this is the tennessee valley authority, tva. dates to the 1930s. it's a federal agency that operates as essentially a gigantic mega utility in tennessee and parts of alabama, mississippi, georgia, kentucky, north carolina, virginia. well, now enterprising reporting has turned up the fact that the president personally has secretly weighed in with that agency, with the tennessee valley authority, that federal agency, to tell them that despite the agency's existing plans, despite that agency's own internal assessment of what's right for that agency, what's right for the states that agency serves, despite all that, the president has told them to not do what they otherwise intended to do, and instead he has intervened personally and directed them, told that agency that they got to use a coal plant, a coal-fired power plant that they were otherwise going to phase out. but he's telling them to keep that coal-fired power plant online. keep using it despite what's happened at your agency that made you decide to stop using it. keep using it now because that'

two of our district judges, ten months, 11 months on the calendar, tva member, sitting there. a u.s. marshal who served before. no controversy, took more than a year. this diminishes the advice and consent role of the senate at a time when the executive is more powerful we end up with an executive filled with acting nominees who we have-- who have no accountability to us. can republicans senators change this? yes, we can. the senate did in 1995 when senator hutchinson changed a rule on legislative on appropriations bill. senator reid did it in 2013. senator mcconnell in 2017. it's a lot like the referee looking at the rule book and saying, a first down is ten yards, but i'm going to call it nine. he's the referee so it's nine yards. should we do it? no, we shouldn't. we should change it by a majority. bipartisan majority and should do it now. senator levin said, when a senate majority can change the rules at anytime, and president jefferson says it doesn't matter what your rules are, you need rules. it's an awkward position for the chief rule making body to be not following it

we're into wednesday night after starting on monday for a noncontroversial tva board member. that's happened 128 times in the first two years. if a really energetic republican senator wanted to apply that procedure to all 1,200 nominees of the new democratic president, that would take 23 years to staff the government. that has to change. 120 times for trump, 12 times for obama, 4 times for george w. bush, 12 for clinton, none for h.w. bush, two of our district judges, 10 months, 11 months on the calendar, tva members sitting there, a u.s. marshal who served before, no controversy, took more than a year. this diminishes the advice and consent role of the senate at the time when the executive is more powerful, we end up with an executive filled with acting nominees who we have who have no accountability to us. can republican senators change this? yes, we can. the senate did in 1959 when senator hutchison changed a rule on legislating on appropriations bills. senator reed did it. it's like a referee saying a first down is ten yards but i'm going to call it nine. should we do it?

because you can't run that story about what trump just did with the tva and donor and demanding that they use his donor's coal plant. you can't run that as an expo. if the president is happy to commit things like this in the public, there is no way to embarrass somebody. if they are happy to be seen selling the government for cash and if you can't embarrass or shame anybody about it and increasingly can't shock anybody about it, then what do you do with it? how do you stop specific government actions like this, if there is no shame from public officials doing it but also, how do we once again become a country where that kind of thing would at least be a scandal? i mean, if this doesn't get fixed by the next trump inaugural, they will distribute a menu and have a u.s. taxpayer draw up a menu what you need to pay for the presidential tweet or policy you expect in return and they send somebody out like with the beer trey from the ballpark to collect your funds. if it doesn't matter anymore, if we're not surprised and nobody is embarrassed, how do we not just become that? and this is a d

tva members, sitting there. u.s. marshall who had served before, the controversy. put more than a year. this diminishes the advice and consent role of the senate the time of the executive more is more powerful, we end up with an executive filled with acting nominees who we have - who have no accountability. can republican senators changes? yes we can. the senate did in 1995, when senator hutchinson changed a rule on legislating on appropriations bills. senator ray did in 2013. senator mcconnell did it in 2017. -- looking at the rulebook and saying the first time is 10 yards, but i'm going to tonight. he is the referee, so it is nine yards. should be? no, we shouldn't. we should change it by a majority bipartisan majority, and we should do it now. senator levin said, a majority that can change - the senate majority can change the rules anytime. it is just a senate without any roles -- mr. jefferson said, it doesn't matter what your rules are. you just need rules. it is an awkward position for the chief rulemaking body to be not following its own, written rules, and