another finalist, amy barrett.ome of this opposition is being pushed by officials with march for life, very influential and all annual margin washington. mike pence among the luminaries who have spoken there. conservatives raising questions about cavanagh's commitment to overturn obamacare. to that second best-selling author jd vance wrote to his defense fealty to principal sometimes requires setting aside one's own preferences. judge kevin has come under fire in some corners of the right for a handful of opinions involving jealousy against obamacare which he aims to rule narrowly and fairly rather than politically. the president has told fox he has no litmus tests on abortions is unclear if the pressure will madeleine the end. speaking in west virginia a couple hours ago where he honored military veterans the president teased out the pic as democrats continue to suggest they will try to block anyone regardless of their credentials. >> this is such an important decision and we are going to give you a great one, we

brett kavanaugh, thomas hardiman, amy coney barrett, and raymond kethledge. sources telling fox news judges are the president's top choices, but amy coney barrett of favorite of social conservatives is still in the running. our own shannon bream, ankara fox news at night and a veteran of the u.s. supreme court watch joins us now. this is the hottest it's ever been among contention points on this. what is popping at this hour? >> off one of these names we are talking about we've been told these are the four, they've all been federal judges, that's where they currently sit. some of them for years, one of them only four months and i've got to tell you, my sources over the last few days have told me repeatedly it is brett kavanaugh or its amy coney barrett. i've literally heard each one of them has been at the top of the presidents list every day. so i don't know how he's feeling today, but going into what could be a tough confirmation battle, we do know how g.o.p. senator lindsey graham is feeling, here's his take. stick republicans are holding for lottery ticket

robert: the finalists are kavanaugh and kethledge and amy coney barrett. barrett is the youngest at age 46. while both kavanaugh and kethledge are in their early 50's, a sign the president is intent on leaving a lasting legacy. president trump will make a formal announcement on monday. seun minute -- min welcome back. who is the president talking to as he makes the decision? >> the interesting thing i how th white house has handled this confirmation pcess, he's talking to everyone you could think of. advisors, g to members of congress. t up until 9:00 p.m. when we will know who he ultimately picks, trump is going to hold it very close to his vest. mait's mirror to how he rolled out the nomination of justice gorsuch in january 2017 recall that we had no clue. we knew it was down to neil gorsuch and thomas hardyman but we weren sure until gorsuch appeared on that stage that he picked him to replace justice scalia. robert: he's reading the papers. know the president reads the print edition the newspapers. we can thank him for that. one of your stories looked

and amy barrett. all our federal appeals court judges.esident met with cavanagh and other potential pics, donald trump will announce the pick monday night at 9:00 pm. we will be all over that. the new epa chief andrew wheeler has not been a job 24 hours and is already being attacked after the left celebrated the resignation of scott pruitt, their focus is on wheeler and his lobbying for coal companies. massachusetts democratic sen. ed markey tweeting about time with pruitt out and andrew wheeler at the home the epa administrator will no longer be big oil's right-hand man, it will be king cole's best lobbyist. pruitt resigned over unrelenting attacks against him and his family. also heading for the hot seat, devon nunez referring 15 people for possible public testimony on the russia investigation, most have ties to the 2016 anti-trump dossier and opposition research firm fusion gps. special counsel robert mueller reportedly tapped more prosecutors for his probe into russian interference in the presidential election. this despite having no

amy barrett has drawn praise from conservatives in being outspoken in her religious beliefs. devout catholic mother of 7 and just last year democratic senators went after her during her confirmation hearings for the 7th circuit court of appeals in chicago and questioned how her beliefs would impact her rulings on issues such as abortion. barrett is expected to face another tough confirmation process if she gets the nomination. and that's in part why there is a growing sense inside the white house that raymond kethledge could be the front-runner right now. the 51 year old serves on the u.s. court of appeals for the 6th circuit where he has a solid conservative record. but he also hasn't had any hot button blockbuster cases which could help him through the confirmation process. we also know personal relationships are extremely important to president trump, and we're told his interview with kethledge this past week lasted longer than any of the others and that the two connected and engaged the best of any as well. the president has said he will likely make up his mind by the end

and amy barrett, all of them federal appeals court judges.ichael cavanagh met with other leading candidates, donald trump will announce the big tech monday night. the hot seat, devon nunez referring 15 people to possible public testimony of the russia investigation, infusion gps, and tapping more prosecutors for his probe into russian interference in the presidential election after no evidence so far of his investigation, the probe causing $16.7 million in first 10 months alone. >> you are a scary human being, those words from a judge sentencing a 20-year-old to 95 years in prison for her ties to the vicious gang ms 13, admitted to setting up two murders in el salvador including a police officer and leading several armed robberies in maryland. she was in the process of plotting a third killing to improve her gang status. ice recently learned she was in the country illegally. the judge will reconsider her sentencing five years since she will be up for parole. police, a federal immigration building. >> doing everything. >> officers tossing tent

views on abortion are being closely scrutinized so we decided to take a closer look at judge amy kony barrett amy kony barrett received a shocking introduction to washington politics when she faced off with democratic senators last year in a confirmation hearing to sit on the second circuit us court of appeal. >> the dogma lives loudly within you and that is of concern. >> barrett's response was measured but on point. >> if you are asking if i take my faith seriously and i'm a faithful catholic i am though i stress my personal church affiliation a religious belief would not bear on the discharge of my duties as a judge. >> it is her views on the intersection of faith and law that has drawn praise from conservatives and concern from progressives. he told the notre dame graduate, your legal career is a means to a end and the end is building the kingdom of god. if you keep in mind your fundamental purpose in life is not to be a lawyer but to know, love and serve god you will be a different kind of lawyer. the rhetoric matches that of her mentor, justice antonin scalia from she clerked in 1998. h

you have judge amy barrett. had as many opportunities on the bench to show how she applies original is be abut she happens to leading scholar of original is a. so there isn't a lot of question of, what would she really do? on has written extensively this and understands on a deep vehicle -- a deep theoretical level of what is going on with original is a. but the other judges, when you are deciding a case you are bound by precedent. and it's not always something the judge might agree with, or may think this isn't really a test or a rule that was grounded in original understanding. judge kavanagh does this, going back to first principles and discussing, here is the original understanding. but in his current position he isn't able to affect that if there is a contrary supreme court precedent. just remembering to get that out here and wedent is are going to apply the precedent that we have. for me it would be a difficult decision. i'm glad i don't have to make the choice between these three but it's a good problem t

stop believing that because if it's, for instance, amy barrett, that they'll back off. they're not. the democrats are playing hardball because they're driving to their base, not the republicans and the states where the senators face election. mccaskill is a weak one. tester, i made a promise i would go to montana. a lot of us will go to montana. we better pay attention. >> let's listen to the president ripping tester over voting against gorsuch. >> john tester voted against neil gorsuch. the incredible justice who supports our constitution. that's a hard one to vote against, isn't it? tester opposed many of our amazing judges. yet, i see john tester saying nice things about me and i say yeah, he never votes for me. >> i think he's leaning toward amy coney barrett. i do. she's the more socially conservative of these jurists and confirmation will be easier the next time around. the next time when the court is in a real imbalance for liberals, that's when they're going to fight. that's when you'll see the president nominate someone like mike lee, a senator from utah, popular in the sen

again, i'm more excited about amy barrett. of the pics.isappointed. we'll find out at 9:00 on monday night. >> all right, the suspense is building! ned ryan, robin, thank you very much. the president likes to keep us all on our toes, right? >> yes. >> a federal judge has refused to grant the trump administer ration a blanket extension of a deadline coming tuesday to reunite some children separated from their parents at the border. the legal drama still playing out peer bryan llenas following all in the new york newsroom. >> last week a george w. bush appointee ordered all separated children needed to be reunited with parents within one month following a lawsuit by the aclu. july 10, 101 kids under the age of five needed to be reunited. that is by tuesday. on july 26, all of the separated children needed to be reunited. yesterday, the department of justice went to the same judge asking to extend the deadline. he refused to extended outright and according to the associated press, the judge said this. quote the government must reunite them. i

the social conservative side of amy barrett is a big issue for some people. you'll recall there was this mous prior hearing where senator dianne feinstein said to her about her catholic fth, the dogma lives within you. that's something that finestein was harshly criticized by catholic leaders but it got out deep concern particularly if roe versus wade would be on the table. i think she's a traditional gorsuch style jurist. one of the things that's remarkable act him is how much he looks likeho gorsuch. they're fishing buddies. they have the same kind of lifestyle. they come from the middle of the country. if what makes you comfortable is another neil gorsuch you're going to go with kethledge. to the extent there's a split it's betwe the more traditional perhaps pro-business types that would be kftwble a gorsuch kethledge and the social conservatives who would like to ke a blow with barrett. susan collins had said she doesn't want anybody who expresses a hostility toward roe. that would raise questions like barrett than the other twoid caes not that she may no

i think -- although i like them all and i have heart for amy barrett. very few people go with decision he's had. 12 years on the bench. people will be satisfied whichever one jurist is pick. we will not get anthony e -- kennedy, how close to scalia these people are going to be. paul: he belongs to a christian group, volunteer group called people of praise and that's been on the left criticized as somehow weird religious cult. tell us what's the real story? >> the real story is exceptional level of religious ignorance by those calling this a cult. this is a spiritual forum of the type that millions of christians belong to across the country. it's a group of people who want to take outside regular sunday church, help out each other. it's a very common place thing. look, this is going to be emblematic. when it comes to juris prudence they are topnotch. they will go after questions of biography. paul: kethledge is less known than the others because he has worked out on sixth circuit. he has written on property rights, strong con cities -- constitutional bac

circuit court of apeels, brett kavanaugh and amy barrett. and the president will huddle with his advisers and he says he hopes by sunday to have a decision and will share that with the nation monday night at 9:00 p.m. brett? >> you'll see it live on fox. john, thanks. as we await the president's remarks, you can see folks looking to the side, waiting for him to arrive. we'll bring that to you when it happens. let's bring in our panel. guy benson from townhall.com. and karen is here from the washington post and molly hemingway from the federalist. guy, let's start with scott pruitt. a long list of things he was being investigated for. it came to a head and he offered his resignation. >> i'm struck. usually july fourth is a sleepy one. here we have a cabinet position resigning and a secretary of state on the way to north korea. look at that. death by a thousand cuts is the phrase that we heard from john roberts. that is exactly right. when you have 14 separate ethics investigations into one cabinet secretary, it's a problem. i've been sympathe

on monday and tuesday met with amy barrett and raymond kethledge in indiana. sources say the white house is preparing rollout packages for four candidates for that is cavanaugh, kethledge barrett and hardemon. sources say that hardemon is low on the list courting him a dark horse. a couple days ago the president spoke with reporters on air force one and said quote - i've never been down to four people the four people have narrowed it down to three or two. he said i'll have a decision made in my mind by sunday. the official announcement is of course expected to come on monday night. democrats encouraging supporters to speak out against the presidents candidates. they previously said republicans should follow the precedent they set with president obama to not have a nominee part"the journal -- thi way to unite the country. the president according to sources spoke with six judges. he's meeting with raymond kethledge, that was the longest. sources say the meeting lasted for about 40 minutes. >> ellison barber, thank you. >> you bet. >> a fox news alert peter bridge

certainly if amy barrett is the nominee. she has been so outspoken and her personal views on abortion. regardless, this vote could well be the one that overturns roe v. wade, or at least scales it back significantly. she mentioned the robert bork nomination. had he been confirmed to the supreme court, roe v. wade what have been overturned, or at least that's what he said. liberals remember that they know how important it is, they may not have the power to stop it but it will be front and center. steve: what the nomination of amy barrett make it more difficult for democrats because of her life story? niels: it would in some sense. her life story helps. the fact she is a woman probably helps. she is also younger, had less experience, can be gone after in that way. and some of the things she has said as an academic make it clear that she is morally opposed to abortion and strongly suggest that she views roe v. wade as wrongly decided. may feel that; there's not as much public evidence of how the you about the issue. steve: we t

brett kavanaugh, amy barrett and raymond kethledge. joining me is mollie hemingway, susan ferrechio, and mo elleithee who runs georgetown institute of politics and is a fox news contributor. will the supreme court nominee issue explode on roe versus wade? mollie: you think back to how donald trump was elected. he was elected in part because he put out a list of the actual nominees he put pout would be chosen from a certain list he made public. an unprecedented amount of transparency. we know a lot about these people. they have a different approach than the revolutionary progressive changes the court has brought. they are originalists and textualists. howie: are liberal commentators being alarmists? does it mean roe will be tossed out? mo: it's a legitimate question. the president said anyone he appointed would be someone who would be opposed to roe versus wade. he opened the door to this entire line of conversation. secondly. it's not a stretch to believe those in the. it line that will make it to the supreme court will deal with these

i would like the gentlemen to speak to the strong catholic connection to amy coney barrett and certainrench catholic groups like the people of praise . and to the last lady, amy coney barrett would go after birth control also. i would like you to speak to that. host: thank you p this is turning into a debate over birth control and abortion, roe v. wade. yout: it is interesting -- have a handful of catholics who are potentially going to get the nomination, including two notre dame related folks. a professor and graduate. barrett seems to be the one getting the most attention. a lot of the reason for that is this testimony recently, a hearing in which senator dianne feinstein of california had a famous line where she said the faith lives her deeply within her, and she may not be able to separate her faith from her rulings. that moment, obviously, captured the public's attention and has isen folks a sense that she the top catholic of the potential nominees. dinan, on the front page of your newspaper -- zero-tolerance policy failing to stop the surge of illegal immigrant families. guest: t

i would like the gentlemen to speak to the strong catholic connection to amy coney barrett and certainnch catholic groups like the people of praise . and to the last lady, amy coney barrett would go after birth control also. i would like you to speak to that. host: thank you p this is turning into a debate over birth control and abortion, roe v. wade. yout: it is interesting -- have a handful of catholics who are potentially going to get the nomination, including two notre dame related folks. a professor and graduate. barrett seems to be the one getting the most attention. a lot of the reason for that is this testimony recently, a hearing in which senator dianne feinstein of california had a famous line where she said the faith lives her deeply within her, and she may not be able to separate her faith from her rulings. that moment, obviously, captured the public's attention and has isen folks a sense that she the top catholic of the potential nominees. dinan, on the front page of your newspaper -- zero-tolerance policy failing to stop the surge of illegal immigrant families. guest: the

amy barrett unlike other people have written clearly. she believes that it should be separate from that. >> she says i did not understand this, she told a group of lawyers that we as lawyers have a higher calling to god -- can you explain that to me? why is she using religion? i don't know what that means. as a lawyer i don't know what that means. >> our framers and the declaration of independence. >> here we go again. >> pete: back to the founding principles. >> if her moral belief conflicted with the rule as a judge, she will recuse herself, whatat else can you ask, she sas i'm not going to substitute what i believe for the law.iv >> pete: these are going to be some confirmation hearings no matter who is chosen, it will be must-see tv. carrie, leo, thank you for your time tonight. is the camp only meantc democratic party sowing the seeds of its own destruction? we will explain right after this brief break. >> pete: welcome back. >> pete: welcome back, we will ask a simple question, is the democratic party killing itself before our eyes

amy coney barrett, particular scorn.t turns out she is a faithful christian who lives a christian life, similar to the lives of millions upon millions of her fellow american believers. now, really, that is the objection. do you think this will be about her credentials or will it be about her beliefs? >> i certainly hope it's about her credentials. what is really dismaying about this whole discussion, shannon, it's when you look at these candidates, one after another, they are simply excellent lawyers. you profiled brett kavanaugh and amy coney barrett this evening. as somebody said, you could almost throw a dart at this list and come up with a superb lawye lawyer. it's a shame that we are so immersed in the politics of this fact for sheer excellence in terms of legal craftsmanship of these lawyers is overlooked by what people want to project on, what they imagine their perl proclivities might be. it seems to me that kavanaugh, for all this talk about the obamacare decision, what he is criticized for should be something t

guest: it will be, certainly if amy barrett is the nominee. regardless, this boat could well be the one that overturns roe v. wade, or at least scales it back significantly. she talks about the robert court nomination. had he been confirmed to the supreme court, roe v. wade what have been overturned, or at least that -- at least that's what he said. liberals remember that they know how important it is, they may not have the power to stop it that it will be front and center. will the nomination of amy barrett make it more difficult for democrats? because of her life story? sense it will be, in some . the fact that she is a will and probably help. younger, had less experience, can be gone after that way, and some of the things she has said as an academic make it clear that she is morally opposed to the -- to abortion and strongly suggest that she views roe v. wade is wrongly decided erie the other potential --inee is judge kavanagh, decided. the other potential nominee, judge kavanagh, has evidence similar but there is less. host: we talked abou

amy barrett would bring the number of supreme court justices to four. i can't think of a time when someone who is a judge and that's been the recent trend here, certainly were times in the past where you didn't have to be a judge to be on the supreme court, but now seems to be a desire, so that you have someone with clear record and you know what they're going to do, i can't think of a time when someone was a judge for less than a year. she's been on the federal court of appeals put there by president trump for eight months now. so her philosophy is pretty well known but largely through law review articles, some written when she was a law clerk. so she may be a little more of a cipher here looking for a positive record than kavanaugh who has written something close to 300 judicial opinions or raymond kethledge who was looked at the last time around as well. >> and garrett, where you are right now becomes very important, montana, john tester a democrat, is running for re-election there. this november, this is a state that donald trump won by 20 points in

also amy coney barrett, she is -- sits on the seventh circuit currently and clerked for former justice antonin scalia and at 46 the youngest of the top prospects, also amul thapar, on the sixth circuit, would be the first justice of south asian descent and also raymond kethledge of the sixth circuit. the president spoke with senator mike lee of utah today about his supreme court pick, although we do not believe that mike lee is on the president's short list. whomever the president ultimately settles on, people here in west virginia and the heart of trump country say they want the president to pick a centrist. they do not want an ultraconservative in the mold of some of the folks the president has nominated to the lower courts. take a look at what people had to say today. >> i think he needs to wait and see who that person is and i kind of like what he's been doing, to be honest. he's pretty conservative in my mind, but he's not so conservative that he's unreasonable. >> the president you mean? >> well, no, i'm talking about joe. >> so west virginia's democratic senator joe manchin has

to me, the dark horse front runner whatever you want to call it is amy barrett. disclosure, she's a professor at notre dame. that's my alma mater but she fits all the check marks. she's the youngest nominee. she is a female which i think would appeal to trump to nominate a female, another female to the supreme court and she just was confirmed because she just was appointed to the 7th circuit appeals court out of chicago. so it would be hard to argue many the senate that we shouldn't confirm this person when we just confirmed this person. >> and danny, you wrote this week while roe v wade is most likely not in grave danger. >> because of the principle of starry decisions. it can depart from that precedent but doing so is a major decision. it's not just whether or not with a show of hands the present court would have decided the original case differently. that's not starry decisions. in the case of roe, there have been decades of reliance on a right that was created by the court. now, concededly, most people agree that roe is decided on shaky justification which le

so we decided to take a closer look at judge amy coney barrett. >> amy coney barrett received a shockingoduction to washington politics when she faced off with democratic senators last year after confirmation hearing to sit on the seventh circuit u.s. court of appeals. >> the dogma lives loudly within you. and that is of concern. >> shannon: barrett's response was measured out on point. >> if you are asking whether i take my faith seriously, i am. i would stress of my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge. to be winners and 46 euros perceived views on the intersection of faith and the le from conservatives unconcern from among progressives. she told the graduating class, "the rhetoric matches that of hr mentor, just as scalia, for whom she clerked in 1998. she recalled he was a tough but fair boss. speak of these conferences, where you debated the merits of cases, you really had to be on your feet, you had to know your stuff inside and out, you had to be articulate. >> shannon: likely just has come of the art has a larg

alex, is that an accidental tip that maybe it's going to be amy barrett?it could be an accidental slip. i don't even know that president trump knows yet who his favorite is. yesterday we had three names. today four. judge hardiman wasn't mentioned yesterday, and now in the top four. i don't think necessarily the white house even knows. so it could have been a slip. we'll have to wait and see. though i know there are a lot of social conservatives would like to see barrett nominated, because they believe they would be a strong vote to overturn roe vs. wade. >> that's why i asked the question, not just a slip, but he's a prominent longtime former chairman of the judiciary committee, dealing with supreme court nominations for a while, somebody who's on the inside of all of this. whether he knows something or not, as you know, amy barrett is somebody who has noted, the pro-life community really wants. you're a big fan of bret cavanaugh, taking fire from conservatives. >> i think of george patton standing in front of the american flag, except with cavanaugh i th

because you don't have the raging abortion issue that you might have with amy coney barrett.here you also have, if the democratic caucus forces their senators to vote against this judge, then they have to go back to their home states like north dakota and west virginia and defend those votes which could put them in a losing position. so if, in fact, this is what happens and you have people like joe manchin and joe donnelly voting against judge kavanaugh, could that cost them their re-elections, and does that mean that there could be a stronger hold for republicans in the senate? >> right. they really are in a tough pickle, because if they vote against this nominee, it could hurt them with their re-election shots in states that trump won decisively. and then if they, you know, if they go along to get along, then it can also cause them problems, and the democratic party really wants to present a united front, not get a single democratic vote. it is a very difficult situation for democrats. again, if they lose those seats and if, god forbid, something bad happens in this nominat

you write, amy coney barrett is at the peak of her profession. because of it, the bill betray our nation's founding ideas. a fair gain at all through this process? >> not a fair game. i think what happened in amy barrett's initial nomination of the seven courts of appeal, that crosses a bright line for conservatives but also i would note for quiet a few progressives. i note there are progressives who attack the religion in that piece but there is also progressive understanding what's happening that constitutes. it is completely fair to examine her judicial philosophy and probe her judicial philosophy and ask questions about her religion believes and faiths. that's out of bound. if the democrats do that. if she's a nominee in the democrats to do that, they'll only serve to rally trump's religion conservative base even more strongly in support of that dom kn nominee. >> dr. dyson, a person's faith should not be considered a great deal. >> i have been an ordain minister for years. i certainly empathize with those who feel their religion is being und

brett kavanaugh, amy coney barrett, and raymond kethledge. the president is interviewing the candidates and expected to make his decision partly based on how much he likes them personally, which may make sense from his perspective. whom efficient trump appoints will likely end up being the deciding vote involving the president directly. with me now is kelly oem'donnel. what do we know? >> reporter: we have three candidates that present different qualities the president can consider. part of what has happened, the first two have been talked about the most, brett kavanaugh and amy coney barrett, have gotten a lot of the attention, and of course, with that comes some of the negative attention and scrutiny. that sort of lead leaves a pat for a name that's surfaced among the sources that we have to the top three, and that's raymond kethledge. he's considered an originalist, meaning interpreting the constitution in its time of what the individuals who passed those lawing and whs and what the con held at the time, instead of trying to interpret it t

the pressure beyond the mansions but if you're talking about amy barrett that said explicit things abouthe pressure certainly then goes to collins and murkowski. >> does he want a win or a fight? >> that's absolutely true. the president i suspect wants a win, not a fight. he wants somebody to sit down and have a beer with it. >> not amy, apparently. we're told it didn't go well. >> i have no understanding of why it might not have gone well or what the president is asking each nominee. they are call qualified. the fact someone has a paper trail should not be disqualifying. you want people that are not afraid to make tough decisions and serious about their position and rule of law. >> >> look, does, i guess the question is what kind of fight do they need to put out? it seems as if it's not been a voting issue for the left like the right. >> i don't know if the supreme court is ever going to be a voting issue for the left as it is for the right unless and until roe v wade is overturned. roe sparked, i think, the conservative, not obsession because it's real but the conservative focus on the

amy coney barrett:"justice kennedy is 80 //edit// this could be a sea change."only female nominee trump seems to be considering, is a former notre dame law professor. she is 46 and has seven children.she was recently appointed to the us court of appeals in chicago, for the 7th district, and has clerked for supreme court justice antonin scalia. a new york times profile explored barrett's membership in a group called "people of praise" -- a christian organization that the article says has life long loyalty oaths, requires submission to advisors of the same gender, and believes in prophesy. in 2006, barrett told notre dame graduates that "your legal career is but a means to an end, and that end is building the kingdom of god." democrat dianne feinstein: "when you read your speeches, um the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. and that's of concern.... "despite barrett's comment that she believed roe v. wade would not be overturned...amy coney barrett: "i would have no interest in as a court of appeals judge challenging that precedent." ne

sources familiar with the vetting process tell fox news bret kavanaugh, amy cony barrett and kethledgeteppingstone to supreme court. he graduated from yale law school, ivy league credentials but served as assistant to the president and staff secretary to president george bush. amy cony barrett went through a tough confirmation hearing last year for current position on the seventh court of appeals in chicago, the 46-year-old is a former clerk for antonin scalia. former law professor at notre dame and mother of 7 children. democratic senators questioned her last year strong catholic beliefs would impact rulings such as abortion. she will likely face questions, and republican senator susan collins of maine has voiced concerned about that issue to the white house. there's a growing sense inside the white house, though, that raymond kethledge could be the front runner, 51-year-old serves in if i have uth circuit, solid conservative record. he hasn't had blockbuster cases. he's an avid outdoorsman and supporters compare to nile gorsuch which is big selling point for the president. connell: m

the criticism of amy coney barrett, knowing how accomplished see she is. she may be too devout of the catholic. especially someone who has artie been confirmed with 55 votes. someone who be breaking the glass ceiling. >> this is very ridiculous. under our constitution, that is what they're trying to do. but i think happening, senator feinstein, they are very threatened by an accomplished, articulate but conservative woman. that puts the lie to their identity politics. their feminist idea of what up woman should be. she understands how to defend your position. that to someone they feel very threatened by. that is i was how the heart attack on her. that's strange line, the dogma lives within her. that will go down in history. >> pete: she was so confirmed. we will let amy coney barrett speak for herself. she spoke to a group in jacksonville, florida. this is what she said. >> to say i want to appoint someone who is pro-life. whose primary focus is protecting minority rights. the candidates are talking to their basis and saying signal, i will put people on th

that would be amy barrett in this case. is that something for someone like you who watches the court and compiles a list, is that something that you would like to see happen at some point down the line? >> there are a number of highly qualified women on the president's list. if he picked any of them, that would be great. >> all right. prediction time, who do you think the president will pick? >> slight nod to brett kavanaugh but it could -- >> why? >> experience, dealt with a lot of -- sits on the second most important court in the land, deals with a lot of the issues that the administration will care about, but amy barrett, raymond kethledge -- >> why is there a whisper campaign against kavanaugh right now >> i think everybody in washington has their favorites. it is a little bit like a match where only one person emerges. whisper campaigns happen to proprototheir candidate. -- promote their candidate. >> if you had the selection, who would you choose? >> if i had the selection it would be kavanaugh but the others would be

and then there's amy coney barrett. the president would like to nominate her and may have settled on her but he fears a withering confirmation battle if he put her out there. the president wants to cement the 5-4 conservative majority on the court. if he were to pick barrett and get a lot of opposition from democrats and maybe some people in his own party like lisa murkowski and susan collins, a chance that he might lose the battle and he doesn't want to do that, shep. >> shepard: what are you hearing from lawmakers on that front? >> because this is going to cement a 5-4 decision for years, some people have said a generation. couldn't be that. judge thomas is in his early 70s. judge alito is 68. they won't be around for another 25 years, which is taken to be a generation. maybe a decade or more. so there's a lot of opposition. listen to what senator patty murray said about the president's potential choices. >> he's hoping to put a justice on the bench that would deny women healthcare rights and patient's access to affor

amy barrett has said she thought roe versus wade was erroneously decided. of course ruth bader ginsburg has said she thought the supreme court should not have decided roe, it froze in place a movement to strike down abortion limitations on their own and the decision galvanized public opposition going on for 45 years. so roe has been controversial both by people who support and oppose abortion rights but i think they are all pretty consistent here in terms of judicial philosophy. that's why they are on the list. >> all right, nbc's pete williams and kasie hunt, the president set to make this announcement a week from now. thank you for joining us. a legal affairs correspondent for national public radio joins us now and john pothorse the. thanks for being with us. let me start with you and pick up the point that kasie was making. there is this strategic argument i think you're hearing from maybe folks on the right saying the idea of putting amy barrett on the court, that if roe is going to be overturned and conservative court would overturn roe maybe there is

amy barrett is newer to the bench and was nominated by this president and confirmed by the senate. so we've seen some of that rise and fall. people trying to discern any hidden sort of intent in past rulings and so forth to try to see where this might be going. >> add to that, of course, kelly, a president who sometimes will change his mind or give us a little head fake. i don't think anybody would be surprised to read in "the new york times" this morning that someone close to the president was quoted as saying he could in fact change his mind between now and monday. in fact susan collins has been vocal about wanting the president to expand his short list. what are the chances he goes off the grid? >> reporter: well, i think because the president used the original list of 25 as a way to communicate to evangelical christians and conservatives as a candidate that that has been a template. at the same time, i've covered five of these supreme court -- this will be the sixth of the process to see justices nominated and then confirmed. we have seen even with gorsuch, it came down to two

barrett. but alberto gonzalez was on the show and said, more importantly, you need a long record of making decisions on the bench. amyoesn't have that. he thinks it could play against her. does he have a point? >> there is concern, for sure. having said that, the sources i'm talking to say the proxy for that is her scholarly articles that show and go to not just intent but her legal, basic philosophy. i think it is important to understand. i think that kind of gets her around that, to a degree. let's face it, they don't want another david suitor. no one thinks amy would be in that situation. on thomas hardiman, very important, i think one of the reasons hardiman is in the mix, big time, is because of some of these religious expression cases, specifically, you know, where he's sided with the parents and students coming against school districts who say, let me bring my bible to show and tell, that type of thing. he is a sleeper evangelical pick right now, though barrett gets the headlines. >> he is apparently one of the top two contenders the president is looking at closely, according to our reporting. perhaps that's h

perhaps because amy coney barrett is relatively new.n on the court i think seven or eight months at this point, that the president perhaps might believe that he's going to get another pick and that perhaps he would like to return to that idea later down the road. thomas hardiman has also said to be one of the top contenders. what do you think of brett kavanaugh? is he someone that you would be happy with, and why? >> sure. basically anybody who was on that list is someone i could certainly live with and some people i could be very excited by. on things like this i tend to outsource a lot of my judgment to these people. i have a lot of friends who are basically fantasy supreme court players and they have studied all these briefs and all that and brett kavanaugh is very popular among a lot of people i trust like ed whelan, who writes for national review. a lot of my colleagues at national review like him. he's a known quantity. >> martha: let me ask you this, because you have had your ups and downs with how you feel about president trump

including amy barrett.on put it to me last night, s was dinged by dianne feinstein in her confirmation hearing for the circuit judgeship. there is aon calcula that some people close to the president are making. i've also heard the president himself sai essentially i' not going to think about gender politics. i want to pick the best hacandidate. ifs a man, it's a man. >> kimberly, she's getting to something i think both sides are torn on this t do they want fight or not? i don't know. i think it's a worth fight. i'm not sure that democrats want the fight because if you have the fight too harshly, do you blow the democratic red state senators, right? >> repubcans aren't sure they need the fight. they think they've already won it. the pot th cornell made aside that this could backfire in the polls, i think they n already think that they . for democrats the fight was in 2016. they missed the fight.he that is when was a supreme court justice being held up. maybe because merrick garland wasn't the progressive fir

the only woman is amy coney barrett, she is also the youngest at 46. she is currently a judge on the seventh circuit up appeals. it chosen and confirm it will be the first time four women would serve together on the nine-member supreme court. she served as a law clerk for antonin scalia. her husband is an assistant us attorney. they are the parents of seven children, two of whom adopted from haiti. >>> moving on to brett kavanaugh, he is a judge on the federal appellate court. he attempted gail and is active in his local catholic church. he coaches his daughter's basketball teams. he has close ties to the bush family and served under president george w. bush. >>> and finally raymond kethledge is currently a judge on the us court of appeals. he attended the university of michigan undergraduate and law school. he knows his way around congress, for about a year and a half in the 90s he was a council for michigan senator. he has a long record of conservative opinions in his time on the federal appeals court. >> those are the candidates. our coverage does n