that senator mitt romney and senator lisa murkowski. the so, again, we are absolutely expecting that to fail to be filibustered and not to move forward. we still have to get to that point. we did hear from senator m murkowski yesterday. she said in part to been senator mitch mcconnell who said there doesn't need to be further investigation in this way. she is said to be making a decision for the short term political gain at the expense of understanding and acknowledging what was in front of us january 6th. i think we need to look at that critically s that what this is about? is everything just one election cycle after another?" mcconnell said there doesn't need to be further investigation in this way. there are law enforcement investigations. democrats have charged this is all politics. they simply don't want to be talking about this when the 2022 mid terms roll around as they look to take back majorities in the house and the senate. but again, kate, it's a long way before we even get to this procedural vote on january 6th at this point

watching the likes of lisa murkowski in alaska, it's a dispassionate conversation, but

you mentioned senator lisa murkowski.ad a very long conversation with a group of reporters last night overnight when the senate was waiting to do its business where she was very critical of her colleagues and very critical of mitch mcconnell saying that he is putting the short-term politics of the situation ahead of the necessity to find the truth. it has been -- this vote is not only a practical vote on what happens but also a very emotional vote. >> as we continue to watch some debate here on the floor of the upper chamber, for all intents and purposes, the folks who are speaking, the folks who will vote next hour, they were the victims of the attack. the delays late into the night, they happened when officer goodman stood guard for them in the senate. he is the officer who led rioters away from the senate chamber. how personal is this vote to everyone involved there? >> reporter: it's very personal, actually. that conversation i just mentioned with lisa murkowski happened right in front of eugene goodman. she didn't kn

>> lisa murkowski is a unique situation in alaska. pastbuatoesn't mn ldored the pbabe faciny >> texas is drafting this bill to make voting in the state far more different. far more difficult. several republican states are doing the same thing. this is all around, it seems, donald trump's election lie that they want to look at those people and say, no. we're doing it differently this time. >> this is what you raised earlier. about the january 6th commission, and you can argue that sure, the former president is going to have his sights on lisa murkowski and anybody who opposed him, but the other folks voted this down, and they shouldn't sit easy either. statewide races are high visibility, and while some people, you know, you can't gerrymander the state, and while some people may say sure, it's in their short-term interest to stick with trump, the fact is other people do still believe in norms and standards and certain values. i was looking at a military times poll in august of 2020. this was taken right before the conventions and they

lisa murkowski and five other republicans voted on the commission, pushed there by a bring. people like matt gaetz and marjorie taylor greene swore their allegiance to one man, donald trump and the only one. >> our election must have begty and we need your help to fix the problem right here in the state of georgia. >> who won the presidential race on november 3rd for georgia? >> you should not have to say this, nearly seven months after the election, donald trump did not win georgia. these lies are consuming more and more republican voters. according to a study by the public religion research institute. 23% of republicans believe the conspiracy theory pushed by qanon. that's nearly a quarter of republicans who believed the movement that's bassed on an ida of a network. supporters of this are a growing part of the republican party as our donio sullivan finds out. >> reporter: what's your name, man? >> people in d.c. who were of sex trafficking. >> reporter: what were your thoughts of the insurrection incited by trump at the capitol? >> i believe it was a peaceful rally. >> re

yesterday senator lisa murkowski was talking to reporters about that legislation. she was critical of her members that she says doesn't want to find the truth. also of senate minority leader mitch mcconnell to find out what happened. officer goodman was there, the hero that day leading the rioters away from the senate chamber. when she found that out she gave him a hug. >> you have eugene goodman guarding the very chamber that he was protecting the inhabitants of on january 6th. >> we just can't pretend nothing bad happened. or that people just got too excitable. it is important to lay that out. it is basically the leader of her own party who has been lobbying for days now. what chances between now and the other vote. senator susan collins, who wants to see changes, the math just isn't there. >> the math is not there. there is only three republican senators in favor of defeating a phil buster and moving on to a vote. they need seven more and i don't know where they will find that seven. some republican senators including mike braun of indiana said it will not get t

but i believe lisa murkowski, the republican senator from alaska. one. her election as a write in candidate because she was bumped out by far right to republican nominee for that seat. could the same kind of thing happened in wyoming with liz cheney. she's not going to be trump candidate when she runs for reelection. but no doubt the president trump is going to he's going to be out to get her. >> yeah. i think that's entirely right. that's a really interesting question. so i think it seems all but certain that she's going to face primary in 2022 for her own seat in wyoming my senses show when that if my memory is correct in wyoming. you don't need a majority. you just need a plurality when so it unless the of her opponents get organized. in fact, one candidate she's she still is highly competitive in that seat. and you know, one of the things i've noticed about lisa murkowski studied this and why classes is that after she won that right in race against her own party. she became more powerful than ever because she you win a sort of immunity against party

senator susan collins, lisa murkowski, mitt romney, bill cassidy and ben sasse, those are the five who voted to convict donald trump for inciting the january 6th election. one of them, rob portman, voted to move ahead, he did not vote for conviction. one republican who did vote to convict, richard burr, has already indicated he will not vote to advance this. so the question ultimately, can there be ten? and there's really no sign that that is going to happen here. the republican argument, the leadership has said that their concern is this could become a political investigation, it could undercut their messaging going forward. the democrats say this is a bipartisan commission that was cut by a republican and a democrat in the house, a deal that was cut, five members on each side will be selected here and the report would be due by the end of the year. but republicans want this over with and expect them to succeed in a matter of minutes. >> we'll come back to you as soon as we get the decisive tally in the vote. let's go to alexandria, virginia, the president of the united states. >> bef

one of those senators is lisa murkowski, a republican from alaska, who is open to the idea of a bipartisan commission and former president trump may have to testify if the commission were to come together. >> i will look to what he has stated in terms of how broad it needs to be. if you are -- if you're really making this a very broadbrush approach, it might be difficult to really get a value from a specific type of commission. again, i think this is something where you need to look closely to the details and how it's configured. >> do you think president trump should talk to the commission to detail what was happening on that day? >> if you put together a commission that is focused on the events of january 6th, i think he's a key individual. >> the question is whether there are those ten republicans like lisa murkowski who could break ranks, mitt romney signaling that he could support this proposal and focusing specifically on january 6th. mitch mcconnell will be the key voice here if he does come out in support of this, it would lead to most republicans backing this. he would not say tha

and lisa murkowski really apologized to mrs. sicknick that she even had to come and do this.d, i'm usually in the background. this is not the kind of thing she could do, but she couldn't stay quiet anymore. >> you also met with senators johnson, scott, graham. what reason if any do you have to believe that their minds were changed? >> well, we did meet with some others, and there are others we certainly hope will be supportive. this investigation is going to happen no matter what, whether it's this commission or another type of commission. we're going to get to the bottom of this. but it is sad. our officers are hurting. these capitol police, i represented them when i was on the committee that oversaul the capitol police. i keep in touch with them. they're in a world of hurt. and they did their job so well on january 6th that members don't realize what danger they were in. officer fanone was showing the video that i know you've shown here on cnn about how he was tased 12 times in the back of his neck, how he was beaten brutally by people in mega hats. the person arrested -- m

of those who did it and security adjustments to make sure it never happens again. >> here is lisa murkowski >> we just can't pretend that nothing bad happened or that people just got too excitable. something bad happened, and it's important to lay that out. >> is the answer simply politics? look, i think all things being equal, we should have this style of a commission. i think many people would agree. they certainly would agree with it privately. i think, however, what the leader indicated in his quote there was, in fact, that there's no trust by republicans that this commission would be anything other than a political weapon used to defeat republicans in elections. so republicans find themselves in a difficult situation at least politically, which is to say, if you go forward with this commission, all you're doing is setting yourselves up for months of conversation about donald trump which, as barbara comstock just indicated, they want to go away. likely the timing of that would be used in the worst possible way months before the election. look, i remember -- i was in the white house duri

lisa murkowski saying that.ing me now to discuss, democratic congressman jamie raskin of maryland. he was the lead impeachment manager during trump's second impeachment trial. congressman, thank you. really appreciate you joining us this evening. i know it's a very busy time for you. so it seems that the vast majority -- >> it's good to be with you, don. >> yeah. thank you. sorry. we do have a delay, so let's acknowledge that and be cognizant of it, congressman. you know, it seems that the vast majority of republican senators will vote against this commission. some looked into the eyes of a grieving mother today, who lost her son, and officers who fought back that mob, and they're still going to say no. what do you say to them tonight? is this a new low? >> well, they've elevated what they think is in their best political interests over what is clearly in the best interest of the country, which is to determine the truth of those events and the cause of those events. but they are too eager to protect donald trump

there are a couple at least indicating support, including lisa murkowski and senator kennedy. mitch mcconnell say he and other republicans are undecided. they want some changes. we'll see if they make changes and if they get republicans. the question still is if this becomes law, guys. >> manu, thank you for the reporting. >>> we turn to the new development overnight into the new york attorney general's investigation into the trump organization. a criminal component is being added to the ag's probe that has been under way since 2019. why the change? why now? >> good morning, poppy and jim. no one is saying what prompted this change. what we do know is that the new york attorney general has had this civil investigation since 2019. they're looking into whether the trump organization improperly inflated the value of some of their properties, the skyscrapers in manhattan, the private family estate outside the city to obtain bank loans or get additional tax benefits. this investigation has been civil in nature. now the ag's office is teaming up with the manhattan district attorney'

senator joe manchin, lisa murkowski, are calling to reauthorize the voting rights act.'s far-less sweeping than legislation the house, already, passed. the for the people act. is anything going to get done here? >> i have to think that, you know, my former colleague, kristen sinema, joe manchin, and others, are going to come to the table. and are going to negotiate, in good faith, to ensure this happens. unfortunately, what we need for a voting-rights act is 60 individuals. and i'm hoping that they will understand the history of the filibuster. and how it has been utilized to absolutely decimate progress in some of the most fundamental-american ways. in terms of civil rights. in terms of voting rights. in terms of equal housing. in terms of education. and that, they will reject the use of the jim-crow filibuster, to stop these things from happening. if you want to debate an issue, stand up and debate it. but to be able to block fundamental legislation is fundamentally wrong. and so, i'm hopeful that those discussions with those individuals will keep that from happening.

i asked one of them, senator lisa murkowski of alaska, someone signaling the support for this idea ofmission, and she raised concerns by going too broad and could take the focus off of what really is the most significant thing in her view which is the attack on the capitol. >> i will look to what he has stated in terms of how broad it needs to be. if you are -- if you're really making this a very broad brush approach it might be difficult to really get a value from a specific type of commission. but again, i think this is something where you need to look closely to the details and how it's configured. >> reporter: do you think former president trump should talk to this commission and detail what was happening on that day? >> if you put together a commission that is focused on the events of january 6th, i think he's obviously a very key individual. >> reporter: so suggesting there that perhaps donald trump should talk to this commission if, in fact, this bill passes. but first, they need to actually pass the bill. that is going to be the big question here. on wednesday the house will t

senators lisa murkowski, ben sasse, mitt romney and susan collins. and senator pat toomey indicated through a spokesperson he would have voted yes although he had a family commitment and couldn't vote. a number of senators had already left town. there were 11 that did not vote for it the motion for this commission to move forward. that included nine republicans and two democratic senators. i want you to hear from senator lisa murkowski who spoke with this after the voit and i want you to hear what she said about her own party and not wanting to sweep january 6th under the rug. >> we just can't pretend nothing happened or that people just got too excitable. something bad happened, and it's important to lay that out. >> reporter: i should note senate majority leader chuck schumer has said he could bring a vote again to republican senators to force them to vote on this commission again. he has that power in his majority position, but that doesn't mean there will be those ten republican senators onboard in order to get them over the filibuster threshold.

. >> republican senator lisa murkowski on voting for a commission into the january 6th insurrection attempt, 54 of her conservative colleagues think otherwise when they see this. we're going to look at how this one vote could be the wedge that drives the two parties even further apartment. >>> and. >> it was definitely tax fraud. there's definitely tax evasion. and you know, i think that there's just a lot of -- for the first time, they seem really nervous. >> a key witness into the business dealings of donald trump, i'm going to ask jennifer weisselberg, the ex-daughter-in-law to allen weisselberg, to elaborate on that very comment and whether she's been contacted by a newly established grand jury. >>> also this hour, we're going to take you to tulsa, oklahoma. nbc's trymaine lee is there talking with descendants and current residents about the massacre that happened 100 years ago and how to this day, it is still reshaping not just lives but the way politics operates across this country. >>> plus, my friend and colleague, richard lui, introducing us to the next greatest generation as a hal

. >> republican senator lisa murkowski on voting for a commission into the january 6th insurrection attempt. when they see this, we're going to look at how this one vote could be the wedge that drives the two parties even further apart. >>> and -- >> it was definitely tax fraud. there's definitely tax evasion. and, you know, i think that -- there's just a lot of -- for the first time they seem really nervous. >> a key witness into the business dealings of donald trump. i'm going to ask jennifer weisselberg t former daughter-in-law of allen weaselberg if she's been contacted. also we're going to take you to tulsa, oklahoma. they're talking about the massacre that happened 100 years ago and how to this day it's still reshaping not just lives but how politics operate across this country. >>> plus, my friend and colleague richard lui introduces us to a vets ran take a veteranf their family. >>> i want to start with the bunt. now he needs to convince congress that his proposals are worth that kind of money. kelly o'donnell is on it. good to see you again. a lot of republicans already speaking ou

lisa murkowski, the people of alaska. but because of our closed primary system, because of election rules, they have to make it through this broken party process of the republicans right now to stand before general election voters. and i think that's one lesson we should draw from that. how do we make sure these people standing up on the right side of the constitution have the opportunity to stand before the voters in november? >> okay, to that point, i'm going to keep this with you, david, there is a new poll finding 46% of americans feel the bigger problem in elections is that the rules are not strict enough to prevent illegal voting. 45% say the bigger issue is that the rules make it too difficult for eligible citizens to vote. we're seeing more states advance laws that would make it harder for people to vote. and that includes your state of florida, passing a bill through the legislature there. the governor, ron desantis, is expected to sign it. is the republican strategy nothing more than trying to make it harder for

why senator cassidy is right, senator romney, you know, discussed that in the same way, as did lisa murkowski made -- she was the last meeting of the day, and she was so gracious and kind to the family. and really apologizing to mrs. sicknick that she should even have to be there on this painful memorial day weekend when her son lies at arlington national cemetery, as she pointed out, because he fought so well. officer fanone said to many senators, we were so good at our job that day, i don't think a lot of you realize what danger you were in. what could have happened from this mob that was saying "hang mike pence." and i think the officer is exactly right, and he will be heard in public, and should be. as should so many of the officers on the front line. >> barbara comstock, thank you for coming on and sharing your experiences this week. >> thank you. >> with the family members and the officers. >> joining me now is democratic congressman jason crow of colorado. the former army ranger. he helps protect many fellow members of congress on the frightful day on january 6th. he became an impeachm

>> john manchin announced he was supportive of this effort and lisa murkowski was joining him in it.obably should have included the word instead. he's supported this instead of the broader voting package that all other 49 democratic senators support. this bill was introduced in the last congress. murkowski was the only republican to support it at the time. this is an opportunity for john manchin to put forward a different participate technically proposal. the one that's hard to see getting the support of republicans or democrats to move forward. by the way, the horse is kind of already out of the barn here because we have so many other states that have already made the changes that perhaps preclearance would have blocked had the voting rights act been in place, had the full teeth of the full voting rights act at the time but the states have already made those changes. >> that would happen to those states, anna? if you're one of the states that passed election laws the pass few weeks or one of the states considering it, what happens then? >> i think to garrett's point, this bill was n

among them alaska's lisa murkowski >> an independent commission is important. it's important for the congress but i think it's also important to the country. >> reporter: many republicans concerned a commission would alienate trump supporters, dismissing the proposal as a political exercise arguing law enforcement and congressional committees are already investigating the riot >> there's no new fact about that day we need the democrats' extraneous commission to uncover >> reporter: that dead end as president biden today reveals his new budget proposal, calling for $6 trillion in federal spending, the largest sustained spending level since world war ii, including major investments in infrastructure and social programs. republicans call it too expensive and too extreme, noting within ten years the president's plan would increase the u.s. debt to 117% of the size of the entire economy >> the debt becomes so large it's more than 100% of your gdp there's no coming back from that. this sounds like venezuela or cuba. >> reporter: tonight the white house is defending i

senator lisa murkowski is among just a handful of republicans supporting the investigation. overnight she blasted members of her party, accusing them of allowing politics to dictate their decision. despite an all-night session, a vote on the commission may not take place until later this morning. >>> three police officers in tacoma, washington have been charged with killing a black man whose dying words were, i can't breathe. witnesses say it was an unprovoked attack taking place in march of last year, two months before george floyd was murdered. abc's andrea fujihi has more. >> reporter: this morning, pleas for change by the family of a black man killed by tacoma police officers. >> the criminal system needs to be made over. from the head. just take it all off. >> 33-year-old manny ellis was beaten and tased while his hands and feet were shackled. his death ruled a homicide with a large heart and medication as contributing factors. video shows officers restraining him and he was heard saying he can't breathe. the officers' body cameras were not rolling at the time, but witn

one was lisa murkowski, who said her colleagues were only thinking about reelection. >> truth is hard stuff, but we've got a responsibility to it. >> repyeev of january 6 with some even claiming there was never an insurrection. and a day after lobbying g.o.p. senators to back the commission, tonight, the mother of brian sicknick, the capitol police officer who died after defending the capitol on january 6, called the g.o.p. vote "unbelievable." >> if they had a child that was hurt, was killed on a day like that, they would think very differently. >> reporter: and as the debate over january 6 was happening here in washington, congressman matt gaetz, who is under criminal investigation, was talking to a crowd in florida where he appeared to say that the second amendment, the right to bear arms, was intended to give the public the capability to wage an insurrection against the government, something he said he hopes never becomes necessary. major. >> garrett: at the capitol for us tonight, kris van cleave, thank you. tonight, just weeks before president biden's summit with russia's vladim

able to work with various people in the republican caucus, including senator moran, including lisa murkowski and others, senator cassidy, for example, but where have you sound like the common ground? isn't really about technology and next-generation technology and potential jobs, or is it another narrow set of issues that i am not mentioning here? >> andrew, one of the things i've been saying to folks rejoin the biden administration who were part of the obama administration and who were active on climate in washington five years ago, i said to them that the environment here has changed in a real way. i think the best evidence of that is the conversations we have every month on the bipartisan climate solutions caucus that i founded and i lead with mike braun. mike braun is a conservative republican from downstate indiana, the coal mining part of indiana. we had seven republicans and six democrats and one independent, so 14 members from all over the local spectrum, from folks like mitt romney and lindsey graham and susan collins, to folks like debbie stabenow and jeanne shaheen and angus king

. >> reporter: only six republicans voted in favor of the commission, including senator lisa murkowski, who told reporters her party is making a decision for short-term political gain at the expense of understanding what happened on january 6th. >> we just can't pretend nothing bad happened, or that people just got too excitable. something bad happened. and it's important to lay that out. >> reporter: 11 senators, including nine republicans, didn't show up at all for today's vote, which came 24 hours after the mother of capitol police officer brian sicknick went door to door pleading with republican senators to support the commission. gladys sicknick wearing a necklace containing her son's ashes. >> usually i'm staying in the background, and i couldn't, i couldn't stay quiet anymore. >> reporter: today she described some of those meetings as tense. >> i think because we knew they weren't sincere. i don't understand it. they are elected for us, the people. and they don't care about that. >> reporter: democrats left shaking their heads. >> we all walked over the same broken glass. we all

so lisa murkowski and susan collins and, you know, all kinds of folks shared ground. i am trying to go down the list. there were probably eight or 10 senators that i got to know their story all in one day. as dangerous and frightening as it was, it was an interesting kind of orientation. hans: well, those sort of relationships, and i don't know if they're friendships yet, but those relationships forged in a crisis. how can the senate get past some of the partisanship we have seen defined in the first 100 days of biden's presidency? senator hickenlooper: i was talking to cynthia loomis yesterday, senator from wyoming, and she talked about how being a freshman senator, it did polarize us. you went from there into the impeachment process. i think we both agreed we're now working past that and some of the intensity of that day and people sharing that experience in one room is going to make it possible to be more bipartisan, to find more common ground on things like infrastructure. hans: you obviously have a long history of working in a bipartisan fashion when you were gov

lisa murkowski says trump should testify. he's a key individual. what do you think about her point of view. he'll likely refuse but does this give you heart? >> it does. some republicans in the senate stood up. i have great respect for liz cheney for her willingness to stand up for the truth and not bother with the big lie and cont continue calling on accountability. i hope people are going to look at her and mit romney and senator muse senator murkowski and others and say this is the time to do the right thing. it is what we all strive to achieve here on capitol hill. it is controversial that kevin mccarthy gotten cold feet because he's afraid of donald trump. it is pathetic. i urge my republican colleagues, do the right thing. it is important that this commission moves forward and a forward counting and the truth reve reveals. >> mccarthy is now saying that. mcconnell interestingly did not go that far. the ranking member of your committee said this at your hearing today. i will play it for viewers. >> it brings sense. previous attempt to attack m

and i would say that my friend lisa murkowski was el geegant o this. so maybe there are more increasingly frustration to stop the biden administration, and bipartisan efforts for this commission of january 6th. >> all right. senator tina smith, thank you for the insights and input, and happy memorial day weekend, and we will see you soon. >> thank you, jim. >> thank you. >>> up next, with the voting bloc of january 6 says about the gop, and the shocking results showing how many republicans embrace qanon conspiracy theories. that is next on the cnn newsroom. slam, pan, still...fresh move, move, move, move aaaaand still fresh. degree. ultimate freshness activated when you move. ultimate freshness visible is wireless that doesn't play games. it's powered by verizon for as little as $25 a month. but it gets crazier. bring a friend every month and get every month for $5. boom! 12 months of $5 wireless. visible, wireless that gets better with friends. they told me you can't make a boombox fly. so i built a boomboxasaurus... with code! and we did it together

. >> let me ask you about lisa murkowski. senator murkowski said she's offended by members of her party claiming that january 6th was a peaceful protest, you know. she also voted to con havict tr for inciting the resurrection. could siding with the truth, do you think it's going to hurt her? >> absolutely. jeff duncan didn't run because he probably looked at the polling and said we think you're great integrity, glad you're out there fight bug can't win this election. that's what happened. you know, here there's two districts here that just had elections, don, and i want to talk about this really quickly is that the polling there again and i've said this to you before, if i did, i apologize, don, but the polling for election integrity was 25% across the nearest topic. if liz cheney is going out or local state candidates here, the candidates that said that president biden was legitimate. they lost by a lot. so what do we do? if you're going to actually win in the republican party in many of these districts, you embrace it, you

the six senator republicans who is have voted for it include susan collins, lisa murkowski, cassidy of louisiana, rob portman of ohio, ben sasse of nebraska and of course utah. the vote is not expected to pass and that is because before this bill passed the house of representative, mitch mcconnell came out publicly and said he was not going to support it. that was a big sign to his republican colleagues on where to stand on this issue. there has been a lot of discussion both behind the scenes and publicly about the formation of this commission among republicans. the majority of republicans are just following the lead of their leader mcconnell and choosing not to support it. >> just to highlight this. this is a significant moment. all americans saw what happened on january 6. this commission would be bipartisan and independent. we have heard from four former dhs homeland secretaries saying that politics should be put aside, saying we need to get to the bottom of this. yesterday we heard from the mother of an officer who died a day after the attack on the capitol calling on the lawmakers

we started the day with senator romney, met with susan collins and lisa murkowski who very beautifully talked about why this was so important to do this but it was a tough day for the family and i was honored to be with them and they were very strong in their conversations with the senators. in fact, sandra gomez who was there, you know, pointed out to these senators, you know, brian was a republican. brian was a trump supporter. he loved you guys. and this is in their honor, you know, to back the blue and be there to have the back of these police officers who saved their lives and the officers pointed out to them it was only because they were so successful fighting on the front lines, you know, really kind of hand-to-hand combat, brutal combat that officer ferdone dealt with and you all have shown that. other networks have not. he was tased 12 times in the back of his neck and i don't think a lot of members are aware of that. he was a republican. a self-described red neck virginian. i worked with these capitol police first as a staffer then as a member of congress and also on the hous

senator lisa murkowski of alaska first to announce support.collins support it but want changes made first. meanwhile politico reports democratic senator joe manchin is standing by the filibuster. won't lower the threshold even if the republicans block independent commission in coming days. back with us, james carville, and michael steele. former lieutenant governor of maryland. welcome to you both. james, the news organization that reported that mcconnell was so taken by the interview you gave vox, that it was a democratic strategy that he distributed it to his caucus to our audience i'll remind you, here's some of james' comments in that. democrats have to make the republicans own that insurrection every day, they have to pound it, they have to call bookers on cable news shows. picture lsu football. they have to get people to write op-eds. there will be all kinds of investigations and stories dripping out for god knows how long and democrats should spend every day tying all of it to the republican party. james, a duel question for you. has yo

lisa murkowski said she will vote for it.omney and collins talking about potentially voting for it. like wise rob portman, but it appears almost certain that republicans will marshall the votes necessary to defeat it. why? they say they want the mid-term elections to be about joe biden, not about donald trump. he sees the commission about being expressly political and something that forces negative trump related headlines into the news. that's why he is opposing it and it appears that senate republicans are falling in like on that. >> you also have congress focused infrastructure and police reform. >> two completely different issues but both fraught. let's start with police reform. it's interesting ta senator tim scott the republican remains more optimistic than i have seen him. meanwhile senator corey booker is less so. he thinks a deal will come together, but he says they're not as close together as he would like them to be. senator lindsey graham said yesterday that they are still trying to find the sweet spot in as far as

you see susan collins, lisa murkowski, perhaps rob portman, and several others.on. and, by the way, that's a lot of money. so, i think it's possible just the size and scope has got to come in a bit. >> yeah. and i think biden is acknowledging that. one of the few anti-trump republicans still in power, larry hogan. here's what he had to say today. >> it's sort of a circular firing squad where we're just attacking members of our own party instead of focusing on solving problems or standing up and having an argument that we can debate the democrats on some of the things that the biden administration is pushing through. >> so there you have larry hogan right there, john and margaret, wanting to talk about policy. and he feels sort of powerless to do that at this point. >> yeah. and in a rational political universe he'd have far more power. there's a reason that larry hoguon is one of the most popular governors in the country along with charlie baker. both republican governors of traditionally democratic states. republicans should be looking to them for answers about

. >> and senator lisa murkowski described her meeting with sicknick's mother like this, quote, i started out the conversation by just saying i'm heartsick that you are here. i'm heartsick that you feel you need to come and advocate to members of congress, and we stand up and say the truth is hard, but the truth is necessary. that was her quote. perhaps the truth is necessary, but it is in short supply in the gop right now or the ongoing civil war between the troop and trump played out from coast to coast last night. congressman matt gaetz fully embraced trump. >> it was horrifying to see a presidency come to such a dishonorable and disgraceful end, so once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. and here's the reality that we have to face. if the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality or of second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere. >> this is donald trump's party, and i'm a donald trump republican. we're not going back to the days of the bushes and the mccains and the romneys. our way, america first, is the way forward for americ

alaska republican senator lisa murkowski accused mcconnell of blocking the commission for political gain. murkowski and just two other republican senators -- mitt romney and susan collins -- support the commission's creation. on thursday, the mother and girlfriend of brian sicknick, the police officer who died a day after he was attacked by the pro-trump mob at the capitol, personally met with republican senators to press them to support the commission. the senate confirmed christine wormuth as as the first woman secretary of the army. she served as a pentagon policy chief under president obama and led biden's transition team at the defense department. -- at the pentagon. meanwhile, biden is expected to announce soon his nomination of former chicago mayor rahm emanuel to be the next ambassador to japan. emanuel, who also served as a chief of staff for obama, has faced fierce public backlash for helping cover up the 2014 police killing of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald. in media news, amazon announced wednesday it was acquiring metro-goldwyn-mayer studios for $8.45 billion, its largest acqui

do you trust lisa murkowski? ben sass, mitt romney? have a lot of confidence in them. >> i hope so i'm making a case to my republican colleagues, if joe mansion came under chuck schumer's pressure we should use every tool we can. we should deny unanimous consent. a quorum. i can tell you most republicans are agreed. i don't know if we get all 50. i'll do everything i can to make the case and i hope we doocht -- do. right now there is not a republican argue strike three other side. at least for now we have a united front and i hope that remains that way. tax increases we can undo in two years or four years, changing the rules fundamentally is designed to rig the system for a century to come, and with every breath in my body, i'm going to fight against it. >> sean: senator, i appreciate your efforts. this is important. this is key. this is crucial. this would forever change and alter the trajectory of the country. biggest power grab ever. thank you, senator cruz. when we return, the left continues to send mixed signals regarding covid, t

i'm thinking of senator lisa murkowski, senator mitt romney. interestingly senator lindy graham is still keeping the door open on this. he's someone who is aligned with president trump, who talks often with the minority leader. this is someone who may really be seen as a bellwether. but, again, only 17 republican senators voted to con vilkt trump. you need three more in addition to that. right now i'm not seeing how that math is going to shake out. >> there are only six on that screen. there are needed ten to get it passed. there's a long list of concerns. and you can reasonably guess most of them are probably noes. >> that's exactly right. expect this list to grow. we should be clear, on capitol hill we've asked every member we possibly can, but we haven't asked everyone. interestingly senator susan collins, a republican from the state of maine is on this list. she said she's open to a commission, but she has concerns specifically about how the house bill is structured. and i think that a lot of these members are arguing they had concern. can

david, republican senator lisa murkowski was scathing in her criticism of her fellow republicans today, saying this was about short-term political gain. was this about anything other than short-term political gain? >> absolutely not. in fact, had mitch mcconnell not gone to his caucus and plead with them on the grounds that it would hurt them in the midterms to have the results of this task force of this commission report on the doorstep of the midterm elections, had that not happened, they probably would have had the votes to pass this. this was about raw power. this had nothing to do with prin principle. you talk about backing the blue. they those orange in this case. they're worried about trump and they don't want him to be front and center. what was interesting to me is you heard bill cassidy say this commission would have guaranteed republicans equal say in how this investigation moved forward. i can only conclude that they think that the results of it would have prejudiced them in some way, and i think part of that has to do with the role that the president of the united states,