. >> harry reid is a former capital policeman . went to law school. got elected, i think first lieutenant governor in nevada and then came to the united states senate and harry reid is i think somebody that if you don't know him, if you're not going to understand him. the more youknow him the more you understand him . he boxed and also he's a fighter and in a very real sense as well as on a less real sense, in other words he will work with people but he will stand his ground and he will insist on certain things. i can tell you that i had a relationship with harry reid that i never got pushed or ever pushed me to anything. we work together when we could. by supporting when i could and when i didn't i took that support and in spite of that, maybe in lieu of that we had a personal relationship that continues today. because out of the blue i'll get a call from him just talking, what's going on and chat back and forth and he say nice things about me to my friends and i think to my ears as i suspect. >> explain the role of the senate majority leader. histor

i would say harry reid opened the door by lowering the bar for federal judges to assemble. party, so he was justified in doing the same for the supreme court. that's what he would say. is there a response to that? yeah, i think there is a response to that and by the way one of the one of the charms of senator mcconnell is he not only has his victories, but he then rewrites the history. he has very recently said and he said many times the left is response to democrats are responsible for every escalation of the judicial wars. now that's simply not true. the confirmation of supreme court justices was proceeding sort of relatively normally for a long time. until his unprecedented action to prevent the nomination and consideration of merrick garland. he won that one. when he came up a winner when trump came in. everything else from that including and that was an unprecedented act. utterly unprecedented and the ramming through of amy coney barrett. which i called the banana republic confirmation eight days before the election. was i think the most anti-democratic act i've ever s

>> harry reid was not a leader that i think was among the great leaders.but i always got it because he was the majority leader during the obama presidency and faced endless and relentless obstruction from mcconnell. i think it probably drove him not only to frustration, maybe crazy at a certainpoint . i don't think he wasa great leader . but he got some things done including the affordable care act . he really had an important role in that. i think that schumer is capable leader. dealing with the challenges of the 50-50 senate, a polarized situation. and i think that he's done considerable things in the way of accomplishments and probably made some mistakes as well . >> given that we don't have the two parties that are closer together than they were a generation ago, what if anything can be done about what i described as majoritarian minority rule? >> i've tried in the book and in my articles before, i've tried very hard to encourage the relatively small group of independent minded republicans or more mmoderate republicans to be their best selves. rwto com

harry reid, if you do not know him you are not going to understand him. in spite of that may be in lieu of that. we had a personal relationship that continues today because out of the blue i will get a call what is going on and chat back and forth and he says nice things about me into my friends into my enemies i suspect. >> explain the role of senate majority leader. historically 10150 years ago the position would almost not be recognized in a consensus body and the position appears to be coming something more akin to the speaker of the house representative. explain what the majority leaders will when you arrived and how it evolved y during your time. >> when i arrived trent would always joke his job was to keep the trains moving on time and other words of the legislation grew and we would credit dinnertime and go home and have dinner with her spouse and family. that was the way that he saw the leadership. it took an active role and work within the caucus. i think he was less likely to push republican leaders today and maybe the democraticc leader today.

>> harry reid was not a leader that was among the great leaders.ut i always caveat because he was the majority leader during the obama presidency and faced endless and relentless obstruction from mcconnell. but he got some things done including the affordable care act. he played an important role in that. and dealing with the challenges of a 50/50 senate of a polarized situation and he has done considerable things in the way of accomplishments and has made some mistakes as well. >> given the fact you don't have the two parties from where they were a generation ago what if anything can be done by majority minority rule? >> i have tried in the book and in my articles before, i tried very hard to encourage the relatively small group of independent-minded republicans are more moderate republicans to be their best selves to come forward to join biden and the democratic senators to move the country forward. occasionally that happens with the infrastructure bill. i think i would like the republicans to show more independence from their leader. it doesn't

we start seeing in congressional delegations that harry reid, god rest his soul, harry reid would notfically get involved in primaries in his own state, even though he was a senate democratic leader, he would not get involved in that because he did not feel that it was appropriate for him to do so. to david's point, how does a democratic party look at itself when it is propping up election deniers with the goal of trying to beat them in the end but could still loose. >> one quick point on your impeachment point, one person who is trailing tonight is rusty bowers, who we all know played such a significant role in these hearings, a former speaker of the arizona house who's running for the state senate today, losing, trailing. and that is completely about impeachment. he has represented that area forever. the republican party there is censured him in the last weeks of the campaign, just to make the point, just to make the point that he was an apostate because he stood up for democracy even though it might her donald trump. >> stick around everyone, we've got much more to come, maybe the

but nonetheless i heard harry reid say the most remarkable thing is they followed it.they didn't have guns or riots or stone throwing. students i was talking to say i know when i say that at least 20% maybe 30% are thinking too bad there were not a few throne. i would like you to look on television or elsewhere at what happens in places and times and countries where they decided there are differences that way because the rule of law is not an absolute and it's only onean small part of the country's values in this document the constitution but it is an important part. that's all i want them to do. it's comparison and perhaps because i'm a judge i'm biased but i don't think so. i believe it is important for us to maintain that respect for a rule of law ever since jackson refused to carry out john marshall's opinion. we've made progress in that respect and how to continue to make that progress is the question i raise. it isn't a question i answer. i have a few ideas about it. what i can do is go back and say i want to tell you how i've seen it in detail with some history

that bill passes harry reid said were not for, and the senate would not take up the legislation.that bill passed, we are under big fight over endt of years spending. we've got to have some agreement, the government shut down, all the hysterics that happened. it's interesting were heading into the same context and now these last few weeks of this year. and i remember mark meadows anda i went to paul ryan and said paul, take that bill that the country obviously once, 60 some democrats voted for it. take that bill, put on the spending bill we would have to agree to some bad spending. but let's win something for the american people. that show we are accomplishing things that our voters wanted us to accomplish and are good for the country. even though we are against this crazy spending we will live at the baddest man in this bill. we will round you up votes if we at least live on one policy. paul wright would not dold it. he just would not do it. no, we can't do that but would the media say? shut down over that issue? we don't shut down the government but we want to protect the countr

>>> and the "las vegas review journal" says a false shooter report caused travelers to panic at harry reid airport. police say that people thought that a loud noise made by an unruly person was gunfire yesterday, but it was not. the person was taken into custody. some panicked travelers rushed through security checkpoints forcing several concourses to be cleared. people had to be rescreened which caused hundreds of flights to be delayed and dozens canceled. >>> still to come, up in the sky. a meteor startles people across through states. where pieces may have landed. es. where pieces may have landed. tah was much better. my mind was in a good place. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 peopl

harry reid opened the door to the federal judges other than the supreme court by using the nuclear optione know to take away the right, the ability to filibuster. so what could they have done? not that much. but i want to make one distinction here. and i looked this up. we'll think of mcconnell running through every federal judge he could in the four years of trump and he did. jimmy carter in his one term had more judges confirmed ben donald trump. so presidents come, presidents go. carter had the district court andpe appellate judges more than trump did. what is changes the supreme court. what has changed is the confirmation of three radical right-wing justices and in that regard the democrats didn't do very well and it shows the polarization of the country. those justices could be confirmed but i will takeas a breath before i go on to attack mcconnell's role specifically. >> mcconnell would say perry reed opened the door by allowing federal judges a simple majority so he was justified in doing the same for the supreme court. is there a sponsor that? >> yeah i think there is a response t

okay but i heard harry reid say the most remarkable thing is they followed it. now, they didn't. they didn't have guns or riots or throwing. the stanford student i was talking to is that i know when i say that at least 20% or 30% nursing too bad there weren't a few stones thrown and so forth. before you come to that conclusion, i would like you to look on television and elsewhere at what happens in places, and times, in countries where they decide differences that way. because the rule of law is not an absolute, it is only one small part of this country's values embedded in the constitution. but it is an important part. that is what it want them to do it's called comparison and i believe unbiased because i am a judge perhaps i am biased, i don't think so. i believe it is important for us to maintain that respect for a rule of law that ever since andrew jackson refused to carry out jon marshall's opinion saying northern georgia belongs to the cherokees but instead sent troops to evict the cherokees that we have made progress in that respect. and how to continue to make that progre

in 2013, harry reid broke senate rules to set the threshold for confirmation at 51. i said at the time you may be sorry you did this. neither of those moves played out as his colleagues intended. neither did the disgraceful firestorm that was visited upon justice thomas and ginni back in 1991. i am not going to dwell on that episode tonight. there is no reason to. we all know what the people behind the smear campaign revealed, actually, about themselves. i will say this. i was inspired dan and i'm still inspired today by the courage, the resilience, and the fee which justin thomas endured through those months, and endured with appetite for service still intact! [applause] >> the very same grit that carried clearance through his birth in savannah, the same stubborn faithfulness if that kept faith in both his church and its country. even after they both let him down in ugly ways as a young black man. the same commitment to principle that compelled clearance to blaze and uncomfortable trail in washington, disrupting everybody's expectations. all of these virtues prove n

a lot about judicial philosophies in 2013 harry reid broke senate rules to change senate rules to set the threshold for confirmation at 51. i said at the time you may be sorry you did this. neither of those moves played out as colleagues intended neither did the disgraceful firestorm that would visit upon justice thomas and jenny back in 1991. i'm not going to dwell on that episode tonight. there's no reason to we all know what the people behind the smear campaign revealed actually about themselves. but i'll say this i was inspired then and i'm still inspired today by the courage. the resilience in the faith with justice thomas endured those months and emerged with an appetite for service. still intact the very same grit that carried clarence through pinpoint. and savannah the same stubborn faithfulness that led him ultimately to keep faith. in both his church and his country even after they both let him down. in ugly ways as a young like man the same commitment to principle that compelled clarence to blaze and uncomfortable trail in washington. disrupting everybody's expectations all

first of all, this strategy by and large in the past has been somewhat successful, whether it's harry reid in 2010 or claire mccaskill in 2012. the opponent you get can matter. it is also true that meijer, if he was re-elected, would vote to make kevin mccarthy the speaker who would probably have a committee investigating hunter biden and doing other things that might undermine democracy. so it's not as though for democrats it's a black and white choice. for someone who voted to impeach trump and stood for that -- it's pushing this about as far as i think you can. >> i think what it does, it makes it seem, democrats are saying these election liars pose an existential threat to democrats. and i agree with them, they do. if that's the case, if it's an existential threat, why are you risking in a particularly red wave year electing one of these guys? >> that's an argument a number of democrats made. they said this is hypocritical if we're on one hand holding the january 6th hearings, warning about the threats that election deniers pose and then putting out an ad campaign that essentially boos

through airport security gates, las vegas metropolitan police say a loud noise in terminal one at the harry reid international airport startled some passengers. the noise, though, is believed to have been caused by an unruly visitor who is now in custody. all this chaos started earlier this morning. they was reported around 05:00am. at least 41 people are dead and at least 14 others injured after a fire rips through. >> a coptic church in egypt today. here's a look inside of that church is now being called one of the worst fire tragedies in the country in recent years. officials say the blaze broke out in an air conditioner on the second floor of the building after an electrical short circuit congregants were worshiping when that fire broke out. >> now to the very latest on the war in ukraine, ukrainian president zelensky is calling on russian citizens to speak up against russian action in ukraine in his nightly address. zelenskyy said those who remain silent are also complicit the russian military said today troops have taken full control of a settlement in kharkiv. those claims could not be in

and after a couple of weeks harry reid said, hey i know you're bored here, you ought to run for presidentt have accomplished a great deal. biden was obviously in the senate most of his adult life. you look at bill clinton, he was governor for i think 12 years, a democratic governor in a conservative state. so he had to compromise. you look at ronald reagan, governor for eight years in a liberal state in california. you look at lbj, again extraordinarily successful legislatively. and these people all have been tested legislatively and political. it seems like that matters less and less to american voters every day. >> yeah, we've had celebrity presidents before. back in the 19th century we had a couple of presidents who were elected with less experience and they didn't necessarily do that well. so there is a lesson there. i think the core lesson here is that perhaps liz cheney should be president, i'm not arguing against that. in fact, i think someone with her experience and her integrity and her political courage would be much better in the presidency than somebody who has an abject lack

>>> possible thunderstorms in the bay area today could lead to flight delays, and las vegas the harry reid international airport announced more than 250 delays and 45 cancellations because of the intense wind and rain in the valley. justin? >>> happening today, another batch of monkeypox vaccines are expected to reach san francisco. the state expects to get about 72,000 more doses, as we take a live look from san francisco general this morning, where people will begin lining. the city of san francisco says it needs about 70,000 shots itself to get a handle on the outbreak. there's currently 305 confirmed cases in the city, compared to 786 across the state. the increase in case count calls some concern that the dore alley festival over the weekend would be a superspreader event. health officials and organizers say instead of stigmatizing the event they used edit to educati people about monkeypox. booths were set up at the entrance teaching people about the virus and vaccination. most fair-goers said they have no concerns, some said they are limiting physical contact with strangers. >> we de

and that was a practice both under harry reid and it's still a practice, i'd say mitch is far more successfulbout it, but for a member of the house, uh, and whether you're a democrat or republican, the committee chairs and that whole process has been neutered or by a senate rule, nothing in the constitution that says that you need 60 votes to pass a bill, nothing in the constitution that says a filibuster is a constitutionally authorized. it may be somewhat argue a tradition, but this isn't. mr smith goes to washington. this is simply people in their room saying calling a closer vote and no house bill moves in the united states senate and you can argue that even the last two bills that the house has voted on from the senate, major bills, the infrastructure bill, and most recently, the so called gun violence bill never went through a public hearing in the house. never was vetted and came from the other body and it's alarming how much this has happened and becoming part of the norm instead of what is called regular order. these things used to be sorted out in what's called a conference committe

something called the cornhusker kickback, an agreement in 2009 between my predecessor and senator harry reid exchange for a special carve-out, only for nebraska, to reduce the cost of enacting obamacare in our state, my predecessor agreed to vote for obamacare. well, the kickback, once public, it angered and it embarrassed nebraskans. history often repeats itself, and from what i am hearing, it seems as though we have a new kickback -- the mountaineer kickback, a deal only for west virginia. tax hikes and reckless spending that all of us will have to bear in exchange for a pipeline. i'll close by saying again, this is not an inflation reduction bill. like a bad hollywood franchise that just won't die, this is simply the third installment in the build back broke trillology. i hope it does as poorly in the box office as the first two. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: thank you, madam president. i'm pleased to join my colleagues in talking about the tax-and-spend bill that's being put forward by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. i