them as you mentioned to avoid a dirt pit so far three of come over representing states that is joe donnellyf indiana, joe manchin of indiana and heidi had camp of north dakota. the nuclear option if needed would change senate precedent so only 51 votes to be needed to confirm gorsuch in the movies by democrats in 2013 for judicial nominees but never at the supreme court level. chuck schumer says change the nominee. >> it looks like gorsuch will not reach the 60-vote margin. instead of changing the rules, which is set to mitch mcconnell, why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans in the senate sit down and trying, but up with the mainstream nominee? >> here's how this plays out. the senate judiciary committee expected to approve sending gorsuch for a full vote but said that the showdown thursday or friday. remember, democrats have said over the blocking of president obama spake merrick garland. this will be one will have a fight. lauren: griff jenkins, thank you airtran for a big night for country music as miranda lambert and jason aldean scored big >> my record label, everybody,

indiana senator joe donnelly announces west virginia's joe manchin and north carolina's heidi highcamp. democrats from red states, trump

while joe donnelly says he plans to support the nomination. follow live senate debate all week on c-span 2 and www.c-span.org. you can also listen through the free c-span radio app. >> all month we are featuring our student cam winners the videocam competition. this year students told us the most urgent issue for the new president and congress. our second prize high school winner our 11th and 12th graders from elk grove. michelle kwan and chris are students at frequent high school and their documentary of lgbt there be an conversion, take a look. are 318.9 million people living in the united states. 12,756,000 people of those identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered. >> they have been receiving more attention, but not all of the attention has been positive. one of these issues is conversion therapy. >> we are going to end the harmful practice of so-called conversion therapy. of so-called conversion therapy. >> conversion therapy. it is a topic that has come up in the last election and in recent years. but what is it really.

heidi heitkamp, joe donnelly and joe manson joined all republicans joining in the affirmative. senator ivins and did not vote. [inaudible conversation] >> hello everyone. i just got 30 seconds of stuff i want to talk to you about and then i will answer your questions on the subject. there are many things that brought us to the point of adding a new member to the supreme court but i think we witnessed some of the most important hopes that a member of the senate can cast. judge gorsuch will be an independent voice on the supreme court. he proved that to the hearing answering questions for 20 hours. he has proved he is a judges judge and most significantly, as a person who wants to interpret law and not stretch the intent of congress. finally, i am honored to have played a part to get this exceptional jurist elevated to the supreme court, a person we now call justice gorsuch. any questions? [inaudible] >> i would suggest your question creates a problem that doesn't exist. we've heard it for the past two or three days. what we have done, if your question refers to going back to 201

joe donnelly the latest to get on board. dozens of democrats backing a filibuster. >>> mitch mcconnell vowing to get gorsuch confirmed even if it means changing the rules of 51 votes needed. >>> neil gorsuch will be confirmed this week, it depend on how many are willing to kill a supreme court nominee, never happened before in history? >> if republicans are able to get judge gorsuch confirmed by friday we would be able to participate in the final terms of this year's -- >> today is a big day for neil gorsuch. the committee will vote on his nomination. he's expected to advance on party lines but also a glimpse of democrats so far on the fence will vote when he reaches the senate. it all comes down to the math. it takes 60 votes to confirm him and more than 30 democrats ledly chuck schumer say they plan to filibuster the nomination. >>> instead of changing the rules which is up to mitch mcconnell and the republican party why doesn't president trump democrats and republicans in the senate sit down and try to come up with a main

senators joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp and neil were the only democrats to vote along with every republican except johnny isaacson who was not present for the vote. craig kaplan points out the democratic senator michael bennet voted against the nomination despite introducing judge gorsuch and his confirmation hearing last month. his actions are similar to former senator scott brown, frank wattenberg and evan by who did the same for justices elena kagan, daniel l ito and john roberts. after the vote, senate judiciary chair chuck grassley spoke with reporters about the confirmation of judge neil gorsuch. he was asked about the changing of rules for supreme court nominees and what his committee will be working on next. this is 10 minutes. >> hi everyone, i just got 30 seconds so i'll be glad to answer your questions if you have anything on this subject. thanks everybody for being here. there are a lot of significant events that brought us to this point of adding a new member to the supreme court. but i thinkthat we just witnessed one of the most important votes that a member of the united stat

and joe donnelly state of indiana with 57%.rs facing re-election in 2018 and voting against, however voting against gorsuch. two of them are vulnerable last year, and john home state of montana with 57% of the vote. for moreover the fight let's go with chief investigative correspondent with politico. and correspondent for the guardian and contributor the daily beast. is this about all survival for the democrats. the one that are going over to gorsuch know they can't ignore their constituents at home. >> i think that's part of the calculation. but i also think there's another side to that, which is 2018. your base is super excited for the fight -- >> that's an argument for fighting gorsuch, they'll go the other way. is there a base -- is there a base in west virginia for the left? >> yeah, i mean, it's a mid-term election. that's when the left will come out. >> that's going to roar out, understanding. >> well, it har kins back to 2014 when you had a very difficult map for senate democrats and you had a lot of them break from the

west virginia is joe mnuchin, heidi heitkamp, joe donnelly and colorado's michael bennet. at least senate majority leader mitch mcconnell with the nuclear option, a proposal to change senate precedent in order to end the debate and stop the filibuster. it is something senator lindsey graham says laughing. >> this will be the last person that will be subject to a filibuster, which was in effect tonight and 48. the senate traditions are going to change over this man. reporter: the nuclear option is a procedure that would lower the threshold from 60 votes needed to end a filibuster to a simple majority 51. this is exactly what democrats did in 2013 when they controlled the senate and they change precedent to end republican filibusters on executive branch nominees. an up or down vote on judge gorsuch mostly they will come friday. back to you. nicole: adam shapiro, thank you very much. lauren: donald trump will hold it town hall meeting to discuss ways to improve america's business climate. topics to include tax reform and what it means for business investment, one of the facto

so far though only three democrats are supporting, with indiana, joe donnelly to get on board. >> mitch mcconnell is vowing to get gorsuch confirms even if it means changing the rules. >> all i can tell you is neil gorsuch will be confirmed. how that happens depends on our democratic friends -- to kill a supreme court nominee never happened before in history. >>> if they are able to get him confirmed by friday he would be able to join the supreme court to participate in the final cases of this year's term. >>> joining us this morning, cnn politics reporter eugene scott before he heads off to the game tonight. good luck to the tar heels, but so much to get to with the president and the scotus, and in particular that meeting with president xi jinping with china. the fact that the president desperately needs and wants a win. how can he come out of that meeting with china saying or claiming some sort of victory? >> i think people who support him already frustrated with how china has responded or not responded with north korea, it's tough talk, already a win, but what we need to see is somet

(justine) democratic senator joe donnelly of indiana and two other democrats are now openly supportingndrew spencer has more about how that's still not enough to avoid a filibuster. one way or another, senate republicans say neil gorsuch will be confirmed this week as the next u-s supreme court justice.senate majority leader mitch mcconnell tells fox news sunday that will happen, even if they have to change the senate rules.sen. mitch mcconnell / -r- majority leader: "judge gorsuch is going to be confirmed. the way that occurs is in the hands of the democratic minority." senate minority leader chuck schumer told n-b-c's meet the press he thinks it's "highly, highly unlikely" gorsuch will get enough support to avoid a filibuster.sen. chuck schumer / -d- minority leader: "it looks like gorsuch will not reach the 60-vote margin."sen. chuck schumer / -d- minority leader: "why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans in the senate sit down and try to come up with a mainstream nominee?"echoing mcconnell, majority whip john cornyn made it clear on c-b-s's face the nation that senate

(ááájustineááá) democratic senator joe donnelly of indiana is now openly supporting gorsuch. many not be enough filibuster. one way or another, senate republicans say neil gorsuch will be confirmed this week as the next u-s supreme court justice.senate majority leader mitch mcconnell tells fox news sunday that will happen, even if they have to change the senate rules.sen. mitch mcconnell / -r- majority leader: "judge gorsuch is going to be confirmed. the way that occurs is in the hands of the democratic minority." senate minority leader chuck schumer told n-b-c's meet the press he thinks it's "highly, highly unlikely" gorsuch will get enough support to avoid a filibuster.sen. chuck schumer / -d- minority leader: "it looks like gorsuch will not reach the 60-vote margin."sen. chuck schumer / -d- minority leader: "why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans in the senate sit down and try to come up with a mainstream nominee?"echoing mcconnell, majority whip john cornyn made it clear on c-b-s's face the nation that senate republicans intend to push gorsuch through this

wanlt to read a little bit of the statement we got from senator joe donnelly.ng with judge gorsuch, conducting a thorough review of the record and closely following his hearings before the senate judiciary committee, i believe that he is a qualified jurist who will base his decisions on his understanding of the law and his well respected among his peers. what does this do to the democrats' fight to stop judge go gorsuch's confirmation? >> every senator regardless of party will exercise their right to vote the way they decide that they want to vote. at the same time, i think earlier today and in the past week or so, leader schumer haas has been very, very clear of the majority of democrats positioned and is indicating that it is highly unlikely that there will be a 60 votes for judge gorsuch. so it is shaping up to be, as usual, a pretty dramatic situation involving anything with the trump administration. >> to get to that number 60, republicans would need eight democrats to come on over and vote yes right now. we count three who have committed on the record say

indiana senator joe donnelly announced his support joining joe manchin and heidi heitkamp.emocrats from states trump won. democrats point to president obama's selection of merrick garland last year. republicans blocked garland arguing the election should determine the seat. now outside groups are spending millions. >> neil gorsuch has been called a natural successor to justice scalia. >> reporter: for and against. >> we can't sit back and let it happen. >> reporter: expect to see a dramatic step known as the nuclear option. republicans would change senate rules, override democrats and confirm gorsuch on their own. democrats also forced a rules change for lower court judges when they were in power, but this kind of tradition-breaking comes with a price. eroding the senate's history is a place where the minority party gets a voice. with the stakes so high republicans are determined to give president trump a much-needed win. kate. >>> kelly o'donnell at the white house. thank you. >>> the north korean nuclear threat will be high on the agenda when president trump hosts the lea

democrats, all up for re-election in red states, voted for gorsuch, west virginia's joe manchin, joe donnelly, and heidi heitkamp. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball." last night president trump's evolution from isolationist to interventionist was in stark display. let's watch. >> years of previous attempts at changing assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically. tonight i call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. >> well, candidate trump came into office promising a dramatically different approach to assad and syria. >> we can't fight syria and assad, who is not a good guy, but we're backing people to fight assad. we have no idea. look at hillary clinton, what happened with libya. >> somehow syria and world war iii don't go along great to me. we can't be fighting assad, and when you're fighting assad, you're fighting russia. you're fighting a lot of different groups. but we can't be fighting everybody at one time. >> you can't fight them both. you got

just 3 -- joe donnelly, heidi allkamp, and joe manchin -- moderates up for reelection next year, have said they support the general appellate judge from colorado. enough democrats remain undecided to stave off a successful filibuster. michael bennet, chris coons, dianne feinstein, patrick leahy, robert menendez, mark warner of virginia, and independent angus king. thetor ben cardin opposes nomination but has not approved filibustering. senateverage of all the proceedings on c-span 2. you can also listen with the free c-span radio app. a four-run on populism in the u.s., europe, and latin america, it's origins and political factors. movements for global politics, business, and the media. i think we are going to start. how is that? is everyone prepared? very quickly, i want to thank everyone for coming.

indiana senator joe donnelly announces west virginia's joe manchin and north carolina's heidi highcamp. democrats from red states, trump won. democrats point to president obama's selection of mariah carey gulf w-- of merrick garlat year. outside groups are spending millions. >> neil gorsuch has been calleo. >> reporter: for and against -- >> we can't just let it happen. >> reporter: expect to see a nuclear option. republicans would change senate rules, override democrats, and confirm gorsuch on their own. >> thanking kelly o'donnell for that report. >>> this morning, president trump is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to north korea. speaking in a new "financial times" interview, telling the world and china he's ready for the u.s. to tackle the rogue state i jong-un, alone if necessary. it comes days before china's leader, xi jinping, arrives in the u.s. to meet mr. trump for the first time. "nightly news" anchor lester holt traveled to seoul near th demil ded -- demilitarized zone. take a look. >> reporter: you don't have to travel far outside seoul to see signs and reminders

indiana senator joe donnelly announced his support joining west virginia's joe manchin and heidi heitkamp. red states president trump won. democrats point to president obama's selection of merrick garland last year. republicans blocked garland arguing the election should determine this seat. now outside groups are spending millions. >> neil gorsuch has been called a natural successor to justice scalia. >> reporter: for and against. >> we can't just sit back and let it happen. >> reporter: expect to see a dramatic step known as the nuclear option. republicans would change senate rules, override democrats and confirm gorsuch on their own. >>> also this morning in washington, the president is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to north korea. speaking out in a new "financial times" interview he's ready for the u.s. to tackle the rogue state and its dictator kim jong-un alone if necessary. it comes days before chinese president xi jinping arrives to meet mr. trump for the first time. lester hold, traveled to seoul in the demille tarized zone in north korea to get a look at the concerns

today, senator joe donnelly of indiana joined heidi heitkamp of south dakota and joe manchin of west virginia as the only democrats to say they'll vote for gorsuch. all three are from states won by mister trump. republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell predicted the nomination will pass. >> what i'm telling you is that judge gorsuch is going to be confirmed. the way in which that occurs is in the hands of the democratic minority, and i think during the course of the week we will find out exactly how this will end, but it will end with his confirmation. >> sreenivasan: unless republicans can get 60 votes, democrats are threatening to filibuster the confirmation; in part as payback for the senate's refusal to hold hearings on judge merrick garland last year. he was president obama's pick to replace scalia. >> it looks like gorsuch will not reach the 60-vote margin so instead of changing the rules, which is up to mitch mcconnell and the republican majority, why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans in the senate, sit down and try to come up with a mainstream nomine

heidi heitkamp, joe donnelly and joe manson joined all republicans joining in the affirmative. senator ivins and did not vote. [inaudible conversation]

gorsuch to replace and toning scalia on the supreme court, it was a 54 to 45 with high high camp and joe donnelly joining with all republicans present and voting to confirm. next we show you all of today's senate session. >> the senate will come to order. doctor gray black will lead the senate in prayer.

today another democrat, senator joe donnelly, broke ranks and said he'll support neil gorsuch. he's the third democrat to do so. the white house needs five more democrats to defect in order to bring the nomination to a vote. but this weekend the vice president suggested the white house would endorse changing senate rules in order to shut down a filibuster. >> we will overcome the obstructionists. and the united states senate will confirm judge neil gorsuch, one way or another! >> reporter: this week also brings the toughest test yet of the president's diplomatic skills, as he hosts chinese president xi jinping at mar-a-lago. trump talked plenty tough about china during the campaign. >> we can't continue to allow china to rape our country and that's what they are doing. it's the greatest theft in the history of the world. what china has done, and i like china. >> reporter: but the u.s. also hopes for china's help reining in north korea. in an interview with the financial times today, trump said, "china will either decide to help us with north korea, or they won't." in other word

avoid a filibuster so far, three have come over all representing states that broke for trump, joe donnellyn joe manchin, heidi heitkamp north dakota the so-called "nuclear option" mcconnell appears ready to use would change rules 51 votes needed to confirm gorsuch a nuke never used at supreme court level chuck schumer says don't change if rules change the nominee. >> it looks like, gorsuch will not reach the 60 vote margin instead of changing the rules up to mitch mcconnell republican majority, why doesn't president trump democrats and republicans in the senate sit down, and try to come up with a main stream nominee? >> here is how this works, judiciary committee expected to krooifr sending gorsuch to full senate today showdown vote likely thursday or friday democrats are upset, over the blocking of president obama's pick merrick garland get ready for a big fight this week. >> thanks, live in d.c. thanks. heather: tough week for president trump hop aide kushner in iraq getting a firsthand look at the situation in the middle east. ment joint chiefs chairman dunford inviting sr., to join him

joe manchin has done so, joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp of north dakota.ation what coons's announcement would mean. democrats are in the same mentality as republicans hardening their positions. they say chuck schumer says for the 60 votes distinctive outcome of their fear republican majority will do what they say to that. this could be a sign of maybe a softening of that. it would still mean that in that case if they go for 60s that he's got to have at least a democratic votes, assuming all 52 republicans vote. that's not such a sure thing at the right might point out that he would need at least that. we're watching that very closely to former justice scalia. michael can nearly come nobody make of this latest developments in where this is all going for friday? >> to be honest with you, i'm shocked we are in this position. judge gorsuch you have a nominee is exceptionally well-qualified. the american bar association gave him their highest approval rating unanimously. president osama acting solicitor general come out in a long line of his colleagues, former

joe donnelly has become one of three democrats who has decided he's going to vote yes. we're still waiting to hear from michael bennett, colorado th pressure there is because the nominee is from colorado, very highly recorded there. we're still waiting to see what he will do. but the drama, the moments that we have been waiting for from these two members of this committee to see for sure which way thauey would go, ranking member dianne feinstein going to vote no. you're going to hear from a lot of the democrats the same reasoning, they feel in many critical issues''s gone for the big guy over the little guy and on critical cases he's not given them a clear view of what his position is. >> chris jansing. not particularly sizing that dianne feinstein has come out against judge gorsuch. again, the expectation is coons may do what leadership has done. quick reaction to this now. as the math starts to come into focus a little bit. >> you can see what the math is on the vote, are you going to support or oppose this nominee. it is the other question, the question of cloet sure

on sunday, senator joe donnelly of indiana joined a small group of democrats publicly supporting gorsuch- adding a statement that the senate "should keep the 60-vote threshold for supreme court nominees." an update now on breaking news out of russia... a deadly train explosion... it happened at the subway in saint petersburg. a device was set off on board a train. at least 10 people are dead... and 50 injured. video posted to social media shows the aftermath of the explosion. right now, all subway stations in the st. petersburg area are closed... and an evacuation is underway. authorities have tightened security at all critical transport facilities. and russian president vladimir putin says investigators are looking into the possibility this was a terror attack. we've learned rising tides put 14 people in danger this weekend - off the santa cruz coast. here's a look at the rescue mission, as multiple emergency agencies rushed to davenport, to save beachgoers who got stranded. cal fire crews had to use a raising system - to bring some of the victims to safety. cal fire says a helicopter c

senators joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp and joe manchin iii were the only democrats to vote in favor of the nomination. along with every republican except senator isaacson who was not present for the boat. our capitol hill producer craig kaplan points out the democratic senator michael bennet voted against the nomination despite introducing judge gorsuch at the confirmation hearing last month.his actions are similar to former senators brown, lautenberg and -- did so for other justices. after the vote, senate judiciary chair chuck -- spoke with reporters about the confirmation of judge neil gorsuch.he was also asked about the changing of the rules for supreme court nominees. this is 10 minutes. hi everyone.

joe donnelly of indiana. he announced he was supporting. and joe manchin and heidi heitkamp of north dakota. chris. >> suzanne, thank you very much. joining us now is anthony scarmucci. former member of the trump transition team. >> great to see you, chris. >> big week. egypt, jordan and centerpiece, china. strong words from the president in "the financial times" interview. i'll go it alone. he said during the campaign china is raping us. strong words. where is his head? >> i think he will have a great meeting. at the end of the day, he respects china. he respects president xi. he recognizes a huge problem with north korea. he wants china's help. my guess is he will get that help. there are enough things on the table. one of the issues dating back to 1972 is we have a strong trading relationship. my guess is, the president is putting that out on the table. he will probably leave mar-a-lago with a deal in some shape. >> deal on north korea? there is a reason china is slow. $7 billion in trade. shared border. culture ties. >> we all understand

cloture which means he will vote against a filibuster, put him together with democratic senator joe donnelly from indiana, joe manchin from west virginia and heidi heitkamp from north dakota come you can now say that there are 56 votes for gorsuch, that is four shy of the number needed for cloture to avoid a filibuster, still time to find more votes between now and maybe thursday or friday, but if not, mitch mcconnell, senate majority leader may be employing the so-called nuclear option. he does have the support of the president on this, remember what the president said back on february 1st when i asked him about it, listen here. >> if we end up with the gridlock, i would say if you can, mitch, go nuclear, because that would be an absolute shame if a man of his quality was caught up in the web. >> mitch mcconnell told chris wallace on "fox news sunday" yesterday that gorsuch will be confirmed, quite possible he may have to explore the nuclear option. the sean spicer briefing is coming up at 2:30, and there is an emerging headline that no doubt will command a lot of attention here in the brie

west virginia's joe main r chan chin, north dakota's heidi heitkamp, indiana's joe donnelly, and coloradonnet. that leaves mitch mcconnell, as we all say it, "the nuclear option." it is propositively to change senate precedent, end debate, stop the filibuster. something that ted cruz says, not a great idea. lindsey graham, rather. >> if the democrats persist in this foolish filibuster, the senate majority will have no choice but return to the standard that has prevailed for over two centuries in the senate, which is confirming supreme court justice by majority vote. reporter: actually ted cruz. "the nuclear option" is a procedure that would lower the threshold from 60 votes to end the filibuster to simple majority, 51. that is what democrats did in 2013 when they controlled the senate and changed precedent to end republican filibusters on executive branch nominees. the up-or-down vote on judge gorsuch that could come most likely late friday afternoon, friday night. liz? liz: okay. i do, i do have to just question you on this. senator michael bennet of colorado -- reporter: bingo, quote. l

earlier today, joe donnelly was the authority democrat to announce his support for gorsuch. nomineeing north dakota's heidi heitkamp and west virginia's joe manchin, that leaves gorsuch five votes shy of 60 and avoiding the filibuster. caroline shively has more from washington. >> reporter: hi, rob, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says monday judge gorsuch will be confirmed this week, no matter what. >> exactly how that happens, chris, will be up to our democratic colleagues. it is noteworthy, no supreme court justice has ever in the of the had of our country been stopped by a partisan filibuster, ever. >> senate minority leader chuck schumer points out there's a first time for everyone. he says the conservative judge doesn't have the votes to get to 60 to break a planned democratic filibuster and republicans need to drop gorsuch and pick another judge with input by the democrats. >> our republican friends are attacking like a cat on the top of a tree, and have to jump off with all the damage that entails. come back off the tree. sit down and work with us and we will p

one of those coming on board is senator joe donnelly of indiana. joining manchin and heidi heitkamp of north dakota. we will look at the filibuster. >> suzanne, thank you. coming up, we will have more on the gorsuch confirmation. which senators should we keep a close eye on. our experts tell us next. in my johnsonville commercial we open up in the forest. hi. i'm jeff. i'm eating my breakfast and all of a sudden a raccoon come up and ask me, "what are you eating?" i told him "johnsonville breakfast sausage, fully cooked." porcupine comes in and he says, "does that come in patties?" i said "yup" wolf comes in and says, "how'd you learn to talk to animals?" and i said "books" and we had a good laugh about that. [laughter] that's a commercial made the johnsonville way. does your makeup remover every kiss-proof,ff? cry-proof, stay-proof look? neutrogena® makeup remover does. it erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. need any more proof than that? neutrogena. >>> all right. something's going to happen with judge gorsuch today. the s

nia malia henderson, about the vote count and the democrats, joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp and joe manchinsaying they would support gorsuch, and a couple democrats the last couple days, surprising they came out so early, jon tester of montana, claire mccaskill of missouri, saying they will be no votes. i'm curious when you have these democratic senators from red states, what's driving them one way or another? what makes heidi heitkamp different from jon tester? >> you know, everything is local i think we're seeing. i think initially we thought, listen, all of these sort of trump state democrats might be there for the picking off, if you're a republican, but they have really tried to approach this in a way that makes sense for them, that makes sense for their states. and i think if you listen to dianne feinstein today, she is giving this very broad case of why democrats might be able to, when they decide what they want to do, the six or seven who haven't decided -- she's trying to essentially give them kind of a frame work and talking points for why they might not support this nominee. so i

along these lines, i worked in bipartisan fashion last year with senator joe donnelly to include an amendmentn the fy to require the missile agency to flight test our homeland missile-defense at least once a year. these are the things where congress is pushing so we can get that culture of testing and learning. it was our believe, and it is now the law, that we should, as a country, more regularly conduct flight test of our missile defenses. people too often forget about the men and women who protect us everyday. i tried to mention who they are this morning. a lot of alaskans, citizen soldiers. regular testing not only improves our system, it gives our war fighters reliance, confidence, and high morale, and it demonstrates to adversaries that if they launch against the united states, their attacks will never reach our shores, ever, and that is the key. finally, the fifth thing we need always, is wes need to look at doing all of this with our allies. we have a lot of allies in this world. israel, japan, korea, poland. i like to say that we are an ally-rich nation and our adversaries or potenti

joe manchin of west virginia, joe donnelly of indiana and heidi heidkamp of north dakota. when did this become a defining moment? >> the number 60 is so important because there's huge support. when you look at a difference between 55 and 60, all that people are seeing this is establishment politicians behaving badly. this is gridlock, this is not what people want to see. used to be that democrats and republicans could come together, compromise, listen to each other and better together. now we continue have a conversation. people are using slim margins, they're using rules to break precedent. it really is something that doesn't resonate with the american people. it looks badly for both parties, looks -- really what we're looking at is a total shift between not just republicans versus democrats anymore, it's versus typical politics as usual and the new politics of donald trump. so everything is shaking out differently than we have ever seen before. i think that the people in washington d.c., those representatives of the american people need to get a handle on what it is and

only three democrats, senators joe manchin, heidi heigtkamp an joe donnelly sided with them. this is a huge win for republicans. tell me more. >> reporter: brooke, the dust may have settled on neil gorsuch but it's not settled on the environment here at capitol hill. one thing that needs to be highlighted is how fiercely partisan it is right now. as you said, to get the supreme court nominee through, it took extraordinary measures, controversial maneuvers invoking the so-called nuclear option that broke long-standing senate rules and had both sides really entrenched into their corners. so a lot of talk here in the aftermath about what this means for the senate going forward. not only as it applies to future supreme court nominees, now that this rule has changed, but how it applies to potentially legislation. will both sides be even more entrenched in their sides? so a lot of questions up here on capitol hill about what this all means, how this predicts the senate operating going forward. but certainly, as you noted for the white house this is a big win for them today. we know

those are heidi heitkamp, joe mansion, and joe donnelly. all the moderate democrats, all of them facing challenging reelection bids next year and states president donald trump one this last time around. do you suppose voters will look kindly on those three democrats for voting with republicans to confirm? >> i don't think it's going to help them with democrats. they may be finding them sums a little short on campaign funds. you have to look to your conscience and your constituency when you're making a vote on a nomination like this. >> julie: vice president pence will be presiding over this. that's pretty much confirmed, that there won't be a tie. >> no, that's not going to happen. still, this is a most historic moment because you have conservative thinking perpetuated for probably a decade or two or three and also the stage is set for some pretty brutal fights down the road when the next nomination opens up. >> julie: you talk about how long it has been for republicans or conservative justice to be appointed. antonin scalia, if you could j

the question senators, joe manchin, heidi heitkamp, joe donnelly and michael bennet's.the wall street journal" with their list. arthur is up next. good morning. caller: you are one of the best ones. you let the speakers get their point across. this is my first call since november. my first want to congratulate president trump for keeping this atheist queen of the status quo, a.k.a., hillary clinton. the precedent is established by gorsuch, it comes time for ginsburg or kennedy to hang up, and that is very likely, the republicans need to announce that this is our nominee, there is nothing you can do about it. [indiscernible] sicknk many americans are of the same political posturing on the grounds of protocol. the trump era will be defined by ask of presidents -- act of precedence. this always dishonest media into a frenzy. if those things happen -- if it is here is the nominee and that nominee is going to be confirmed, does that moved the supreme court toward a partisan branch of government? democrats are giving the republicans the opportunity to sack the courts, whether

others will be michael bennett of colorado, john tester of montana and joe donnelly of indiana who could also decide there's no upside to blocking this particular supreme court nominee. i think they're under a lot of pressure at the same time from liberals who certainly want them to hold that seat vacant, who believe at the end of the day, anyone appointed by donald trump will not fit on the iej local cat trip of the party and that could force mitch mcconnell. >> potential long-term implications, what are they if the republicans trigger the nuclear option and what about the poijtd should we be putting all our eggs in one basket. is this something we should be looking to given that antonin scalia was a moderate conservative? >> clearly neil gorsuch, the way of the conservative, is not really outside the mainstream. the problem for democrats he carries the taint of trump. to sabrina's point she's right right. there is no percentage for a democratic senator. no advantage in saying i voted to confirm a trump nominee to supreme court. now, if the nuclear option is triggered, obviously that me

. >> you lost one of your fellow democrats over the weekend, senator joe donnelly of indiana became thed democrat to say he will vote to confirm gorsuch. here's part of why he's doing that. he says he is "qualified jurist who will base his decisions on his understanding of the law and well respected among his peers." what about that statement do you think is wrong? >> well, obviously every member of the senate judiciary committee has a different view coming out of the hearings that we held. the two things that drive me are the long series of 5-4 decisions, with all the republican appointees voting in favor of dark money, in favor of corporations, over and over and over and over again, it's a disturbing array of partisan decisions, and the second relates to the clip that you showed, it actually is easy to say that dark money shouldn't be a factor in american elections, and the repeated inability of judge gorsuch to go there while so much dark money is being spent on his behalf and as at pointee of a white house that is the beneficiary of an enormous amount of dark money contracts and spe

joe donnelly 1.3 million. these numbers grow all the way to senator claire miscat sgill. there's some big money being thrown at these races. >> yeah. you know, honestly $8.3 million in a race that nobody was paying attention to, democrats decide to make this something of a litmus test. leslie, you called this a win. if losing is winning, i'd like to see the democrats continue to win like this. listen, the republicans split the field between 11 different candidates. they came up with 48.2% of the vote while the democrat got 48.1% of the vote. but that was with the full court press. all the money. really all the california, new york, massachusetts people that gave the first time around are going to give again the second time around? when it's much less likely that they're gonna pull out the win. again, it's a loss for the democrats. they put everything in here and they lost. so if that's a win, keep winning. >> sandra: democrats continue to like to talk russia, russia, russia, right, leslie? congressman adam schiff had something to say about the russia investigation and whe

if joe donnelly of indiana, he said that he would support the president's nominee. he is a qualified jurist who will based his decisions on his understanding of the law and is well respected among his peers. what we are seeing from the leadership in your party, who is this helping? >> well, here's the thing. where the democrats are right now, there are a lot of democrats that are really upset about the elect oriole. and there is a huge base of people who are committed to opposing donald trump. these are the people that are moving the party and saying, hey, listen, we cannot have a judge like gorsuch, and because of how merrick garland was treated, why should we treat their republicans any different? president obama to use -- obama's nominee did not even get a hearing. >> take poor attack? >> there are a lot of democrats angry about the results. we are going to stop a qualified man with an amazing history, who has bipartisan support in 2006. it is a really, really bad deal. because they are going to need the capital when there is another supreme court seat to settle.

indiana senator joe donnelly says that he will support him. he joins no mention of west virginia.he senate minority leader, chuck schumer predicts that he is not going to get the 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. mitch mcconnell, if he wants to get them through, and he says he will he will go for the nuclear option. and on that point, let's remind you what the president said about all of that back on february the first. listen here. >> if we end up with that, i would say if you can, mitch, go nuclear. that would be an absolute shame if a man of his quality was caught up in the web. >> the majority leader says that he will do what it takes to get gorsuch confirmed. he should be the newest adjustment on the supreme court. >> jon: a big wrestling match underway right now. john roberts, thank you. >> jenna: let's bring in the deputy online editor for the weekly standard. and another quiet monday, guys. right back in the program. let's start first with the impact of there. it's just starts with the russia, trump story and generalize it altogether. what do you think is new this week? what

democratic senator joe donnelly of indiana is openly supporting gorsuch.has the latest. one way or another, senate republicans say neil gorsuch will be confirmed this week as the next u-s supreme court justice.senate majority leader mitch mcconnell tells fox news sunday that will happen, even if they have to change the senate rules.sen. mitch mcconnell / -r- majority leader: "judge gorsuch is going to be confirmed. the way that occurs is in the hands of the democratic minority." senate minority leader chuck schumer told n-b-c's meet the press he thinks it's "highly, highly unlikely" gorsuch will get enough support to avoid a filibuster.sen. chuck schumer / -d- minority leader: "it looks like gorsuch will not reach the 60-vote margin."sen. chuck schumer / -d- minority leader: "why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans in the senate sit down and try to come up with a mainstream nominee?"echoing mcconnell, majority whip john cornyn made it clear on c-b-s's face the nation that senate republicans intend to push gorsuch through this week -- with or

>> reporter: well, anna, the latest democratic senator to come out is joe donnelly out of indiana, anded for trump like the other two democrats. he is furious that mark garland never got the vote, but he says, look, neil gorsuch is qualified. as things stand now, gorsuch is going to need 60 votes for confirmation, and already more than 30 democrats, led by chuck schumer, have said they're going to vote to filibuster. republicans on the other hand say, look, if democrats do that, if they filibuster then the republicans will change the rules. that's called the nuclear option, ana, and that's what we could expect. >> and so if that happens, republicans don't get the 60 votes they need, they go to the nuclear option, change the rules. i mean does that open a huge can of worms? some have said it could signal the end of bipartisanship period. >> this has been a long time come. justice ruth bader begins burg said, you know, when i went through it i was put to 96-3 and senator half, a republican, was my biggest ally, and now in this climate he wouldn't touch me with a 10-foot pole. more and mo

those democrats are west virginia's joe manchin, north dakota's heidi heitkamp, indiana's joe donnellylorado's michael bennet that leaves senator mitch mcconnell with what is called a nuclear option, a proposal to change senate precedent to end the debate and stop the filibuster. senator ted cruz says it will force republicans to act. >> this will be the last person that will be subject to a filibuster, which was in effect in 1948. because the sinatra decisions are going to change over this man. reporter: that of course was lindsey graham, not ted cruz. "the nuclear option" is a procedure that will lower the threshold from 60 votes needed to end the filibuster to a simple majority, 51. this is exactly what democrats did in 2013 when they controlled the senate and changed precedent and to end republican filibusters on executive branch nominees. let's take a listen to what ted cruz had to say to what is about to happen. >> if the democrats persist in this foolish filibuster, the senate majority will have no choice but return to the standard that has prevailed over two centuries in the se