for mitch mcconnell to say, don't even bother to nominate nick. you dismiss the hearing process as kabuki theater, and it may be, but observing the niceties, let's say, it comes short. >> well, call it what you will. agree with it or not, but the strategy here is to defend the senate's institutional prerogative and say this close to the election, less than nine months after obama was reelected in 2012, and the republicans won the senate in 2014, such a pivotal point in the court's history, it's important to let the american people have their say, and that's why mcconnell wanted to get ahead of this, and it doesn't matter who the nominee is, it's not about one particular person, but we're not filling that seat. some might say that it's a poor decision, and some might like that and vote for him and some might not care one way or the other. but that's the political play, and i think that the senate is justified in making that play. but let's be clear, this is politics on both sides. the confirmation hearings have been going on for decades, both parti

. >> mitch mcconnell, the majority leader, has said no nominee is going to get a vote. this is why control of the senate, which party controls the senate is enormously important because it is not just -- it's the control of the agenda. now, whether democrats could somehow force a vote, that seems unlikely, although it is certainly possible that there could be some procedural attempts. how president obama persuades someone to accept a nomination to the court when the senate has said they will not be confirmed under any circumstances, that becomes difficult. >> and stay with me because i want to bring in our chief political correspondent dana bash. look, we already know the president says that he will nominate someone and this is after mitch mcconnell came out just about an hour ago and said, no, this should be left for the next president. >> reporter: that's right. and as you were talking, we got a statement from the senate

mitch mcconnell is saying, the democrats did this to us when george w. bush was president, now turnabout is fair play, boys. is it right? no, it's not right. but is it all mcconnell? no. this is a symptom of the problem we have in washington, d.c. and the problem we've had for decades with the filibustering or we're going to bork a nominee. that is really are where this started. >> all right, let's look at bigger picture, mitch mcconnell has been trying to get the senate running in a more normal fashion. paul ryan has come in and tried to do that, doesn't that start to blow this up? >> well, the president can nominate somebody, i fully agree with that. constitutional right to nominate a justice. it is the senate's job -- >> it is the senate's duty to vet and vote to either confirm or not to elevate that individual up to the bench. i think, you know, mitch mcconnell's problem, i think, was a matter of timing. he should have waited to see who barack obama was going to nominate -- >> you think? >> i agree with that. >> before he made the move. i said this t

. >> larry: oh, you agree with that, mitch mcconnell? you know why that's not surprising? because it was your idea! do you not remember the statement you released on the day scalia died? >> mitch mcconnell, who is the majority leader, has said, "no nominee is gonna get a vote." >> larry: "i agree with myself. now, that's how a weasel behaves. you say some ( bleep ) and then other people follow your lead, and then you say you agree with that ( bleep ). in fact, i now agree with what i just said." you said you'd block obama on february 13, only hours after scalia's homicide! right. oh, it happened. ( laughter ) you made your intentions of blocking the president very clear, just like you did back in 2010. >> our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny president obama a second term. >> larry: so you didn't even achieve the one priority you had. man. congress really can't get anything done. ( cheers ) can't get anything done. >> hey larry, >> larry: oh, that's dre, our director. what's up, dre? >> we just found out where flat larry is. >> larry: oh, my

maybe mitch mcconnell should have been more coy. president is entitled to nominate whoever he wants. the republicans need to explain why we do not want the supreme court going in the direction of president obama wants it going in. >> the senate debate will be a bit of kabuki theater right now. hard to imagine how the president, not impossible, but hard to imagine he'll get someone through. meantime, this makes the supreme court, right at the center of the presidential campaign, it could be one of the first times ever. >> absolutely. it really raises the stakes in the presidential campaign, george. it focuses the mind. people realize, wait, we're voting for someone who could name a justice that will be there for decades. keep in mind, gerry ford was the president of the united states for about 2 1/2 years. john paul stevens, his nominee, was on the supreme court for decades afterwards. a antonin scalia, a reagan appointee. you have a very important message sent to the voters. whoever you vote for will have an effect for many years to

. >> it's up to mitch mcconnell and everybody else to stop it. it's called delay, delay, delay. >> as both sides dig in, will the presidential election become a referendum on the court? >>> plus, trump targeted in the nastiest debate yet. the billionaire businessman under fire. >> i am sick and tired of him going after my family. >> and, firing back. >> you're a principal. >> you're the single biggest liar. >> this morning, trump, cruz, rubio, kasich, all here live. from abc news, it's "this week." here now, chief anchor george >> the news that supreme court swept across the country saturday afternoon. a towering figure. the court's longest serving justice. movement. inspired a generation of legal thought. his death leaves a divided court for a divided country. sets up an epic battle for a successor. and strikes right at the heart of this already chaotic presidential campaign. we'll hear from the candidates this morning, break down what his death means for the court and the country. we begin with pierre thomas. good morning. >> reporter: good mor

>> they changed the rules, not due to mitch mcconnell or me. obama has a history of when he can't get something through the legislative process, he just takes it. he's the one who up damaged the senate. it was harry reid and the democratic candidates like that lady who threw the cd in the ditch. . >> let me ask you from the personal standpoint, you are the attorney in the air force, talk to me legally about justice scalia. >> well, he was an originalist when it came to interpreting the constitution. he had an originalist view. i'm more in the roberts camp when it comes to judicial interpretation. but he was an icon. he came with justice briar to do a meeting at the university of south carolina. and he was the most gifted oritor. his opinions will go down in history on the conservative side. this being the goal standard. so the conservative movement lost a lot here. >> reporter: let me ask you one question back to politics, how do you think the candidates on the stage, in particular your candidate, will frame the potential consequences of justic

and hearing mitch mcconnell that that will not happen. if he has control over it and it should be the next president to make the appointment. this could be a huge battle in washington, even as the issue plays out on the presidential campaign trail. >> think about it, brett. this is a president who basically decided to give up on congress and start issuing excutive action that have been struck down by the supreme court. and his appointments were struck down and you don't get to decide when it is in recess. he will clearly nominate somebody be and he said i am the president and why can't i nominate someone and he will push it hard and it will get political. and whether he's able to get the nominee through or not, he will argue this is who i want and this is the republicans who don't want this kind of person and issues brought up. i thought darril issa made an interesting point. the court will not go in -- the senate will not go in recess. but the term runs out and his term is not until january 20th of 2017 and he has according to my math 17

i think i would just take direction from mitch mcconnell at this point. >> all right. reince, i want to bring in my colleagues, dana bash, chief political correspondent and jeffrey toobin, senior legal analyst and expert on the supreme court. dana, first. >> mr. chairman, i know you want to take a pause and remember the man. this is an incredibly sad day for his family and we have been talking about that. but because you, your job is political, also exclusively as chairman of the republican committee, what do you make of what poppy was just talking about? do you think if mitch mcconnell, as the chairman -- as the leader of the senate, the person who is in charge of the agenda, if he said, okay, i will move ahead with a nomination, do you think that it would just be an all-out republican revolt? is that why he's doing this? >> i don't know, dana. i think it's best to let that go for tonight and deal with that potentially in the weeks to come. i really don't think right now me -- quarterbacking the politics and whether there's going to be an explosion or not, it doesn't

mitch mcconnell says it's the american people who should have a vote in this.n't they already do that by electing president obama? and in his four years, he has a right to appoint the supreme court justice if the opportunity arises. aren't we at that juncture? >> it seems that we are. mitch mcconnell didn't fire that tweet off quite quickly enough and several republicans are scratching their heads wondering what happens to the seven republican senate seats in states that president obama won in 2012. people like ron johnson, mark kirk, kelly ayotte in new hampshire, patrick toomey. a prolonged battle over a supreme court nominee because the republican congress refuses or senate refuses to vote on a nomination would be setting the battle lines in a way i think that would fall quite unfavorably for republicans holding the senate. >> so then a lot at stake, ron. why wouldn't those on the campaign trail right now for the white house see that as well? >> well, because i think they feel like the base will demand, you know, absolute struggle against any opportunity for

mitch mcconnell says it's not going to happen. you only have 46 votes in the there's not going to be a nominee here. >> well, the job first and foremost is for the president to nominate and for the senate to hold hearings and go through the process. you know, the constitution, ted cruz holds the constitution when he walks through the hals of congress. let him show me the clause that says the president is only president for three years. does this mean we don't hold hearings? the president shouldn't nominate cabinet ministers? it certainly shouldn't mean that the republicans appeal obamacare in the fourth year. we go through the process. >> you know it won't happen. >> i'm not sure that's true. the kind of obstructionism mitch mcconnell is talking about. he's hearkening back to his old days. he said recently, i want regular order. after 2010, he said my number one job is to defeat barack obama without knowing what he says no, we're not having hearings. to leave the supreme court vacant for 300 days at a divided time. this kind of ob

now the big question from mitch mcconnell and the republicans is will they allow a vote on the floor to confirm or deny the next supreme court justice. this is something they have not fully decided yet because senator mcconnell wants to take the temperature of his conference. you have various camps forming. republicans are dead set against any nominee being confirmed now. you have moderates who are uncertain. you have the most influential group. the senate republicans who are up for re-election in blue states and purple states. at the end of the day, those members will determine whether or not republicans will stay in the majority next year. those folks will be targeted aggressively by the democrats, by the white house, by groups on both sides to vote the way they want them to. we will see and watch it closely. people in ohio, wisconsin, illinois, pennsylvania, new hampshire and so forth. those are the key to going forward. right now, if you are the white house and you are a democrat, you know you have a very uphill battle to climb to get your nominee confirmed. back to you. >> manu,

it's up to mitch mcconnell and everybody else to stop it. it's called delay, delay, delay. >> scalia's replacement is quickly escalating into a major issue on the campaign trail, as you saw right there. ted cruz went so far as to say that he would filibuster the president's nomination on the floor. >> we should not allow a lame duck president to essentially capture the supreme court. >> the president can appoint whoever he wants but we're not moving forward on any nominees until after the election. >> he clearly has the power to do it, but given his position of supreme court justices in the past, the senate should not appoint someone out of the mainstream. >> joining me to talk more about this, republican strategist kayla kennedy and brian. will it matter if the president tries to find a more moderate justice nominee? kaylee? >> i don't think so. i think any justice he would appoint would be palatable on the hill. you know where it does matter, fred, in that all of a sudden this is going to be a recurring issue until november. how can republ

>> it's up to mitch mcconnell. that's really not important to me. >> you mentioned what kind of supreme court nominee you would pick. you know this. many conservatives still haven't gotten over the fact that your father chose david suter for the supreme court. a lot of them are still smarting over the fact that your brother's choice for chief justice, john roberts, ended up with somebody who helped save obamacare. isn't this a problem for you that this whole question of a supreme court nominee is front and center right now given conservative skepticism? >> well, the suter choice was unfortunate. he wandered off into the liberal camp for sure. john roberts, i think, can be a defended choice for sure just, you know, the obamacare decision, i was disappointed in, but he's made some really good rulings beyond that. here's the deal. i think the lesson learned is you pick someone with a proven longstanding record, a history that you can point to. when he wasn't considered or she wasn't being considered for a nomination t

make mitch mcconnell should have been more coy. the president is entitled to nominate whoever he wants. the republicans need to explain why we do not want the supreme court going in the direction of president obama wants it going in. >> the senate debate will be a bit of kabuki thit eater right now. meantime, this makes the supreme court, right at the center of the presidential campaign, it could be one of the first time ever. >> absolutely. it really raises the stakes in the presidential campaign, george. it focuses the mind. people realize, wait, we're voting for someone who could name a justice that will be there for decades. keep in mind, gerry ford was the president of the united states for 1/2 years. john paul stevens, his nominee, was on the supreme court for antony scalia, a reagan appointee. you have a very important message sent to the voters. whoever you vote for will have an effect for many years to come. one of the effects of that will be that the question of electability becomes much more important in the voters' mind

. >> i think it's up to mitch mcconnell and everybody else to stop it.t's called delay, delay, delay. >> we're going to hear from four of the leading republican presidential candidates this morning, donald trump, ted cruz, marco rubio and john kasich. the democratic candidates meanwhile were also quick to respond to the vacancy. >> supreme court of the united states has nine members, not eight. we need that ninth member. >> elections have consequences. the president has a responsibility to nominate a new justice. and the senate has a responsibility to vote. >> we'll also be taking a close look at the democratic race and how hillary clinton's team is working overtime to try to turn this contest from being a referendum on her to a referendum on bernie sanders. a lot to get to, but we start with the impact and the implications of scalia's death on the supreme court. nobody better to join me on this than our justice correspondent pete williams. pete, welcome back, sir. let me ask very quickly, we're in the middle of some contentious cases on the supreme cour

i think it's up to mitch mcconnell and everyone to stop it. it is called delay, delay, delay. >> from there the mud slinging really started. making last night's debate one of the most heated of the 2016 election season so far. >> biggest liar. you are probably worse than jeb bush. you are the single biggest liar. this guy lied -- let me just say, this guy lied about ben carson whoen when he took votes away from ben carson and iowa and it just continues. today we had robo calls saying donald trump is not going to run in south carolina. where i'm leading by a lot. vote for ted cruz, this is the same thing he did to ben carson. this guy will say anything. nasty guy. now i know why he doesn't have one endorse frmt his colleagues. >> he's a nasty guy. >> i will say, i will say it is fairly remarkable to see donald defending ben after he called him pathological and compared him to a child molester, both of which were offensive and wrong. donald didn't disagree with the substance that he supports taxpayer funding for planned parenthood and don'ted a

>> i don't think that's what mitch mcconnell is trying to do. you look at the language he used. he specifically said, you know, we think the next president should choose the replacement. they haven't not said they don't think the president should nominate anyone. the president has a constitutional obligation to nominate someone. he should, then the senate has the constitutional authority to take it up for a vote or not. there is no requirement for the senate to actually do it. so that's the way it works. but you are right. there are some republicans getting confused with their language saying the president shouldn't nominate someone when he should nominate someone. it doesn't mean he should confirm that person or take a vote. kennedy: to say it hasn't happened for 80 years when justice kennedy was confirmed at end of reagan's second term. it's bringing out the worst in both parties. >> it's bringing out the worst of marco rubio. he said we shouldn't get a supreme court nominee. they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. let the president put somebody up. hold committ

mitch mcconnell's got to do two things.tee not even consider it. and second, make sure that the senate stays in pro forma session so the president cannot make an interim appointment. the senators have to reorganize niez their schedule, have a pro forma schedule on a regular basis and say you can send up anybody you want to, we're not having hearings or taking it to the floor. >> having four four and leaving these big decisions to the appellate court. democrats also saying, look, president obama was elected to a four-year term. americans spoke. he was elected to four years, not three years. he has every right to choose a nominee. >> he has every right to recommend. he doesn't have every right to choose. the senate is not obligated to approve who he recommends. sit down with mitch mcconnell and conservative senators like mike lee, ask them who they would approve and nominate somebody in the scalia tradition. obama is not going to do that. obama wants to send up a radical to eliminate religious liberty, to impose bigger govern

and many republicans including mitch mcconnell and presidential candidates say the appointment should wait until elected. president obama says he'll make a nomination in due time. >>> donald trump was firing off threats, promising legal action, and doubling down on his debate comments. >> today trump came out firing. >> i think he's a very unstable guy. >> reporter: donald trump erupted over what he calls the

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell was quick to say he didn't think the president should nominate a replacement for scalia. president obama vowed he will nominate someone quickly. how long could the process drag out? >> quite sometime if you look at histor historical, typically they take 67 days on average. the longest when robert -- nomination was rejected three decades ago. that took 108 days. this is poised to smash that record. we are looking at right now mcconnell saying the president should not nominate anyone. if he sticks to his demand and decides not to allow a confirmation vote on the senate floor and if they deny a confirmation hearing in the senate, judiciary committee it is certainly likely there will be no nominee confirmed this year. that means it will drag on to the next presidency. it could take two or three