earlier i spoke with jeffrey rosen of the nationalco titution center. jeffrey, how consequential will the next appointment be to the balance of the court? jeffrey: this will be the most consequential appointment to the supreme court since at least 1987 when justice kennedy himself was appointed. the future of the 14thment to the constitution, which turns 150 today, is at stake on questions ranging from affirmative action to abortion to marriage equality. it is impossible to understate the significance of this appointment. laura: based on the president's first appoinent, neil gorsuch, do you expect for him to choose someone in that mo and have a straightforward confirmation hearing? jeffrey: we know the finalists. you mentioned four of them. he new york times" reported this afternoon that the president is down to two, kavanaugh and hardiman. both are indeed conservatives, although there are differences hem -- not all judicial conservatives are the same. in particular, we don't know their approach to precedent. whether they would be willing to overturn roe

this was a man named jeffrey rosen, a democrat who worked in senator biden's office during this episode. and here's what a lawyer who helped lead the anti-bork effort wrote just last year. i regret, he said, i regret my part in what i now regard as a terrible political mistake. seized with guilt after all these years of having participated in this borking. because of that episode he goes on, quote, we have undermined public confidence in the judiciary. so there's widespread and bipartisan treatment that trying to -- agreement that trying to bork judicial nominees is harmful to our democratic process and to our judiciary. judge kavanaugh's impressive record, impeccable credentials and his enormous bipartisan fan club of judicial peers and legal scholars all attest to the outstanding service he would render on the supreme court. i'm glad outside fact checkers are already swatting down democrats' desperate attacks on his nomination. in a breaking news bombshell report just last night, we learned that judge kavanaugh enjoys america's pastime. investigative reporters scoured his financial di

i think i hear jeffrey rosen saying it's actually chief justice roberts that itself the new kennedy.ill be in the center of the court. chief roberts cares a lot about consensus, to bring them in to converge around narrow technical questions, that will have huge implications whether they clearly overturn roe vietnam wade or instead as i think the chief would prefer chips away at them, contradiction would say, guts them, pre serves them to proincrement ally and prepare the legit massie in a highly polarized country. >> thank you, jeffrey rosen. >> thank you, and the result. you have one last chance to vote at smerconish.com. will he, will president trump confront vladimir putin with recent indictments? vote yes or no. the results are a moment away. you don't even understand? e well, esurance makes it simple and affordable. in fact, drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved an average of $412. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance. an allstate company. click or call. paying too much for insurance that isn't the right fit? well, esurance makes finding the

joining me now the perfect guest, jeffrey rosen.e's a professor at george washington law school and a contributing editor at the atlantic and author of "the saturday essay today's wall street journal what we can learn from supreme court confirmation hearings requests. jeffrey, i have a short montage of recent hearings i want to show and then ask a question. roll it. >> do you see any erosion of precedent has to roe? >> again, i think i should stay away from discussions of particular issues that are likely to come before the court again. >> it is a precedent that has now been on the books for several decades. it has been challenged. it has been reaffirmed. but it is an issue that is involved in litigation now. >> would it be legal in this country to terminate that child's life? >> i can't answer that hypothetical because i can't look at it as an abstract without knowing what state laws exist on this issue or not. >> i think you get it. so advise me as if i were at least for a moment a u.s. senator. what is the most probing question i

. >> jeffrey rosen there, the george washington university law school, the national constitution center as well. we will be right back. >>> how could she stay on top in an industry dominated by youth? to find out her game plan watch "your business" sunday morning at 7:30 on msnbc. >> sponsored by the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. and american express has your back every step of the way- whether it's the comfort of knowing help is just a call away with global assist. or getting financing to fund your business. no one has your back like american express. so where ever you go. we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it. if yor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough, it may be time for a change. ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both symptom reli

jeffrey rosen, president and ceo of the national constitution center.epublican strategist. he was an aide to president george h.w. bush. erin, let me start with you. we've seen the outreach from the white house to senator lisa murkowski, to senator collins. how open a question is this, do you think, the support of these two senators? >> those two senators have been key. they, along with john mccain, were able to sink the aca repeal last year. when susan collins stepped off that maine from washington, d.c., voters in maine greeted her at the airport with cheers. the fact that she's in this parade today and hearing from other own constituents is really important. it is not just roe v. wade that's important here. it is key portions of the health care law, including covering people with pre-existing conditions. that's a big deal for her state. >> kelly o'donnell just talked about the president's base, social conservatives and traditional conservative legal establishment in the congress. how real is that tension? how do you see republicans navigating this? >

joining us now prove of law, jeffrey rosen.nt and ceo of the national constitution center and contributing editor of "the atlantic." >> good to have you on board. does your information line up with information that it's these four and narrowed down to kavanaugh and hardiman. >> it's important to stress, first of all, the huge significance of today. this is the 150th anniversary of the 14th amendment to the constitution, which guaranteed equality and liberty after the civil war. the appointment president trump makes today could determine the shape of the 14th amendment for the next 50 years. so this is going to be most important decision of his presidency. and it's really important to stress similarities and differences between kavanaugh and hardiman. we know that kavanaugh is seen as an insider, he worked for the starr investigation. he's a conservative judge who favors executive power. trump fears he might resurrect a lot of impeachment concerns that would focus the nomination hearings on similarities and differences between t

jeffrey rosen was a democrat who worked in senator biden's office on the democrat side during that episode. here's what he wrote a few years ago. he said i remember feeling that the nominee was being treated unfairly. senator kennedy set the tone with the demagogy attack. bork's record was distorted beyond recognition. it was bad for the country. this was a man was a democrat who worked in the senator biden's office. and the lawyer who helped read lead that effort roaches last year, i regret to set i regret my part and what i now regard as a terrible political mistake. seized with guilt after all these years of having participated in this working. because of that episode he says that we have undermined public confidence in the judiciary. so, there is widespread and bipartisan agreement that trying to work judicial nominees is harmful toward democratic process and to our judiciary. judge kavanaugh's impressive record, impeccable credentials and his enormous bipartisan fan club of judicial peers all a test to the outstanding service he would render on the supreme court. i'm glad that outside

this was a man named jeffrey rosen, a democrat who worked in senator biden's office during this episode. and here's what a lawyer who helped lead the anti-bork effort wrote just last year. i regret, he said, i regret my part in what i now regard as a terrible political mistake. seized with guilt after all these years of having participated in this borking. because of that episode, he goes on,, quote, we have undermined public confidence in the judiciary. so there's widespread and bipartisan agreement that trying to bork judicial nominees is harmful to our democratic process and to our judiciary. judge kavanaugh's impressive record, impeccable credentials, and his enormous bipartisan fan club of judicial peers and legal scholars all attest to the outstanding service he would render on the supreme court. i'm glad that outside fact checkers are already swatting down democrats' desperate attacks on his nomination. in a breaking news bombshell report just last night, we learned that judge kavanaugh enjoys america's past time. investigative reporters scoured his financial disclosures and lear