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

>> and to add to that this is not heidi heitcamp or joe manchin supreme court no, ma'am to me. trump's nominee. want him on the court he has got to get down there and campaign for him. that's what we are not seeing from this white house. >> martha: alex, do you agree. >> i don't agree at all. only a few weeks ago when president trump rolled out the nominee in fantastic prime time event in the east wing of the white house. very well received. and then from there it's not appropriate for the president to be strong arming members. of the nominee should stand or fall on his own accord. and by all accounts he has done very, very well in the hearings to date. it is the democrats who are reactively opposing everything donald trump does who are now insisting on a new 60 vote standard for the nominee, which no nominee has ever been subjected to a 60 vote standard before. in fact, there are two republican nominees or two republican justices, republican appointed justices on the supreme court today leith and thomas who neither received 60 votes in their final vote. now, schumer and the ot

we're back with democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia.e's a member of the senate intelligence committee. senator, we were expecting north korea possibly to carry out its sixth underground nuclear test over the weekend, but apparently they didn't go through with that test. is president trump's tough talk working? >> well, not just the tough talk. i think that seeing that basically the action that was taken in syria, the action that was taken in afghanistan, knowing that the president and this administration basically means what they say and they are going to tell you what they mean, i think that's going a long way giving pause to everybody, but i still pursue, and i would encourage the administration to pursue diplomatic resolve. that's where china plays a big part in this. all the players and actors over there have to be involved and south korea, too. you know, i was watching where vice president pens is on the dmz line. we were there and had a group over in october that i was there, and that's a very fragile place. it's a -- it's so surr

three 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

plan, an area everyone thought we would work on, democrats, the whole caucus, bernie sanders to joe manchin supported this proposal. haven't had a heard a peep in two month. >> for something for you to get done sometimes might involve a deal with you. i'm just curious, do you trust this president on his word? >> look, you know, what i want to say is that i'm always willing to talk to him. but it's got to be something where he actually listens and moves in a direction. i mean, he can't just assert what he wants. >> is that a no? >> and assume i get it done. >> has to meet you halfway. >> yeah. >> markets soared around the globe after he was elected. it seems to be subduing now because people don't think he can get it done. would you include tacks and tax reform in that? if so, what would would it have to look like? and, two, do we get a health care change in the coming weeks and coming months? >> on the vast majority of his tax cuts are going to go to the very wealthy, he won't be able to work with us. that seems to be the direction they're headed in. we want to help working people, middle c

three democrats have been out they will support judge gorsuch, west virginia senator joe manchin and mp and indiana senator, joe donnelly. lauren: louie tran 11 to work with who strongly supported him. the freedom caucus reached agreement to times arena by making replacement negotiations. republican establishment the speaker polygram chief of staff reince priebus rejected them. the caucus up to the gop health care bill which should not be approved. >> if this bill passes, the president's administration will be defined for the next four years as a fraud, as they promise to repeal and they gave more power to the government and it's costing us more. it is going to destroy his administration. nicole: the freedom caucus will hurt the entire republican agenda if they don't get on the team is fast. we must fight them and dems in 2018. senator rand paul has announced token critic of the failed plan to replace obama cared haiti and the likes of president trump yesterday at president trump golf club. speaking to reporters afterwards. >> did a great day with the president today. we did talk abou

so far, three have come over all representing states that broke for trump, joe donnelly indian joe manchini 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 overseas the surpr

joe manchin who talks to the president regularly must have fallen out of bed. the whole push for miners has come from democrats. it was resisted by republicans for a long time and now maybe they're going along. so it was out of touch with reality. that tweet. i haven't read all his other tweets. >> he's saying a shutdown is coming. >> as we have shown, we have done everything we canning to get something passed. we know he's the president. republicans control the house. republicans control the senate. if there's a shutdown, it falls on their shoulders. i think they know that. >> you called the president's plan just moments ago a direct insult on the middle class. can you talk about specific provisions that you think would raise taxes on the middle class other than medicare and social security. >> they're going to take away a lot of the deductions like a state and local deduction. >> what would mean for the middle class? >> according to the "syracuse post standard" it would mean an increase in taxes for middle class phillies on the average of $4500 per family. an

senator joe manchin. >> i hope they did. >> thanks so much. >> i hope they did, too. we need all the jobs we can get in west virginia, and we're appreciative of them also. >> thank you, sir. and on this tax day we ask what could comp first, tax reform or president trump releasing his tax returns? that story next. lobster, so lit. at red lobster's lobsterfest any of these 9 lobster dishes could be yours. so don't resist delicious new lobster mix and match or lobsterfest surf and turf because you won't have this chance for long. listen up, heart disease.) you too, unnecessary er visits. and hey, unmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies and data without insights. and fragmented care- stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done. we believe in food that's anaturally beautiful,, fresh and nutritious. so there are no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no artificial

intense pressure from both author constituents and from other democratic senators like senator joe manchinnd heidi high camp who are urging a vote for him because they feel he's a qualified candidate. even if the administration gets those three senators on board, that still only brings them to five democratic senators and again they need eight in order to withstand a filibuster and get 60 votes to get him past, so this will be a showdown in the senate next week. >> implications, paul, long term if republicans actually trigger the nuclear option? by the way, there are those that say this is not the appointment to fight because you're replacing a conservative with a conservative, and let's face it, many of the decisions by the supreme court were of a moderate tone, let's say, with that particular setting, that down the road that's the one you have to really worry about. >> yeah, democrats have shown no real interest in that conversation. they want to go to the mattresses on this one and fight, fight, fight. they think that president trump at the moment is a little bit back on his heels. they

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

i'm a 100% joe manchin man. anybody is crazy to not vote for him.just like donald trump. >> reporter: this isn't to suggest that the potential enormity of trump campaign connections to russia to minimize the potential enormity of it, but at the same time it'sment to, you see in these places there's still a focus on donald trump's broader agenda and their support of him. but republican lindsey graham, here at this town hall today, he said, though, that he supports full investigation by both the house and the senate and the fbi into those potential connections. he said nunes, the house, they're off into a ditch, to quote lindsey graham, and he said it's becoming weirder by the day. the michael flynn situation, he said the senate should continue to investigate paul manafort, his potential ties to russia and his business entities over there. but sheinelle, again, lindsey graham is one of those few republicans that has been an outspoken critic of the trump administration and been calling for full investigation into it. >> i like the range that you've had

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

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

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

west virginia is joe manchin, north dakota heidi heitkamp, joe donnelly and michael bennet.ate majority leader mitch mcconnell with what is the nuclear option, a proposal to change senate president in order to end the debate and stop the filibuster. it is something senator lindsey graham says will happen. >> this will be the last person that will be subject to a filibuster. which was in effect in the teen 48. because the senate traditions are going to change over this man. reporter: the nuclear option is a procedure that would lower the threshold for his next he votes needed to end the filibuster to a simple majority 51. this is actly what democrats did in 2013 when they controlled the senate and a change president to end republican filibusters on executive branch nominees. an up or down vote on judge gorsuch most likely will come friday. back to you. nicole: adam shapiro, thank you. president trump will hold a townhall meeting at the white house to discuss ways to improve america's business climate. topics expected to include tax reform and what it means for business invest

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

bob: have you reached out to any democrats, centrists, perhaps, maybe like joe manchin that supported your nomination, or something down the road? secretary mnuchin: again, i won't comment on the specifics who we reached out to and who we haven't. you know, this is a process where we're now starting listening groups. again, i think one of the things that's very unique about this president is he's willing to listen. we've had lots of people into the white house. we're going to have people from congress at the white house. we're going to listen to what people have to say as we shape this plan. but the president's fundamental premise is, we need to make american business competitive and we need to simplify personal taxes. bob: people forget you traveled extensively with the president on the campaign trail. how does that experience help you craft his economic policies? secretary mnuchin: well, we've been working on this for the last year. the president did a major speech in detroit at the economic club. he made a major speech in new york at the economic club. the president has been talkin

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

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

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

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. >> that's my question, have you joe manchin and heidi heitkamp who said -- >> and from indiana, you are right. why aren't there five more democrats getting on board and voting for judge gorsuch because it is going to be more contentious and much more important for both sides. >> no matter what, i think those are red state democrats who have to go back to constituents and face re-election, i think they are coming off more reasonable and accepting of the election results. but i think it's pressure from the left. we talked about this before. people are saying resist, resist. >> resist, persist, when you have gorillas in the mist. >> that's exactly what they said. [laughter] >> how do you feel about the nuclear option? >> i hate it, i they the republicans are forced to use it. as jessica said, he's getting confirmed one way or the other. i don't understand democrats blowing political capital on this fight. if he were someone who didn't have the qualifications, doesn't have the background, fine week can have a conversation, i think he could have come out of central casting, don't think w

three 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. box 365, the calendar. everyone knows my paperless, safe driver, and multi-car discounts, but they're about to see a whole new side of me. heck, i can get you over $600 in savings. chop, chop. do i look like i've been hurt before? because i've been hurt before. um, actually your session is up. hang on. i call this next one "junior year abroad." um, actually your session is up. i was thinking around 70. to and before that?re? you mean after that? no, i'm talking before that. do you have things you want to do before you retire? i'd really like to run with the bulls. wow. hope you're fast. i am. get a portfolio that works for you now and as your needs change with investment management services. >>> 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 dramatica

joe manchin, heidi heitkamp. they need to respond to what the head of their party is saying.he republican party. i know republicans care about people. democrats do. this type of rhetoric is to divide and incite anger and certainly not helpful for getting things done in this country, which is really what americans want. they want better healthcare and national security. >> neil: i worry when it gets to so extreme that the two sides can't agree on anything. whether it's the supreme court justice vote coming up for neil gorsuch, on the healthcare thing, it's all republicans coming up with a rework and fix and not a single democrat and on and on we go. i'm wondering whether the positions have hardened to the point that the two sides can't even remotely work on anything. >> you've seen president trump reach out his hand over and over again to democrats and saying, we have to solve these problems. he said united we're unstoppable. we know that premiums are going up for citizens all over this country with their healthcare. deductibles are high. we know democrats are not sitting with

if you would negotiate or do what joe manchin did, they want to primary you because you're not liberalh that is wrong. if democrats came to the table and we could get a bill that repairs this negative problems of obamacare, we need cms reformed, tort reformed, remove the state lines, but democrats need to come to the table for that. >> jon: so is it the existing law or nothing for democrats? >> i hope not. we have ten red state democrats in the senate up for re-election. we need those seats. maybe there's a chance we can take back control of the senate. people are talking about house races so democrats need to compromise and fend off the far left on this issue. although a growing number of americans especially as they fear what the republicans want to do with healthcare, not only obamacare's popularity growing but report for single payer even from republicans that want to make sure that we have insurance. we know the government isn't going to go away. it's going to be an interesting battle there but let red state democrats do what they have to do. if that requires compromise, so be it.

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

. >> so senators joe manchin of west virginia and hide on -- heidi heitkamp have committed a yes voteave said we will vote for him. what are the chances that will entice any other democrats to follow suit? >> you know, i think it's about politics. there is the legal issues and then there is the political issues. from a legal perspective, i think you're going to see a confirmation and whether that means that there is only 51 senators as that takes to do it, of course, they have more votes than that as you mentioned with the two democrats and gets them up to the 54. i think from a political perspective, you know, it's a different issue and that is to your question. the reality is that whether other democrats are enticed to vote for the nominee because they are up for re-election next year and they are in states that were carried by, you know, the president now, donald trump, it could entice them but people generally they could be pretty independent and they could decide that for many reasons. and in talking about this, we should also mention a lot of it relates to merrick garland and ho

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 that. they also probably don't want north korea to become south korea. if north korea beco

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 produce a mainstream nominee. >> reporter: almost impossible to find someone who says gorsuch isn't quali

. >> reporter: in the end, three democrats: joe manchin, heidi heitkamp and joe donnelly, joined republicanssupporting gorsuch. but most democrats, like dick durbin, lamented how it came to be. >> when the rule was changed, some senators were engaged in high fives, on the other side of aisle. i'm not sure why. i don't think it was a time for any winning celebration. i think it was an unfortunate moment, and the question is, where will we go from here? >> reporter: not all republicans were celebrating the rule revision. arizona's john mccain: >> i am very concerned about the future, which will then, with only 51-vote majority required, will lead to polarization of the nominees as far as their philosophies are concerned. >> reporter: but minority leader chuck schumer promised to protect the 60-vote threshold for ending filibusters on legislation. >> i hope the republican leader and i can, in the coming months, find a way to build a firewall around the legislative filibuster, which is the most important distinction between the senate and the house. >> reporter: on that, at least, schumer and mc

trump carried joe manchin with 69%. he won heidi heitkamp. lly state of indiana with 57%. several others 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 democra

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.

ultimately hurt their prospects, especially in a state carried by donald trump, which is why you have joe manchin of west virginia and heidi heitkamp of north carolina being the two who sads they will continue to vote for kneel gore such. 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 o

on the opposite end, senator joe manchin supporting gorsuch, warning lawmakers about that and tellingll yesterday this about the vote. >> he's a conservative person. guess what? the democrats didn't win. so if you think you're going to hold out and they're not going

senators like joe manchin, mchaskill, won always be bernie ye to eye with sander supporters. but conversation about 2020 are already starting. there's a new book out. she's touring the country promoting that book. tension between this progressive wing and this be rate wing, it's going to something to watch in the coming years. host: susan collins, is she leaving the senate? >> she is. the move clear she has ever, that she may be entertaining a run for governor. paul lepage is term limited. she's talked about that. in anr susan collins said interview that that is an option for her. still looks inlikely at this point, but you all keep your options open. next, georgia's independent line. alan, go ahead. my er: thank you for taking call. i just had a couple comments and about the border wall pending government shutdown. i'd like to know what your guests think about what the earlier about using drug money to fund the wall. vote against funding border security, i think shuts the government down, maybe trump could write an executive order saying all that that the federal government,

senators joe manchin and heidi heitkamp will vote for judge gore up. -- judge gorsuch.kill added herself to the no list, yet she told a private gathering last sunday that gorsuch was, quote, one of better ones. >> we hope that her praise leads to her support. it's hard to find any reason except for obstructionism to see why fellow democrats in her caucus have not joined them. >> reporter: but mccaskill offered this warning should justice kennedy or ginsburg or breyer leave the high court in the next couple of years. >> so they pick another one off the list, and we say, no, no, no, this is worse, and there's not enough votes to confirm him. >> reporter: she's talking about the threat of the will change senate rules to allow confirmation of a supreme court justice with a simple majority vote. >> if it comes to a rules change, and i sincerely hope that it does not for the sake of the advise and consent clause of the constitution, but if it does, it'll be squarely on the shoulders of republican party and the republican leader. >> reporter: many republicans say that's hypocr

on the opposite end, senator joe manchin supporting gorsuch, warning lawmakers about that and telling constituents at a town hall yesterday this about the vote. >> he's a conservative person. guess what? the democrats didn't win. so if you think you're going to hold out and they're not going to -- and do it anyway, i'm concerned about keeping the 60-vote rule we have to filibuster because maybe they'll give us something totally outrageous the second or third time. >> meanwhile house minority leader nancy pelosi in whether she has any confidence in house committee chair devin nunes and his efforts to continue leading the russia probe. here is what she told my colleague joy read in an interview that will air later. >> i think he no, sir only has lost all credibility. i think he's tarnished the fi he holds, bought discredit to sometng that is a very, very seriousosition in the congress. >> however, the house intel committee chair devin nunes is standing by his decision to share information we learned with president trump. here is what he told our local affiliate in his home district of f

heidi heitkamp and joe manchin of west virginia. and that's it.ublicans are running out of democrats who could be one over on this. will democrats stick together and successfully filibuster the gorsuch nomination? if they do that, will republicans respond by using the nuclear option and taking away the power to filibuster altogether? the stakes are super high, the outcome quite unclear. and that, of course, makes for left, right and center. happy friday. we'll be right back. s the bees ♪ ♪ and the flowers and the trees♪ ♪ and the moon up above ♪ ♪ and a thing called love. ♪ ♪ let me tell you 'bout the stars in the sk♪, ♪ a girl and a guy♪ ♪ and the way they could kiss on a night like this ♪ life's as big as you make it. introducing the all-new seven seater volkswagen atlas ♪ and a thing called love. when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. tand, our adulte children are h

they are donnelly of indiana, heidi heitkamp of north dakota and joe manchin of west virginia.er, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said he had no choice. >> our democratic colleagues have done something today that is unprecedented in the history of the senate. unfortunately, it has brought us to this point. we need to restore the norms and traditions of the senate and get past this unprecedented partisan filibuster. >> mcconnell promised many times that judge gorsuch would be confirmed one way or another by tomorrow night. they went nuclear in this case. >> julie: how do democrats then defend what republicans called the very first partisan filibuster, never done before with a supreme court nominee? >> democrats suggested perhaps president trump should pick someone else, and it nominate someone back and get 60 votes in the united states senate though most do not believe this is really about judge gorsuch. it is about nasty politics in the united states senate following the 2015 and 2016 election. meanwhile, the big question is the long-term impact. >> in this case, cumulat

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 briefing, and that is what rol

six have said they will vote no on neil gorsuch and to close down debate and heidi heitkamp and joe manchin eight democrats who go to the republican side so they have 60 votes and no filibuster? or will the republicans change the senate rules to pass him with 50 or 51? and 52 if all of the republicans do and then the democrats hold firm? what is going to happen? >> increasingly inevitable that the filibuster is going to be on its way out. i also i think one of the interesting things we are seeing with the democrats who are in trump states they realizing they have to rely on their base going into this midterm. they cannot bottom out. and then go in hoping that trump's people are going to bail them out somehow. that's is not a way to run. they are going to run to their base and see what happens that narrow sliver of the middle who many fewer of them happen to show up in midterm. >> a lot of democrats think not the fight to wall fafall on you from. >> this has everything to do with the base. and there are a lot of people saying that this isn't the fight. because the next -- if another space op

. >> reporter: two democrats up for reelections next year by states carried by president trump joe manchinst virginia and heidi heitkamp of north dakota said they will support gorsuch. institutionalists like senator john mccain are trying to see if a deal can be struck to avoid the so-called nuclear option changing the threshold to 51 votes. missouri democrat senator claire mccaskill is up for election next year. in leaked audio from a fundraiser she questioned the democrat strategy and worried about the next openings of justice ginsburg, breyer or kennedy retire and the filibuster is gone. >> we are not talking about scalia for scalia, which is what gorsuch is, we are talking about scalia for somebody on the court who shares our values. and then all of the sudden the things i fought for, the scars on my back to show it in this state, are in jeopardy. >> reporter: today the white house press secretary encouraged democrats to take mccaskill's advice. >> we hope her praise leads to additional support. >> reporter: mccaskill says she will vote know. by our count 10 undecided democrats and our