senator durbin gave tremendous leadership. happy holidays, i gave my vote to the best holiday, she's back there in the second row . really nice, it's subtle but kind of not subtle. >> amy klobuchar, judiciary committee fashion guru. >> i know you've waited to spend your friday evening with all of us so this is great but this is truly a moment . it is not just the number, 235 which is kind of incredible given everything we were facing the last two years but it's the quality of these judges. and as my colleagues mentioned it's important that we have people from different backgrounds that become judges just like the people in this country don't fit into one mold . i personally from the state of minnesotawe have found a number of judges , two of them were prosecutors and they were very very good, brian and laura, kate menendez, a public defender and we've also had federal magistrates like the two confirmed from california and it was just a broad background that i think were really important to the president, really important to us

durbin-marshall is not the solution. it will create more problems, and i am very sensitive to small businesses. i have said to many people -- some of whom are in this room today -- that you've got a congress and a half to solve this problem, in my estimation. i don't have a whole lot of skills here, but counting votes and observing trends is one of them. this durbin-marshall bill is not going to pass in this congress, i think anybody realistic knows that. we've only got 1.5 scaramuccis of legislative days before we're out of congress. it's not going to happen. this is a good hearing. we're exchanging information. what i hope that we do here is recognize that small businesses have a legitimate concern. i will also say that every single one of those small businesses could take their swipe machine and throw it in the trash if they didn't think that they weren't getting added value for it. fair statement? so why don't we actually work on something that's not disruptive and doesn't repeat the mistakes of other countries who h

so proud and glad to be joined by many of my judiciary committee colleagues, led by chair durbin. i know a lot is happening in the capital today and tonight, but we want to mark a historic moment here in the senate. today, we confirm the 235th judge more than any majority has confirmed in decades. this is historic and will have huge and positive implications for the american people for generations to come. now with the nation's newest 235th judge, we confirmed more judges under president biden than any administration in this century, more judges than any administration going back decades. one out of every 4 active judges on the bench has been appointed by this majority. one out of every world for. we have some of the most qualified and historic nominees ever confirmed in a 4-year span. one out of every four judges on the bench. i want to thank all the senators who work hard for these nominees. it was not easy. their diligence, their stick to it of this, there unity is what led us to this moment here today. any of them, when they did not show up or throw a fly in the ointment could

>> thank you, senator durbin. you're correct, the european government did regulate interchange rates in europe. the government in europe imposed a fixed interchange fee and it did impact the market. while you're correct there are some reward programs in europe, the majority of them were either eliminated or greatly devalued. consumer rewards, which are enjoyed by 84% of u.s. card holders today. it's a broad spectrum, broad socioeconomic spectrum of u.s. consumers enjoy rewards. that is not the case in europe where would he regard programs have been reduced. fees to consumers have gone up. you're correct. the market adjusted, but ultimately we think those changed that happened in europe were bad for european consumers and european card holders. >> let me ask you a question about an individual. are you familiar with mr. prabo, mr. sheedy? >> yes. he used to be the chief financial officer of visa. >> he said, net net, we are a beneficiary of inflation, visa was a beneficiary. how is that possible? >> i don't think of

senator durbin? >> honored to be chosen by my colleagues to serve again as whip and the 119 congress. i want to thank and congratulate senator schumer unified caucus meeting today. it has led to this decision. we moved together effectively in the past and will continue too. happy to have my colleague et cetera klobuchar, et cetera booker as part of this team. i would like to repeat what chuck schumer said about the process. mark my words you cannot do speed dating process for a cabinet for the president of united states without ending up embarrassed and with things discovered only through a deep investigation by the federal bureau of investigation. june with the ordinary processes been in the past with previous presidents? they would float the names to the fbi, of possible people for the cabinet for a cursory investigation to see if there's anything they missed in the initial look. >> the judiciary committee with the fbi room and make sure people serving the country in the highest position of real ba

durbin: thank you. >> good morning. we hear often this morning the words responsible gaming. this is code for gambling industry self- regulation and state control. i am here this morning to offer congress a different approach to regulating the industry for the prevention of harm perspective as an issue of public health. i am grateful to chairman durbin, ranking member graham, and the distinguished members of this committee for the opportunity to offer testimony regarding the public health crisis created by the unprecedented expansion of online sports gambling. it is my hope this is the start of public dialogue and debate which will result in congress enacting much-needed legislation to bring comprehensive public health reform and regulation to the sports gambling industry. i serve dual roles as director of gambling policy with the public health advocacy institute at northeastern university school of law and as an school of law and is internationally certified gambling addiction counselor. this permits m

>> i'm happy to add to the question, durbin. it depends. if there is a family member who is able to care for that infant, then that is what happens. but many people do not have a trusted individual who has the resources and ability to care for a newborn. and in that case, yes, , the default is to come into the foster care system. >> can you give me any rationale for the removal of an infant from a new mother so that she cannot nurse her or care for her personally? >> no, i cannot. >> i can't either. i suppose there's some extraordinary cases involving public safety where you might be able to make that argument, but they which would be extraordinary. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, chair durbin. senator kennedy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you for calling this hearing. ms. umber, you were in a georgia state prison? >> yes, that is correct. >> okay. and ms. laboy come out by saying her name right? >> yes, sir. >> your daughter was in a state prison? >> yes, york correctional. >> in georgia. >> york correctional in connecticut

>> i'm happy to add to the question, durbin. it depends. if there is a family member who is able to care for that infant, then that is what happens. but many people do not have a trusted individual who has the resources and ability to care for a newborn. and in that case, yes, , the default is to come into the foster care system. >> can you give me any rationale for the removal of an infant from a new mother so that she cannot nurse her or care for her personally? >> no, i cannot. >> i can't either. i suppose there's some extraordinary cases involving public safety where you might be able to make that argument, but they which would be extraordinary. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, chair durbin. senator kennedy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you for calling this hearing. ms. umber, you were in a georgia state prison? >> yes, that is correct. >> okay. and ms. laboy come out by saying her name right? >> yes, sir. >> your daughter was in a state prison? >> yes, york correctional. >> in georgia. >> york correctional in connecticut

chair durbin: give the witness the opportunity to finish. mr. melnick: it did not say they were missing it said i.c.e. failed on the job to start the court process for them. if i.c.e. filed the court documents many of those people would be living at the exact address i.c.e. told them. they have not filed the charging documents. it's not that they are missing. exploitation is very real and we called for more labor enforcement to ensure it doesn't happen. chair durbin: senator padilla. senator padilla: thank you, mr. chair. the fact we are still discussing, debating the struggle to reconnect children who are separated from their parents more than four years ago today should tell us a lot. about what to expect in the next administration. i think it's worthy for the conversation. maybe a different hearing, different day to focus on that. just a reminder for folks observing today's hearing, the topics, stated topic of today's hearing, is quote how mass deportation will separate american families, harm our armed forces, and devastate our economy. i wi

so i'm so proud and glad to be joined by many of my judiciary committee colleagues led by chair durbin . i know a lot is happening in the capital today and tonight. but we want to marka historic moment here in the senate . today we confirm the 235th judge more than any majority has confirmed in decades. this is historic. it will have huge and positive implications for the american people for generations to come. now, with the nation's newest 235th judge we've confirmed more judges under pres. biden and any administration in this century, more judges than any administration going back decades and listen to this, one out of every four active judges on the bench has been appointed by this majority . one out of every four. we have some of the most qualified and historic nominees ever confirmed in a four-year span. one out of every four judges on the bench is amazing. i want to thank all the senators who worked hard in support of these nominees. it wasn't easy, their diligence, stick to it in this, their unity it was an amazing moment here today. anyone of them when they didn't show up or w

durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr.he presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. i want to echo the commend -- comments just made by the majority leader, senator schumer, and thank my colleagues for continuing to give me the opportunity to serve as the whip. what is this job? i said the skills that are necessary for this job i developed in the first grade -- to be able to count up to 60, if needed, and to be able to count up to 41, if in a position of resistance. that's an overstatement, of course, but not much. i thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity over the last two years, and i'm looking forward to the next twothis has been one of the busiest legislative times in my time on capitol hill. we've been working for four years in the senate judiciary committee to fill vacancies in the federal courts around america. people retire, they pass away. some of them decide to do something else with their lives, creating a vacancy for what was supposed to be a lifetime position. over t

and by the way, that's more on durbin than biden. biden's done a really good job in terms of the justices that he'll -- the judges he's been able to appoint. durbin hasn't pushed them through with the ferocity that a mitch mcconnell or a lindsey graham did when they had the opportunity, right? only one party has taken the field on the court, and they've taken the field to take away women's rights. and that's why the court is like it is now. and it's why the court is going to be like this, probably for the rest of my natural life. >> all right. elie, joyce, i beseech you to stick with us, because the house ethics committee has released its findings on matt gaetz, and despite it all, gaetz might still run for higher office. that is next on "the weekend." f. that is next on "the weekend." ...that stayed clear, even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you n

never in my life have i agreed with dick durbin in that segment. he's a truth teller.ith people half of the audience have left them? excellent point i agree. liz: leo terrell you're fantastic merry christmas to you good to see you. moving on to this story. after years of silence president biden is now voicing support for stopping stock trading by members of congress. this is being seen reportedly as biden taking a swipe at former speaker nancy pelosi given the timing of her husband's very profitable trades. grady trimble now joins us live with this story from the white house. this story is really something, grady. what do you think what's going on? reporter: it is, liz. in all his years as a senator, vice president, and president, joe biden never took a position on whether members of congress should be able to trade stocks, but now, with just weeks left in his term, he is. >> i don't know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because the job they gave you, gave you an inside track to make more money. nobody in the congress should be able to make money in t

now, this report highlights the months long investigation by the staff of senator durbin and illinoisocrat. and as you said, the chairman of the committee. many of the luxury trips, private flights and other gifts in question have been publicly known for months. but this report provides more detail. some of that detail coming from information gained by subpoenas of some of the wealthy donors of the gifts. one of those trips, according to the report, was a 2008 alaskan fishing expedition taken by justice alito, where the report puts the private flight alone at a value of nearly $24,000 per passenger. the report also digs into the past, accusing the late justice antonin scalia of improperly accepting gifts during his time on the high court. the report's authors used those and other examples to conclude that the court quote has demonstrated its inability or unwillingness to police its own ethical conduct. it's not just the gifts that the report calls unethical behavior by justices on the court, though. it also asserts that justices at times have violated their duty to recuse themselves f

durbin talks about the need for legislative solutions. marc, manage my expectations here.e now having to put the future of a fair and impartial court in the highest court of the land in the hands of politicians? >> right? so, look, i don't think there's any chance we'll see supreme court reform as long as donald trump is in the oval office. but i do think that the supreme court did make this tuation quite a bit worse for itself. in addition to the issues that senator durbin flagged, i want to flag the fact that the supreme court, through a number of its rulings, undermined its legitimacy and its credibility with the american public. you know, it was 30 years ago that the supreme court in another case involving roe versus wade, the casey decision, backed away from the cliff. the majority in that case said that one of the reasons why it was not going to overturn roe is it'd erode the credibility of the court. dobbs, that's what it did. it's a series of decisions that have eroded the supreme court's credibility with large parts of the american public. here's the good news, th

when senator durbin returns, he will be in the minority of his chamber and ethics proposals. he and other senate democrats have supported recently will likely be shelved. victor. mj, brian, thanks. >> up next, what was once healthy may not be anymore thanks to the fda. why they're mandating changes to the labels on some of your favorite foods scott luther never too much new year's day at eight on cnn. >> my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back. >> now with skyrizi, i'm all in with clear skin. >> things are getting clearer yeah, i feel free to bare my skin. >> yeah, that's on me nothing is everything whoa. >> with skyrizi. >> three out of four people achieved 90% clearer skin at four months. and most people were clearer. even at five years. skyrizi is just four doses a year after two starter doses. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu like symptoms or vaccines. nothing and me go hand in hand. nothing on my

president, and chairman durbin, for your diligence and hard work. i want to thank ranking member graham and the members of the judiciary committee, some of whom are here, for their great work. you recommended excellent individuals to the bench. i want to thank of course president biden for sending us such an impressive group of well qualified and historic nominees. and i want to thank vice president harris who came here when the vote was tied and helped us confirm a number of these nominees. finally -- and thank you to our republican colleagues who recommended good nominees and supported many of ours as well. finally i want to thank my great staff, especially my incredible nominations director catalina tam. it wouldn't have happened without her diligent and hard work. a lot of behind the scenes happened to get them confirmed and so i'm immensely grateful to etch who worked -- everyone who worked tirelessly. thanks to the majority our courts is stronger, our democracy is stronger, and that is something every american can be proud of. i yield the floo

durbin: mr.ident, i've served on the senate judiciary committee over 20 years, including the past four as chairman. during that time, i've voted on thousands of judicial u.s. attorney, u.s. marshal and justice department nominees. every nominee who has gone through our committee, every one, shares one thing in common, whether nominated by a democrat or a republican president, every single nominee has undergone an fbi background investigation. every one. president-elect trump has the right to nominate his preferred candidates for justice department and judicial vacancies, but the judiciary committee plays a critical role in offering advice and consent on nominations, which includes receiving and reviewing the results of fbi background investigations. after weeks of reports that president-elect trump planned to bypass the fbi entirely, it was a relief to hear that the tramp -- that the trump transition team signed an agreement to hey lou the fbi -- to allow the fbi to conduct background investigati

i just caught up with senate majority whip dick durbin about this issue.sked him if it was appropriate for lawmakers to give themselves a raise. members are giving themselves a pay raise. do you guys deserve a pay raise? >> well, that's news to me. it's good news. you know what has it been ten years or 14 years and no cola, no change at all. i think it's about time something's done. >> you support getting giving yourself a pay? >> it is. how would i not know about a pay raise? >> but i mean, but i mean, people look at the performance of congress and say, why should we give them more money? >> what about the media? think about that for a second. >> we're not paid by public money. >> i know you're not, but i mean, half of your listeners are not there anymore. you're still getting the same paycheck. what's going on? >> well, i mean, your taxpayer money. i mean, you guys deserve a raise and durbin's essentially said that, yes, they should give themselves a raise. and also noticeable, though, to jim, he wasn't aware that this was in the provision. and he's the

senator durbin. >> honored to be chosen to serve as whip. i want to thank and congratulate senator schumer whose unified caucus meeting led to this decision. happy to have my senator klobuchar, senator booker as part of this team. i would like to repeat what chuck schumer said about the process. mark my words, you can't do a speed will have dating process forr the cabinet of the united states without ending up embarrassing and with things discovered only through a deep investigation by theov federal bureau of investigation. do you flow what the ordinary process lad been in the past with previous presidents, they would float the names of the fbi of possible people for the cabinet for cursory investigation to see if there's anything they missed in the initial look and then at that came up thumbs up, they would announce it publicly and deep, dark fbi investigation would ensue. the senate judiciary committee. they won't say it obviously for political reasons. the process previous generations has to be honored. >> senator klobuchar. >> not, my fi

dick durbin said with becker we only have a handful of biological boys in women's sports and ncaa. we aren't just talking about that. we talk about elementary school, junior high, talking about senior high, we're talking about all women and they are being downgraded simply for the fact that the far left wants to add gender into the mix along with climate hoax and all the other nonsense they are trying to push on this country and they're trying to destroy it. we won't allow them to destroy women's sports. we'll fight for it and try to keep these whacko judges out of the fight and put them in the right direction. >> harris: rosey gray has a grandfather fighting for her and other little girls and this really is going to take a fight. app apparently there is a push by charlie baker or ncaa or leadership in sports but want to make hundreds of thousands of people capitulate for fewer than ten other people. we don't do that in any other part of society, do we? >> you are exactly right. charlie baker does not believe this. he hates lawsuits, harris. he is under the gun with lawsuits right

finally the judiciary committee has passed numerous bipartisan bills and we thank senator durbin and senator grassley for his longtime work on this, senator cornyn, and as well as senator lindsey graham to stop the abuses of big pharma to keep affordable, generic drugs off the market. it's time these things become law. bringing these to the forefront has brought bipartisan consensus that our antitrust laws must be enforced. i had the honor of introducing both assist talent attorney general jonathan canter. i remember that day well because his son was younger, and he was a big fan of senator ossoff and took senator ossoff's pencil and senate drink thing as a souvenir from the event as senators this always means a lot when we have a fan base, and -- or a fan of some kind which was senator ossoff was the celebrity to jonathan canter's son, and also i introduced ftc chair lena khan in the commerce committee and helped shepherd both of them through the committee with strong votes. khan, 96-29, but who's counting? canter, 68-29. with this, they went on to bring major cases. google, amazon,

durbin: thank you, madam president. tomorrow the senate judiciary committee will hold a hearing on president-elect trump's planned mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in the united states. millions, some 13 million, undocumented immigrants live in this country and many have been here for a decade or longer. these immigrants have become our nation's health care workers, teachers, farm workers, entrepreneurs, police, you name it. and many of them dpru up alongside our own kids with the same hopes and dreams of their first job, getting a driver's license, a college acceptance letter. 12 years ago, in response to a bipartisan request from myself and the late senator from indiana, richard lugar, president obama established the deferred action for childhood program known as daca. daca was a program where if you were brought to this country under the age of 18 as a child and you lived here, you had an opportunity to apply for a two-year period of grace and not be fearful of deportation through the daca program. more th

durbin. mr. durbin. pete hague says i've known for more than ten years.n capitol hill he's been a leader fighting for fellow veterans in the halls of congress and leading and organization. the thing i am concerned about is we are not deterring the very threats are country peace and 30 that we need to pay attention to. it is a dangerous situation. what they do is prioritize of the ground and deterrence. the way you do that is strength. confirmation process anticipating and confirmation hearings and supreme court justices out with act can be but he and his wife made their financial sacrifice to serve the country and i respect that the allegations against mismanagement people accused him of? >> a lot of this has been anonymous through background checks for the hearing itself. what i learned is there are a lot of people who make anonymous claims but will not be accountable for that. the process to get all the facts out before we make our decisions. >> you think senator considerably people ultimately votes i know senator ernst and others they want to see the p

was senator durbin putting the witness there to say that should not happen?well, the scenario that senator durbin is trying to promote is that president trump is going to call out all of our troops, including bringing troops from overseas and implement on day one a mass deportation. it is a huge overstatement. now president trump is going to enforce the law. the law says very clearly that illegal immigration is illegal, duh. and he is going to enforce the law and i think most americans want him to. but these activists, they just don't believe in having a border. they just don't. they think that you are a racist if you believe in enforcing the border laws. >> dana: victims also got a say yesterday. patty morin is the mother of the late rachel morin who was killed by an illegal im grant. watch her here. >> i think deportation is necessary. the american people should not feel afraid to live in their own homes. you should put american citizens first. we are the ones that pay your paycheck. we are the ones that pay taxes. >> dana: we want to pay attention to her.

we have senator dick durbin standing by. button up this conversation about what happens on the hill and who is in charge. >> well, look, on the cr and certainly senator durbin will have insights, i suggest if hakeem jefferies does not deliver a single democratic vote, i am not sure donald trump's pronouncement is accurate that they have a deal. you still have the 10 to 20 members of the house republican conference who do not want to raise the debt ceiling. donald trump wants them to. it would be raised for two years. no way freedom caucus voters go along with that. all eyes on hakeem jefferies. does he deliver votes or not. the other dynamic in this is the emergency funding for hurricane relief. there was $100 billion in the package that got scrubbed. is that back in? does that bring around some democrats? hakeem jefferies holds a lot of cards here. if he says, hey, donald trump, and elon musk, you screwed up the deal, no democrats are voting for this, then donald trump owns the government shutdown very likely. >> amazing. a

>> senate judiciary committee chairman dick durbin joins me exclusively ahead hello. >> i'm jake tapper in washington, where the state of our union is following the breaking news out of the middle east. >> the collapse overnight of the bashar al-assad government in syria after rebel forces seemed to come out of nowhere taking just days to overwhelm and oust the brutally repressive government that has been in power for several decades across the middle east. >> syrians rejoiced as some hope to soon return to their home country as russia's foreign ministry confirmed that bashar al-assad had, quote decided to leave the presidential post and left the country giving instructions to transfer power peacefully unquote. syrian state media read a statement from the rebels this morning we announced to you from the syrian news channel, the victory of the great syrian revolution after 13 years of patience and sacrifice, we won the bet and toppled the criminal assad regime. but what is very unclear this morning is what comes next. amid fears about what the rebels might do with their power, as well as

among them, democratic senator dick durbin.>> he said some positive things from my point of view. and he really challenged us on the democratic side to work with him when it came to the dreamers. i accept the challenge. name the time and place, mr. president. i'll be there. >> but worth reminding people, michael, that donald trump once tried to basically gut daca, so what would working with democrats on a plan even look like, do you think? can it be done? >> there's a serious appetite. if you take a step back and look at this, this could be overall effecting about 11 million people, so that's not going to work. logistically, i think it would be smarter for the white house to work with senate democrats and house democrats to get something done. senator durbin, this has been a priority of his for years. he would lead the effort in the senate, and i think also house democrats would be amenable to working with the white house as well because we have to get something done to help dreamers in this situation. >> when you say something

that is why chair durbin has not been able to fulfill the promise on dreamers every single year. he has tried for the past 20. because people like you make it impossible to have a rational discussion about it. because if we do not secure the border, i can't get a path to citizenship for the daca population. if we don't secure the border, i can't get democrats and republicans to come together and give certainty to the dreamer population. are there any dreamers in the room? raise your hand if you are. all right. well, this is a part of the problem ladies and gentlemen, , you have an incoming republican president who just said as late as sunday that he's prepared to give you certainty. but we have people here demonizing him for asking the reasonable question of, can't we all agree that we need to secure the border? so if you are sincerely, i don't know how you make your money. i don't care what your political motives are. but number one, i would really appreciate it to say if you would go out on social media and say that the president obama did a horrible disservice to those people

leader and chair of thecratic democratic conference for the fifth straight t and illinois senator dick durbin re-aoebgted -- re-elected as democratic whip. tor klobuchar will serve on the steering and policy committee. and new jersey senator corey booker will chair the strategy communications committee. >> are you a nonfiction book lover looking for a new podcast. this holiday season try listening to one of the many podcasts c-span has offer. on "q&a" you'll listening to interesting interviews with people and authors writing books on history and subjects that matter. learn something new on book notes plus through conversations with nonfiction authors and historians. afterwards brings together best-selling nonfiction authors with influential interviewers, for wide ranging hour long conversations. and on about books, we talk about the business of books with with news and interviews about the publishing industry and nonfiction authors. find all of our podcasts by downloading the free c-span now app. or wherever you get your podcast. >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span elpwraeuts 4

schumer was elected senate democratic leader and chair of the fifth straight time and illinois senato durbin was reelected as a democratic w. minnesota senator buchar will serve as chair of the steeri policy committee, the number three leadership post, and new jersey senator cory booker will chair the strategic communications committee. >> are you a nonfiction book lovers looking for a new podcast? this holiday season, try listening to one of the many podcasts c-span has to offer. on "q&a," listen to interviews of authors writing books on history. "afterwords" brings together nonfiction authors for wide spreading conversations. we talk about the business of books for those about the publishing industry and nonfiction authors. find all of our podcasts by downloading there c-span now app or wherever you get your broadcast -- your podcasts. >> c-span's "washington journal," our life forum involving you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy. from washington, d.c., across the country. coming up wednesday morning, a discussion on supreme court oral arguments in a

senator dick durbin tour of the judiciary writing president-elect must replace his own appointee withn unqualified loyalist. the senate should reject this unprecedented effort to reject the fbi campaign retribution trump has promised. this week the focus will be on current fbi director christopher white we hear word to be fired once trump gets to washington rate was nominated to its bus by then it president trump back in 2017. you will member after james comey was abruptly fired, the fbi sent out a statement late saturday send directors raise a focus men and women of the fbi the people who we do the work with the people we do the work for. we expect to see additional pushback from lawmakers on the hill as they learn more about trent eight and number of republicans run to his rescue saying he's got a good shot. for the most part spent away from the cameras he was at his golf club again today. he also made a pick to help with mid east affairs choosing a lebanese american businessman who is also the father-in-law of trump's daughter tiffany. jon: mark meredith thank you. for more on the

the next congress this morning unanimously reelecting chuck schumer as democratic leader, senators durbin, klobuchar and booker were also elected to top leadership posts. the senate will be back at 2:15 p.m. eastern for more work on on president biden's judicial nominations. when they return there will be confirmation votes on this record judges, one serving in the district of columbia and the other in eastern pennsylvania. as always live coverage of the senate is here on c-span2. >> host: we are joined by robert cusa president and w ceof ad choice. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me. thanks for getting up f

that is exactly what we are hearing from the top democrat on the senate judiciary committee dirk durbineasing a statement saying the senate should reject this unprecedented effort for this campaign of retribution that trump has promised. that is the first committee that kash patel is going to have to face in his confirmation process. certainly the fbi is the main investigative arm of the doj behind matt gaetz, who withdrew his name to lead that agency. kash patel certainly has the steepest battle to confirmation. take a listen to senator mike rounds and senator chris murphy, a democrat on this. watch. >> the president gets the benefit of the doubt on the nomination, but we still go through a process and that process includes advice and consent, which for the senate means advice or consent sometimes. >> i will vote no. i will organize not just my colleague the but the american public to understand what's happening here. kash patel's only qualification is because he agrees with donald trump that the department of justice should serve to punish, lock up and intimidate donald trump's politi

>> reporter: senator dick durbin is right to lay out the stakes when you're talking about the skepticismern we have heard from senators on both sides of the aisle when it comes to rfk jr.'s prior statements and work on vaccines, that have worked to help people and save lives over the last decades, specifically when you talk about the polio vaccine, and comments that rfk jr.'s lawyer and ally has made about that vaccine. that's something that senators on the republican side of the aisle, including senator kennedy, who you were just talking about with julie said that they had concerns about. we heard from senator mitch mcconnell, himself a survivor of childhood polio, talking about the efficacy of that vaccine, and the need to not delegitimize things that help people live and have made people's lives better. that's just one of the issues, though when you talk about rfk jr. that he is having to grapple with they are in his meetings with senators. it's also his past statements about abortion. he has had various positions on this issue, but many of those positions worry republican senators wh