mcconnell: it is. matt: you're getting pushed back from senator flake, how does that resolve in the next few weeks, are you going to get the judges through, can you work something there? sen. mcconnell: well, i hope it'll be resolved on the floor we can confirm what we have on the calendar without him, the vice president is in town at my request. i perplexed for the mueller am bill, unconstitutional and number two the house will never pass it and if it did the president would never sign it. it strikes me as what would call a futile gesture. and we are hoping that he will change his view on that, but i believe we can confirm the judges that are already out on the floor. matt: which is how many of the 41? sen. mcconnell: we have 31 out on the calendar. he can refuse to approve some others that are in committee. one of them, interestingly enough is from arizona because , we only have a one-vote majority, but i think we will get more judges before the end of the year, hopefully a lot more. matt: and then o

mcconnell is not going to do that. this is what the president just said on twitter. >> should i do jazz hands here? >> or spirit fingers or both. the funding bills like this require 60 votes in the senate by senate rules. the president suggesting they change those rules to pass it with 50. mitch mcconnell doesn't want to do that because he has a long view. >> and memory. >> and memory of what happens in the senate. he is also miffed at the president right now to say the least. he's really upset about james mattis. he put out a blistering statement in mitch mcconnell terms for the resignation of mattis. i wonder what will mcconnell do today? >> well, we'll see. we have been told to expect a vote around noon today. the presumption is the vote is going to fail. when it does, it is likely it will shut down. then it becomes how much pressure comes on trump and the government to reopen. the issue facing trump really, again, i was speaking to a white house official last night who said half in jest, but not really, that this s

i want to read mitch mcconnell's statement on this or mitch mcconnell's spokesperson's statement on thishe statement from mcconnell's spokesperson said the leader has said for years the votes are not there in the conference to use the nuclear option. just this morning several senators put out statements confirming their opposition, and confirming that there is not a majority in the conference to go down this road. two of those senators, the only two affirmative statements have been from orrin hatch and lamar alexander. what those two men have in common other than long time shfs in t service in the senate is they're leaving. lamar alexander announced this week he's hanging it up in 2020. that's a christmas gift to mitch mcconnell. that makes this meeting a little bit easier for mitch mcconnell. he doesn't have to go into the white house and say i don't want to do this, or i don't have the votes to do it without having this backup. he's got two other republican senators who are immune from the blowback they would get otherwise from president trump and his supporters saying this can't be do

mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. con. res. 5, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate concurrent resolution 55, authorizing the use of the rotunda of the capitol for the lying in state of the remains of the late george herbert walker bush, 41st president of the united states. the presiding officer: there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. con. res. 66 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: without objection.

mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: first, for the information of all of our colleagues, later this morning i'll introduce a continuing resolution that will ensure continuous funding for the federal government. the measure will provide the resources necessary to continue normal operations through february 8. let's review why this step was necessary. even if the -- even in the face of a great need to secure the border and following good-faith efforts by the president's team, our democratic colleagues rejected an extremely reasonable offer yesterday. it would have cleared the remaining appropriation bills which had received bipartisan support in committee and provided an additional $1 billion to tackle a variety of urgent border security priorities. i'm sorry that my democratic colleagues couldn't put the partisanship aside and show the same good-faith flexibility that the president has shown in order to provide the resources our nation needs to secure

leader pelosi and i, one by leader mcconnell.reopen the government and provide $1.3 billion in border security. we're also open to discussing any proposals with the president as long as they don't include funding for the wall. but in order for an agreement to be reached, all four congressional leaders must sign off and the president must endorse it and say that he will sign it. leader mcconnell must agree. speaker ryan must agree. they cannot duck responsibility. leader mcconnell still controls this chamber. speaker ryan controls what reaches the floor of the house. they are essential to this process. leader mcconnell can't duck out of it. he knows that. of course leader pelosi and i must agree, and most importantly the president must publicly support and say he'll sign an agreement before it gets a vote in either chamber. we don't want to go through what we went through a few days ago. both leader mcconnell and i have agreed that qualification for a specific reason re. repeatedly the president has privately agreed to a deal only

senator mcconnell: as you may have heard, i invited the democratic leader and senator leahy to my office this morning, along with senator shelby. we had a discussion about a proposal that we offered that i thought was reasonable to both sides, to give us an opportunity to thread the needle on the border security issue. i have heard back from senator schumer that the offer was not acceptable. and so now i am talking to the white house about the way forward. and we will have more to say about that, hopefully, a little bit later about what the president is willing to sign. i might say the administration is extremely flexible on this issue, and we are obviously -- we have consulted before. i sat down with senator schumer and senator leahy. and secondly, we are on criminal justice, we anticipate finishing that tomorrow. we just had another rather spirited discussion at our lunch about that issue. and reminiscent of spirited discussions we have had over the last six years, but we are now in the final stages o

that's is mcconnell speech for holy crap. i have to say what the political ramifications are, i heard from a republican staffer on the hill that says this makes impeachment more likely. i don't need to tie this into the russian investigation right now, but the ripple affects of this are that republicans are shaken and their support for the president is shaken and that might be an underestimate. >> in a deep and fundamental way. the so-called access of adults whom mattis is the last to leave the room gave a lot of security to folks that could say pay no attention to what he says, look at what he does. there's a continuity, and those folks have been thrown out or alienated for disagreeing with the president's view, and combine that with the fact that we have a self-inflicted shutdown by the president and you have chaos and conservatives can't ignore it anymore >> mattis could not have spelled out anymore plainly was his concerns are and why he was resigning and why he was standing on principle. i will read another portion of hi

one by leader mcconnell. which would reopen the government and provide $1.3 billion in border security. we are also open to discussing any proposals with the president as long as they don't include funding for the wall. but in order for an agreement to be reached, all four congressional leaders must sign off, and the president must endorse it and say that he will sign it. leader mcconnell must agree. speaker ryan must agree. they cannot duck responsibility. leader mcconnell still controls this chamber. speaker ryan controls what reaches the floor of the house. they are essential to this process. leader mccome can't duck out of it. he knows that. of course -- leader mcconnell can't duck out of it. he knows that. of course nancy pelosi and i must agree. and most importantly, the president must publicly say he will support and sign such an agreement before it goes to a vote in any imcha. we don't want to go through what we went through a couple of days ago. leader mcconnell and i agreed to that qualification for

leader comainl -- leader mcconnell still controls this chamber. speaker ryan controls what reaches the floor of the house. they are essential to this process. leader mcconnell can't duck out of it. he knows that. of course leader pelosi and i must agree. and most importantly, the president must publicly support and say he'll sign an agreement before it gets a vote in either chamber. we don't want to go through what we went through a few days ago. both leader mcconnell and i have agreed that qualification for a specific reason. repeatedly the president has privately agreed to a deal with congressional leaders only to reverse himself when criticized by the far right. we can't have another situation when the president signaled support at first but then reverses himself, which is precisely which caused this shutdown in the first place. if leader mcconnell, speaker ryan, leader pelosi, and i agree on a solution and the president says he'll sign it, we can end the trump shutdown immediately. discussions continue among the members of our staffs. the repu

and mitch mcconnell said no. he insisted they would not move forward, and republican senators today have reiterated, backed up mcconnell. so there is a dispute on that point. a dispute on the strategy. a dispute on the policy. but we'll see if there is any resolution here just in a matter of moments after days and days of gridlock over keeping the government open, wolf. >> right now 51 republicans, 49 democrats, three independent. but one of those republican senators won't be able to vote, because of a medical condition. stand by, manu. i want to bring in republican congressman, will hurd, of texas. a member of both the intelligence and homeland security committees. thanks so much for joining us. if i interrupt you, you'll totally understand if we have to go listen to mitch mcconnell make this announcement. we're standing by for that. but big picture right now. the defense secretary, as you know, james mattis, he's resigned in protest of the president's policies. all of a sudden this is the worst week for the mar

quick leader mcconnell said he would schedule a vote. clearly will not come close to getting the 60 votes it needs. then, leader pelosi and i and ,robably senator mcconnell would hope that the house would then consider passing the bipartisan unanimously passed a bill that the senate will pass. if they do that or not, your guess is as good as mine. donald trump wants a shutdown, and they seem to be so afraid that they are going to go along. we will see. >> [indiscernible] of jimby the news mattis' resignation. why are you shaken? >> because of the patriot general mattis is. i think everybody in the country should read his letter of resignation. it is a letter of great patriotism, of respect for the president, but also a statement of his values where he talks about the strength of our nation linked to thely competence of system of alliances we have. he talks about we must be .nambiguous in our approach it is a beautiful letter. as a nation toes international security, written by a patriot who was a comfort to many of us as a voice of stabi

has -- senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has gaveled out until the 27th. even if there is some type of agreement on government spending it looks like the senate will not be voting on that for a few days. >> a couple other things, this is a tweet from a white house reporter, in a conference call with reporters to check in to make clear what the president still wants, $5 billion, and he believes money for physical barriers must be included in any deal. clearly the white house is digging in. the president is saying i want that wall. >> this is a complicated process. this has been working itself out through the appropriations process since february when they ask congress for that $1.6 billion for barriers and then to re-up the request in july, asking for $5 billion instead. this is the stalemate that has been happening between democrats, republicans and the white house about how to address border security and whether a physical barrier is the best use of money. >> another report from the "washington post" saying i don't think it is imminent that we will reach

leader schumer: mcconnell has said he will schedule a vote. it will not come close to getting the 60 votes it needs, and then leader pelosi and i and probably senator mcconnell would hope that the house would then consider passing the bipartisan, unanimously-passed bill that the senate passed. whether they will do that, your guess is as good as mine. donald trump wants a shutdown and they seem to be so afraid that they are going to go along. reporter: you told a couple of us you were shaken by the news about jim mattis resigning. why are you shaken? representative of the patriot h. i think that everybody in the country should read his letter of resignation. it is a letter of great patriotism, with respect to the president, but also a statement of his values where he talks about the strength of our nation, intrinsically linked, the strength of the system of alliances we have. that we must be resolute and unambiguous in our .pproach about,beautiful letter again, our values as a nation in terms of our national security, written by a patriotic ame

it does go at mitch mcconnell this hard on twitter. this laser focussed. >> reporter: we saw during the he health care fight. it's not a totally new level of frustration. mitch mcconnell doesn't want to do this and his colleagues don't want to do it. you have orrin hatch who is as good as of an ally of the president saying this is a bad idea. republicans are taking a long enough view to say some day democrat will be in control of washington, d.c. and do they want medicare for all to pass with 51 votes. folks who have been here a long time know it swings both ways. i expect you'll hear from republican senators that they do not have the votes to pass the $5 billion wall package and that push back on the idea they will not change the rules to do so. what comes after that is still anybody's guess. there's never been a big picture strategy by republicans as to how to keep the government open. we heard a bit last night from republican house leader after their passed their bill saying we have done something here now. the idea that's an openin

mitch mcconnell made clear it's not an option. again he has spoken. >> republican members of the senate you see leaving the white house. the incoming chief of staff. the budget director. mitch mcconnell is way back. other senior republicans as well. the train is running late at the moment. if you are having negotiations and making progress, it's a good thing. by all accounts, leader mcconnell would listen to the president. i do not have the votes for your wall. it's not just because of the democrats, i am going to lose enough republicans that you don't have your wall. let's gain this out. a normal responsible government if the president wanted this vote and he has every right to get everybody on the record, could have had it monday and tuesday. then you negotiate. the deadline is less dhan 12 hours away. it fails. the president is tweeting this will be a long shut down. is that a bluff? is there a plan b? is there a way out or any chance the democrats would give him half or a third of the money? everything tells me no. >> we're do

what do you make of the arguments being made by schumer and mitch mcconnell? >> good afternoon, fred, thanks for having me. one of the things that's really outrageous here is how patently obvious and absurd this situation is. republican leader mcconnell trying to disassociate himself from the entire situation just shows their embarrassment. they say the president promised this in the campaign, and he wants to deliver on a campaign promise. this is not a campaign season. this is governing now, and you're supposed to be intelligent and rational about governance, and the wall may have been a great line in a campaign, but it's unintelligent as border security. plus -- >> are you concerned, then, that the president seems to dig in his heels, backing away from a bipartisan plan a couple of days ago and now saying, no, there's got to be funding for a border wall? how concerned are you about the longevity of this shutdown? >> look, with this white house, you would assume that at one point rational and logical thinking would kick in with most white houses. with this wh

>> well, leader mcconnell has said he would schedule a vote. it clearly will not come close to getting the 60 votes that it needs. and then leader pelosi and i -- and probably senator mcconnell -- would hope that the house would then consider passing the bipartisan, unanimously-passed bill that the senate would pass. whether they'll do that or not, your guess is as good as mine. donald trump wants a shutdown, and they seem to be so afraid that they're going to go along. we'll see. >> a couple of minutes ago you told some of us that you were shaken by the news of jim mattis' resignation. why are you shaken by the news? >> well, i'm shaken by the news because of the general secretary mattis is. i think everyone in the country should read his letter of resignation. it's a letter of great patriotism, respect for the president but also a statement of his values where he talks about the strength of our nation is intrinsically linked, the strength of a unique and comprehensive system of alliances that we have. that he talks about that we must be resol

mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12:00 noon friday, december 21. further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. finally, following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that is it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until >> the senate gaveling out, they'll return tomorrow to vote on the house version of the government funding c.r. which could include funding for the border wall. that's being debated in the house tonight. the live coverage of the senate here on c-spa

so whoever is having that big lunch. >> no lunch for mcconnell. leland: no lunch for mcconnell. maybe up on capitol hill, not at the white house. >> we've got more from washington when we get back. managing my type 2 diabetes wasn't my top priority. until i held her. i found my tresiba® reason. now i'm doing more to lower my a1c. once daily tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. tresiba® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart

of faith in mitch mcconnell. >> if you look at president trump's successes, especially on judges. i think this is a way to get back at fighting the establishment because he is not good enough. they were actually able to win back seats. president trump and mcconnell are a very good team. this thing about the money should have been a long time ag ago. they had a $25 billion thing last february and the president decided not to sign it. >> i believe you. >> i feel like mitch mcconnell, he is like the punching bag for everybody. he's actually working his tail off her president trump and giving up a lot of wins. president trump -- look what i was able to do. >> somebody has to be the punching bag. >> juan knows. >> this is rock and sock them robots. you are stalking me. to me, when you think about conservative talk radio which is what made the president switch over and he's got to have this president shutdown, i'm not sure they are going to buy make it. i was watching jesse when he was listening to john roberts, is the

mitch mcconnell is not supporting it. the president is urging mcconnell to do so. he tweeted out the following. mitch, use "the nuclear option, get it done, our country is counting on you. mcconnell is here at the white house today. a spokesperson for mcconnell sent out the following statement. the leader says the votes are not there in the conference to use "the nuclear option. this morning several senators put out statements confirming their opposition. confirming there is not a majority in the conference to to down that road. a host of issues in play here, trying to figure out a way forward, if not, how long might this shutdown happen. as the president pushes for "the nuclear option. we await possibly the senators to come out, potentially here to speak to us shortly. neil. neil: blake, thank you very much. blake burman. so what happens on this whole nuclear option. it is a real hail mary pass. "real clear politics" tom bevin is here. as mitch mcconnell said, tom, very often, be careful what you wish for, democrats, eventually, when they control the party will do

earlier today i met with top senate upper graders and mitch mcconnell. leader mitch mcconnell proposed the bipartisan senate dhs bill which has $1.6 billion for border security, plus a $1 billion slush fund for the president to use for his radical immigration agenda. after the meeting, i spoke with a leader pelosi and i called leader mitch mcconnell and told him we would not accept the $1 billion slush fund, and that our offer is to fund the government. let me be clear, the republican offer today would not pass either chamber. we democrats have made two reasonable offers that could earn overwhelming bipartisan support in the house and senate. the six bipartisan appropriations bills and a one-year cr for the homeland security bill, or alternatively a one-year cr for the remaining seven appropriations bills. the president said last week, he would be proud to shut down the government. we democrats do not want to shut down the government. and as for the idea of what sarah sanders huckabee says, that they could get wall money from nafta or some other part of

>> i think the key players are mcconnell and schumer.lear option which means passing with 50 votes. very unlikely. what is schumer's next move? >> we will be watching you and your reporting. thanks to all of you for joining us this morning. quite a day in the history of this country. that does it for us this morning. stephanie picks up the coverage right now. >>> quite a day indeed. we have got a lot to do over today starting with capital chaos. the country launching towards a shutdown after he tells speaker ryan he will not sign a temporary government funding bill leaving 750,000 people in danger of losing their paychecks four days before chris bhas. >>> maybe he thinks he can golf more comfortably. that's not how it works.

mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the 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 hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of joseph mcgwire of florida to be director of the national counterterrorism center, office of the director of national intelligence, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. jones: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. jones: thank you, mr. president. i now rise to talk about a matter that's a lot more personal. the last couple of weeks, mr. president, has been somewhat difficult for me on a very personal level. not only have i been saddened that several

>> well, leader mcconnell has said he would schedule a vote. not come close o getting the 60 votes that it needs. and then, leader pelosi and i, cconnell, ly senator m would hope that the house would then consider passing the passed an, unanimously bill that the senate would pass, but whether they will do that or as your guess is as good mine. donald trump wants a shutdown be so afraid to along.ey are going to go we'll see. the news e shaken by about jim mattis's resignation. shaken?you >> i'm shaken by the patriot is.eral mattis i think everybody in the country should read his letter of resignation. great letter of patriotism. respect for the president. also a statement of his values, where he talks about the nation is our intrinsically link, unique and omprehensive system of alliances that we have. about, we must be rest our oot and unambiguous in approach, who is -- [inaudible] intentions with ours. it's a beautiful letter about, again, our values as a nation in terms of our national security. by a patriotic american us was a comfort to many

brown: now, who worked for senator mcconnell now, no longer with us.id you just hear what the senator chaplin's prayer was? he said yeah. i think god outranks senator mcconnell on the acrimony. yeah, okay, fine. brian: who's elizabeth mcdonald and make it difficult? mark: elizabeth mcdonough is the pollen terror the aid of the megan is one of the legislative clerks staff there. they are in the senate chamber. that would be a fascinating interview to talk to the two of them if you get them to talk. we talked to them a little bit about what they do, but to hear what they must have seen, what they watched unfold in front of them and been a part of his fascinating. they're two of the many people who make this place run. brian: this is the last of our video, a minute and seven seconds long. let's watch them chat on the floor. >> we'll refer those appear at the desk, and then they'll get passed over to our senate journal clerk, who will log them into her journals. >> the senate journal is the highest legal authority of the senate. it tracks motions. it's som

mcconnell: went in and richard shelby also went -- majorityte house leader senator mcconnell went inichard shelby also went into the white house. turning now to ito. they are victims of the recent volatility, it appears. let's bring in some at who knows a lot about. ipo's volatility bad for ? >> inverse relationship. vick spikes, the ipos aren't that great. vonnie: we have been waiting for major ones like uber and lift -- lyft. when do we see those? i think that you see them in 2019 but the backdrop is a volatility has to improve. guy: if the ipo's are not happening, what are these companies going to be doing? >> there is no reason when you file an ipo -- it doesn't say you must issue. in the ipo process, you can file and take your time. for those market initiatives, find your investor base and wait for the appropriate time to issue. there is no rush to market when someone files. guy: in terms of exit, one of the ways you can exit if you are .n investor is via ipo what does this mean in terms of the overall deal flow around the markets? >> that is a good point. what we typically see

david: weaver still awaiting mitch mcconnell to speak before the senate.pposedly -- and this is according to our own chad pergram who we saw at the top of the show -- a new sense of optimism. some republican senators believe that there may be a possibility of getting everybody together on a couple of new spending bills, one of which would apparently last for a full year. we haven't seen one of those long-term spending bills for a while. there you see jeff flake down on the bottom left of your screen. looks like they're trying to cobble something together. again, they're very close if they haven't already gone beyond a historic record of being the longest senate vote of all times which was 5 hours and 15 minutes. i think they're beyond that now. chad would know. again, they would add a little bit of wall funding, though much less than what the president wants, so it's not clear whether he would sign it even if they do pass it. we'll keep you updated. >>> meanwhile, after all the riots in france over a carbon tax, now sign that is the anti-carbon tax protest

mitch mcconnell urged approval of the bill that approves $5 billion the president wants. >> in my view, this legislation would be quite uncontroversial. and a more normal political moment. in a moment when both parties put the obvious national interest ahead of any personal spite for the president. >> leader mcconnell met with the president at the white house. after the meeting, the mr. trump "totallys quote, prepared for a very long the government shutdown." hadice ruth bader ginsburg two malignant nodules removed from her lung. no further treatment is planned. and85-year-old is resting is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days. more headaches for british holiday travelers. flights were

mark: leader mcconnell met with the president at the white house today.meeting, the president says he is "totally prepared for a very long government shutdown." the turkish president is delaying a planned military operation in syria as american troops withdraw. the president heard one -- the president says he is prepared to back u.s. backed kurdish militants there. he assured that turkey would finish off the islamic state in

>> chris: mitch mcconnell is, actually, more in line with president trump. he would be okay with funding the wall. he feels like he can get it through. the senate, to the nuclear option, the senate has been degrading as an institution for years and years and years in the u.s. it needs to be a place where the states were represented, tempers were able to cool down. we got rid of that in an amendment, and now we are -- harry reid broke the rules, and i'm cynical about it. i don't think the democratic majority coming and eventually won't break those rules. to your point. they should hold that, because the senate should be a majority majority-run mob-run institution. we're getting closer to that every year. the >> morgan: can i make one plea about what liz said? it's crucial here. to become of the sergeant is not about the ball. the wall as a metaphor for how these two parties feel about border security in general. we have seen the clinton party, even the obama party -- the democrat party -- change dramatically their position on navigation. "i should be abolishi

let's talk about mitch mcconnell.nuclear option. that's not happening. so the question now is what are the negotiations being made now as lawmakers meet before this looming midnight deadline? >> this is an interesting one, julie. i think that chris wallace interviewed a few minutes ago had it exactly right. it's a question of the endgame. how do you play it out? how does the president get out of this box? he has got to offer something not just to democrats but a negotiation with fellow republicans because he has really surprised them. i think in some ways undercut them. they had voted to get out of town and here is the deal. we'll put this off to february. we don't see any way to get it done in the short term. so what could it possibly be the president is saying? not only to mitch mcconnell but to all of the leaders and the people in the republican caucus in the senate. the pressure has come from the freedom caucus in the house. people like mark meadows and jim jordan. you don't see that kind of pressure in the u.s. s

senator mcconnell is in cycle. i mentioned rubioho occasionally speaks out.obert: what about senator elect mitt romney? >> could be. >> i think people are watching to see whomn mitt is going to be because he's -- well, mitt romney islyot necessa scared of president trump's base. i think mitt romney knows who his base is. i think he feels pretty comfortable. it mayyo be that ev looks to romney also because he has a name and people want to interview him. robert: we haven't even ntioned robert mueller. >> yes, that's a wholether thing -- robert: it's more than a whole her thing. >> sometimes, if he changes direction it's something to do with his own instincts. robert: we'll see. divided government and you never know whatappens in divided government. but before we go tonight, we'd like to pause and remember ant ta leader in the weta family who passed away this week and was a gifte a creative colleague who set high standards for vice a presidents national engagement and interactive media. she worked in many productions including documentaries bipartisan ken burns

>> you said it best, poor mitch mcconnell.l really sorry for the guy right now that he can't jam through his right wing judges because senator flake out of nowhere has decided to take a stand and stop this until he gets what he wants. >> well, let me follow up on that. my understanding is, if they brought it to the floor, it wouldn't do anything. the house isn't going to pass it. it would be cleared out of the cache will ever the next congress. it's only symbolic, correct? >> correct. but for right now mcconnell has made a cold, hard political calculation that if this president is opposed to it he's going to be opposed to it as well. he thinks, for better or for worse, that his political interests and the interests of his party are best aligned with the president. until that changes he's going to continue to bottle stuff like this up. >> well, betsy, he also -- it shows you how much mcconnell doesn't want to vote on this, that he's willing to sacrifice judicial nominees over it. what he cares about the most, the bill itself wo

especially to mcconnell. i can guarantee you he's not going to buy that strategy. >> in terms of caucus protection i'm not sure a shutdown fight over the birdie wall is what rick scott, just elected on a very razor thin narrow margin from florida wants to be the first thing that he's doing in the u.s. senate. >> i think that's why you see so many republicans kind of laying a bit low in fact in this conversation and not having -- they're not having too much of an opinion. >> no, everyone is home for the holidays. lindsey graham is out there and louie gohmert. >> blame nancy. it is going to hurt them. >> the other thing, mitch mcconnell doesn't care anything about stuffing the bench full of judges so at some level it's like what does he care one way or the other. he wants as much floor time to get as many judges through and that's about it. >> yeah, i mean, that's absolutely contradict. that's what i was referencing when i talked about regular order. regular order for him in this day and age is just moving one

cornyn and mcconnell washed their hands in this. they want to make it clear.cconnell protecting himself from the base trying to say listen, it is the democrats who did it and it is not me or trump. >> this is the president posturing for his political base? >> yes. i think what jonathan was saying how mark meadows and jim jordan we don't want be in the tea party and won't be influential. they'll be. he rage tweets all the time. he sought the government to his base. when the base is where the tea party is at. >> that's true. the idea to get democrats to go for 25 billion. >> they're not going to do that. maybe they may trade protection for the dreamers for $1.5 billion. >> maybe 1 pn.6. >> jonathan and evan, thank you so much. >>> futures is pointing down after a wild week, we'll check on that when the markets open. we'll see what's driving the number, stay with us. i've always been amazed by what's next. and still going for my best, even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment

senato mcconnell will be there in all likelihood.t's unlike past shutdowns where you have negotiations that were ongoing, you know, moment by moment until iret walved. that's not the case this time. there's anndstanding that his doesn't get resolved until dem take their seat on january 3rd. robert: is he playing toward th base? is that why he's digging in? >> he wants to be talking border security and the wall. that's what he wants to talk about. he thinks it's winning with his base. he wants to put dheocrats on the spot with it. so he's very comfortable having this spot. there are certain people in the white house thaha advised him to do this. this is something he wants to do. and he sms like he wants to dig in and try to make a point.y he hasn't madelans to go down to mar-a-lago at this point. he may miss the annual mar-a-lago new year's party. robert: what about the federale ems? what's their reality a this moment? >> the last couple of days, i've ben tweeting with many federal employees. right now, it's the worst case scenario fo

so far mitch mcconnell is not ok with that option. >> it's all up to mitch mcconnell, he has tweeted to mitch mcconnell to get on board, he wants to use the nuclear option. if they did that they give -- they do away with the filibuster, it is already nonexistent with respect to confirmation of judicial positions. >> and her are some instances where you would still need 50 votes, and some senators have pointed out this is one of those cases, you need 60 votes to override a point of order on a budget, according to a budget act, which is a law, not a senate rule. this is going to be a process driven day because there are a lot of different ways the senate can use rules in its favor or to hold up votes they do not want to take. david: the president also tweeted that if they do not come up with a bill it could be a long shutdown. does he have the luxury of doing that? it's not really a complete shutdown, just 25% of the government. >> that makes it easier to shut down the government for a. , --ime -- ripe for of time we a period of time, but should also watch the market reaction. the mark

not only does mitch mcconnell oppose it, a number of republicans oppose it. they don't have the votes to change the rules. all that means, the one option on the table, short-term funding bill to keep the government open. the president has rejected it. who's going to blink at the end of the day? we don't know. >> why you would ask your republican leadership to change the rules on something you said you would proudly own, mr. president, is a really important question this morning. thank you very much. let us know what you hear. in half an hour, the republican senators will be at the white house. let's go there. abby phillip is following all this. the rules aren't going to change. they're going to need 60 votes. you're not going to get 60 votes for a $5 billion set of funding for the border wall. is the president going to blink in this meeting? >> it seems like this meeting at 10:30 where republicans will be meeting with president trump about the border wall and also about this funding bill is an effort for president trump to really get his soldiers in line. as

liz: mitch mcconnell made the same point, too. we started out the year with an immigration shutdown, and we are ending the year with an immigration shutdown. the president just signed a reform bill, moody's credit rating agency saying this will have limited impact on the economy. because it's about a third of the government will be shut down. social security checked and unemployment checks go out. so, you know, that's how you frame it. this is just -- i don't want to say histrionics. but there is a lot of grandstanding going on. you guys made the point on brexit that the labour party spent a lot of time talking in front of the cameras and not doing nuts and bolts legislation. and that's happening here. >> i'm hoping republicans hold firm. it will be a big victory for one or the other. president trump says he wants $5 billion. you go through this for that amount. but if he got $3.5, $4 billion. that's a pretty big concession. i think he's that kind of deal maker saying i will take this then come back. liz: i don't want to get into

other things helped mitch mcconnell see the light. the power of this movement, you want to know how powerful is mitch mcconnell had to vote for this bill. at the end of the day, he had to throw tom cotton under the bus and vote for a bill. this is history. this is the 1959 civil rights act. everybody goes 1964. those are the big ones. it was 1959 where they had a little one, but it broke the logjam and it showed you could be for civil rights and not be called a communist, you could be for civil rights and not lose your seat, and it laid the groundwork. a few years later, we got the big ones done. this was that little one that is going to help the big ones get done. what a little one. they say that 50,000 fewer people will be locked up in the , theal system congressional budget office says we're going to go to 130,000 over a ten-year period because of this one so called little bill. 100% of people locked up are going to be able to come home earlier if they stay out of trouble. 100% of the women no longer shackled when they are pregnant

>> mcconnell has kept this pretty close to the vest. he doesn't really discuss exactly what he told the president, but you were there yesterday when he was at the mics talking to reporters and used a phrase he likes to talk about all the time, no lesson learned in the second kick of a mule. >> yes, a classic. >> he started saying that one after the 2013 shutdown in which republicans were understandably blamed for the shutdown, and they just -- they saw their approval ratings plummet in the 17 days that the government was closed. mcconnell just does not believe that shutting down the government really ever effectively does anything good for his side. and look, the cards have been played out. the election happened, and trump's just not going to get the border wall funding that he wants, and so mcconnell basically negotiated a piece that really recognizes that simple fact. >> peter baker, how did the white house staff manage to help talk the president off of this ledge that he walked himself out onto at that oval office meeting? >> well, t

mcconnell: i ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. all those in favor say aye. mr. mcconnell: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell, for mr. kennedy, proposes an amendment numbered 4109 to amendment numbered 4108. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the second-degree amendment be divided in three parts in the form at the desk. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk for the motion to concur with further amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the 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 hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motio

this is going to be something that mitch mcconnell and others are going to keep in mind.ways felt that when he becomes -- it's a process, it's an ongoing thing. when he becomes too expensive for the party and too dangerous, and i think both are happening, anything can happen. >> what dynamic did you learn? you covered watergate, i think you were at the new yorker for starting in 1972 and sort of chronicling it there in realtime. what was your -- what did you learn about the political dynamics, how quickly they can change many that context? >> well, i started actually in 1973. and on the labor day weekend of 1973, i said to the fabled william shawn, the magnificent editor of ""the new yorker," he said what are you thinking of writing about. i said i think we're going change vice presidents, as rachel has reminded us. spiro agnew was in deep legal trouble already. but i said we're going change presidents and vice presidents within a year. this was a wild thought, but it was my instincts of what i was picking up and smelling and seeing. and that's what's going on now. look,