an 11-11 vote thursday, the senate judiciary committee deadlocked on whether to move attorney kristen clarke'sion for assistant attorney general of the justice department's civil rights division to the senate floor for a full vote. no republicans voted in her favor. republican senator mike lee tried to suggest clarke has associated with people who hold antisemitic views. democratic senator ron wyden said "i don't think there is an anti-semitic phone in kristen clarke's body." chuck schumer can still move to discharge nomination out of the coittee for debate and floor vote as he did for vanita gupta who has since been confirmed as vice associate attorney general and is the first woman of color and for civil rights lawyer to serve in the position. if clarke's nomination a successful, she will be the first black woman to lead the civil rights division. for more we are joined by ben jealous, preside of people for the americanay, former president of the naacp. welcome back to democracy now! talk about what needs to happen right now. the senate judiciary committee deadlocked, but this can still move

republicans are also trying to derail kristen clarke's nomination by pushing the lie that she supports defunding the police. it doesn't matter how many times they repeat the lie. it will never be true. ms. clarke has clearly expressed her support for shifting resources to social workers and mental health professionals so that police officers are no longer called upon to address every problem in society. this is not defunding the police, no matter what twisted definition is used. as the senate judiciary committee prepared to vote on ms. clarke's nomination, several republicans took this baseless criticism to a pathetic, ridiculous new low. the junior senator from texas claimed that voting for ms. clarke and previously voting to confirm vanita gupta as associate attorney general put, quote, every single democratic member of the united states senate on record supporting abolishing, abolishing the police, end quote. abolishing the police. that's what he said. not defunding, not reforming. abolishing. what a crock. unfortunately, we've come to expect these laughable exaggerations from our c

kristen clark is a dedicated and serious civil rights lawyer. rachel, she's not only the first black woman to be confirmed for this post, but the first woman to be confirmed for this post. that's because of the derailment of the nomination of lonny gweniere in the early '90s. she was subjected to the smear campaign they tried on kristen clarke and bonita gupta. but i'm proud for our community fighting back and for fighting for these two extraordinary women that will be bringing this wealth of civil rights experience into the department of justice. so i think we are going to see a lot more changes happen. they have their hands full. it's not just policing, let's be clear. you just did some extensive segments on voting rights, what's happening in arizona with the audit. there's a lot of work for the department of justice to do the civil rights division that was essentially stood up during bill barr and jeff sessions and i suppose matt whitaker's tenure as attorney general. so they have a lot to do to pull the department up. it's already happening,

she was addicted to the smear campaign that they tried and kristen clark.ho is now associate attorney general. but i'm really proud of the community for fighting back, for fighting for these two extraordinary women who are going to be bringing the swath of civil rights experience in the department of justice. and so organization lot more changes happening. now they've got their hands full. it's not just placing, let's be clear. we just did an extensive segments this week on voting rights, what's happening in arizona with the audit. there's a lot of work for the department of justice to do the civil rights division during bill barr and jeff sessions as opposed to matt whitaker's tenure as attorney general. so there's a lot to do to pull the department up. it's already happening and it's going to i think defy -- they've been dear friends of mine but i'm going to be pushing them from the outside as government lawyers and i'm gonna be in my role as a civil rights lawyer. >> i have absolutely no doubt about that whatsoever and it is heartening to hear you say an

cotton: today the senate will vote on kristen clarke's nomination to head the civil rights division of the justice department. i will of course oppose her nomination. we have a lot of partisan nominees around here, so that's not very surprising. but mrs. clarke isn't just partisan, she is extremely is partisan. she called senator murkowski shameful. she accused senator manchin of being disingenuous and she casually slandered 200 -- 200 -- sitting senate-confirmed judges as white male extremists. if confirmed for this position, she will be entrusted with representing the united states government in front of those very judges -- not exactly a credible advocate for our people, if you ask me. ms. clarke's radicalism doesn't stop with ad hominem insults. it thoroughly infects her professional judgment as well. ms. clarke has consistently demonstrated that she's more interested in attacking police and calling everybody a racist than finding the facts or reviewing the evidence. when it comes to racially incendiary cases, she proudly fans the flames division. last year she repeatedly -- repeat

kristen clarke was sworn in by vice president kamala harris tuesday evening after the senate confirmed her to lead the civil rights division at the justice department. she is the first black woman to assume the role. the vote was 51-48 with maine republican susan collins joining democrats. biden nominated her in january but republican spent months trying to block her confirmation. kristen clarke is the former head of the lawyers' committee for civil rights under law and a prominent voting rights advocate. for more, can go to democracynow.org. in iraq, security forces killed one protester and injured scores of others at a baghdad rally calling for justice for murdered activists and protesters. the protest was called following the killing of civil society activist ehab al-wazni in karbala earlier this month. this is a demonstrator speaking tuesday. >> we return to protest to demand the dismissal of the central government because of previous governments to reveal the killers of the protesters had been at norton. amy: according to the iraqi high commission for human rights, at least 35 act

the clerk: nomination, department of justice, kristen m. clarke of the district of columbia to be an assistant attorney general. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m. they will be back at 2:15 5 p.m. teacher. today senators approved the head of the medicare services, also put into move the kristen clarke vote. also on the agenda of the science and technology research bill. live senate coverage hereon c-span2 and we take you live now to today's white house briefing . >> -- traveling under the olympic umbrella which under their protocol is one of the limited categories as us travelers that are planning on going to japan for the olympics. there are specific injury rules and movement procedures which the organizers have laid out to ensure the protection of everyone involved . >> a quick follow-up on russia. you mentioned the president has likened the ukraine and belarus. what will be his message to ukraine? despiterussia's goals senior iranian waiters russia had 100,000 troops near the border . >>

i want to say you mentioned kristen clark.thing about this moment that we are in, the diversity, the movement of black women and where we are in different positions. this is an administration that is the most diverse administration ever. this is a promise the president made on the campaign, the president made kept. it was an honor to talk about kristen clarke and the history she made by being sworn in and clearly the bipartisanship that she got coming out of committee and this position that she's stepping into. there's just so much here to point to. we have clearly the vice president kamala harris. this is a really a moment to be proud of in this country. this is a place -- a white house, this administration, that i couldn't be prouder to be part of. >> that's the good side. you are facing an uphill climb. yesterday was the anniversary of george floyd's murder. there was a deadline that the president put he wanted the george floyd policing act done by yesterday. it didn't happen. tim scott said it's a couple of weeks. not clea

we reported last night on the swearing in of the band new chief of the civil rights division, kristen clarkll day on the job. we're waiting to see what the civil rights division of the doj will work on now that it has a come from leader. but honestly, one of the areas were civil rights division theoretically could get involved, part of their remit within the doj is an election law. and one of the things they could get involved in at the federal level to try to set a sort of national expectation, and standard here, to draw some bright lines about what can be done. is around the slapdash privately run, bonkers, corrupting, third-party audits of the last election. it was the acting head of the civil rights division, the woman who was essentially holding that spot until kristen clark was sworn in last night, who after all did write a letter earlier this month to arizona senate republicans, telling them that the third party audit they are running their may violate federal law. because they have among other things, handed over voting machines and millions of voters real ballots to these completel

this before i let you go because this is a positive headline this week and we're talking about kristen clarkertment's civil rights division. she has pledged to make voting rights a priority and the civil rights division will play a key role in the doj's review of the minneapolis police departments under way. given the current reckoning of race relations, what do you want her to do first? what do you think she needs to do first? >> she needs to keep doing what merrick garland has begun doing. merrick garland is a republican. he is also a person who believes in civil rights and believes in the u.s. constitution and he's been fierce in going after these officers that have been killing unarmed black people, unarmed neighbors of ours and she needs to keep that going. it's her -- it's her department that's in charge of that. she also is a much respected voting rights lawyer and we can expect her to be fierce in going after these voter suppression measures and finally, the women of con edison in new york will say it was kristen clarke who treated them fairly and she is a fierce advocate for women of

explain who kristen clark is and what role she may soon have in the administration. guest: she has worn a lot of hats. most recently, she was the head of the lawyers committee, which does a lot of activism work and a lot of programs and nonprofit work surrounding taking up lawsuits against states that they believe passed laws that violate people's civil rights and other social justice issues. she is the head of that and now she is biden's now many to be the head of the civil rights division of the doj, which under the trump administration had a scaled-down role when it came to talking to police departments and overseeing what they are doing on the ground. the senate has pushed her vote to the flow -- floor and that is supposed to happen sometime this week. host: expected to happen today at 2:30 is what we are hearing. that vote now expected it to: 30. a simple majority needed for her confirmation. you can watch that life on c-span2. sun city, florida, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. host: thank you, do me a favor and turn

vice president harris swearing in kristen clark to lead the civil rights department.he first women and black women to hold the post. the senate confirmed here in a 50-49 vote. we're back in a moment. why? a deadly party bus shooting in oakland. tonight, a motive. 19-year-old aleasha thurston. and one of them was the apparent target. a motive, retaliation for a street shooting in east oakland just too days earlier. two 17-year-old boys were killed in that shooting notch far no arrests have been made. >>> tonight, a passenger attacked a southwest airlines flight attendant from sacramento to san diego. this is video of the suspect being walked off the plane. the union president said the woman ignored flight rules. she is accused of hitting the flight attendant so hard, it knocked her teeth out. >>> state lawmakers have battled the uc system to let more local students very out of state. but a surplus is giving them leverage in the negotiation. they want to lower the number of freshman, and capping 10% by the 2033 school year. officials say they need a nonresident substant

and kristen clark to serve as assistant attorney the civil rights division. on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m., the senate banking committee holds a hearing on the federal reserve's role in regulating the u.s. financial system. that's followed by a senate judiciary subcommittee looking at ways to prevent gun violence with safe gun storage laws. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions building infrastructure , upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service. along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> up next, a

also possible thisafternoon reversing an eeoc rule on settlements and advancing the nomination of kristen clark for assistant attorney general . livecoverage when senators return at 2:15 eastern here on c-span2 . >> senators tim kaine and todd young have cosponsored legislation to approve authorization for the use of military force in iraq . they discussed those efforts at an event did by the heritage foundation . this discussion is an hour . >> i'd like to wish all warm and happy welcome to our two distinguished guests . this is supposed to take place last year but covid happened and i'mdelighted you were able to make time in your schedule to come to heritage . you both know our distinguished guests. senator tim kaine who is from missouri serves as a senator for my state of virginia with the mayor and governor and forced vice presidential nominee

one of the administration's recent dojua nominees a woman named kristen clarke once called for defundingthe police, last year in an op-ed entitled "defund the police but be strategic" she referred to defunding the police as a unifying call from the black lives matter movement. but on capitol hill, she seemed to have selective amnesia about her own op-ed, take a look. >> you just said you don't support cutting funds from police. i find that astonishing and not credible because i'm holding the article you wrote and i pulled out a highlighter and highlight the beginning of each paragraph going through and about midway through you have a paragraph that says "we must invest less than police and more and social workers. the next is we must invest less than police and warned social support to our schools for the next paragraph begins we must invest less than police and more mental health aide. three paragraphs you begin with the words "we must invest less than police." you just told this committee under oath you don't support invest in less and police? how to use where those? >> sean: we also k

committee today is voting or has voted, i guess, a lot is going on this morning, on the nomination of kristen clarkthe eminently qualified civil rights attorney. she began her career in the office to which the president has now nominated her to lead, coming full circle. along the way she personally prosecuted crimes based on hatred, bigotry, human trafficking and sexual assault. she has worked on virtually every area of civil rights, voting rights, equal education and employment, fair housing and lending, environmental justice, disability rights, lgbtq rights and i could go on. if confirmed she would be the first woman confirmed to lead the doj's civil rights division. with that, jonathan, go ahead. >> reporter: the president in recent days has been saying with increasing certitude about his meeting with president putin of russia. are you able to confirm that, even if you don't have the date or location that, is that part of his first trip to europe? >> i don't have any additional details to confirm at this point in time. as we have confirmed from here, the followup to the president's meeting or th

kristen clarke was sworn in as the doj civil rights division.or leonig. she is the author of this book. thank you for getting up early with us. i want to start by asking you about "the washington post" report that the manhattan's d.a. has convened a grand jury to possibly indict the former president. you've spent a lot of time reporting on cases like this. what is your sense of how far along this is. we aren't supposed to know it really exists and how likely it is they may bring charges. >> that's right. actually, a grand jury is supposed to be a secret and actually judges get pretty angry if someone finds out about a grand jury. of course, they are happening every day in courthouses all around us. what is happening in the "the washington post" reporting is that vance has found what he believes indicates a crime and he wants to take in more evidence before a grand jury panel to basically make it formal and have witnesses heard, have evidence entered into the record. no longer are there -- is it just fbi agents interviewing people, reviewing docu

on the one-year anniversary of george floyd's death kristen clark became the first black woman to headce department's civil rights division. the senate narrowly confirming clark with senator susan collins of maine the only republican to support her. at the doj clark will be in charge of investigating police abuses and enforcing voting rights laws and other federal statutes prohibiting discrimination. >>> the richest black neighborhood in america ripped apart by a violent white mob in tulsa. the cnn film "dream land: the burning of black wall street" premiering monday at 9:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn. there's interest you accrue, and interests you pursue. plans for the long term, and plans for a long weekend. assets you allocate, and ones you hold tight. at thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. and with the right guidance, you can get the financial clarity you need, and live a life rich in meaning, and gratitude. to learn more, text thrive to 444555, or visit thrivent.com. you're strong. you power through chronic migraine - 15 or more headache days a month, ...each lasting 4

also possible thisafternoon reversing an eeoc rule on settlements and advancing the nomination of kristen clark for assistant attorney general . livecoverage when senators return at 2:15 eastern here on c-span2 . >> senators tim kaine and todd young have cosponsored legislation to approve authorization for the use of military force in iraq . they discussed those efforts at an event did by the heritage foundation . this discussion is an hour . >> i'd like to wish all warm and happy welcome to our two distinguished guests . this is supposed to take place last year but covid happened and i'mdelighted you were able to make time in your schedule to come to heritage . you both know our distinguished guests. senator tim kaine who is from missouri serves as a senator for my state of virginia with the mayor and governor and forced vice presidential nominee. i think this is the first vice presidential nominee from the democratic party we ever had here so i'm delighted to have you . his son is a marine and he spoken eloquently for years over the need to reform war powers and we're just thrilled to have yo

nomination of chiquita brooks assure to head the centers for medicare and medicaid services and kristen clarkserve as assistant attorney general for the civil rights division. on c-span3 at 10 a.m. the senate banking committee holds a hearing on the federal reserve's role in regulating the u.s. financial system. that's followed by a senate judiciary subcommittee looking at ways to prevent gun violence with safe gun storage laws. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more. including wow. >> the world has changed. today fast reliable internet is something i can live without. so wow is therefore customers, with speed, reliability, and choice. now more than ever it starts with great internet. >> wow supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> the house and missed rations subcommittee on elections and held a hearing on voter id laws and election administration practices. the hearing is almost 2.5 hours.

to consider a new nomination and kristen clark to serve as civil rights attorney.he senate banking hold a hearing on the federal reserve's role in regulating the u.s. financial system followed by a senate judiciary subcommittee looking at ways to prevent gun violence with safe gun storage laws. announcer: washington journal continues. host: lisa cylar barrett serves as director of policy at the naacp legal defense and education fund joining us on the one-year anniversary of george floyd's murder. the same question we have been asking viewers throughout the past two hours of the program, in the past 365 days what has changed and what hasn't? guest: good morning, john. thank you for having me today. i want to take a moment to acknowledge the family and friends of george floyd and the immense grief they continue to experience as a result of the killing of mr. floyd. i think we are all feeling heavy today as we remember the horrific vision of derek chauvin kneeling on the neck of mr. floyd one year ago and ignoring his pleas to breathe. as horrible as we feel i continu

the senate confirmed kristen clarke as the assistant attorney general for civil rights in a tight 51-al's office. she was sworn in to lead the division by vice president harris yesterday on the anniversary of george floyd's murder. that's an amazing picture. >>> coming up, the criminal investigation into former president trump appears to enter a new phase as new york prosecutors reportedly convene a grand jury. we'll dig into that new reporting and trump's response ahead on "morning joe." ♪let's make lots of money♪ ♪you've got the brawn♪ ♪i've got the brains♪ ♪let's make lots of♪ ♪uh uh uh♪ ♪oohhh there's a lot of opportunities♪ with allstate, drivers who switched saved over $700. saving is easy when you're in good hands. allstate click or call to switch today. i have an idea for a trade. allstate oh yeah, you going to place it? not until i'm sure. why don't you call td ameritrade for a strategy gut check? what's that? you run it by an expert, you talk about the risk and potential profit and loss. could've used that before i hired my interior decorator. voila! maybe a couple throw pil

it will be even better once kristen clark is confirmed to lead the civil rights division.law enforcement to do better. it's absolutely fantastically good. it's better than what we had but it's not going to be enough. we're going to need what we're seeing in ithaca, new york, they're saying we don't want a police department. we want a community solutions department like what we're seeing in brooklyn, minnesota. they are trying to change the way communities keep themselves safe. it's necessary but not sufficient. >> last word to you deon. how have you been? >> i've been good. i tell people the hardest part was after i got injured and i went to the doctor and the doctor said that the bullet was an inch from an eye. that meant that i could have been dead or blinded. thankfully, i wasn't. i'm still here to tell my mothers happy mother's day. with that comes a lot of responsibility. i've been determined to pursue this lawsuit even with the bad dreams, even with the nightmares of waking up and hearing ringing in my head, even when hearing loud sounds, jumping. even when watching

positions and thinking -- you know, a part of the woman in arms with me over at the lawyers committee, kristen clark out what to do next and rile up the progressive base. people should be calling the members of congress. they should be filling up the town halls like when we were fighting for the aca, doing the women's march and we find a lot of our folks that are right now either spent or leadership transitions and we have to figure out as americans how to communicate that there is a clear and present danger to our democracy and we have to suit up because the work and the war on democracy is not finished. well said. part of the problem, elie, is just that there is a lot of pressing priorities, right. so you have got this weird thing happening where there is this kind of deeper procedural question about american self-governance and ability to enduring and very pressing substantive priorities that have to do with, like, the jobs act and climate and, like, are we going to get an immigration bill. i think there is tension there and how you mobilize along those two different fronts. >> i don't actually t

the clerk: nomination, department of justice, kristen m. clarke of the district of columbia to be an assistant attorney general. mr. schumer: i send the cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do here -- hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar 124, kristen m. clarke of the district of columbia to be an assistant attorney general, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, may 20, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senato

i'm thinking of anita gupta, kristen clark, but then there's also someone else. members of congress and filling up those town halls just like we did when we're fighting for the aca, when we're doing the women's march, and we find a lot of folks that are not in leadership position and we have to figure out how to communicate that there is a clear danger to our democracy and we have to suit up because the work and the war on democracy is not finished. >> i think that's well said. part of the problem, elie, there are a lot of pressing priorities. you have this weird thing happening where there is this kind of deeper procedural question of american self governance and then there's a bunch of very porous seeing a priorities that have to deal with the jobs acts, and climate and immigration bills. and i think there's some tension there on how you mobilize along those two different fronts. >> except i don't think that it is not complicated, chris. the innovation that murray is talking about is because most of us know what to do. we have to end the filibuster. that is it.

so back to senate republicans getting their hair on fire over kristen clarke and vanita gupta. these two women scare the daylights out of this dark money operation behind republican voter suppression. ms. clarke knows the voting rights act cold. she won voting rights cases against voter suppression laws all over the country. put jim crow 2.0 up against a department of justice civil rights division led by kristen clarke and that dark money voter suppression operation has a problem. so the big dark money donors behind this covert operation will raise whatever ruckus they can first to try to stop vanita gupta which didn't work and now to stop kristen clarke which won't work. all in an effort to protect their dark money scheme to prevent some people from voting. you got to look behind the smoke screen sometimes to understand what's going on. it's not pretty, mr. president, but it's the truth. i yield the floor. mr. paul: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent that the following interns in my office be granted floor privileg

grassley: i will not be voting to discharge the nominee kristen clarke, to run the civil rights division of the department of justice, so i come to the floor to explain to my colleagues why i feel this way. while ms. clarke may be a very good attorney -- in fact, i don't think there is any doubt that she is -- she continues the trend of politicized nominees to the justice department under this president. while i disagree with her strongly on some of her views especially when it comes to defunding the police, my issues with ms. clarke go beyond that. the justice department and especially the civil rights division needs to be committed to impartial and equal justice. in the wrong hands the civil rights division can be used to target and harass the president's political opponents. it can threaten law enforcement school choice advocates religious schools red states, and pro-lifers. this is a hypothetical. under ms. gupta the civil rights division defended an effort to take over louisiana's school choice program. now, can you imagine luckily a group of african american mothers stopped them in

judiciary committee will also vote on a very important nominee to the department of justice -- kristen clarke to serve as the assistant ag for civil rights. the daughter of jamaican immigrants, ms. clarke is extremely well-qualified and capable civil rights attorney who would be the first black woman to ever fill her position at the justice department. but her obvious quality did not stop a few of our republican colleagues from trying to smear her record. the political right seems to relish in trying to score political points by connecting every justice department nominee, many of whom happen to be women of color, to hot-button partisan issues whether or not they have any relevance. in ms. clarke's hearing, it reached the point of absurdity when she was grilled on an obviously satirical piece she published for her college newspaper. just like for vanita gupta, ms. clarke was treated by the minority on the judiciary committee like some hair-raising radical, despite her record, her qualifications, and her support from all sides. and just like ms. gupta, ms. clarke has been endorsed by the natio

kristen clark from the judiciary committee. ms. clark would be the first black woman ever to serve as assistant attorney general for the civil rights division. she is immensely qualified, and i look forward to putting her nomination on the floor after the senate takes action this week. but first, throughout the week -- this is the third thing, very important as well -- the senate will debate a very important piece of legislation. this evening, the senate will vote whether to take up the endless frontiers act on the senate floor, a once in a generation investment in american science and american technology. last week, the senate commerce committee voted to on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis 24-4 to advance the bill. the endless frontiers act will form the core of what will be a comprehensive bill to boost america's ability to compete, innovate, and win the technologies of the 21st century. over the course of the next week or two, the senate will debate and amend the legislation. i look forward to having another open and bipartisa