mcconnell: mr. vice president. the vice president: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask for the -- call the absence of a quorum call. the vice president: the absence of a quorum call has been -- of a quorum call has been called. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the vice president: a quorum is present. the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i simply want to welcome all senators on this first day of the 117th congress. today six new members are joining our ranks for the first time. senators hagerty of tennessee, hickenlooper of colorado, lujan of human, lummis of wyoming, marshall of kansas and tuberville of alabama have been elected to serve the people of their home states. of course senator kelly of arizona was sworn are in a few weeks ago. we congratulate all our new colleagues as well as their families. we look forward to the ways in which their unique experiences, their ideas, and their priorities will enrich this institution and strengthen our shared work for the nation. to say the 1

it was trump who wouldn't take mcconnell's phone calls. even and especially when the stimulus bill that was supposed to be signed in and around christmas, the president decided that he wasn't going to do it and there was so much drama. mcconnell couldn't even get the president on the phone is my understanding. one last thing i think is interesting in terms of the politics of this is that what phil mattingly and manu raju are hearing, and jonathan martin said this, too. mcconnell is seeing this as a way to purge trump from the party. i'm hearing the opposite from some of mitch mcconnell's republican colleagues, that they're concerned impeachment will make him a victim, make him a martyr. those are two different ways of looking at donald trump politically and a potential impeachment conviction. >> jamie, "the times" is reporting the house minority leader has asked other republicans whether he should call on president trump to actually resign. could all of this get republicarepublica republicans to vote in favor of impeaching when it comes up

i think that's what mcconnell is doing today.and he is appalled at what happened last week and how the president incited it and -- and i don't know if he would actually vote for impeachment, but the fact that he has put this out there and it doesn't get out from mcconnell unless he wants it out, in conjunction with liz cheney's statement about how she's going to vote for impeachment and i would wager a lot of money that there was communication between the two. certainly between the two camps, if not between the principals, is a signal and it's giving cover to republicans to vote for impeachment and to vote to convict. if they wish to do so. but i'm not going to, you know, make bold predictions about the fever, the trump fever, having broken yet in the -- in the republican party. i'll, you know, i'll believe that when i see it actually happen. it's -- for one thing, i think, frankly, there are a lot of these republican house members and some senators who are physically afraid of what will happen to them at the hands of their const

white smoke from team mcconnell.cance of it is really important, the fact that they put this out there. and it suggests that we may be moving forward to a conviction and a decision to bar president trump from holding office ever again. what did you make of the events that unfolded late yesterday after the president make those remarks that we just played? >> well, i think that you are right. this is a sign that mitch mcconnell is saying, umm, how can i benefit [ inaudible ] as mcconnell does. and i think it started with all of these corporations saying they will not give money to the house republicans that voted to wanting to overturn the elections last wednesday which started this whole riot and frankly a new wave of domestic terrorism. so mitch mcconnell sees an opportunity here i think. he says all right, maybe the republicans in the house won't be able to gain any money, but if i stand up, my guys may have a chance of coming back in 2022. it also allows his members to take a vote of conscience, not that i'm saying

if they want mitch mcconnell to break ranks, they're going to want to keep mitch mcconnell happy. mcconnell has indicated privately he believes donald trump committed impeachable offenses. he's undecided, he's made that clear publicly, too. some republicans are saying very clearly that if mitch mcconnell were to vote to convict donald trump, perhaps mcconnell could lose his leadership position in the next congress. so a lot is riding on the line with mcconnell. mcconnell is making clear that his conference wants a delay for two weeks to consider this impeachment trial, probably sometime in mid february. he does need the consent of the senate majority leader, chuck schumer in order to do just that, and schumer, we are told, is reviewing that proposal. one thing, erin, is that they also want some commitments from mitch mcconnell to move forward on some of joe biden's cabinet nominees. the senate has been moving very slowly initially to fill out joe biden's cabinet. so there is some discussion about potentially moving some of biden's cabinet nominees and then moving to an impeachment

>> mitch mcconnell is playing the press. he is playing republicans, and he is playing democrats all at the same time, because he may be the grim reaper, but see a very smart guy. by saying up front, okay, donald trump was a part of this. donald trump provoked these people one way or another, he is giving himself sort of the air of credibility. it's look hey, i can acknowledge the facts. i'm not a crazy right wing republican. he is setting the stage for looking like a reasonable negotiator going forward. as you mentioned, ari, by not saying the word incite and using the word provoke, that's the kind of word a guy like mcconnell will end up using. that's the kind of nonsense weaseldom he is going to use and that other republicans will use, because we saw other things with last year's impeachment, literally at this point last year. well, donald trump did something that was terrible, he did something to violate the spirit of his job, he did something to try to overturn an election, he abused his power, but we don't know if he's

mcconnell. and again, the story on mcconnell is that he is positively inclined toward this impeachment effort against the president. so i guess this is a live question. if the senate does vote -- the house is going to vote to impeach president trump tomorrow. that will happen. if there after the senate votes to convict president trump, if that happens while trump is still in office, the effect of the vote to convict him will be to remove him from office. vice president mike pence will become the next president of the united states. that will make joe biden the 47th, not the 46th president of the united states, even if mike pence only serves for five minutes. now, can a president be impeached after he's left office? arguable question, lots of legal scholars on both sides weighing in. but let's say the conviction of donald trump on impeachment charges happens after the inauguration. let's say they do pursue it in the senate but it happens after trump leaves office. even in that circumstance, the c

host: john mcconnell? mr. mcconnell: take yes for an answer.u are president of the united states. the campaign is over. the country is looking to you with great expectations, great goodwill. this is not a country obsessed with politics. this is a country that has a lot of problems and a nasty tone in its politics. none of that has to be reflected in the inaugural address. you are the president. look forward, look ahead, tell the country where you want to go, what do you want to do. it is not about your adversaries, who you defeated. it is about you and this is probably -- you are probably not going to run for office again, so just be every inch the president of the united states. but he does not need my advice. host: both former presidential speech writers, thank you so much for spending an hour with c-span in advance of joe biden's inaugural. appreciate your time. mr. mcconnell: thank you. ms. peri: thank you. ♪ >> all q&a programs are available on our website or as a podcast on c-span.org. ♪ >> wednesday, joe biden will be sworn in as the 46

give mcconnell a fig leaf to back down. or coming out to oppose any movement to make the senate work better. we're seeing mcconnell flexing muscle to block things even if for a little bit that shouldn't be blocked. he'll signaling how obstructionist he will be. democrats instead of coming out and punishing him for it, said in principle they'd leave his demand to leave the filibuster unchanged. it's a little bit unclear at least at this moment. >> but, norm, those two senators could change their minds over time. depending on how obstructionist mitch mcconnell becomes. this is what the game is now. it's how often does chuck schumer have to threaten a nuclear option when he can? and ezra's right, he has to be able to actually threaten it. it sounded like he did have 50 senators ready to go to at least break through this filibuster of the organizing resolution and once that wall is cracked, that would have been a pretty big crack in that wall. >> i do think that if this had gone on for another few days what manchin said was i w

we are getting a statement from mitch mcconnell again. what would come next given the rules, procedures and senate precedents, that govern presidential impeachment, there's simply no chance, again from mitch mcconnell, that a fair or serious trial could conclude before president-elect biden is sworn in next week. he goes on to say the senate has held three presidential impeachment trials. they have lasted 83 days, 27 days, even if the senate month says were to begin this week, no final verdict would be reached until after president trump had left office so reaction now from phil wakeman of real clear politics. so this seems unlikely, phil. your thoughts. >> i think we'll learn a lot of civic lessons from chad pergram the days to come as he explains the rules. what we saw from mitch mcconnell is that yes, while there's a 50/50 split in the u.s. senate right now, he's not going to bring the senate back with a emergency session. there's not a love lost between mcconnell and the president. there's a lot of senate republicans that blame the pr

despite mcconnell trying to blockade everything. there are different things we can do to get around him. >> leading off our discussion tonight, just the people i want to talk to in this beginning of the year of the senate. norm ornstein, congressional historian and scholar at the american enterprise institute. also with us, ezra klein, "new york times" opinion columnist, and host of the podcast, "the ezra klein show." norm, i want to begin with what it means within the senate for mitch mcconnell to cave like this tonight, just give up and no pretense, no -- there's nothing in his move that indicates there was anything other than i guess chuck schumer was going to beat me at this, i had to give in to him. >> it was kind of odd in a way, lawrence, because this was a made-up fight. there was no reason to have it. it wasn't going to lead anywhere. however it ended, the only thing that he could have done was to keep democrats from chairing committees for a period of time. and that wouldn't have looked good over -- after a while. but what

mcconnell, senator mcconnell, appear to be at an impasse in terms of the organizing resolution of the senate. >> yes. >> how is that going to end? >> let me tell you how it's going to end. traditionally, the organiing resolution should be a pretty routine thing. the democratic leader, the republican leader, no matter who's in the majority, minority, sit down and just hammer it out. it's a little different now because it's 50/50. but we've had a precedent. it was 50/50 back in 2001. and democratic leader daschle and republican leader lott got together and worked out an agreement most people thought was down the middle and fair. the first day i went to mitch mcconnell, let's do that resolution, the way they did it in 2001 and he went to the floor and said, i won't do it unless you democrats do this. demand what i want. he's not the majority leader. he's the minority leader. and he is not going to get his way. we are not going to do what he wants and that is universal, rachel, in my caucus, from the most liberal to the most conservative. we hope in the next day or two he'll come to his s

mcconnell wants to -- our sources say mcconnell wants to get rid of the president. he doesn't want to ever hear the words donald trump again so if he is no longer a factor for senate republicans in 2022 and 2024 that could give mcconnell an easier path to the majority in the near future. but mcconnell is also a negotiator. he has to extract something in exchange so while he's doing these negotiations with democrats, perhaps if they want a quick trial, perhaps mcconnell's going to get something out of it and he might want to slow down joe biden's ability to stand up his government, kasie. >> so kelly o'donnell, and i know you know all the players on both ends of pennsylvania avenue, having covered the trump administration the last four years, and of course all the time that you spent up on capitol hill. it seems to me, one motivating thing here is an effort to keep the president inside the lines. he obviously crossed them all last wednesday. and this gives mcconnell a tool to say, okay, if you do what you did last week again we are going to leave open the option of c

so, manu, let me just get back quickly to mitch mcconnell. he apparently hates -- and that's a strong word -- hates the president of the united states right now. we heard jonathan martin of the "new york times" say it's very possible mitch mcconnell might even vote in favor of convicting president trump in the course of a senate trial after trump is going to be impeached for a second time tomorrow, the first president to be impeached twice, that mitch mcconnell might also go in favor. you need 60 votes and that would be a powerful moment. >> if that happened, donald trump would most likely be convicted by the u.s. senate. you need 17 republicans to break ranks. he would bring over a lot of votes, a lot of republicans not certain which way to go. already we expect a handful to vote to convict when it does come to that, but if mitch mcconnell comes that way, that would be a very key indication, and that would mean donald trump would not be able to run for office, hold a public office ever again. but, wolf, that still needs to play out. mr. mcco

so it actually came back and bit mcconnell. he lost those two seats and he lost the leadership of the senate, which is the thing that he holds most dear. >> how much do you think is playing into mitch mcconnell's calculus that donald trump is threatening to create this other party, the maga party, the patriot party, whatever he plans to call it. how much do you think that's keeping mitch mcconnell up at night? >> well, i mean, i think it's got to be a nightmare for him. basically, if his aim is to win in 2022, get back to majority, he needs to keep his caucus with him. he needs to have his members get re-elected. and basically, what trump is doing now is vowing vengeance against anybody who might go against him. and saying he will run primary challengers against them. so this is a nightmare for mitch mcconnell. he's basically -- there was a quote from adam gentleson, a longtime senate observer who's got a great new book out about the senate called kill switch. and at any rate, he's -- he says, mcconnell's like the cartoon chara

-- mcconnell? mr. mcconnell: that was vintage donald trump. a speechwriter i was always hesitant, and i can show you my bosses, dick cheney, dan quill before that -- dan quayle before that, there was always a sensitivity to saying something completely categorical such as this stops right here, right now. is that right? is this really true that something stops here and now? i think sometimes in politics there can be overpromising and overstating, and sometimes an inaugural address there are other examples of that. host: sarada, what are your thoughts and listening that speech? ms. peri: i had a similar reaction to john. categorical assertions of anything is a dangerous move to make. i was struck by that phrase. devoid of all knowledge. that is something anyone i've ever worked for would've allowed to be written. what is chilling about it actually is that his suggestion of american carnage was really just more prophecy and prediction that it was an accurate picture of what was happening inside. he had just inherited a roaring economy from presid

that's where mcconnell is right now. if you've paid close attention in the last five or six weeks, he hasn't been very subtle about it. he's tried to move his conference away. if you listen to his january 6 comments before the attack, that was a big speech. you know better than i do, john, mcconnell is very, very, very unwilling to attack his conference more than anything. splitting his conference is not something he wants to do. he is clearly in that position right now of trying to consider how to move the republican party on from president trump. the biggest thing for his conference right now, particularly those up in 2022, is whether or not they want to go with him on this specific moment. >> calculating the new reality of being in the minority, part of that as well. tamara, we know the president is mad right now. we know he's mad that mcconnell is not out speaking, saying, we're not going to impeach him. he's mad his own aides are not on television defending him at this moment. normally the president would use his tw

, no one in mcconnell world is pushing back. >> right. >> no one in mcconnell world is pushing back. zero people will tell you this report isn't true. obviously, the mcconnell people want this out there that he thinks impeachment is a good idea. significant. >> i'm glad you were working your sources last night. there's no question he obviously wants this reporting out there. that he's pleased with this. he thinks this could help purge trumpism from the party. let's be clear, mitch mcconnell stood by two months while this president fomented disinformation about the election while he tried to steal the election in vain from joe biden. only now, we can assume, because he was personally attacked during last week's insurrection. there's no question that all of the lawmakers are dealing with the trauma of what happened. mitch mcconnell stood by for years, not just for the months leading up to now, for years, all to remake the fed judiciary. i understand the reporting that he hates the president. but unless he leads his caucus to a conviction of this president and they try to disqualify him

mitch mcconnell tried to weaponize it. that to me indicates the republican party will leave no stone unturned in terms of the levers of power. if they could weaponize the senate gym, they would. anything that there is, they will try to use as a lever of power because they understand they are dealing with an administration and a democratic party that is emboldened, that is scared for the future of the country and that is willing to do a lot of really big things to save what i think they see as the country on a precipice. >> well, alex, as a student of washington, may i ask you then a relatively silly follow-up question? >> you can always. >> what do you make then of mitch mcconnell's argument which he made bluntly and in public that he would continue to basically try hostage obstruction tactics unless he was given the commitment that he could endlessly try hostage obstruction tactics? >> right. the -- it's completely counterintuitive. mitch mcconnell doesn't want anybody to do away with the filibuster because it's the one t

mitch mcconnell is open to impeachment.sident trump for citing the insurrection and plans never to speak with him again. as of this morning, president trump is expressing no regret, and he is making new threats. >> federal investigators say they are pursuing thousands of leads on the identities of these domestic terrorists. so they can bring sedition and conspiracy charges against them. america's most senior military leader is issuing a rare statement warning their troops about their constitutional duty to reject extremism. metal detectors have been installed now outside of the house chamber after multiple house democrats told cnn they were worried about other members carrying firearms. we begin this histor

mcconnell lost control. i do think it feels like mitch mcconnell may have regained control of his republican congress again. it's almost like a march of republicans that will go to the podium and apologize and pull back. >> yeah, we will see how it plays out. we will continue to watch it, and you see tim kaine going in, and it will and interesting to hear from staff in fact the building, watching what is unfolding. we start to see the republican opposition start to fold one by one by one, and we await to see the divisions of senators hawley and cruz, to see if it strategy goes down to defeat or whether it will be extended an it will longer. >> i will tell you it is quiet here at the white house after what has been a day of trying to pressure president trump to come out and deliver a more forceful message than the one he gave, calling back those mobs, those who were gathering and storming capitol hill. what we were waiting and watching for is what the reaction will be. i can tell you what is happening we are

but what mcconnell wants and what mcconnell has right now, the democrats have not yet been willing to take it from him, is more than a filibuster, right. he's not jimmy stewart on the senate floor talking himself into oblivion about representing the little guy against corrupt powers. this is minority veto. this is a mcconnell minority veto that is wielded to allow us to not even get to a vote on things that are so popular. i do believe that people like senator manchin who said they don't want to end the filibuster can be heroes by bringing back the talking filibuster. this is the question now, and this gambit you talked about in the first section with senator whitehouse that the republicans are doing right now is a reminder not to be fooled. act on behalf of the american people. democrats will say, you know, what if we're in the minority again? the best thing you can do to not be the minority again is to kill the minority veto and get things done for the american people that are popular. and then people will send you back to washington. >> and i will say john tester who is a democrat

margaret talev, mitch mcconnell, and i think it is notable, there's no pushback from mcconnell world over these stories, whether it be from "the times," cnn, what you guys are putting out. mcconnell world wants this out there that you guys have turned on president trump. but if impeachment is something he's in favor of or pleased with, why not call back the senate? he can do this. he can make conviction more likely by saying today, i'm going to do everything i can to get the senate back as early as possible for this trial. >> so, timing is a really important question. and i think we'll get maybe a little bit of clarity in the coming hours today about exactly how this is going to proceed. the senate scheduled to come back on the 19th. they could, with an agreement between mcconnell and schumer come back early. but i have not talked to anyone -- i have talked to a lot of republicans and democrats who think this is going to begin to move forward now. i've talked to no one who thinks it will be waving a wand and move forward. the question is, how long, realistically, will this take? it's

as far as mcconnell is concerned, we have really been trying to figure out what mcconnell's play is overe senate, especially if democrats send these article -- this article of impeachment over relatively soon. we do know in "the new york times" there's a big bombshell story last night that said that mcconnell supports the democrats moving forward with impeachment. that was just a huge, huge signal to his colleagues. but we are hearing this morning, our colleagues, that mcconnell's leadership team had no idea that that story was coming, did not know about his position. there have been no conference calls scheduled among senate republicans. senate republican aides were complaining to me yesterday morning that they hadn't heard from mcconnell yet. this is before the story, saying that they needed guidance. they needed leadership. they didn't know what to do. everything has been completely silent. then this "new york times" story came out. that was the first senate republicans have heard from their leadership. now they are wanting to get something formal, some sort of conversation so that th

follows an agreement between the senate majority leader chuck schumer and republican leader mitch mcconnell who asked for a delay to allow trump's team to prepare its defense the former president is accused of inciting an insurrection the charge them some rally on january 6th when he encouraged his supporters to march to the capitol building to stop joe biden's electoral victory from being certified by congress let's get an update from john hendren he's joining us from washington d.c. so now there is a day john talk us through what happens next. that's right this is historic there in that 2nd impeachment trial of donald trump he has been given until february 2nd to respond to the charges that he incited and insurrection and the reason it's been delayed until february 8th is that the republican leader in the senate mitch mcconnell said he thinks there needs to be more time for a defense to be developed for donald trump to be able to talk with his lawyers and offer up some kind of defense to these charges so what happens now is the house will send over the articles of impeachment on monday on

mcconnell may be wrong.seeing right now is mitch mcconnell saying we must now rid -- this is our chance. and he's sending that signal clearly to his senate colleagues in the republican side as liz cheney said it to her house colleagues. they are going to be less prone to listen to her. they are much craziest house republicans than among senate republicans and much more trumpists over there. this is an extraordinary moment in your party where a very explicit outfront way liz cheney and mitch measuring konl and others like them are saying far too late in my view, far too late but they are looking up and saying, the time is now to move on. and to rid ourselves of this stain. >> what trump has proven, willie, is he will shake you down. he will extort you. he will break laws. he will commit crimes. he will not back you. even if he promises to. what do republicans have -- let me use his phrase that he used for african-americans. what do you have to lose at this point? if you vote to impeach the president of the un

now, mcconnell did lose. he's in the minority.ocrats have a range of powers to deal with the grim reaper. will they use them? we have a very special conversation planned right now. we're going to learn something because we're joined by adam gentleson, who had the powerful position as deputy chief of staff to senate leader harry reid. we are also joined by jason johnson. i should mention adam's new book is "kill switch" about the filibuster as a political weapon. jason, how are you doing? >> i'm feeling good. i'm feeling good. we have a new functional democracy. it puts a smile on my face. >> your thoughts first on this impasse with mcconnell. >> i mean, it's to be expected. and look, ari, we've been saying this from jump. if joe biden thought he was going to come in and be able to sort of chum it up with some of these senators on the republican side because they used to play squash and racquetball back in the '90s, this is throwing water in his face. and he should know that this is just the beginning. mitch mcconnell will look thr

democrats say why would we give away this to mitch mcconnell when he's in the minority. >> mcconnell going to block control for the dems until they agree to promise to uphold the rule that would allow him and the republicans to block anything else that they want to block? do i have that right? >> yeah, you do. that's a very good way of putting it. first of all, as i understand it, there is not a precedent for filibustering the organizing resolution of the senate the way mcconnell is threatening here, basically blocking the majority from organizing and holding everything up that way. second, even if the democrats somehow agreed to this, there's no way that it can be binding as mcconnell knows. they could later come back and change it. why is he doing it? he's doing it to make a statement here to kind of show his power and to kind of force democrats to back down. i was there in 2009 when he said to major garrett that his principle goal, mcconnell's, legislative goal, was to make barack obama a one-term president. if you look at this maneuvering plus his speech today criticizing biden's

the joy of movement. >>> if i were to ask senator mcconnell -- or if i were to assess senator mcconnell'sy. his legacy is judges. >> also tax cuts for the rich. don't forget that. >> legislatively, tax cuts for the rich. but if you were to sum up his early days and he talks about it being his proudest accomplishment. >> he brags about it. >> proudly hypocritical. pull all the stops to break everything rule too, do everything to put young, conservatives on the bench. it is a very imbalanced judiciary now. for decades essentially, it will be stacked with conservatives. how do you makeup some of that ground? >> first, the good news is there we don't need anything. we are 51 votes allows us to put judges on a bench and there will be lots of vacancies that come up and i think there are a lot of judges, damic appointees who didn't take senior status while trump was president and now they will. so, first we can fill oplot. second, traditionally, we have increased the number in the lower-end circuit courts. i have, in the city of buffalo -- they don't have enough judges. it's this long line befor

from mcconnell.w york times" broke the story and we matched the story about the misgivings about president trump and his openness to impeachment and his feeling that the president had committed impeachable offenses and that caused disenchantment as members figure out where they're supposed to land. it is a very high hill to climb. and mitch mcconnell will move from majority to minority leader will be the most powerful republican in the country. he has a serious of loyalists in the conference and in the republican party over the course of the last 36 or 37 years. where he goes, matters, where he is trying to take the republican party, that is what is happening where he is trying to take the republican party away from president trump, that matter tooz. but i want to read one statement from rob portman, close ally of mitch mcconnell and he put out a statement making clear he's going to be a juror and he hasn't made up his mind yet and wants to see how the trial plays out. if the senate conducts an impea

it is pretty clear that mcconnell puts a lot of believe what happened and then to convict here on the other hand the leader of his party clearly republicans don't want to go against trump there is a clear backlash against voters and then to cause trouble within his own conference especially if you all get to those 17 senate republicans needed to convict trump and then to bar him for running again. but on the other hand he is in a tight spot. you can see other senate republicans including john cornyn so succeeding because it's a republican leader that it would be unconstitutional never on trial of the x is opening a pandora's box. up until now only sharply critical of the president and it was impeachable admin so it is a tough question for mcconnell how he will vote. >> clearly the january 6 attack will hang over this event from the start the producer pointed out jennifer hemingway is now the acting senate and then i wanted to hear the impeachment articles because they all resigned under the weight of that as we get underway what else are you looking for but public reaction? >> one thi

it was quite the speech by mitch mcconnell. the reactions that i'm seeing from various democrats are sort of shock and relief and cheering. things like that. instead of talking about it i want to pull up a couple excerpts. let's play it, i want to get everyone in on this. >> if this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral. we would never see the whole nation accept an election again. every four years would be a scramble for power at any cost. my colleagues, nothing before us proves illegality anywhere near the massive scale that would have tipped the entire election. nor can public doubt, alone, justify a radical break when the doubt itself was ensicited witht any evidence. we cannot declare ourselves a national board of elections on steroids. >> andrea, katy, rich, claire, i thought it was the clearest rebuke of president trump's behavior we have heard from any sitting republican leader. you heard it from mitt romney, from lindsey graham when he is anti-trump

mitch mcconnell no se enfocó tanto en donald trump, pero sí en la democracia.mitch mcconnell como chuck schumer utilizaron la palabra insurrección, una palabra que también utilizó joe biden cuando hablo sobre los incidentes que ocurrieron el día de hoy en el capitolio. fíjense, mitch mcconnell, chuck schumer y joe biden utilizando la misma palabra para describir lo sucedido hoy. >> mitch mcconnell normalmente no está de acuerdo con los demócratas. éstas no para protestas ni rallies, eran personas que buscaban usar violencia contra nuestros líderes políticos, y violentar en efecto nuestras instituciones democráticas. divisiones políticas, diferentes opiniones, todos los líderes políticos han dicho ya. joe biden en su discurso hoy en la tarde lo dijo en inglés, ya basta. aquí ojalá que los diputados y senadores que al principio dijeron que tenían oposición a la certificación, que reconsideren y apoyan el proceso que es algo simbólico. que ha sido con poco drama. >> muchísimas gracias victoria por estar siempre con nosotros comentando las noticias que suceden. que

we'll need more cooperation from leader mcconnell. thank you so much for making time tonight. >> of course. good to be with you. >>> next, democrats need to act fast if they have any hope of passing legislation can. they stay out of their own way and get it done? we'll talk about that next. don? we'll talk about that next r thef a 165-point certification process. or it isn't. it's either testing an array of advanced safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned. or it isn't. the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event. now through march 1st. shop online or drop by your local dealer today. managing type 2 diabetes? you're on it. exercising often and eating healthy? yup, on it there too. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease... ...but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for

mcconnell as i am before, this is his last point of leverage. if they're not able to reach a power sharing agreement, crazy as it sounds, even though democrats should control the senate, 50/50 with that then extra vote for vice president harris, the reality is the committee chairs will remain republican and that's what influences legislation as it goes through the united states senate, or as we've seen over the past ten years, legislation that doesn't go through. >> the phrase from every political show we binge on. it will never make it out. committee. then michael, the question again for any reasonable person will be burks who says you have to live by the old agreement? it's not in the constitution. this isn't a law. this is a rule they came up with for themselves. how could it be that you have a new majority but they're bound by some pact among the senators so you don't have the majority be the majority in the committees? >> it is a horrible outcome except for all the alternatives. in other words, what else can you do? if it were 51/49, we wou

the senator from kentucky or the senator named mitch mcconnell to block judges. he does not. the only way thats you can blok a judge from being debated in the senate is for senators onom the committee to refuse to report that judge and mitch mcconnell does not serve on the judiciary committee so we has no say in that instance, he can urge them to and influence and try to convince them to donv so but he ultimately has no power to do so. even in that regard i would point out democrats can move the discharge judges from committee, that's an important power when the democrats did not use with regard to merrick garland, they can forcece the issue. i suspect they force issue early on in that debate then they would've won that debate but quite frankly the majority of republican senators did not agree with the strategy aten the time to prevent a votepr on merrick garland. it's an important point to make, i would also add in 2001 with the last 50/50 split there is a power-sharing agreement between democrats and republicans and one of the things they put in the agreement i

that is what senator mcconnell proposed. and in one moment , i am going to bring because i know republicans think i don't do much for that , but i'm not concerned about it but senator, i'm going to bring your bill to the floor . show you what a nice guy i am . new year, i'm going to bring senator mcconnell's bill right to the floor and give you an opportunity to vote for it . all that i am asking , while i bring senator mcconnell's republican bill to the floor t, we are going to bring the bill the house for 44 republicans as well. one vote on senator mcconnell's bill, needs to . one that will house . one vote on, 60 votes to pass . that's it so it's hard for me to imagine how center thune will object to a bring forward gthe republican bill . here it goes. this is the legalese . i'm going to ensure center thune will support me in my efforts . i ask unanimous consent that a cloture is invoked on the veto message on our 6395 , national defense authorization act notwithstanding rule 22 . 3 pm today . 3 pm today , friday, january

>> then let's -- >> and mitch mcconnell, we know, i mean, mitch mcconnell does not let something getre like that that he is happy there's impeachment unless he really believes that. >> that is a great point. >> is it mitch mcconnell's republican party? you know, or statistics marge re-taylor green who is the congresswoman from dalton, georgia that ascribes to a lot of qanon beliefs. >> that congresswoman from georgia, do you know why she's relevant, because we keep talking about her, we're not talking about all sorts of other freshman who were elected. kevin mccarthy did say that the president bears some responsibility. he is a person of influence within the republican party, and he was, before president trump took office. so yes, you've got guys like lee zelden who are still defending the president but don't we need to remember that none of us had ever heard the name lee zelden, no one who lives west of montauk, long island heard of lee zelden until president trump made him a name. aren't these people holding onto that moment of fame before they're knocked back into irrelevance? >>

has was not in any consultation with mitch mcconnell.nk there may be more conversations going back and forth ironically than ever with this white house. >> that is pretty wild. gloria borger, thank you so much. >> sure. >>> next, the unbelievable argument that is now being made by republican backers of the president. that's actually democrats being divisive and causing violence by holding president trump accountable. we're going to roll the tape. >>> after the attack on the capitol, after trump was impeached a second time including by members of his party, the white house is still lying about the election. >> the democratic party did violence to this country by attacking a president who i believe was legally elected on november 3rd. i've never been more pissed off in my life at this place and i think there's 74 million americans out there voted for president trump and feel exactly the same way. so i would say to these people on capitol hill, knock it off. stop this. >> there are two refrains we're hearing over and over from republicans s

joe was mentioning what mitch mcconnell said about the person he worked very closely with.r what he mentioned just yesterday. >> when the senate convened, we had just reclaimed the capital from violent criminals who try to stop congress from doing our duty. the mob was fed lies. they were provoked by the president and other powerful people. caroline: how much therefore, with no real social platform for now former president trump, would you think republicans will say and how will the impeachment hearing go terms of whether he can be elected again, and to include lead the new party he might try to start? liam: considerations are different in the senate that in the house. in the impeachment vote in the house, 140 of the roughly 200 applicants did vote -- 200 republicans did vote against the charges, which gives you an idea of not necessarily the fear of donald trump, but understanding of where their voters are with respect to former president trump. you're saying that protected by mitch mcconnell, they are insulated from some -- you are seeing that projected by mitch mcconnell

schumer was not giving that to mcconnell, any sort of commitment, so what mcconnell just said is thatratic senator kyrsten sinema gave mcconnell her assurance that is she would not vote to get rid of the filibuster, that 60-vote threshold and that was apparently good enough for mcconnell to drop his opposition to this power-sharing agreement now that they can start to organize how the senate is going to operate, hallie. >> thank you much. >>> also on capitol hill a bill being floated to try to stop capitol rioters or qanon supporters from getting the security clearances they would need to have a job in the government. next up we are talking about a lawmaker who craft that had bill, congresswoman stephanie murphy. she's joining us live. there she is. >>> first, no good deed goes unpunished as jimmy fallon found out to clean steve kornacki's office. >> are you kidding me? who has pretied ties? he has a hockey jersey. measuring tape? blazer, you couldn't wear this on tv. more ties under the blazer. advertise should go on the racks, clothes going to the rack. i'm literally making your roo

mcconnell did not rule out voting to convict president trump. the leader, according to sources familiar with his thinking, believes the president did, in fact, commit impeachable offenses. in fact, i'm told by multiple sources that mcconnell has been furious, furious that before the attack occurred that republicans were lining up with the president, trying to overturn election results, even angrier in the wake of the attack. not just because of the attack itself, but the lack of contrition from president trump. so where mcconnell lands on this, still very much an open question. it is incredibly noteworthy that mcconnell is not rejecting this out of hand. keep in mind, in 2020 after impeachment articles were sent over to the senate, mitch mcconnell was one of the president's most vocal and forceful defenders. not this time around. that has left senate republicans trying to figure out where this is all going to land. in fact, mcconnell hadn't sent words to republicans on where he stood on things until a couple of hours ago and many republicans i t

:, , , mcconnell? is he talking about mitch mcconnell? :. . . . mcconnell? yeah.alls. and that depends on the speaker of the house. those of you who have eagle eyes, perhaps we can move our red banner at the bottom, because you will see that the time remaining is actually zero. in theory, they are only allowed to have 15 minutes, there is nothing left on the clock, but because of covid and the fact that you can't have many members in congress at any one time in the hall, in the chamber, the time has been extended, and we will wait until those 25 not yet voted now 24, they will have a chance to vote. we are watching that 217 number, once that clicks over, there you go. it went quickly past it, 221 now, donald trump will be the only american in american history to have been impeached twice. we are waiting for the gavel to fall, until all members of congress have had their chance to vote, but they needed 218 votes, they have 218 votes, three american presidents, andrewjohnson, bill clinton, donald trump have been impeached, that's it in american history. they were on

senator mitch mcconnell said i had "excessive expectations," but i don't think so. after seven years of hearing repeal and replace, why not done? >> there's a lashing out when things don't go his way. john mccain was the deciding vote, and so, you know, it was hard to understand how mitch mcconnell would be the blame of it, but, you know, that's the president's nature, as we all know. >> can you believe that mitch mcconnell, who has screamed repeal and replace for seven years, couldn't get it done. >> trump was using the most powerful weapon he has, which is twitter, to humiliate him repeatedly, to rake him over the coals, to let his followers know, "this is mitch mcconnell's fault. he's failed you, not me." >> mitch, get back to work and put repeal and replace, tax reform and cuts, and a great infrastructure bill on my desk for signing. >> narrator: mch mcconnell learned a lesson-- he had to keep donald trump on his side. >> mitch mcconnell is a very smart politician. i think he understood the trump base, perhaps better than most. and he understood that the trump b