amy: even the former house speaker paul ryan is related to ketanji brown jackson.she is back to jackson, the twin brother of the husband of paul ryan's sister-in-law. >> look, the republicans -- you never go wrong underestimating republicans, right? but i think this nominee will go through with more than 50 votes. d if it comes down to 50/50, i don't see a real constitutional way to stop her from getting on to the court with kamala hais breaking the tie. nermeen: elie mystal, in 2017, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell changed the rules so this up in courtominee could be confirmed by just 51 votes. uld you talabout th significance of that? what was it before, why was changed? second, the fact that biden installed five african-american women on federal appeals courts and almost all recent supreme court nominees have been federal appeals judges, could you talk abouthat -- both of these issues? >> the first is just we have seen because there was massive, massive obstruction to barack obama's nominee on feral's appeal -- federal appeals court, so harry reid too

but i think the focus is on brown jackson and krueger.little bit of irony because these -- on the other hand, they are absolutely solid gold. impeccable pedigrees. they are both of them by the way as judges even though they might be considered or painted as liberal, they have been notably incrementalists is word used for krueger. they have not been sort of warriors or shake it up types. they've been very careful. maybe that's the gravitational pull of knowing you are in consideration of a supreme court appointment, but both krueger and brown jackson have been solid left center, but not sort of grammatically left. and those are the two that the focus is on now. >> i want to ask you, mara gay, about the commitment to, it feels competitive. the timeline for coney barrett's confirmation. it was right before the election. it was in and around amid and with covid, literally and figuratively. what do you think about the commitment to confirming anyone of these women in the same timeline? >> it has to happen. i mean, you know, i think we're livin

at the top of the list is judge ketanji brown jackson.as the front-runner, a former supreme court clerk for breyer and recently vetted by the biden white house and confirmed to the d.c. court of appeals to fill the seat left vacant by attorney general merrick garland. that court is often seen as a feeder for the supreme court. now a close second is leondra cuei kruger. she's argued dozens of cases before the court but has not been as thoroughly vetted. we know with the midterms looming time is of the essence here. there's a longer list including mimi wright, second circuit court of appeals judge lee and interestingly michelle childs, a south carolina judge pushed by house majority chip james clyburn. in the 2020 campaign clyburn gave biden what was at the time a much-needed endorsement after he vowed to nominate a black woman. here the pred has a lot of options. time is of the essence soap the fact that judge brown jackson has been vetted, that very much weighs in her favor. they can't afford any delays as at least five gop lawmakers have

i'm gravitating to the one who went to my rival high school in miami in judge brown jackson. we all have our own sort of -- some connection you find to some of these folks. what do you sense that president biden is looking for and how he's differentiating to what he wants on the bench? >> well, you know, that's not entirely clear. it is clear that he wants to appoint the first black woman as a supreme court justice. beyond that, obviously somebody who shares his judicial views and outlook on, you know, judicial -- on the law and on american society, i think. and i think any of the judges and justices on pete's short list would certainly fit the bill. actually, looking at judge brown jackson, and she checks every single box including clerking at the supreme court. >> clerk for breyer. >> exactly. >> yeah. >> so, you know, and that's another kind of succession that happens that we see, a justice retires, a clerk takes their place. so, you know, what i think part of the impact, and, you know, you talked about this a bit at the beginning, but it gives the democratic party a chanc

he voted to confirm judge brown-jackson who is, if not the top choice, among top of the list.important. manchin and sinema are not always in lock step but they often vote in the same way and manchin has voted for a lot of people on the short list. you can't count on everything. i would also say up with of the things we should also be on the look out for is some procedural hijinks in the senate. this is a 50/50 split. if a nomination were locked in a 50/50 vote and the vice president cast the tie breaking vote, i think the police chief is that can be done but i'm not sure that has actually ever happened for a supreme court nominee. just some things to look at as we go down this uncharted procedural territory. >> go ahead, scott. >> can i offer a bit of political analysis based on what abby just said. if all 50 republicans hang together and force the democrats to do this unilaterally. it means that every single democrat cast the deciding vote. from the republican political strategist perspective, you want to say mark kelly cast the vote to put this extremist on abortion rights.

the top name in speculation right now judge katanji brown jackson, joe biden recently appointed to the d.c. circuit court of appeals to replace merrick garland. jackson is a former clerk of justice breyer, confirmed in a 53-44 majority by the senate. joining me is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams, chief legal correspondent and host of "the beat" ari melber, kelly o'donnell and "slate" legal correspondent dahlia lithwick. pete, you broke this news. justice breyer himself has not announced it or made it official but can you tell us anything about the decision-making process behind his decision to retire? >> well, our understanding is he came to this decision within the last several weeks. he's obviously in good health. he is 83. he's the court's oldest member but that apparently did not -- his age or health did not play a part in this. we're told he's well aware of the current political climate. in the past supreme sort justices did not time their decisions in terms of stepping down in terms of elections or political considerations but things are so much more acrimonious now

>> i think also we have to look at federal judge brown jackson. she's on the d.c. circuit court of appeals, considered aaa, before you get to the supreme court. numerous justices on the bench now came through the court. she's viewed as highly intelligent, very qualified, and sitting on that court has given her even more of addition to her resume, that's where you go before you end up at the supreme court for many justices. i think justice krueger from the california supreme court, another woman of intellect, and often seen as a swing vote, who does build compromise. again, she's clearly, the president is only going to pick someone who he thinks lines up with his judicial philosophy, but might have more appeal to those concerned who call themselves moderates, give me somebody who is a consensus builder, potential swing vote, and so i think i would keep my eye on those two in the coming days. i don't think there is any way the president can back off the pledge to the voters that he would select an african american woman so it gives us a more narrow focus on who the n

childs, kruger, brown-jackson. how do these contenders compare? >> let's be clear that they are all exceptional and there is a deeper bench, beyond the people who are even making these lists. the president's going to be concerned about age, particularly given the dynamics in the court right now. um, amy coney barrett this week turns 50 years old. and so, youth plays a matter. but more importantly, will be the experience that they bring, the sound judgment that they bring. um, the diversity of experiences that they bring is critically important. and i also think what's important here -- people will be able to do well in terms of dissenting. there is something to be said about jurisprudence and exile. that is to say, there is a conservative majority of six on the court. so, the liberals on the court are going to be shaping the jurisprudence that people will rely on in years to come. and so, he is going to be very mindful about that amongst the various, very talented black women that he is looking at, including melissa murray. >> i -- i want to say y

forward brown , jackson has lyauthentically suffered in her life. she's not joking. she literally went to harvardin with joyoy reid. i happen to know ketanji brown jackson potentially brown , but we were in college so i think she's wonderful. ke imagine what that was like.t you went to college with joyen reid. i was in fallujah. you went to college and joy reid, who suffered more well after leaving the rough and tumble of cambridge with joy reid brown jackson wound up on the d.c. circuit court of appeals last summer. well, her credentials here. so abc news covered her confirmation time. they told us that jackson is quote the first black woman confirmed to an appellate court in a decade and she now be one of five black femalely circuit court judges currently serving. but hey, who's counting? you have to wonder, brown jackson we don't know. maybe a super great person, really smart person. how would you feel if you were her ? what about her achieve is irrelevant. the media focused on her race and maybe there is a reason forj that because her actual rec

ketanji brown jackson -- >> bakari, i get that. but i think the implication is that her polling numbers and she's not seen as effective or people don't see her -- scott, is that -- go ahead. and then i'll let scott -- >> yeah, i -- >> hold on, scott. let bakari finish and then i'll let you respond. what were you going to say, bakari? >> look, people want to find any way that they can take a dig at this vice president. and she's withstood it. and they've only been in office for 13 months. she'll be just fine. but she ain't going to be on the supreme court. >> go ahead, scott. >> i agree with bakari, they're not going to put her on. but i did marvel today at the fact there were more than a handful of democrats and more than a handful of reporters who were begging for the idea that kamala harris would be appointed or put on the list. and i assumed it was because they believe she's a political liability to biden and they want him to choose someone else. so i agree with bakari, she's not going on, but make no mistake, this whole theory

judge ketanji brown jackson.the circuit which is viewed as the aaa of the leagues of getting you into the supreme court. a number have come from that court. justice leondra krueger who sits on the california supreme court. justice candace jackson, also sits on the federal bench at the appellate level. there are other names floating around. what do you make of the potential nominees? >> first of all, to john's point, it is true that he has narrowed the field and it was a political imperative at the time, but he has narrowed it to a field that, a, has never been selected before but has plenty of very qualified candidates. so both krueger and brown jackson have impeccable, gold plated resumes. very much like the ones that supreme court justices of the past 20 years who have been very highly qualified have had. so i don't think it is a bad reflection on them. now, it will be interesting, though, because there is going to be some push in the democratic caucus, how about somebody less traditional, not off the harvard t

ketanji brown jackson, i have known her for 20 years. she is stunningly good.o smart and so savvy. but i would add someone we have not talked about yet on your show. that is leondra kruger, a california supreme court justice. she actually happened to be my deputy, my principal deputy solicitor general. i named her to that post when she was 35 years old because she is that good. she is perhaps, if not the most extraordinary lawyer i have worked with, pretty darn close. she has done 12 arguments before the supreme court. i think that's more than any other african american women in u.s. history, and constants baker moxley had ten. this is someone who knows the court and someone who should get a serious look from the president and his team. there are others as well, like judge michelle childs that you mentioned as well. >> neal katyal, thank you very much for joining us on this important night. we appreciate it. and coming, up today a trump nazi pleaded guilty. the trump nazi is hoping for a lower sentence now that he is cooperating with the fbi. and the january 6t

manchin and sinema voted for brown, jackson, they have voted for every single one of biden's judges.e start a razor thin margin, i think most people think it can hold, and until that happens, it's a different game. even if it's going to be very tight, they just kind of keep head down. if manchin, sinema go soft or something arises in the process and they actually may be losing one, then all the rules of the game change. right now, it's sit, totally take all kinds of incoming, coolly, politely, and just let the white house do its work to keep the 50 in line. >> okay. i think you are 100% right harry litman, and maya wiley, good to see you both. thank you so much. >>> it is one of the hardest hit cities right now, the sweeping storm in the peak at some spots. we're going to talk with the mayor of this city. you can't make out which one it is because it's so snowy there. obviously still in the thick of it, we'll be right back. there obviously still in the thick of it, we'll be right back. and a touch of sea salt. it's like a double double for your tastebuds. subway keeps refreshing and

, who clerked under breyer. >> the most likely candidate is judge ketanji brown jackson, a very welludge on the d.c. circuit. she was on the sentencing commission. she served as a federal defender and also in private practice. in addition to now a number of years as a district court judge. and now a sitting judge in the d.c. circuit. >> reporter: 45-year-old california supreme court justice leondra kruger. 55-year-old south carolina u.s. district court judge michelle childs. >> nominees are fond of saying, well, they're not voting as people, they're voting as judges, and their job is to interpret the law. but of course our backgrounds and lived experiences impact how we view the lay. >> reporter: stephen breyer's a crucial third of the supreme court's liberal minorit along with justices elena kagan and sonia sotomayor. in recent years the court became an ideological battleground, creating a super majority, and breyer often mediated between extremes. >> justice breyer used to say, dissents are a defeat. it means that you've failed to reach common ground. he always tried to do that wit

so, jan, tell us about president biden's short list, and the front-runner, judge ketanji brown jacksonind judge jackson's strong credentials and the clerkship with justice breyer, i think what makes her an early favorite is that she was recently confirmed by the senate to the prestigious federal court of appeals here in d.c. with 53 votes, including three republicans. and, also, the white house is thinking about moving really quickly on this, which our sources sugest that they are, that means she's also been recently vetted and extensively vetted. she even met with president biden. but of course, some of the other potential nominees on that short list have been recently vetted as well, norah. >> o'donnell: i know you'll be watching closely. jan crawford, thank you. president biden is no stranger to supreme court confirmation hearings. he served as the chair of the judiciary committee when justice breyer was confirmed back in 1994. now he gets to pick breyer's successor. cbs' ed o'keefe joins us. the timing of all this is very significant. >> reporter: that's right, norah. while it was

g brown. jackson. what can you tell us about them? well, i think that katasha brown jackson will be the nominee frankly. because as she will not generate a road block in the senate, only last year, she was after 10 years of extraordinarily fine service as a district judge. she was nominated by president biden to the 2nd most powerful court in the country. the court. ready of appeals for the district of columbia and she was confirmed 50 by $54.00 votes with 3 republicans voting for her, including one leading extremely conservative republican senator ted cruz, who might well be a, a vice presidential candidate for a donald trump and a 3 others ashamed so i think that in fact, this is going to be not a repeat of the terrible tragedy of the past few nominations. i do think it's very unfortunate how that president biden has announced his intention to push this through this through in a month. ok, why i'm so in doing it because we should try to restore a sense of falk fullness and deliberation. i was brown, has extraordinary credentials. a

there's judge katangi brown jackson, recently confirmed to the dc circuit court of appeals with a handful of republicans voting for her. she interestingly met with president biden last february and then california supreme court judge l leandra. a judge in south carolina and the key here, kate, is that congresswoman, jim clyburn, a top ally for biden, pushing for her. those are the top three contenders. we'll see what plays out here. >> thank you so much for that. let's go to capitol hill now where the battle for confirmation is already taking shape. cnn's manu raju standing by for us this hour with that. >> reporter: chuck schumer the majority leader wants to move quickly. looking at the timeline republicans set for confirming amy coney barrett to the supreme court just days before the 2020 election. recall that process took about a month. two or three months but democrats say that republicans set that precedent and they're going to follow that very quick time frame here. the question, can they get the votes to do that? 50 democratic members of their k caucus. they can get one confirmed b

one of the leading candidate is 51-year-old federal appeals court judge ketanji brown jackson. biden elevated her for the dc circuit, is a former law clerk for justice breyer. breyer is 83, had been under pressure to retire while democrats control congress. if no republicans in the senate support biden's nominee all 50 democrats can confirm with vice president kamala harris casting tie breaking vote. two democratic senators have hit the breaks on the domestic agenda but it is expected fell fall in line with democratic colleagues. >> senator manchin and have gone along with the federal judges president biden has nominated. >> breyer was nominated by president bill clinton in 1994, is described as pragmatic and fact oriented. he was born in san francisco, attended lowell high school and studied philosophy at stanford. he is expected to retire in the summer. as far as ideology, liberal replacement wouldn't change things. there would still be a conservative majority 6-3. >>> marin is already easing covid restrictions and it has some thinking it is too soon. it comes with positivity

there on the left, judge ketanji brown jackson. she clerked for justice breyer and was confirmed last summer with 53 senators supporting her, all 50 democrats as well as three republicans, which could make her a popular choice. >> just leondra kreuger and the white house -- the president has been the one who said stre little about any of this, even though we heard from so many voices on this issue. i asked him for his thoughts on justice breyer's retirement and he said he was going to let the justice say it on his own terms and he'd have more to say about it later. we do expect to hear more on that later but one significant note is the white house did come out and was very clear from jen psaki at the podium yesterday in reaffirming the president's intent as he first said in 2020 during the campaign that he will select a black woman for the seat. >> that leads us to the senate, where the key word we're told is speed. how are the democrats' plans shaping up right now to get this process down? >> hey, chris. democrats on capitol hill

a name that continues to come up as lead contender is ketanji brown jackson, who currently sits on the court of appeals in washington d. c. she's a harvard law school grad who once worked as a public defender and also clerked for justice breyer. jackson was confirmed to the appeals court in june by a 54 to 44 vote. all members of the democratic voted for her, including senators kyrsten sinema and senator joe manchin. republicans susan collins, lisa murkowski and lindsey graham also joined them. susan collins today weighed in on breyer's retirement. >> there is no need for any rush. we can take our time, have hearings, go through the process, which is a very important one. it is a lifetime import appointment after all. >> funny, she didn't say any of that when it was amy coney barrett. and senator lindsey graham, still on that committee, issued a statement that read in part, quote, "if all democrats hang together -- which i expect they will -- they have the power to replace justice breyer in 2022 without one republican vote in support." in a moment i will be getting live reaction to the

in terms of the nominees, ketanji brown jackson a federal appeals court judge in washington and put on the court to fill the vacancy after merit garland left to be attorney general. she knows her way around the supreme court because she was a law clerk to justice breyer. leondra kruger clerked and she is a justice on the california state supreme court and during the obama administration she was at the justice department solicitor general's office. the top appeals court lawyers and she argued a dozen cases there. and then there's jay michelle childs a court judge in south carolina and currently nominated to an appeals court position. so, it would be unusual if she bypasses that and goes directly to the supreme court. i guess we would call this nomination before judgment. but she has the backing of a key supporter congressman jim clyborn who said her blue collar background would be additional diversity to the supreme court. >> nina, i would love to hear from you on this. for a lot of americans the supreme court is relevant to their lives. is how they decide on really critical cases. the

>> well, near top of the short list, as we've talked about, has been ketanji brown jackson. because she checks a lot of boxes. she's a former breyer clerk. she was recently confirmed to one of the most powerful federal appeals courts in the country. and she checks the boxes for what biden has been talking about. he said that he wanted diversity, professional diversity. she's also served time as an stand public defender. there are others. leondra kruger who sits on the california supreme court. she has a lot of friends in the obama administration. she served in the solicitor general's office. and another judge who is up for the d.c. circuit. michelle childs. you're going to hear other names come up in the next couple days because people will push for their favorites. a lot of people are looking at the fact if he moves quickly, he could do so with ketanji brown jackson there. >> we'll see what happens. that will be very, very quick indeed. thank you. there's more news we're following including new details emerging of a written response by the united states. as fears of an immi

ketanji brown jackson, the president already met with her last february, actually, when he nominated her to that d.c. circuit court of appeals. but the other candidates, those meetings will be crucial, of course, crucial step in this nomination and confirmation process. >> justice breyer will have served 28 years on the court by the time he formally steps down. we should note he was approved by 87 votes, quite a different change in the landscape in washington today. jessica schneider and jeremy diamond, thank you. >>> well, while president biden has dealt with interparty politics with its legislative agenda, holdout senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema always voted with party for biden's lower court nominees. >> and not inconsequential fact, but like all votes in the senate, a slight margin, biden's first challenge to a nominee will likely come from the senate judiciary committee. melanie zanona with us now. melanie, the republicans have a potential path to slow this down the committee, but also democrats have a way around that, do they not, if that were to happen. >> reporter: ex

ketanji brown jackson, d.c. court of appeals, leondra kruger, leslie abrams gardener, j. michelle childs, of course, a favorite of representative clyburn. do you have a favorite? >> i was called when word was spread around. i asked how closely is the president to choosing a nominee. he said he's not made his mind up, at that point a few days ago. i'll trust his judgment on this. i don't want to put the finger on the scale for any of the nominees. i think there are some extraordinary talent there. going back to the point i made earlier, for these african american women to have reached the level of success they have reached, they are extraordinary people. they've been put to the test. they are the first in many instances of their race and gender to be in this position. that extraordinary talent i think should be taken into consideration on a favorable side. >> i also want to ask you about reform of the electoral college act and the possibilities for bipartisan reform there. you talked to susan collins about the president's nominee for the supreme court. what about electoral

circuit judge ketanji brown-jackson, leondra kruger and j. but it is not just judges. prominent civil rights lawyer is reportedly being considered as well. with me now is senior editor and legal correspondent, also someone who knows everything supreme court. so dahlia -- don't make that face. you do. i know you. >> i'm just going to cop to that right now. >> very funny comment from ken. i like that. all right. let's talk about these -- who is on the short list. yet we talked about ketanji brown-jackson. who else is on the list? >> i think she stays at the top for a lot of people because it is an easy lift because, as you just heard, three republicans voted under a year ago to confirm her. and so it's tough to make the case that she wouldn't get bipartisan support. and i think right under her are california supreme court justice leondra kruger who is a strong candidate. and district judge j. michelle childs who has a relationship in some sense to this only because representative james clybourn from south carolina who really pressed biden durin

. >> let's talk about the different directions he could go in, childs, kruger, brown-jackson, how do they compare? >> they are all exceptional and there's deeper bench beyond the people making the list. will be concerned about age, particularly given the dynamics in the court right now. amy coney barrett this week turns 50 years old, so youth plays in that. more importantly the experience they bring, sound judgment they bring, the diversity of experiences is critically important. and people who will be able to do well dissenting. there's something to be said about jurisprudence in exile. there is a conservative majority of six on the court so liberals will be shaping the jurisprudence that people will rely on in years to come. he's going to be mindful about that amongst the various talented black women he's looking at, including melissa murray. >> you tweeted if biden picks brown jackson, we'll have another seat to fill on the powerful d.c. circuit while dems try to control the senate, hard not to read attacks on her through that lens. tell me more. >> i want to step back and tell yo

you can see the point of going with judge brown jackson, confirmed by this same senate a year ago. you've got three republican senators who have already voted for her. lindsey graham voted to move her nomination out of committee. and it's a tide committee, as you know. equal representation of democrats and republicans on the judiciary committee. so that lindsey graham vote was very important, it would be very important if he were to do that again. so you can see the tremendous advantage that judge jackson has at this stage, having already served on the circuit court of appeals. and the situation that she's already been confirmed by this particular senate. >> well, you also realize that lindsey graham is going to get a chance to do that again. judge child's hearing is scheduled february 1st. that's tuesday. and she is going to be before that same committee on tuesday and judge childs'will be in front of a lot of people watching the hearing that time. and they will see in her what i have seen in her over 20 years. this young lady is not just a graduate of public colleges in florida a

the first is ketanji brown jackson. she is interesting enough, that biden personally interviewed last year before he elevated her to the court of appeals. justice l leandra reid kruger is someone who maybe gain more republican support. and be candace jackson-akiwumi has support from lindsey graham cents kim scott, saying they support her. and we heard in the piece, so does jim clyburn. here is what representative clyburn said last night on cnn. >> i want to make sure it is a black woman. i want to make sure that it is a woman that will get universal support. and when i say universal, i mean bipartisan support. and i know that michelle child's will have support of several republicans, including the two republican senators from south carolina. >> lisa: and how about this for timing, judy? next week judge child's is to appear for her confirmation hearing for the court of appeals. so a very rare potential tryout, if lu, for this woman who is getting a lot of attention in this moment. >> woodruff: lisa, is it your understand

they voted for brown jackson the first go, so it is a different calculus, right. both party with one glaring exception, and that's kavanaugh. it is possible those three, but it would be nice to say -- it would give democrats certainly a political argument there's bipartisan support. but as to the makeup of the court, i don't suspect they're going to need republican votes. >> and just briefly, hans, we are assuming all 50 democrats stay together, right? >> again, like i'll text you manchin's number after this call and you can text him and then get manchin and sinema there. we can do a group text chat and settle this right now and take the next month off, because this will be this month. >> it is clear there is one front-runner, but the stories that are going around washington today about jim clyburn being very keen on a particular nominee from south carolina, how much weight do you think that might have with president biden? >> i put most of the weight on that story on a nice profile written by "the new york times", and that seems to be fuelling a lot of this. i do

. >> among the contenders, ketanji brown jackson, leondra kruger. jackson, a former breyer law clerk 51 and twice confirmed by the senate including once by this senate. >> i'm not ejecting my personal views, i'm evenhandedly applying the law. >> leondra krueger a justice on california's supreme court, and clerked for john paul stevens, 45, a deputy in the solicitor general's office during the obama administration arguing a dozen cases before the supreme court. >> and mi sheld childs a federal judge in south carolina, recently nominated to the court of appeals for the dc circuit, 55 and clerked with jim clyburn. >> she's got a bachelor's degree from university of south florida, she has a doctorate she has a jurisdoctorate from the university of south carolina, from duke university. she's thoroughly southern. >> now a vote that requires the senate will give him months of party rules on voting rights and build back better. while some conservatives would like to take an aggressive approach -- >> this is a hard woke left administration. >> the irony is t

especially judge ketanji brown jackson on the d.c.ircuit, the highest appellate court here in washington, d.c. a trial judge before president biden appointed her to that court. she was approved last year with the support of three of the republican senators for her confirmation. so that already gives her a little bit of an edge, including that she was already vetted and met with president biden then. she has a background that connects her to justice breyer. she was a law clerk to him and also served on the federal sentencing commission which is part of his background, too. she is 51 years old. another very strong contender is judge leondra kruger who is out on the california supreme court. she's a justice there. she was appointed, i think in 2014, so she served for about eight years out there. but she has strong washington connections that might help her in this selection here. she used to work in the solicitor general's office. she was in the obama administration. she has plenty of supporters out here. also a former supreme court law

judge ketanji brown jackson was confirmed to the d.c. appellate court last year. she got 53 votes in june 2021. that's a 50/50 senator including from susan collins, lindsey graham and lisa murkowski. you're looking at that vote and saying essentially, you voted for her just a year ago. here we go. >> she spent eight years on the federal district court in washington. she was an appointee of president obama's. the other thing about that vote last year, john, it was understood at the time whenever there was going to be a short list for a supreme court seat in the biden administration, she was going to be on it. she got the three republican votes. it was a pretty good sign that at least going into this conversation she is going to be in the mix and that she's going to be very high on a lot of folks' lists. john, i think another point it's worth not losing given the politics of the last couple of weeks is look how big a deal now in retrospect the georgia runoff elections last january were. yes, we've had a lot of frustration on the left with west virginia senator joe m

so jan, tell us about president biden's short list and the front-runner, judge ketanji brown jackson.> reporter: well, i mean, behind judge jackson's strong credentials and of course that clerkship with justice breyer-i think what makes her an early favorite is that she was recently confirmed by the senate to the prestigious federal court of appeals here in d.c. with 53 votes, including three republicans. and also that the white house is thinking of moving very quickly on this, which our sources suggest that they are, that means she's also been recently vetted and extensively vetted. she even met with president biden. but of course some of the other potential nominees on that short list have been recently vetted as well, norah. >> i know you'll be watching closely. jan crawford, thank you. >>> president biden is no stranger to supreme court confirmation hearings. he served as the chair of the judiciary committee when justice breyer was confirmed back in 1994. now he gets to pick breyer's successor. cbs's ed o'keefe joins us now from the white house. so ed, the president's going to mak

s. court of appeals. judge cotton g brown, jackson and california supreme court justice leandra krueger. the use drug regulator has approve the use of pfizer is oral antiviral pill to treat coven 19. the european medical agency gave the green light to the drug packs low bid, which will be given to adults at risk of severe illness. thailand's navy says an oil spell off the country's eastern coast will take at least 5 more days to clear. the leak from an under see pipeline began on tuesday and was eventually stopped a day later, the government says it's examining the impact of the lake on the environment. here in germany, the archbishop of munich has been responding to a damning report released last week about how the archdiocese handled sexual abuse cases in the catholic church. cardinal guy had mark said he was ready to take moral responsibility for the church as failings during this time. but said he won't be stepping down. last week's independent report was heavily critical of former pope benedict the 16 who himself headed the archdiocese from 1977 to 982. the report is the 1st formal

circuit court of appeal that concluded judge ketanji brown jackson who tonight is at the top of the short possible candidates to replace supreme court justice stephen breyer. judge jackson is the only candidate for the supreme court who has ruled on models involving but -- on the trump investigation. jackson wrote the opinion that required the white house counsel to testify to the judiciary committee and overruling claims of executive privilege. judge jackson wrote -- part is presidents are not kings. they do not have subjects bound by loyalty or blood whose destiny they are entitled to control. the unanimous circuit court opinion that allowed the january six committee to obtain the records of the trump white house says former president trump has provided no basis for this court to override president biden's judgment and the agreement and accommodations worked out between the political branches over these documents. both branches agree that there is a unique legislative need for these documents and that they are directly relevant to the committee's inquiry into an attack on the legislativ

. >> for breyer's spot, judge brown jackson is seen as the front-runner.r supreme court clerk for breyer, she was vetted recently by biden and his team and confirmed to the d.c. circuit court of appeals to fill the seat left by garland. the move was meant to groom her for a justice position if a vacancy comes open. >> when you become a judge, you take an oath to look only at the law in deciding your cases, that you set aside your personal views about the circumstances, t the defendants or anything else. >> a close second choice is leandra krueger. she argued a dozen cases before the high court. while she has not been thoroughly vetted by the administration, she once clerked for the late justice, john paul stevens. >> i think we tend to forget that really conversations about these very difficult cases are confined to a very small number of people. >> other names circulating, minnesota court judge mimi wright. outstanding, president cherilyn ide ifle. lee. candace jackson and jade michelle childs. a south carolina judge who's been pushed by house majority wh

ketanji brown jackson. i should say judge. she was just confirmed back in june. 53. she had 53 votes in her favor. that means three republicans voted for her. do you expect if she is in fact nominee, do you expect there could be those gop votes to stick? or do you expect there to be, you know, you expect that to change given the fact, how washington works? we know how it is. and nia just pointed out, the republicans, the rnc will come out and attack whoever the nominee is. >> it very well could be that there will be bipartisan support. now, the fact we have to say that is indicative of the times. wasn't that long ago that you had nominees from presidents of both parties that would pass overwhelming. ruth bader ginsburg was passed by like 96 to either nothing or one. it was overwhelming. so it is possible that -- i will say that the three republicans who voted for judge jackson, one of them was lindsey graham who released a statement that was in kaitlan's piece that said, elections have consequences. that was just today. meaning joe biden is the free and fair presiden

of campaign to this day, even though a lot of your colleagues are actually thinking that judge brown jackson seemed to be the front runner. there's been one consistent name for you, one consistent recommendation combated courses judge childs. can you tell us a little bit about her, why you like her so much and whether you spoken to biden or child in last 24 hours, given the retirement news? rep. h the letter part of your question. no, i have not talked to president biden or michelle childs in the last 48 hours, or even the last several days. i can't remember the last time a spoke with michelle. and, of course, i have been talking with president biden for some time now about the united states supreme court. as you know i am the father of three daughters. they are very professional women. they are achievers. none of them are lawyers or interested in the supreme court. from a personal standpoint. but they are women. they are black women, and they have been insulted over the years, like so many other black women. now have five women who have served on the united states up in court. not a single

a lot of them have been vetted, such as ketanji brown jackson, was vetted a year ago. the white house will be reaching out to candidates on this list as well as seeing if there's anyone they may have left off or not known about that they want to add at the last minute to that list. very likely that president biden will want to meet individually with the short list of candidates he is considering. the white house also says he'll be consulting closely with senators of both parties as well as with vice president kamala harris, who of course has the distinguished legal career herself. we know from justice breyer in his remarks and what folks around him have been saying that he does plan to stay on the court through the remainder of this term, assuming of course, craig, that his replacement is confirmed by that time. >> josh letterman at the white house for us on this friday. thank you. leann, what's the partisan temperature inside the senate right now as it gets ready to take up a nominee? >> hey, craig. well, all signs are very positive for democrats at this point. the re

another leading contender, judge ketanji brown jackson got three republican votes when she was confirmedt? do they just want to make key points they think are important to them but then three or four republicans, maybe more go over and vote yes or does this become a dividing line? >> well, if anyone has been watching the senate the last year or so, we all know that two votes that it always comes down to on joe manchin and kyrsten sinema. as long as they're on board, it seems like judge ketanji brown jackson is and has always been the prospective justice to beat here. it's not clear that the childs -- the spector of michelle childs changes that. one thing about childs, you talk about diversity, she also represents a different kind of diversity. she's not educated at harvard or yale. and it's that background, the law school at university of south carolina, that adds kind of the non-elite or anti-elite dimension to the talking points about her. i still think ultimately biden is more inclined to go with the sure thing which is a nominee who has literally just been confirmed with bipartisan s

but let's talk about ketanji brown jackson.w's husband's twin brother's wife. >> i think you got it, yes. everybody is six degrees of kevin bacon and paul ryan, as you see. kennedy: yes. so will republicans warm to her? is she seen enough as a judicial moderate to bring over the mitt romney's and lisa murkowskis of the senate? >> well, interestingly, we have a vote on record of the senate just last year when she was promotedded from the d.c. district court to the d.c. circuit. she got three republican votes, lindsay graham, lisa murkowski and susan collins. obviously, the supreme court has a different job. you can't take those votes for granted, but i think it gives some sign that unless if something shocking comes out about her, it's unlikely that her nomination would fail. kennedy: are there any if issues that, you know, the two grinches of the democrat senate would have with her, joe manchin and kyrsten sinema? >> it's unclear at this point. it seems unlikely. in fact, there's something that moderates or even libertarians co

one clear front runner, i think, ketanji brown jackson who the president's already met with. he could get this going fairly expeditiously. he's got a white house chief of staff ron klain, joe biden used to chair the judiciary chi. they know how to do this, and they've already gotten started. >> john harwood, thank you, sir, appreciate it. >>> so here's a question for democrats, democrats should be asking themselves as a matter of fact. why aren't they dominating the political landscape in america in 2022? two decades ago the influential book the emerging democratic majority predicted they would due to demographic changes in the country, but now one of the co-authors says democrats have gotten the messaging of the book all wrong. a senior fellow at the center for american progress is here to talk about what's actually happened, and we're so glad ruy is here. thank you for joining us. >> good to be here. >> it was the book back then. you predicted that democrats would dominate american politics. one part of that equation was the shifting demographics in the country. what happen