mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all no in favor say aye. all op motioned say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mc -- mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to calendar number 120. the presiding officer: the motion is on the motion -- motion to proceed. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, peter d. welte, of north dakota, to be united states district judge for north dakota. the presiding officer: 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, do hereby bring to a close debate on of peter d. welte, of north dakota, to be united states district judge for the district of north dakota. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell:

who president mcconnell have done with speaker obama's stuff? >> i think it's funny that joe biden, the other day said we should have -- the democrats, the democrats, should have ben more aggressive in pushing garland. he left out the fact he was the vice president at that time and he would also provided the -- i not critical or joe biden. i have known him and respected almost for years but he had provided the republicans with their main talking point by giving a speech really long speech by the way, in set 92 urging clinton -- no, saying that the democrats -- that was an elect time -- that george h.w. bush shouldn't move ahead with a nominee this close to the elect but it was much closer to the election. think was june. certainly wasn't february. but that's the question. so, even joe biden now says we should have done more. what should they have done? and obama in the book was really kind of the most pessimistic about this because he had been dealing with mcconnell for six years, seven years, and gotten totally block bid mcconnell when they too

i asked mitch mcconnell for a podcast. he said i will tell you my personal opinion is we need to get at the blue slip for the appeals. on the appeals court judges there is no longer a blue slip, they were all democrats in california, particularly on the ninth circuit because such a liberal circuit. there is no break on either party you can get anybody through. and that is just kind of the way that it is. >> in the unlikely event republicans hold the senate and let's say clarence thomas reads the court for some reason -- >> he was asked this very question that there's more attention focused on mcconnell saying he would consider the judge in 2020 despite saying previously he let the people decide tdecide, so this is a whe separate issue. kind of an interesting answer he says okay there is a democratic senate, republican senate, can any supreme court nominee get through and she says while, you know, if it is early in the first year it would be politically unsustainable to not have the hearing and vote on somebody that would h

mitch mcconnell changes more rules. this has led to a real break down, and it threatens the confidence of the public and the court if they see it as a strictly partisan branch of government. host: you have been with the new york times for how many years? guest: i started as a regional reporter in 1986. this is my 35th year in washington. next scholar from louisiana. james comer republican line. caller: this is probably the happiest segment of "washington journal" i have ever heard. merrick garland's shutdown was mitch mcconnell's greatest moment. when he allowed the next to go upright before the election will be his second greatest moment. your guest is right. they will be an unbelievable amount of republican conservative justices appointed at the court. with the unserious candidates that the democrats have, there no chance they will win the election. it will be 8-1. it is a sad day for democrats. is why talk about the eye of the beholder. it is the title of the book, "confirmation bias." depending on what side you are

is there any way to beat mitch mcconnell, honestly? john heilemann?> well, chris, i think you know the only way to beat mitch mcconnell is with actual raw political power, and that power is going to come from the ballot box. so a situation in which donald trump suffered a devastating large landslide loss in 2020 and democrats either retook control of the united states senate or came close, i would say actually probably they would need to take control of the united states senate. that scenario that takes mcconnell out of the majority leader's job and that makes the republican party recognize that they are paying a giant political price for having gone into bed and fully into bed with donald trump might change the dynamics on the senate side. but i don't think there is some clever procedural way around this. i don't think there is a clever -- there is a consume buy yay -- consume by yaw. you have to beat the senate republicans to give you power and leverage to be able to change the game. >> well, tonight's debate comes against the backdrop of president

mcconnell: so, mr. president, i don't normally take the time to respond to critics in the media when they have no clue what they're talking about, but this modern-day mccarthyism is toxic and damaging because of the way it warps our entire public discourse. facts matter. details matter. history matters. and if our nation is losing its ability to debate public policy without screaming about treason, that really matters. in the middle of the 20th century, the original mccarthyism hurt america's strength and diminished our standing in a cold war by dividing us against ourselves and letting lives, innuendo, and baseless accusations crowd out reasonable politics. the frenetic politicized witch hunt distracted from legitimate efforts to contest the soviet union, including more sober efforts to root out real soviet agents in our midst. in short, mccarthyism did the russians' work for them. mccarthyism did the work for the russians. now, here we are in 2019. again, putin and the russians seek to provoke fear an

because the old mitch mcconnell. he is for legal immigration, was open to negotiating with president george w. bush about sweeping comprehensive reform that would have given legal status to those who came into the country illegally. he's in a different box now because of the person in the white house. if you accept mitch mcconnell at his word, and the president at his tweet, the president says he's not a racist. the debate is, is the president a racist or a race baiter? that's the debate the republican party is in the middle of right now, that's not where you want to be. >> we risk con vow looting these two things. three of these congresswoman were born here the fourth was naturalized. in that case you can say it's about legalization. >> ilhan is a refugee, she came here fleeing something. and our laws allow for that. so it is not at all about immigration, except that in that what the president really doesn't like that they're doing is criticizing his immigration policy on the border, so mcconnell is trying to do som

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mcconnell: so, mr. president, i don't normally take the time to respond to critics in the media when they have no clue what they're talking about, but this modern-day mccarthyism is toxic and damaging because of the way it warps our entire public discourse. facts matter. details matter. history matters. and if our nation is losing its ability to debate public policy without screaming about treason, that really matters. in the middle of the 20th century, the original mccarthyism hurt america's strength and diminished our standing in a cold war by dividing us against ourselves and letting lives, innuendo, and baseless accusations crowd out reasonable politics. the frenetic politicized witch hunt distracted from legitimate efforts to contest the soviet union, including more sober efforts to root out real soviet agents in our midst. in short, mccarthyism did the russians' work for them. mccarthyism did the work for the russians. now, here we are in 2019. again, putin and the russians seek to provoke fear an

a lot of democrats want to see mitch mcconnell picked off.he lost in the house run in one of the best sort of opportunities that a democrat would have in a while. in a blue area as it goes. or the least red, we should say, in kentucky, to andy barr in 2018. the president won kentucky by 30 points. >> uh-huh. >> can someone beat mitch mcconnell in a presidential election year in kentucky? >> it's going to be really hard. the good news for amy mcgrath is she'll be able to raise a tremendous amount of money as she was able to do in 2018. she's also an outsider. which does kind of help you if you want to take on mitch mcconnell and tie him to washington. but the bad news is that donald trump won kentucky by 30 points. and even somehow if mitch mcconnell underperforms trump in 2020, it's not going to be by 30 points. maybe, you know, it's by 20 points or so and mitch mcconnell is very unpopular. democrats want to be able to beat him, but, to me, the purpose of having mcgrath run isn't necessarily to defeat mcconnell. it's to make sure he gets an o

mcconnell: i object? the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: for the information of all of our colleagues, i want to provide an update on the remaining items -- on the remaining items the senate needs to deplete before we adjourn -- complete before we adjourn for the august state work period. here's what we need to accomplish before members depart next week. we need to confirm well qualified nominees to two open positions of utmost importance, the deputy secretary of defense and our ambassador to the u.n. these jobs are important. the nominees are impressive and we need to confirm david norquist and kelly craft next week. obviously we need to pass the bipartisan funding agreement that president trump's negotiating team worked out with speaker pelosi, the house will pass it today. the president is strongly in support of it. the senate needs to pass it and put it on the president's desk next week. and, madam president, we need to make more headway on the backlog of qualified judicial nomi

but, it's a priority for mcconnell and president trump to fill these vacancies. president trump enjoys the record of the number of judges that he is gone confirmed and it's something that mcconnell wants to remake the federal judiciary. i would say there is some chance that there is an agreement to yield back time so there is not a long sequence of votes every couple of hours. because a handful of these nominees are actually people who were selected by democratic senators and recommended president trump a record branded senators. there is a choice based in the chicago area. there are a few others like that. this may not take as long as it appears. >> last year was a two-year budget the a. it's a 324 billion-dollar agreement. it passed in the house, two thirds of republicans voting against it. any roadblocks ahead in the senate? >> it does not seemed like there's any actual roadblocks. how many senate republicans will vote for. i would expect the members of the appropriations committee on the republican side will vote for. i imagine most democrats will vote for. t

and it is something that mcconnell wants to remake the federal judiciary. i would say there is some chance that there is an agreement to yield back time so there is not, say, a vote-o-rama or a long sequence of votes every couple of hours. because a handful of these nominees are actually people who were selected by democratic senators, and recommended to president trump by democratic senators. there is a choice for a seat based in the chicago area that dick durbin and tammy duckworth would have been involved in selecting. and there are a few others like that. so this may not take as long as it appears. >> lastly, the two-year budget deal passed in the house. this is that $324 billion agreement between the white house and congressional leaders, raising the debt ceiling through 2021. it passed in the house, two thirds of republicans voting against it there. how about in the senate? any roadblocks ahead? >> it does not seem like their --niels: it doesn't seem there are any actual roadblocks. the question is how many senate republicans will actually vote for it

now what is interesting is that mcconnell -- again, mcconnell is the husband of elaine chao, the secretary of transportation. someone who emigraimmigrated to country legally. he wouldn't say if somebody asked her to go home, that would be racist. he wouldn't engage in that conversation. he said everybody, the speaker, other members of congress all need to lower the temperature. that's about what i would expect given his earlier comments, but a way to not criticize the president while trying to step away from what he said a couple days ago through tweets from the last couple of days. >> he said very plainly, the president is not a racist. but he would not answer plainly when kasie hunt asked him, would you ever say the words, go back to your own country. he simply would not give us a yes or a no. donna, why is that? is there anything that could change the speaker's mind? what could possibly make him call those comments what they were? >> you know, mitch mcconnell has said the president is not a racist, but all evidence to the contrary from birtherism in central park five to housing discrimi

mitch mcconnell loves our country. he's done a great job. pass an infrastructure bill. it is being written up right now as we speak for our hshs and roadways. mitch mcconnell has gotten more judgments than probably anybody. in all fairness, with my help. but as a combination, we've got -- we'll be up very soon to 179 federal judges. nobody has ever seen anything like that. other than george washington, we'll end up having the highest percentage of judges put in the court and it is going to be a legacy. mitch mcconnell is a man that does less about russia and russian influence than even donald trump and i know nothing. so i think it is a horrible thing when a paper, which is really just a paper for the benefit of amazon, "the washington post" is fake news. just like the "new york times" is fake news. it's put there for the benefit, "the washington post," of amazon. that's my opinion. and i think it's a disgrace. if they actually said that -- i didn't read it -- if they actually said mitch mcconnell is an asset of russia, they ought to be asha

is mcconnell being treated unfairly? >> i think it is ridiculous the washington post is calling mitch mcconnell a russian asset because he stands in the way of legislation they think is tougher on russia. mitch mcconnell is a russian asset why isn't barack obama and joe biden russian asset in the hacking occurred in the election of 2016 during their administration. weiss and henry kissinger the greatest russian asset of all because he pursued detente? it is silly. the deeper messages people accusing mitch mcconnell of being a russian asset are the same people who think ratcliff is politicizing the dni office. a disturbing trend of mixed politics and intelligence and use these terms and irresponsible ways when we are having is a political fight over the best policy issue in the federal government, being in charge of election the policy. >> does involve attacks on maternal? >> i support enhanced election security. i agree with what senator schumer said at the clip that was played but i don't believe for a second that mitch

let's take out mitch mcconnell.large measure, amy to run under the banner of who the nominee is. having someone from a forgotten community that can go into eastern kentucky and campaign around these blue-collar issues is a stonecold winner for us. we can knock out mitch mcconnell, about you we have to be smart with who we pick as the nomin nominee. >> i believe the third presidential candidate to call for the labor secretary to resign. we're going to hear from president trump on that in a bit. congressman, thank you. senator bernie sanders will be on in just about 90 minutes with andrea mitchell here on msnbc. >>> we have breaking news. ross perot, the self-made billionaire and two-time independent candidate for president has died after a five-month battle with leukemia. he was 89 years old. chuck todd has more on his life and his legacy. >> reporter: the self-made man from texarkana. >> the party is over and it's time for the clean-up crew. >> reporter: henry ross perot sold a company to general motors and becoming

he never wrote back. >> he is mitch mcconnell whose job mcgrath wants. >> folks like senator mcconnelle been around for 34 years are not the answer and i think many kentuckiens are seeing that and that was the appeal so i think that's what i'm trying to say. i'm an outsider, too. >> the outsider narrative drove her first run for office. >> need to stand off and be a part of this. >> this was rural kentucky last year standing room only for mcgrath's 2018 house race. >> i'm doing the best i can. i'm going to work my butt off. >> mcgrath won the democratic primary against a well-known elected official. by engaging kentucky's rural voters. >> first time going to something like this, how many? >> mcgrath launched onto the national stage with this viral ad highlighting her biography. >> i'm amy mcgrath and i love our country. >> a marine fighter by lit during 9/11 who felt compelled to serve again. she challenged republican i'm co -- incumbent andy barr. mcgrath out risedaised barr by million and lost by three points. the odds are tougher now in a senate run. >> i'm thrilled to be here in th

mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i'd like to welcome all members back to the senate for a busy week, but first there is something i need to address. over the last several days i was called unpatriotic, un-american , and essentially treasonous by a couple of left-wing pundits on the basis of bold-faced lies. i was accused of aiding and abetting the very man i've singled out as an adversary and opposed for nearly 20 years, vladimir putin. this was less than 24 hours after the outrage industrial complex was disappointed yet again by special >> they were crushed a few months ago when the mueller report clear the president during the 2016 campaign. and now with a special counsel that has fallen flat once again. but the conspiracy theories but there are too many people who have invested too much time to simply wind it down the outrage industrial complex needed a new target and that's where i come in. mitch mcconnell one of the foreign policy conservatives who spent decades pushing back on rush every way i can th

mitch mcconnell will take a couple of questions.et's listen together. >> when the president uses such language, that is so far over the line, regardless of what their points of view are or policies, doesn't that undercut your argument that these issues are a problem? of these policies -- does this undercut your arguments? >> obviously i think it's a good idea to focus on what our democratic colleagues are up to. the green new deal, the version of it, to take away jobs. medicare for all would take away your private health insurance. if they made an effort to pay for all of this, they would have to go after the most productive parts of our economy. remember, the top 10% of taxpayers provide 70% of the revenue for the federal government. i think this is a prescription for slowing america to a crawl. i think it's also important to remember that most countries that ended up adopting socialism did it by voting for it. as margaret thatcher once said, "the problem with socialism is you run out of other people's money." we are better off to

it is mcconnell being treated unfairly, john? >> i think it's ridiculous that "the washington post" is calling mitch mcconnell a russian asset just because he stands in the way of legislation they would like that they think is tougher on russia. mitch mcconnell is a russian asset, then why is barack obama or joe biden russian assets? the hacking occurred in the election of 2016 during their administration. why isn't henry kissinger the greatest russian asset of all since he pursued detente? i think it's just silly. but the deeper message is this, i think the people who are accusing mitch mcconnell of being a russian asset, they are probably the same people who think that ratcliff is politicizing the dni office. it's a disturbing trend to kind of mix politics and intelligence and use these terms in irresponsible ways when actually all we are having is a political fight over the best policy, should the federal government or the states be in charge of election security? >> mike: doug, your thoughts on the attacks on mcconnell? >> lo

they actually said that, that mitch mcconnell is an asset of russia?of themselves and not to apologize. >> harris: president trump there yesterday after "washington post" ran an op-ed calling senator mcconnell a "russian asset" for blocking election security bills. mcconnell is also pushing back against critics calling him a victim of "modern-day mccarthyism." the senate majority leader argues congress and the trump administration are already doing enough, and the bills are democrats putting politics. but one senator and presidential candidate says mcconnell is doing just that. >> totally aligned with the president. the president, i think, once chaos of the election. stop those bills in their tracks. he's doing it, and that's why he's doing it. because it protects their party. i think it's not patriotism. i think it's pure partisanship. >> harris: steve? >> steve: that's nonsense. mitch mcconnell's not trying to help the russians metal in in the 2020 elections. it's really insulting for amy klobuchar or anyone else to say that. he has a long history of

the last time mcconnell had to defend his seat he won by 15 points.resident trump carried kentucky by nearly 30 points in 2016. democrats are happy, they think she was their best candidate. >> she had a lot of money in that house race in 2018 but this is going to be really difficult for her. even if mcconnell himself is not particularly personally popular, he will have a lot of support both in fund-raising. it will be a big question of what president trump does. president trump can make that race for mcconnell by going and spending time in kentucky. at the same time, president trump doesn't want to have to spend time in kentucky because he'll be fighting out his own re-election prospects in states like florida and michigan and wisconsin. but she will, again, have a lot of support institutionally from the party, but the makeup of that state does not lend itself -- >> which is why you look at it. in 2008 obama beats hillary clinton. we live in volatile times. that should be a mcconnell win, maybe tighter than normal but she's a good candidate. but you w

that's what mitch mcconnell tried to do on the floor.cked for is not that he's a russian asset. i think his foreign policy record would say it's the exact opposite. ideologically he's opposed to where democrats are and some republicans are on these election security issues particularly on the federal versus state role in these elections. that's difficult to explain particularly when you had robert mueller just a week ago talking to members of congress saying it's still happening, it's happening right now. mcconnell is not going to move off that since he's been there 20 or 30 years. yesterday was an effort to push back on the attacks. there is some bipartisan legislation related to information-sharing on the defense apparatus that i thought people thought might move that has been blocked but that's not the broader issue. they're attacking him bluntly saying he's in favor of russia and that's technically the case. >> is it too much the case for the president trump to understand an opinion columnist or "the washington post" at large or is h

mitch mcconnell, senate majority leader, supports it. it will pass the senate with republican support. but the republicans were notta comfe with this. but they're scared to speak out, too. ted cruz who led the charge heainst leading a debt ceiling increase duringbama years, i asked him, are you comfortable with raising t debt ciling for two years, suspending is?t for two ye he didn't want to comment. when i asked him about it initially it goes to show you, just totally -- >> nick mulvanewho did not want this and a big success for mnuchin the tasury secretary. robert: and new economic activity t g.p. rose at 2.1% for the second rate a pullback from the 3.1% in the first quarter of this year. that's according to the commerce department. you've been on capitol hill as a reporter for years. the republhean party with president on this economy, regardless of his lack of interest in deficits perhaps. >> yeah. i -- i arrived in 2011 during what people might remember was this really sort of almosten frigg moment where they almost didn't raise the

mcconnell.ne kind of inversion of a very traumatic and morally troubling aspect of american history. >> he also seems to be trying to say through this device to the public, well, debate over our history will get very potentially allegedly confusing very quickly. >> uh-huh. >> but -- >> not really. >> i think what he -- right, you don't think so and you make a very good point. he's sort of trying to say that. i put on the screen the naacp rating of his civil rights record. history is relevant also for how we live and what we do. he has an abusiness malrecord on civil rights which is a difference between barack obama in terms of what they're doing with their power in office. >> that's right. if we're going to talk about this, barack obama has inherited race as a headwind. it's something that had to be navigated in his life. mitch mcconnell race has been a tailwind. and when we talk about you know, my friend ed baptist in his book "half has never been told," there's a body of literature on this his

he's covered mcconnell for more than a decade now.ow vulnerable is the senior senator from kentucky, david? >> not very. i think if we were looking at 2014 when he had a huge problem with the republican base in kentucky, he had a primary challenge that he had to fight hard to beat back. but he ended up winning that race by 15 points. now you're look at a mitch mcconnell who because he has worked so closely with president trump particularly on the judges issue and confirming so many conservative judges he's looked at much differently. i think the kavanaugh fight recast him in the eye of a lot of republicans who thought he wouldn't fight hard enough and too quick to cut deals. whether any of that's true is besides the point. when you're looking for a vulnerable for mitch mcconnell in a state like kb that does not just vote ofrmingly for president trump and likes trump and likes his style and what he has to say, you've got wonder where mcconnell's vulnerability is. i thought that clip with amy mcgrath trying to i suppose get to the right

does leader mcconnell oppose that? 21 attorneys general have said they don't have enough money now to guard their election processes and machines from manipulation by russia or others. so that's, quote, our partisan wish list -- paper ballots, election audits, money to protect us from the russians. if leader mcconnell opposes these policies, fine, but let him say so. these are not, i repeat, protecting our election from russian interference is not a democratic issue, a republican issue, an independent issue. it's not a liberal issue. it's not a conservative issue. it's not a moderate issue. it's an issue that goes to the wellspring of our democracy, something the founding fathers warned about. foreign interference. james madison, thomas jefferson, george washington, benjamin franklin, all were worried about foreign interference in our elections, and now leader mcconnell calls that partisan to worry about it? please. if leader mcconnell wants to have other legislation than we proposed and that that passed the house, leg

mitch mcconnell is a twin of mr. trump. and he has an aluminum building, aluminum demp his state of tennessee. think about the money. think about what is going on in america, and if you're not concerned about voting, that's the only thing that keeps us being a democracy, then maybe you're ready to follow putin and trump. have a good day. host: doug out of rhode island, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. the biggest thing, i'm not concerned about the russians meddling in our elections, because all they're doing is putting out information. no one has proved that they've hacked into any systems at all. what you should be concerned about is you have people in this country can't even tell you who the president is. you have millennials that can't read a regular clock. if you want to be concerned about this, get people -- people are coming up that don't even have i.d.'s and voting. that's where our republic is going wrong. host: jim out of wisconsin is next, independent. good morning. caller: hi, yes, thank you for c-

amy: that was senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. well, award-winning author ta-nehisi coates testifieied at the historic congressional reparations hearing and took direct aim at mcconnell. >> yesterday, when asked about reparations, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell offered a familiar reply -- america should not be held liable for something that happened 150 years ago, since none of us currently alive are responsible. this rebuttal proffers a strange theory of governance, that american accounts are somehow bound by the lifetime of its generations. but well into this century, the united states was still paying out pensions to the heirs of civil war soldiers. we honor treaties that date back some 200 years, despite no one being alive who signed those treaties. many of us would love to be taxed for the things we are solely and individually responsible for. but we are american citizens, and thus bound to a collective enterprise that extends beyond our individual and personal reach. it would seem ridiculous to dispute invocations of

we passed a million bills already, and they lay dormant at mitch mcconnell's feet. that's not going to do anything, and if it didn't -- >> that's because we are so involved. we are so involved with this only, or at least the perception of this only. >> no, no, no. >> look, i'm there every day. let me finish for a second. >> congressman, do you think the seats like yours are in danger if the democrats move toward impeachment? >> absolutely. i don't even know that mine. i was fortunate. i won by a good number more votes than many of the other ones did. folks have to realize it was middle democrats, middle of the road democrats that created the majority. and that their voice counts too, and we have to -- and by the way, if something really new comes up, something big that we didn't have before that really shows an impeachable offense, absolutely. any president. >> i want to hit you with two possibilities and then rob. i want to make one point. this is fundamental. i think it's the main point. if this president gets away with this, whether he gets reelected or not, he g

and mcconnell knows it.ting no better, no worse than a lowly house republican freshman whose only goal in life is to avoid getting a primary by not upsetting the president. >> we should note also he has a history here of protecting trump on this front. >> he sure does. >> back in 2016 there is that meeting that has been widely reported. and joe biden talked about this recently, that he refused to sign on to a bipartisan statement. he was the lone objector. he questioned the intelligence. that was hugely helpful to donald trump. >> it was. and so, again, i'll try it one more time. he just wants to go about confirming his nominations as he works to try and get reelected. >> right. >> now he is getting jammed. he is going to have to deal with the real issue, and he doesn't like it. and he lashed out yesterday, the likes of which have i never seen by mcconnell. he is being put in this position. he knows it's wrong, but and so all he can do is lash out. >> that's interesting. >> by that outrageous suggestion of m

thinks drufrm will be angry, will shed a tear, will wag his finger or tweet at mcconnell if mitch mcconnellthing to suggest that the threat against our election is real as it pertains to 2020. >> what a new and strange feeling for patriotic americans of a certain age. we know we are exposed and vulnerable. we've been told as much by the people we respect, and yet we witness our own country seemingly powerless to do anything about it. >> well, not just powerless, but polarized. we don't even agree what needs to be done or the idea that we were attacked and how important it was. it's really fascinating for us to grew up in the cold war to look at this moment and realize that it's the republican leader who's being accused of being soft on russia and is firing back at his opponents for mccarthyism. that's quite a turnabout. mitch mcconnell said it's just a political game on the part of the democrats, that they are all about embarrassing the president, that by putting the legislation on the floor the day after mueller, it was more about making a point, a statement about putting the president on

guys like mitch mcconnell and senator mcconnell have said they are concerned about the debt and then, get in power, what do they do, the increase it. >> neil: they all do that. how do you stop it? >> i think you stop it by getting people honest about the american debt. that's very important. >> neil: but barack obama was sincere i take it. and no one seems to get a handle on it. you might scale back some spending to deal with it? >> we were on a path to decrease our deficit in the last few years of the last administration and, we were on that path. then senator mitch mcconnell came in with this tax windfall and almost doubled it. >> neil: i don't know that we were on a path, and you would go ahead and address entitlements, tax cuts that were in trail now? >> we want to get as many people in the office and look at republicans and democrats and look at our debt and how we address it. we started to try to do things like that with the simpson plan and the dementia plan, but we didn't want to go that. we had the tea party that held up our national debt and said, they were going to basicall

"the washington post" called mitch mcconnell what? i think "the washington post" is a russian asset by comparison. mitch mcconnell loves our country. he's done a great job. we're trying to pass an infrastructure bill. it's been written up right now as we speak for our highways and roadways. mitch mcconnell has got more judges than probably any -- in all fairness, with my help. but as a combination we're going to be up very soon to 179 federal judges. nobody has ever seen anything like that. other than george washington, we'll end up having the highest percentage of judges put on the court, and it's going to be a legacy. mitch mcconnell is a man that knows less about russia and russian influence than even donald trump, and i know nothing. i think it's a horrible thing when a paper -- which is really just a paper for the benefit of amazon -- "the washington post" is fake news, just like "the new york times" is fake news. it's put there for the benefit, "the washington post," of amazon. that's my opinion. i think it's a disgrace. if they

mitch mcconnell is a man that knows less about russia. and russian influence than even donald trump. and i know nothing. so i think it's a horrible thing when a paper which is really just a paper for the benefit of amazon, "the washington post" is fake news just like the "new york times" is fake news. it's put there for the benefit, "the washington post" of amazon. and i think it's a disgrace. if they actually said it, i didn't read it. if they said that mitch mcconnell is an asset of russia, they ought to be ashamed of themselves, and they ought to apologize. well, i think right now, i am watching. i think right now it will be sleepy joe. i think. across the limp line. what i think doesn't mean anything. i know the other people. i know him. i think it's off his game by a lot. but i think personally, he endorsed sleepy joe. no, i think i'm helping myself because i'm pointing out the tremendous corruption that's taken place in baltimore and other democratic-run cities. all you have to do is look at past mayors in baltimore see what happens

the person who called mitch mcconnell un-american on msnbc on friday, which provoked mitch mcconnellte floor to complain about it is not a left winger. he is a former republican congressman. >> i want to talk about moscow mitch. moscow mitch says it's a hoax. how can moscow mitch so willingly turn a blind eye? moscow mitch won't even let the senate take a vote on it. that is un-american. he's moscow mitch. >> joe scar borrow called him moscow mitch 16 times friday morning when i was watching "morning joe." "washington post" columnist dana mill bank was objecting to entitled smoonl a russian asset, dana mill bank is not a left winger. she is not a partisan political columnist. he has found his way into the congressional record influence mitch mcconnell's complaining speech today, said that mitch mcconnell is a russian asset because he is blocking legislation requiring presidential campaigns to report any offers of assistance from foreign governments to the fbi. dana mill bank wrote this about mitch mcconnell. presumably, he thinks whatever influence russia exerts over u.s. elections w

if mitch mcconnell allowed them to be.needs to lead or get out of the way. >> you want him to come to the table. malcolm, what's the most important thing you're watching for as people wonder, if mueller said it, are we at risk. >> the thing i'm watching for senior what senator blumenthal said. he needs to show some leadership. let me give him advice as an old navy chief. get up do your job. it is not partisan to defend the flag. it is not partisan to defend the account constitution. what is it going to take for him to understand that this is critical. will it take the iranians to hack votes against him in the next electioning? and make him lose his positioning? that is possible. the north cranes can do it, the russians can do it, anyone can attack us and leaving us defenseless is just malpractice of the worst sort. >> senator, malcolm, thanks to both off you. important topic. a 1971 tape of reagan and nixon exchanging blatant lit racist remarks with a lot of context when we're back in 30 seconds. when we're back in 30 seco

yet majority leader mitch mcconnell not moving on bipartisan legislation in the senate. will he pay a political price? >> well, this carries echoes o course of what mitch mcconnell did in the months leading up to the 2016 cpaign. you'll remember that the obama administration wanted congress to pass se sort of a statement. and mcconnell blocked it and said he wouldt go along because he felt it was being caught up in partisan politics. it was doigned t hurt the republican nominee. and so -- and that's very much his argument today. this is democratic partisanship. this is not actually about making our elections more secure. it's about democrats trying to score points. the interesting thing -- to answer your question directly, i don't know if he'll pay a political price in his own state. but i do know that it just sort of to my mind wreaks of hypocrisy and it also potentially sets himself up by the sort of you live by the sword you die by the sword. so he doesn want to see this because he sees it as calculated to go against trump or republican president. what we leaoded that

mitch mcconnell loves our country.onnell is a man that knows less about russia. and i know nothing, i think it's a disgrace. if they said that, i didn't read it. if they actually said that, that mitch mcconnell is an asset of russia, they ought to be ashamed of themselves and they ought to apologize. >> dana milbank is joining me now, are you ashamed of yourself, are you going to apologize and what did you think of the president's response? >> the president said he hadn't read the piece. perhaps he would have a different view if he had, i suspect he wouldn't. it's typical of donald trump's responses. no puppet, no puppet. you're the puppet. >> he said mcconnell knows less about russia and russian influence than he does. he said he knows nothing. that is odd that he says that, they know nothing. mcconnell knows nothing, considering his own indel agencies have concluded that there was sweeping and systemic interference in the election by russians. >> the senate intelligence committee came out last week with this extensiv

mitch mcconnell has been the white whale of this since 2010. >> stephen: yes, mitch mcconnell is the( laughter ) in that he has been acting like a huge moby dick. ( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) well, this morning, mcconnell went on "fox and friends" and told jon stewart that when it comes to providing healthcare for 9/11 first responders, he should just chillax. >> whyhy has it always seemed tt the vote comes at the last minute? >> well, many things in congress happen at the last minute. we've never failed to address this issue, and we will address it again. i don't know why he's all bent out of shape. >> stephen: well, senator, i for one don't think-- >> he said what? what did he say? what did he say? ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: jon, now that i have you here-- what a delight-- may i ask you, are you bent out of shape? >> no! no! no! no, mitch mcconnell, i'm not bent out of shape. i'm in fine shape. well, i'm out of shape. i am out of shape. but not because of-- i'm actually really more pizza crust than man, really, at this point. ( laughter ) but i'm not bent out of sh

mitch mcconnell.join me onset. and our team's producer watches the sunday's show so you don't have to. e sunday's show so you t have to. ♪ ♪ and this is me now! i got liberty mutual. they customized my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. then i won the lottery, got hair plugs, and started working out. and so can you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ (rates vehicles for safety, andr hsome reach a level of top safety pick. but only a select few of the very safest vehicles are awarded a top safety pick plus. the highest level of safety possible. how many 2019 top safety pick plus-winning vehicles does your brand have? one. two. how about eight? subaru has more 2019 top safety pick plus awards than honda and toyota brands combined. there's safe, and then there's subaru safe. we like drip coffee, layovers- -and waiting on hold. what we don't like is relying on fancy technology for help. snail mail! we were invited to a y2k party... uh, didn't that happen, like,

. >>> is this the time to take down mitch mcconnell. his approval rate is at 50% in his home state of kentucky. can he actually get beat in 2020? at in 2020 johnson & johnson is a baby company. but we're also a cancer fighting, hiv controlling, joint replacing, and depression relieving company. from the day you're born we never stop taking care of you. prpharmacist recommendedne memory support brand. from the day you're born you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >>> now to the latest on the 2020 presidential race. msnbc spoke exclusively with senator bernie sanders not long before he took the stage at a rally in iowa. joining me now live from mount pleasant iowa is nbc news road warrior. mike, good afternoon. you spoke with senator sanders today. how does he plan to separate himself from senator warren? >> it's interesting, phillip. having this historically large field of democratic candidates can really be exhausting sometimes. when it comes to these two-night debates it prov