be about more than ending senate tradition. it would be about forever changing the nature of the senate which the founders set up with the express goal to slow down and cool off the hasty and heated impulses more common in the house." do you regret harry reid leading that charge in the filibuster?

>> i think we need to go back to the republicans clearly abusing the rules of the united states nat senate, making it possible for president obama's nominations to be considered. we saw them do that in the last two years of president obama's term. they so when we talk about the traditions in the senate, it must be a deliberative body and pay respect to the constitution and that tradition was broken when the republicans withheld any consideration of nomination for ten months under president obama's term. so, yes, we want to be able to have that type of consideration but let's take a look at what has happened in recent years, particularly with what the republicans have done. >> the cabinet nominees who have been on the hill, we've seen a

number of boycotts not show up for a number of votes with regard to these nominees. is that the best strategy? do you support that? >> clearly, there was information no obtained. there was information that the nominees had not supplied to the committee and i think that's the only way that they could demonstrate we're not trying to delay. we haven't gotten the necessary information. there were serious questions that have not been answered. some came to light very close to when the meetings were scheduled. >> tillerson next hour, full senate vote on the potential secretary of state. what say you? >> well, i'm voting against mr. tillerson. i'm the ranking democrat on senate foreign relations and we had a very thorough hearing and i have concern to whether his business background and the way he responded to core values of

america being compromised by his narrow interests as he negotiates with russia and other world powers. i'm concerned whether he will be strong enough to stand up for american values in dealing with countries that have been attacking us and doing things against america's interests. >> you think he's too close to putin? >> i think he would be too concerned about doing business with russia rather than standing up to russia not only in their attack against us but in what they are doing in syria. >> senator ben cardin of maryland, always enjoy your perspective. >> my pleasure. good to be with you. >> we continue to wait for sean spicer's daily briefing. there's a look at the white house briefing room. when that starts in a few minutes, we'll bring it to you. first, neil gorsuch, why are conservatives breathing a sigh of relief?

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president trump's nominee is making the rounds on capitol hill today. mike pence is accompanying neil gorsuch. this is an exclusive video, by the way. gorsuch sitting on the 10th circuit court of appeals in denver. if he is confirmed, he'll fill that vacancy. the seat that was left vacant by justice antonin scalia. this video we got a short time ago, you can see mike pence there escorting the would-be justice through the capitol. you also saw kelly ayotte, the former senator from maine despite the fact that she's no longer a sitting u.s. senator, asked her to participate there in walking him around. i want to bring in paul

rallstein and a professor of practice in constitutional law at american universities -- excuse me. american universities washington college of law. sorry about that. professor, presidentrump said that the judge had a, quote, extraordinary resume. here's more of what president trump said. >> the qualifications of judge gorsuch are beyond dispute. he is the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice. >> professor, are his credentials in fact beyond dispute? >> he has very good credentials. there are things about him that the democrats -- the liberals will not like but he is mainstream and i think he's about the best that the

democrats could expect from a republican president. this is from the standpoint of the democrats. they are not going to get anything more to their liking and i think the democrats would be best served if they held their fire for perhaps the next nominee. there's going to be several because there's going to be vacancies on the court during mr. trump's presidency. and they should hold their fire for when there's somebody really, really objectionable to them. if even there's some particular things about his philosophy that they don't like, nevertheless, he's in the mainstream. >> professor, let's talk about some of these things that progressives might not like. what are they? >> well, he's articulated a philosophy that in some ways sounds like justice scalia. he's spoken out about the need

to -- for liberals to go to the elected branches rather than to the courts to try to solve their problems and achieve their goals. it's very much like justice scalia's views. he's advocated reading the constitution with eye towards the original meaning that the framers attached to the words. also very much like justice scalia so that i think the democrats feel like there's a lot at stake here and are loaded for bear. >> he's a strict constructionist. >> he is a strict constructionist. >> the senate majority leader chuck schumer said this in a statement last night. "judge gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations overworking people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's

rights and ideological approach to jurisprudence." professor, i'll come to you on this. the hobby lobby case, a lot of pele have been talking about his involvement there. what can you tell us about that? >> i think that is something that the progressive democrats will object to about him. that case held and he voted for that position, held it a religious -- a company owned by a religious family, could stand on their freedom of religion in order to refuse contraception coverage as part of their obamacare health plan. and i think that does present a threat to opening a huge chasm, a huge exception in all kinds of government programs if people can object to them, especially if companies can object to them

on religious grounds. the liberals have a problem with the idea that companies can have religious beliefs, although this was a family-owned company. >> professor romeo, it's important to note, he's extraordinarily young. he's 49. he'll be around for a very long time, assuming he's in pretty good health. and this, krikt correct me if i wrong, this does not change the ideological makeup of the court. is that correct? >> i think that's right. this takes us back to where we were with justice scalia sitting on the court, with one important difference. because he's 49 years old, he is the next generation of conservatives, the three most solid conservatives on the court are in their 60s. and anthony kennedy, the middle of the court, is 80. judge gorsuch could sit on the court into the middle of this

century and so i think that's an important consideration, that he's potentially there until 2050 as a conservative justice. >> a big thanks to both of you. professor rothstein and romeo. msnbc is headed your way. chris matthews is hosting a special live town hall on president trump's first days in office. that will come to you live from american university in washington, d.c. ris will look at how president trump's aggressive agenda is already reshaping life in this country. don't miss "power and the presidency" tomorrow at 7:00 eastern only on msnbc. let's check in on the pulse question right now. here's what you're saying about it. we asked, should democrats try to block the scotus nomination in retaliation? 83% say yes. more gridlock, blocking. there's still time to weigh in.

let your voice be heard. defense secretary james mattis on his first official overseas trip right now. will he succeed in reassuring our nervous asian allies, in particular, and the daily white house briefing has been pushed back, we're told, by a few minutes. may start ten minutes from now. maybe a little longer. when it happens, we'll bring it to you live. by simply enjoying it. boost® simply complete. it's intelligent nutrition made with only 9 ingredients, plus 25 vitamins and minerals

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right now, secretary of defense john mattis, mad dog mattis, his way to south korea. this is his first official trip as head of the department of defense. this trip to south korea and japan coming a week after donald trump signed that executive action withdrawing the transpacific partnership and also after the president required southeast asian countries to pay for the nearly 80,000 u.s. troops stationed on

their soil. hans nichols has more now on this major trip abroad. what should we expect with this trip to south korea and japan? hans? >> it's all about reassuring allies. if you take a step back and look at what he has telegraphed, secretary mattis in his first ten days of office, he's been speaking with counterparts all across the globe and there's something about the importance of alliances, whether that's with nato counterparts or our partners in southeast asia. that's what he's stressing. secretary tillerson, if confirmed, isn't in his position right now. it's up to mattis to carry the torch of diplomacy. >> he's going to reassure our nervous friends? >> yeah. i think that's one way to put it. you read a lot and i don't read korean, but when you see some of the press out there that's translated, there's a fair amount of nervousness in both

korea and japan. >> it surprises me that you don't read korean, hans. shinzo abe is coming to the white house next week to meet with president trump. what's on the agenda for that meeting? >> well, what the japanese are going to try to do is put it back on the agenda. he said, "my thoughts are that president trump recognizes the importance of free and fair trade. i hope to appeal to them for thr understanding of the tpp's economic situation." one of his first acts was formally withdrawing from that. >> and what a segue hans just

gave us. we continue to watch the white house briefing room. press secretary sean spicer set to address those assembled reporters any moment now. when it happens, we'll bring it to you live. first, as the nomination of betsy devos as education secretary posts advances to this senate, we'll hear from some parents about what they want from public schools. will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job,

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the senate will take up the issue of approving betsy devos. the approval came despite opposition from democrats. massachusetts democrat senator elizabh warren explaining why she's opposed to the devos nomination. >> it is hard to imagine a candidate less qualified or more dangerous to be entrusted both with our country's education

policy and with the trillion dollar student loan program and that is why i urge my colleagues to reject mrs. devos' nomination. >> the committee, though, approving miss devos despite her urging. more on that in a moment. sean spicer has taken to the podium in the white house briefing room. let's listen in. >> after coming back behind the podium was merrick garland who has come out to say that judge gorsuch deserves a fair hearing. in less than 24 hours, judge gorsuch has received a widespread praise from across the political spectrum with sterling credentials, a brilliant legal mind and a steadfast commitment to constitutional principles. during his long career in public service, judge gorsuch has enjoyed bipartisan approval to the 10th circuit. 12 current democratic senators,

including chuck schumer, senator dianne feinstein, senator leahy were all in office when he was first confirmed without opposition in 2006. with as many as eight democrats, like blumenthal and mccaskill, there's no question that he is a widely respected jurist who deserves to have his nomination fairly decided upon by the united states senate. now that judge gorsuch has been officially named, i hope you'll allow me to talk about how exceptionally qualified he is to succeed the late great antonin scalia. his record is impeccable. the president holds education in the highest regard. judge gorsuch graed phi cappa beta and attended oxford. like justice scalia, the cornerstone of judge gorsuch's

judicial philosophy is fidelity to the text. he doesn't believe judges should base their decisions solely on the law -- he believes -- sorry. i don't want to screw that one up. that his decision should be based slowly on the law and the constitution, not on their own policy preferences or personal feelings. he'll be a reliable on the bench regardless of background. i would note, i think -- and i always want to caveat this, but to my understanding, he would be the first justice that will serve with the -- as someone he clerked for on the bench. so it will be sort of a first when he is con firpfirmed by th senate. today is february 1st. we're kicking off black history month. the president has events planned throughout the month starting today with a significance th administration african-american appointees.

later today, the president will issue a proclamation. the u.s. postal service kicked off the month by issuing a dorothy heit stamp. she was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by president bill clinton in 1994 and the congressional medal of freedom by president george w. bush in 2004. excuse me. 1994 and 2004. president obama delivered her eulogy in 2010. we'll celebrate the courageous african-american leaders. african-american history is american history and this month is a great reminr of that. continuing with today's schedule, the vice president went to t hill with judge gorsuch to meet with lawmakers for the first time since being named last night. on the hill, the vice president

met with majority leader mcconnell and the staff spearheading judge gorsuch's nomination will meet with senators corn anyon senators john cornyn and grassley. neither of the two supreme court justices that president obama nominated were subject to the 60-vote threshold of the filibuster. they received bipartisan support because republicans, despite political and philosophical differences, viewed them as mainstream and qualified and judge gorsuch should receive the same treatment. president trump met with outside groups to discuss judge gorsuch's nomination including the national rights to life, paula white, wayne lapierre of the national rifle association, penny nance, juanita doogan,

grover norquist, leonard leo, margorie of the susan b. anthony list and martin blackwell. president trump told the group that his decision on the supreme court is among the most decisions he will ever make as president. he praised judge gorsuch for his academic achievements and his lifelong devotion to the law. for many of them, this was the number one issue in the campaign. they are committed to supporting judge gorsuch throughout the process and expressed their desire to give him a fair hearing and vote. the meeting closed with the president inviting the group to the oval office. the president then had lunch with secretary of state tierson. his understanding of the geopolitics will make him an

outstanding pick for the united states and is looking forward to the full vote of his nomination. later on this evening, the president will participate in a legislative affairs strategy with his team working closely with congress to enact the enact the president's agenda. so far between the vice president and staff we have had many productive conversations with both parties in both chambers on a variety of issues from trade to the president's nomination for his cabinet and now the supreme court. now starting this week our legislative affairs team will also conduct excessive outreach on behalf of judge gorsuch's nomination. you know where i'm going with that. democrats in senate continue to use every tool at their disposal to get away with the president's attempt to make america great again. senate democrats refused to participate in committee votes for price and mnuchin moved out of the finance committee with

zero democrats present. democrats also boycotted epa designee pruitt's hearing. they're doing this -- they are doing their constituents and our country a disservice by resorting to these childish tactics. the president's cabinet nominees will be confirmed on the floor of senate once democrats actually allow them to get a fair vote. in other cabinet news, attorney general designee senator sessions was voted out of committee today. we look forward to his full vote as next attorney general. secretary of state rex tillerson designee is expected to receive a vote bit full senate this afternoon. finally, veterans administration secretary designee dr. david shulkin will go before senate this afternoon. a few more things. in terms of the schedule tomorrow, the president will attend national prayer breakfast and have breakfast with harley-davidson executives here at the white house. the president will also meet with senator hatch, senator wyden, congressman nei and

brady. further guidance will be coming soon. today the president sent following nomination to senate. rachel l. brand of iowa, steven engel of d.c. to be assistant attorney general and rod jay rostine to be deputy attorney general. yesterday we talked about recent reporting concerning the president's executive order protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry. i want to draw your attention to some polls that have come out on that subject. for all the hysteria around the implementation of this order, the american people as a whole are very supportive of the action that the president is taking. a new support poll finds 57%, which is a clear majority of likely u.s. voters favor a temporary ban on refugees from syria, iraq, iran, libya, somalia, sudan, yemen, until the government can do a better job of keeping these individuals out who pose a threat. a reuters poll found 66% of americans believe the united states should limit the number

of refugees into the country and the safety of the american people and the security of american homeland are the president's top priorities. and most americans agree with the steps he's taken to keep our country safe. further today the united arab emirates foreign minister voiced his support for the president to take our national security so seriously. the foreign minister also added he believes the restrictions are not based on religion but, quote, structural problems faced by these nations. i know there is a question on monday regarding iran's firing of a missile and attack on a navy vessel. i'd like to introduce national security adviser general michael flynn to provide a quick update. general flynn. >> good afternoon, everyone. recent iranian actions involving a provocative ballistic missile launch and conducted by iran-supported houthi militants.

the recent ballistic missile launch is also in defiance of u.n. security council resolution 2231. which calls upon iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. these are just the latest of a series of incidents in the past six months in which houthi forces that iran have trained and armed have struck vessels and struck vessels transiting the red sea. these and similar activities iran continues to threaten u.s. friends and allies in the region. the obama administration failed to respond adequately to tehran's maligned actions, including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of international norms. the trump administration con democrats such actions by iran that undermine security,

prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the middle east and place -- which places american lives at risk. president trump has severely criticized various agreements reached between iran and obama administration as well as united nations as being weak and infect ty. instead of being thankful to united states in these agreements, iran is now feeling emboldened. as of today we are officially putting iran on notice. thank you. >>. >> thanks, general. we're going to have a background briefing with nsa staff and -- nsc staff, rather, today at 4:00 here in the briefing room. further details will be provided on that subject. thank you, general, with that. as we start off, i mentioned yesterday i'm pleased we have expanded the briefing room, at least virtually. so, with that, as i begin to take your questions, i'm pleased to offer the first ever skype question in the white house briefing room to kim from wkpri

in rhode island. >> thank you. good afternoon. can you hear me okay? >> we can. >> great. just this week the mayor of providence, rhode island, began calling our capital city a sanctuary city. as we know, president trump's executive order says the white house will begin publicizing a weekly list of these municipalities and pledges to withdraw federal grant money from them. what i'm wondering is, is how soon we can expect to see this list and how soon should cities like providence expect to see their federal funding cut? >> thanks, kim. i think the president's goal in ending sanctuary cities is pretty clear. we want to, as we mentioned with these other actions, keep america safe. the goal is to make sure on two fronts. one, we are doing everything we can to protect american citizens, institutions and ending sanctuary cities is one way we continue to do that. furthermore, the president has been very clear through his executive order that federal funds paid for by hard working taxpayers should not be used to

help fund sanctuary cities. as we continue to implement this executive order and fulfill the pledge he made, we'll have further updates on how that list will come out and when it will come out. i look forward to following up on that as well. with that, david jackson. >> david is not here, but i'll ask a question. >> go for it. maybe he's on skype. the president's daily briefing has been renamed the daily intelligence briefing. can you tell me how that differs at all? is the president receiving it in writing or orally and who is giving it to him? >> he did receive an intelligence briefing today. director pompeo was here. general flynn, his briefer. so, he receives an intelligence brief sxgt ppd every day. >> is there any sense we should get out of renaming from the

pdb. >> we went through this in the transition. there's a difference between raw intelligence and analysis. i think he's constantly updated by his national security team and other intelligence officials, but every single day he does receive t pbd. then i think on top of, that he is receiving intelligence briefings from his team. >> oral briefing doesn't necessarily happen every day? >> he does get the pbd every day and on a daily basis meets with his intelligence team, yes. >> hunter -- two questions -- >> we're not going to do this again. >> is president obama being invited to any black history month celebrations? >> not that i'm aware of. it's day one. we'll have to get back to you on more details. there's a lot of activities, as i mentioned, the president is going to do to celebrate and honor this month. this was just the first day of the month. >> he made a comment about frederick douglas being

celebrated more and more. >> i think he wants to highlight the contributions he has made. through a lot of the actions and statements he's going to make the contributions of fed rick douglas will become more and more. kristen. >> very quickly, can you explain what was meant by, we're putting iran on notice? >> general flynn and the nsc staff will have a briefing at 4:00. we wanted to make very clear we felt as though their actions were both provocative and a violation and making sure they understood we weren't going to sit by. >> are you going -- >> i'm not going to go any further than that, kristen. >> let me ask you about the confirmation hearings. how does the president plan to get chuck schumer on board with his pick for the supreme court, neil gorsuch, when he has referred to him as a clown and accused him of fake tears?

>> well, i think those are two things. you look at the support that's already come out. i think there's eight senators already that have talked about the need to have a vote and his qualifications. not just the senate up. look at the widespread support that came out for judge gorsuch that came out last night. across the spectrum, no march your psophical view of the court, i think his qualifications for the court, his ademic background, make him an unbelievably highly qualified person. it's not just chuck schumer. i think the rest of the senate, as he goes up there. but i think the interesting -- hoed on, hold on. i understand that. and i think chuck schumer has shown time and time again through this confirmation process with the cabinet that he's more interested in politics than actually moving the government along. and i think that's -- that is troubling. i would ask you that i think the question needs to be asked of chuck schumer, why are you stalling all of these nominees? why are you insisting on new qualifications? there is a point they need to get asked, why are they