rienced leadership to wipe away trump's stain on america for good. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington where president trump's push to place a third justice on the supreme court got a big boost today with senator mitt romney announcing he will support a vote on whoever the president nominates for the supreme court, a nomination the president is planning to announce on saturday. >> i recognize that we, uh, uh, we may have a court which has more of a, uh, conservative bent than it's had over the last few decades. but my liberal friends have over many decades gotten used to the idea of having a liberal court, and that's not written in the stars. if a nominee reaches the floor,floor, i will vote based on the

qualifications that have nominee. i wasn't there, there was some speculation that what happened with merrick garland was unfair. i don't agree with that. >> romney's decision clears a major hurdle with mitch mcconnell with no sign that democrats can find two more republicans willing to oppose the party leader and the white house. the number needed to defeat any trump nominee. joining me now, nbc white house correspondent and "weekend today" co-host peter alexander. nbc justice correspondent pete williams. nbc capitol hill correspondent and "way too early" host kasie hunt. and "washington post" bureau chief phil rucker. kasie, what do we know about what went into romney's decision? >> andrea, he didn't want to be rushed, he wanted a minute to stop and think about it and walk through the options presented by his colleagues. i spoke with several sources about this, at the end of the day, over the weekend, mitt romney has clearly shown he has

problems with president trump, he obviously voted to impeach president trump, and that was different from all of his colleagues. but the reality of this is not the same. it is instead part and parcel of what many republicans have said is t romney is not one of those people. but they're all here to do just this, they say, that their constituents sent them here to washington to appoint conservative justices to the supreme court. romney was among those who signed a brief saying roe v. wade should be overturned. he ran during his presidential campaign in 2012 as a social conservative. and so that all plays a role here. and remember too, it's hard to be ostracized as a member of the senate. that's part of why mitch mcconnell is so effective. and romney has already taken several actions that have put him outside of his conference. and being the person that did

that on this, where it lines up with the other ideological focuses that mitt romney has, at the end of the day this was the decision that was made, to not step out on this. senators murkowski and collins, yes, they are saying that we should follow the rules and say we don't vote on a nominee before the election, but the reality is they also have been historically supporters of abortion rights and considering that the president may name amy coney barrett who is known as a very conservative judge on these issues is also part of what differentiates them from somebody like a mitt romney, andrea. >> and peter, does this give the white house even more incentives to try to push through a committee vote before the election? because it could conceivably be harder after the election if the president were to lose. >> yeah, not just a committee vote, andrea, but we heard from the president saying he wants a vote on the floor before the election. in fact just a matter of moments ago earlier today, the president

retweeted a segment from rush limbaugh saying he would like them to skip the committee hearings and skip right to the floor on this, faster than he's already indicated as we've heard from him over the last several days. over the weekend he will be hosting a nomination event here on the white house on saturday. because it has now floated to saturday instead of a time time event that would take place on a weekend, this is likely to happen in the afternoon here, it would still allow him to fly to pennsylvania on saturday as planned for a rally there that evening. so the president has campaign events out of town in places like florida, virginia, and pennsylvania, thursday, friday, and saturday. and in many ways this white house acknowledges that they do sort of view this through a political lens. a white house official telling me in the last 30 minutes or so, andrea, that in some ways this pick, the president's pick for the supreme court to replace justice ruth bader ginsburg,

will be on the ballot with him, in the words of this official. so for those who criticize the white house for politicizing the process, there is that for them now. for now, any recognize the importance of this pick, the president feels good about it, there are no longer any barriers, it appears, and he's looking to accelerate the process. >> and pete, we've seen the president is going to be making this quick announcement. let's talk about the two possible candidates, the two that we think are the two front runners. one just referred to, amy coney barrett, who is very conservative but from the midwest, from the upper midwest states that he needs so badly, and the other, bara lag bara la cuban-american, strong hispanic connections in the cuban-american community, and flori florida, florida, florida, an important state for the president. >> right. amy coney barrett was a law

school graduate from notre dame, clerked for antonin scalia, then taught at notre dame for 15 years. she makes no secret of the fact that she's a very devout catholic. she wrote a law review article in 2003 saying that catholic judges were morally precluded from enforcing the death penalty. and she also said that she believes that lower courts are way too reluctant to overturn precedent if they think the cases were wrongly decided. now, that was seen by many as code for, she would not hesitate to overturn roe v. wade, although she's never said so explicitly. and she said at her confirmation hearing for the appeals court that she would not be led by her religious beliefs, that she would follow the law. she and her husband jesse have seven children, two of whom were adopted from haiti. barbara lagoa is 52, as you say,

a native of cuba, child of cuban immigrants. she served for ten years on the florida appellate court and then got on the supreme court, the first hispanic woman on the florida supreme court. she's only been a federal judge for ten months. president trump put both these women on the courts of appeals. the only major ruling we've seen is, she joined the majority opinion when the appeals court ruled a couple of weeks ago that florida felons cannot vote until they pay off all their fines and court costs, andrea. >> and a footnote to that is that guess who mike bloomberg has just come up with $16 million to pay off all their fines and court costs in that election. >> right. >> phil rucker, this election, this is so important a piece in this election for control of the senate as well as of course the presidential race and the president seems to have all the cards right now. >> he does, andrea, but there's

a recognition in the president's circle as well as among republicans elsewhere in the political world that this is a risky move. certainly they want a conservative jurist to be installed on that court quickly, to replace ruth bader ginsburg, to tilt the ideology of the court to the right. but they know there could be political blowback. this is clearly a motivating event for liberals, for democrats, for women voters in particular. and it could have devastating consequences for a few of those endangered republican senators who already have been trailing their democratic opponents. susan collins in maine, cory gardner in colorado, martha mcsally in arizona, also perhaps thom tillis in north carolina. so there's a recognition among republicans that even though they're going to move forward and want to do this in the court, it may hurt them in the election on november 3. >> and peter, i wanted to follow up on something that was heard

yesterday from the president, when he was asked about justice ginsburg's final wish, her fervent hope dictated to her granddaughter in the presence of doctors, and this is what he had to say. >> i don't know that she said that or was that written out by adam schiff. >> it was reported. >> or schumer or pelosi. i would be more inclined toward the second. it came out of the wind, it sounds to beautiful, but it sounds like a schumer deal or pelosi or shifty schiff. >> and then this rebuttal from justice ginsburg's granddaughter clara spera in a bbc interview released last night. >> i asked her if there was anything she wanted to say to the public, to anyone that wasn't already out there. and she said there was, and i pulled out my computer and she dictated the following sentence to me.

she said, "my most fervent wish is that i will not be replaced until a new president is installed." >> so, peter, here you've got the president disputing the final wish of a revered supreme court justice, and all of this happening when she's about to lie in repose in the court for two days, and then be the first woman to lie in state at the capitol and has of course not had her burial yet. it does to some people seem unseemly. >> she will be buried next to her husband at arlington national cemetery. it's yet another example of the president fueling another conspiracy theory that's taken off like wildfire in some part of this country. we've heard from ruth bader ginsburg's own granddaughter in effect saying exactly what her experience was alongside her grandmother, in her waning days before she passed away.

she would go on to say she even read it back to her grandma and her grandmother was, quote, very happy with it there. but i think it will strike a lot of people as another example of presidential insensitivity here. the president has said many times it would be very easy to be presidential. in a moment like this, though, it would have seemed pretty easy for him to have refrained. nonetheless he took it as another opportunity to take a shot. >> finally, kasie, just a quick check in with you on the time frame. how quickly can lindsey graham get hearings going, do the democrats have any tools to try to slow him down? >> they have very few tools, andrea. and the reality is, there are some formalities and things that the judiciary committee typically does that likely would need to be honored. it probably would take a couple of weeks to get this together. but the reality is that's enough time to hold potentially a final vote before the election, if that's what republicans decide that they want to do. and because mitch mcconnell

controls the floor, that piece of it, also, again, there are some minor procedural things they can do, but the reality is they don't have the power to dictate the broader question, does this happen at all, does this happen before the election or after the election. the political calculations are pretty interesting. there has been a school of thought that perhaps holding a final vote after the election might help republicans retain the senate majority by keeping this as a live issue they can run on, that might bring some of their traditional voters who maybe are turned off by president trump, to keep them in the fold, to get them out to the polls, for people like thom tillis in north carolina, martha mcsally in arizona. but it does seem as though the white house is pushing back and there's a group of people who think that, no, actually, much cleaner to do this ahead of time. so far we haven't been able to identify anything that would prevent that from happening, andrea. >> it's still an open question, does this energize the

evangelical and conservative base more than it energizes women who are up in arms, democratic women, suburban women, supporters of the issues ruth bader ginsburg stood for. thank you very much to all of you. senator cory booker of the judiciary committee will be joining us just ahead. but first, my exclusive interview with former white house coronavirus task force member and ex-aide to vice president pence, olivia troye, in her first television interview, but why she left the task force over her objections about how the president was handling the pandemic. t was handling the pandemic. ? with subaru, you get kelley blue book's 2020 best resale value brand, 2020 lowest 5-year cost to own brand, and most trusted brand for 6 consecutive years. no wonder kelley blue book also picked subaru as their 2020 best overall brand.

a trusted brand and a proven value. it's easy to love a subaru. get 0% apr financing for 63 months on select subaru models, now through september 30th. tonight, i'll be eating a veggie cheeseburger on ciabatta, no tomatoes.. [hard a] tonight... i'll be eating four cheese tortellini with extra tomatoes. [full emphasis on the soft a] so its come to this? [doorbell chimes] thank you. [doorbell chimes] bravo. careful, hamill. daddy's not here to save you. oh i am my daddy. wait, what? what are you talking about? we're all finding ways to keep moving. but how do we make sure the direction we're headed is forward? at fidelity, you'll get the planning and advice to prepare you for the future, without sacrificing the things that are important to you today. we'll help you plan for healthcare costs, taxes and any other uncertainties along the way.

because with fidelity, you can feel confident that the only direction you're moving is forward. but a resilient business you cacan be ready for it.re. a digital foundation from vmware helps you redefine what's possible... now. from the hospital shifting to remote patient care in just 48 hours... to the university moving hundreds of apps quickly to the cloud... or the city government going digital to keep critical services running. you are creating the future-- on the fly. and we are helping you do it. vmware. realize what's possible. i feel like we're forglet me check.ing. xfinity home gives you peace of mind from anywhere with professionally monitored home security built around you. no, i think we're good. good. so when you're away, you don't have to worry. the tent. we forgot... the tent.

except about that. xfinity home. simple. easy. awesome. hey look, i found the tent! get xfinity home with no term contract required. click or call today.

the first top aide to quit the white house coronavirus task force is speaking out for the first time on television. in an exclusive interview, olivia troye told me she left

over what she calls president trump's disregard for science, saying that it's costing american lives. troye is a lifelong republican who worked at the pentagon, at the counterterrorism center. and for two years as a whole land security adviser to vice president pence. but after eight months on the coronavirus task force, she said she had to speak out, calling it the hardest decision of her life. >> i felt that in my heart and in my entire being, i think american lives were continuing to be on the line. >> for months, olivia troye had a front row seat to critical decisionmaking inside the white house. seeing firsthand what outside critics have said about the president's handling of the pandemic. >> he was really focused on public image, messaging, and it was really more about, you know, his personal agenda than really the agenda that the task force had at hand which was how are we going to save and protect

americans. >> she says president trump knew in january how serious a threat the virus posed. >> we certainly had a task force meeting and discussion where we had this conversation, that this was going to be big. >> january 28? >> february, late january, we knew. >> yet the president was saying a week later, it's going to disappear, it's going to go away. >> it's going to be disappear. one day it's like a miracle, it will disappear. >> how did that make you feel? >> it was frightening. you know, when you're the president, words matter. >> at one meeting in the situation room, she says the president suggested covid might not be such a bad thing. >> did the president of the united states really say that? >> absolutely. i was sitting to the right of him in the room when he said it. and he was like, and you know, when you're a politician you have to shake a lot of hands. you have to shake a lot of hands and these people are disgusting, it's gross. and so maybe covid -- covid's

probably a good thing, right? i don't have to shake hands, i don't have to do that anymore. >> he said that maybe covid is a good thing because he doesn't have to shake hands with people, with disgusting people? >> that's what he said. and i can't imagine how any honestly normal human being would ever say that out loud in the middle of a pandemic. >> she describes the scientists' frustration over the president not wearing a mask and promoting hydroxychloroquine. >> hydroxychloroquine. i'm taking it. hydroxychloroquine. >> reporter: when? >> right now, yeah. >> what was the breaking point, what happened you want to speak out? >> i felt like i needed to tell the truth about what was happening and what we were dealing with internally, especially with the president who, you know, was very under mining of all of the work that was going on on the task force. i just felt that now, it mattered more than ever. >> both the president and the vice president dismissing her

account. >> it reads to me like one more disgruntled employee. >> i never met her to the best of my knowledge. maybe she was in the room. i have no idea who she is. >> troye says she still respects the vice president but believes that he was in an impossible situation. never before in politics. she describes herself as an mccain or bush republican. she endorses joe biden, a decision made even more important after the cdc once again reversed important guidance on the virus yesterday, the third time it has done that. other critics say of the political pressure on the health agency that until this year was known for its independent science-based judgments. i'll have a lot more including new, fresh white house response to this interview with olivia troye on "nbc nightly news" tonight as well as of course that white house reaction. and now and then. how senate judiciary chairman lindsey graham is defending his reversal on voting for a supreme

court nomination in an election year. senator cory booker from the judiciary committee, responding next. stay with us, you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. from prom dresses... ...to soccer practices... ...and new adventures. you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past... they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. let's help protect them together. because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination.

ask your d♪ctorhere?our teen nah. ♪ here? nope. ♪ here. ♪ when the middle of nowhere... is somewhere. the all-new chevy trailblazer. ♪

voila, rewarded withg guacamole and a side of quiet. grubhub gives you rewards for rewarding yourself, with food. (doorbell rings) - grubhub! mitch mcconnell has apparently garnered the votes to

proceed with a confirmation hearing for the president's nominee despite efforts by democratic senators to slow down the process and an appeal from joe biden not to go forward when americans are already voting for the next president. >> by the time that vote comes up, if it comes up, there will have been close to 40% of the people who already voted. it's a violation of the spirit of the constitution to suggest that he should not wait until the outcome of the election. >> joining me now is democratic senator cory booker, a member of the senate judiciary committee who of course will be taking this up now, from all reports. first, your immediate reaction to mitt romney joining the others and do you see any way that democrats could stop lindsey graham from starting the process and having a hearing? >> well, it's a disappointment. as a number of our colleagues who said one thing and then did another. and so we are still hopeful that maybe there are some others that have spoken directly to this under a different president,

will now honor that. but, you know, the serenity prayer, god grant me the serenity to accept the things i can't, but now we need the courage to change the things we can. i'm trying to get everyone not only to focus on the moral call to those republicans to honor their word but also the energy has to go into this election. we have to make sure that we win back the senate and the presidency so we can undo any damage that they can do in these next 45 days. >> and lindsey graham of course front and center here as the judiciary chairman. let's see what he said last night on fox compared to what he had said back in 2018. >> we've got the votes to confirm justice ginsburg's replacement before the election. we're going to move forward in the committee. we're going to report the nomination out of the committee to the floor of the united states senate so we can vote before the election.

if an opening comes in the last year of president trump's term, and the primary process is started, we'll wait 'til the next election. hold the tape. >> i just want to share with you and get your reaction to a letter that lindsey graham wrote to democrats on the judiciary committee yesterday, i presume you received it. he wrote that "after the treatment of justice kavanaugh i now have a different view of the judicial confirmation process. it is important that we proceed expeditiously to process any nomination made by president trump. i am certain if the shoe were on the other foot, you would do the same." he's saying that it was after kavanaugh that he had this enlightenment, yet what he said in 2018 to jeff golfberg was after kavanaugh, well after kavanaugh. and he said, save the tape, which we of course have given him the courtesy of doing. >> andrea, it's galling hip

obje hypocrisy. now the question is, are we going to use his words against him, does it matter enough to the voters of south carolina, for example, that one person could stand up and give their word on something and literally say, use my word against me. the question now will be, will there be accountability. that's why i keep telling democrats, they need to turn their worry into work. they need to turn agonizing into organizing. we need to dedicate our time, energy, and resources right now to holding people accountable for their words. it's not enough to be upset. it's not enough to be disappointed. it's not even enough to be angry. it has to be challenged into productive work in this election. >> the president says he wants a vote even before the election. >> again, that's wrong. it's dead wrong. it is contrary to what my senate colleagues on the republican side said should happen.

and to rush a vote before the election, think about what that means. it's ahistorical. we will have never -- if they name somebody this friday or saturday, we will have never rushed somebody through like that nominee will be rushed through. that's not only wrong in terms of being contrary to the words of my colleagues. an assault upon their character, that they are invoking here. but the other thing, it's sloppy and it's wrong. this nomination should take the time that it takes. and again, there's been no nomination, to my knowledge, in history that has moved that quickly. and we should take our time and be deliberative about how we do it, another reason why we should honor an extraordinary justice's dying sentiment that this should wait until after the inauguration. >> i want to ask you about one of the two top contenders, we understand, judge barbara lagoa,

confirmed for the appeals court last year. you and your colleagues running for president weren't there, that was the day we had our debate, we all were with you in atlanta, so we know you had very good reason to be on the debate stage with us last november 20. she got 25 votes, though. if she is chosen, won't it be hard for those 25 democrats who voted for her only a year ago to turn around and say, i won't vote to confirm her? >> again, this is not about any individual personally. this is about the larger issue of should, in the waning days of a presidency, when the public is about to speak, when your party has already laid down what the rules should be, shall we go contrary to all of that and put someone forward. so i don't want to personalize this about whatever justice the president chooses. this is about a larger issue of principle. and frankly, this is about the delegitimizing not only of the united states senate but of the

supreme court. i think one of the reasons why ruth bader ginsburg in her last public sentiment before she died expressed not just because of any president who should choose, and she didn't know who the next president would be, but really to try to keep the supreme court above politics, above the rank power games that we see going on right now. the right thing to do, given what happened to merrick garland, the right thing to do is to make sure that we wait until after this election. that would actually preserve the legitimacy with which many view the supreme court. it would stop it from being politicized. it would create a sense of honor in the senate. and often we know that the restraint of use of power often is one of the things that not only restores legitimacy and honor but helps to heal an institution that desperately needs some healing. >> i want to ask you, speaking of healing, whether you have any response to the president and

the swipe he took at you again last night, talking about the suburbs, with sort of frightening language in ohio last night. let me play it for you. >> suburbia has got to wake up, because, uh, if they get in, you know who's in charge, you know who's in charge of the program, cory booker, cory booker. [ audience reacts ] cory booker. so i think, uh, the suburban women and suburban men and husbands and wives and everybody, you better get smart. >> senator booker, i know you as a stanford grad, a rhodes scholar, former mayor of newark. i don't know of anything you're doing right now that involves invading the suburbs. >> it's deeper than that. i grew up in the northern bergen county suburbs, an incredible community, highest ranked public schools, beautiful suburbs that frankly my family was kept out of. my mom and dad were denied the

ability to buy a house in those suburbs. it wasn't until activists, a significant number of white activists, that had white couples posing as my parents, who put a bid on a house that my parents moved in. by the time i was 18-year-old, i was an honors student, and the older i got, the better i was. it is so insulting to the struggles of many people like my family who overcame this same kind of rank racism that he's spouting that way. to use me as a bogeyman, as a scary figure, this is one of those times that social media actually has been a gift to me because i watched the way people responded as many people volunteered to have me move into their neighborhoods, also suggesting that i shovel their snow. i'm tired, i really am exhausted, at the end of this man's time as president, he has pushed every racially divisive

nerve possible in this country. he has tried to pit people against each other, whipping up fear, making american afraid of american, that kind of demagoguery has got to go. but again, complaining about it is not enough. if we want him gone, it's not enough to hope for it, to pray for it, or even just to talk about it. we've got to work for it. this is the most important 40-some days in the history of our life when it comes to our politics. and the referendum of this election is not a referendum on who donald trump is. it's who we are going to be, what's the character of our country, what do we want to see in our leadership. >> i brought it up, senator, only because we can't normalize this kind of rhetoric. >> thank you. >> so thank you, thank you for responding. thank you for being with us. for the third time since the pandemic began, the cdc has again reversed its own guidance, scientific guidance about how coronavirus is spread. this as coronavirus cases are the rise again and as we enter

the fall flu season, experts fear a twindemic. a twindemic in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

that selling carsarvana, 100% online wouldn't work. but we went to work. building an experience that lets you shop over 17,000 cars from home. creating a coast to coast network to deliver your car as soon as tomorrow. recruiting an army of customer advocates to make your experience incredible. and putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. that's why we've become the nation's fastest growing retailer. because our customers love it.

see for yourself, at carvana.com.

as cases in the u.s. surge above 6.8 million with more than 201,000 deaths, here are the facts at this hour. more than 38,000 new cases were reported in the u.s. on monday. cases also spiking across europe and the world approaching 1 million deaths. british prime minister boris johnson announced the biggest lockdown in the country since may 7. he ordered bars and restaurants to close at 10:00 p.m. and once again encouraging people to work from home. more mixed messages from the cdc, the agency removing newly-added guidance from their website saying the virus spreads through airborne transmission. officials now say this was language posted in error.

meanwhile, president trump falsely claimed at a rally monday night that the coronavirus affects mainly the elderly and not young people. >> you know, in some states thousands of people, nobody young, below the age of 18, like, nobody. they have a strong immune system, who knows? but it affects virtually nobody. it's an amazing thing. >> joining me now is dr. zeke emanuel, vice provost for global initiatives at the university of pennsylvania and former white house health policy adviser in the obama administration. first, your reaction to what the president once again said, downplaying the pandemic, saying young people are unaffected. we know from bob woodward's book it not from other scientists in the task force that he has repeatedly been told that young people are not immune. >> so there are, you know, three or four pieces of evidence that we need to put on the table. it is true that younger people, people under 18, 24, don't die

as frequently. we've only had about 400 deaths in people, americans, under 24. on the other hand, 8.5% of all cases, and as you point out, we're approaching 7 million cases, so that's nearly 700,000 of those cases, are in people under 18. the third point is that in people under 65, we've had 38,000 deaths. it's hardly a trivial number of deaths in younger people. and the other thing that the president is missing is that we don't know about the long term complications. we know that there are long term complications. we've seen this multisystem inflammatory syndrome in kids. we know there's been some clots and strokes and heart attacks in other people. we know that there are lung problems. how long it's going to last, whether it's going to resolve. so the idea that kids don't get it, kids don't die from it, it's

no problem, is just wrong. every time the president tries to behave like a doctor, he puts his foot in his mouth and makes a mistake. did he it on hydroxychloroquine, convalescent plasma, and now, again, on the course and who actually gets this illness. he just doesn't seem to understand the basic facts. and these are facts. these aren't impressions. >> and these young people are also likely, if they're asymptomatic, to be the carriers, who are going to bars, going back to college, partying often, and can infect other people in their families or elsewhere. i also want to ask you about the cdc. this has been established scientific guidance since fairly early on, as we were learning more, you people were learning more about the virus, that there was airborne transmission, which would mean more than six feet. and the cdc pulling that back,

it certainly seems to be another indication of pressure from the white house, from hhs, against the cdc. >> uh, yes. this is a respiratory virus. you get it from -- mainly from the air. the notion that it's on surfaces and a lot of people are getting it from surfaces doesn't seem to be accurate. hand transmission, you know, wiping your face or something and then transmitting it that way, is possible. but the predominant way is by droplets and aerosolzation. that's one of the reasons we've seen pretty definitively that masks prevent or reduce the rate of transmission, reduce the number of viruses people might be exposed to. again, this does suggest politicization of actual guidance. we've seen this a number of times already. it's quite disturbing. the fact that the advice went up does suggest that people within the cdc still believe in facts,

still believe that they should put out detailed, factual information, but they're being squelched by political considerations, especially ahead of this most momentous election. >> dr. zeke emanuel, thank you so much, as always. and with that election just 42 days away, how the supreme court battle could influence hotly-fought senate races and the balance of power in washington. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us. this is msnbc. s. stay with us this is msnbc. dad bought puffs, and rescued his nose. puffs have more lotion and soothing softness to relieve. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. for as little as $5, now anyone can own companies in the s&p 500, even if their shares cost more. at $5 a slice, you could own ten companies for $50

instead of paying thousands. all commission free online. schwab stock slices: an easy way to start investing or to give the gift of stock ownership. schwab. own your tomorrow.

with mitt romney now supporting republicans' push to get a hearing for the president's next supreme court pick before the election, there is little question that this will go through, at least they'll hold a hearing, whether they have that vote remains to be seen. what's also at stake now is what this means for the presidential race and the battle for control of the senate. joining us now with the inside scoop, joel payne, former press secretary for senate majority leader harry reid, and former republican congressman david jolly, no longer affiliated with the party, and victoria di

francesco-soto. what have they wrought? i know you weren't there in that cycle, but the cycle when harry reid used the nuclear option and got rid of the filibuster when they got rid of the fill bugs ter filibuster to son 60 votes, mistake? >> no, i don't believe that it is a mistake and one of my favorite things to do is kind of bat down the theories about what harry reid did then. mitch mcconnell and the republicans had pledged to stop anything barack obama was doing. so you had important judicial nominees weren't going through because -- >> joel, we just lost your audio. i think that we lost your audio -- >> -- any nominations. >> to fix that and get the clarification. and get the clarification. and that sticked to my mind. so, when $1 a day came out, i said, "why not"? why not just utilize that resource. and walmart made that path open for me.

without the $1 a day program, i definitely don't think i'd be in school right now. each week for me in school is just an accomplishment. i feel proud every step of the way. tonight, i'll be eating a veggie cheeseburger on ciabatta,. no tomatoes.. [hard a] tonight... i'll be eating four cheese tortellini with extra tomatoes. [full emphasis on the soft a] so its come to this? [doorbell chimes] thank you. [doorbell chimes] bravo. careful, hamill. daddy's not here to save you. oh i am my daddy. wait, what? what are you talking about?

if it is tuesday rk, fillin ginsburg seat.

but mitch mcconnell and senate republicans running head first into a political disaster? and as president trump pushes for a vote plaintiff the election, democrats are hoping that it will elevate the issues that help them most at the ballot box like health care. >> and again president trump tries to downplay the dangers of the coronavirus for children. welcome to tuesday, it is "meet the press daily." and yes if you are looking at your clock and watching live, we're coming to you a few minutes early. a bit of a technical issue. so we get a few extra minutes with you. and we begin the hour with breaking news that could honestly destroy the senate as we know it. with just 42 days before the election, republicans are more confident in an ever that they have the votes to fill justice

ruth bader ginsburg's seat on the supreme court. before the president even names a pick, which he now will do on saturday he says. this morning this morning senator mitt romney came out in holding a votes. and pat toomey quickly followed suit. and senator romney said that he would even hold the vote before the election. >> i don't know whether the decision will be made before or after the election, meaning the final vote will be before or after the election. >> would you be all right if the final vote was before the election in. >> my statement applies to the current circumstance which means that the timing will be decided by the judiciary committee and the majority leader as to when it gets for the floor. >> if biden wins, you would be okay with a vote? >> i won't get into the particulars of who wins awho doesn't. there are a many possibilities that we could go through. i've indicated when i intend to do is proceed with the

consideration process and if a nominee actually reaches the floor, that i will vote based upon the qualifications of that nominee. >> there does not appear to be any major gop holdouts left. this morning mitch mcconnell spoke on the senate floor trying to defend lihis party's brazen flip-flop from four years ago when they held open the seat under president obama for months under the invented principle that voters get to pick. of course that only applies to when there is a democrat president. and here is what chuck schumer had to say after romney and mcconnell both spoke. >> sadly again, sadly, leader mcconnell has defiled the senate like no one in this generation. and leader mcconnell may very well destroy it. this is who our traditions of

bipartisan and compromise on life support before now end. this is how by one side in this case the republican majority under leader mcconnell deciding that the rules don't apply to them, even their own rules, that when push comes to shove is brute political force. all the w whe way down. if my friends on the republican side want that kind of senate, they can follow leader mcconnell down the very dangerous path he has laid down. >> so politically the republican push to try to make this election about the court is full of risks. it could end up elevating an issue that democrats see as their strong suit, health care. could end up refocusing the public's attention on the gop's lack of urgency to address the virus. as they drop everything to rush through a court pick perhaps out of view that they could lose the senate and presidency in

november, but where is the urgency to help people that are suffering due to the virus? but the focus on the court could also be totally consumed by the virus as we enter an autumn season that health experts have warned could be the worse we've seen. and joining me now, garrett haake on thrill. and also peter baker from the "new york times." and we hope to check this with the biden campaign that is in flint, michigan as well. but let me start with capitol hill and garrett. garrett, the fear of this will destroy the senate, i would say it is sort of like people saying hey, climate change is coming. no, it is not coming, it is here. the senate has been destroyed as we know it. so now we have a new senate, it is combatting like the house, he who has the power just shoves it through, that is the future of the united states senate? >> reporter: well,