murkowski, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. mr. coons, aye. mr. tuberville, no. ms. lummis, no. mr. padilla, aye. mr. schmitt, no. mr. kennedy, no. mr. welch, aye. ms. slotkin, aye. mr. cornyn, no. mr. whitehouse, aye. mrs. britt, no. mr. kelly, aye. mr. warnock, aye. mr. durbin, aye. mr. hawley, no. mr. hagerty, no. ms. cortez masto, aye. mrs. capito, no. mr. warner, aye. the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 52, the nays are 48. the yeas are 48, the nays are 52. the amendment is not agreed to. the senator from new mexico. mr. lujan: i'd like to call up my amendment number 699 and ask that it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new mexico, mr. lujan, proposes an amendment numbered 699. mr. lujan: mr. president, we are experiencing a nationwide shortage of police officers. police departments are stretched thin, making our communities less safe. in the worst cases, some small departments have disbanded completely. small towns need federal dollars to bolster their ranks. the musk-trump freeze took funding away fr

host: lisa murkowski over the weekend, her tweet that she put out our public workforce deserves to bereated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform. the absurd weekend email to justify this existence -- their existence -- guest: she is concerned. i spoke to her last week specifically, that the cuts to government funding that musk is putting forward could affect energy projects in alaska and wildlife conservation efforts in her state. she has seen it directly and that's why she's speaking out against this. she's not the only one trait we have seen other republicans come forward, saying they are sensing that back home, some of their government officials are being affected by this and losing jobs when they are essential and need to continue working for the federal government. host: this is victoria out of chester lind, ohio, line for dinner kratz. good morning. caller: i hope everybody -- host: line for democrats, good morning. caller: i hope everybody is satisfied with the way our government is going. what will it take to drain your account? what will it take? than

murkowski: mr. president, i rise today to speak about a century-long dispute, 100 years plus there's been a dispute about the federal designation of north america's tallest mountain. it's a pretty majestic picture, but it does nothing to really convey the amazing grandeur of denali. it is majestic. it is breathtaking. it is something that, as alaskans and as a lifelong alaskan, there is not a day, there is not a day when i am able to see denali and just say -- just kind of breathe deep, because it's that extraordinary. and in my hometown of anchorage, where we're about 250 miles away from denali, and on the clear days, when you are on the road just about a mile from my house, just a little bit of elevation, you can see the mountain. and we talk about it that way. we say, she's out, the mountain's out today, the big one is out today. it is an extraordinary -- an extraordinary gift from god, really. snow-blanketed crevasses, the ridges are just gleaming in the sun, how this mountain connects earth to

we have to persuade people to agree with us. >> and you. >> saw lisa murkowski. making her comments. you heard other republicans expressing concerns. if we. >> identify what. >> trump and musk. >> are doing. >> as what it is. >> which is basically trying to smash the federal government. so that they can have. greater power and control. this is nothing to do with efficiency and effectiveness. you line up 100 ceos in the country and. >> say, is this. >> the way you'd run your business if you wanted to make it more. efficient and effective? >> absolutely. zero would say yes. >> this is about trump and musk creating a situation where they have the power to do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it, without any checks on that power. call it what it is and build support in the country against it. and then also. >> sue. >> which we have been doing, use the courts to block the illegal actions that they're taking. >> but this is. >> a basic messaging campaign. we've got to get our message out aggressively so that we can get more people to agree. with us. an

. >> john: quickly, caitlin, before i lose you coming to talk to senator murkowski about the cuts thatand the federal branch? >> reporter: that's right, john. we are seeing a clash between republicans who want to see government shrink a bit who are supportive of general cuts, but also don't want to see their cuts in their particlar states and districts. this is a problem that has long perplexed to washington and has really come into a class year, not only people like lisa murkowski, but other republicans who are raising their hands trying to tell the white house and the administration hey, you may want to think twice about some of these cuts. >> john: an age-old battle, caitlin huey burns in washington, thank you. beneath the battle scarred fields of ukraine hides a treasure, rare earth minerals used to power the advanced technologies. white house national security advisor mike waltz said ukraine is close to signing a deal giving u.s. access to these scarce resources. here to discuss is marc caputo, senior editor -- i should say reporter at axios. i don't want to accuse you of being an

that would be mcconnell murkowski. these democrats deserve the nominee.omes to trump, when it comes to trump they have a screw loose. they have a screw loose. mcconnell, it's all personal with him. collins? she wants to be able to run for senate again and say i'm independent. i vote against republicans all the time. murkowski, she's just a whack job. she likes to say that. she is, she is a favorite senator. democrat or republican the national education association of the american federation of teachers. the teachers unions because man, when it comes to election time they load up for precincts they manned the precinct second or the votes. now you know why i'm never invited to the public and national convention. i don't want to be. i want to be there would be better right here with you. in making a point. what happened in the potomac was horrendous. sean duffy stepped up. he grabbed the reins. he is going to work with all the other jurisdictions. he's going to follow the orders of the president priest going to get to the bottom of it. and improve the situat

mitch mcconnell, one of those, senator curtis out of utah, lisa murkowski as well.e against him, this would put his nomination in an ultimate bind. so mrs. blackburn. controversial, but individuals who he believes loyalists who will go in and effectively reconfigure these the clerk: mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester. the timing for that is when you said. >> 7 a.m. eastern tomorrow morning, they have to let a certain amount of time go by to allow the debate to proceed here. and that is where democrats have said, much like what we saw them do with the nomination of russ vote to be the omb director, where senators switched off positions, where they spoke from the senate floor. we expect that to take place here through the night, ahead of what is going to be an ea mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. republican who voted against it. and on the democratic side, it was down the line, not one defection. >> yes. >> jose. >> as you know. >> this. job is a. relatively recent job. it was only created. >> after nine over. >> 1

i love what lisa murkowski said a breath of fresh air, fresh eyes, democrat, certainly got the military background. i think that in a couple of years, there are a few people going to emerge as stars. no one expects it guys like rubio. i think she is going to be the surprise. >> lawrence: the one interesting thing about her of course some of the pushback against her some of the people in the committee is where she stood on classified information. who was a freedom fighter versus who was a traitor. i think if you want reforms in the system, if you want a more credible agency, if you want a whistleblower protections, then you want to be under her. if you feel like something is going wrong, people are going to feel comfortable letting her know because they know she is protect the classified information. as well as protect them as well. i think that's -- that's the change you need in these agencies. >> steve: you know, what is interesting about -- as we look at the last tranche of the cabinet nominees go up for confirmation, remember when the very beginning when we first got the names of eve

. >> reporter: some republican lawmakers, including senator lisa murkowski argue the cuts are comingtoo deep. >> i'm for finding efficiencies, eliminating the waste, fraud and abuse there, but there is a way that we go about it. >> reporter: earlier in the day, senator murkowski joined republican senator susan collins of maine and all 47 democrats in voting against kash patel to lead the fbi. patel, a trump loyalist narrowly won confirm nation in a r 51-49 vote. >>> a war of words has erupted between president trump and the ukrainian president. it comes as the special envoy to ukraine, a decorated retired general traveled there. natalie brand has more. >> reporter: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy posted video of his meeting with president trump's special envoy to ukraine. retired general keith kellogg visited kyiv in the midst of the white house' escalating feud with zelenskyy. >> i'd like to find out all the money that we've been sending to ukraine, where is it? >> reporter: president trump claimed ukraine talked the u.s. into sending $350 billion for the war with russia, bu

republican senator lisa murkowski faced questions from her constituents in a big tele town hall and senator murkowski in that town hall, according to accounts of how that went, really appeared to take her constituents side as they expressed their grave opposition to what trump is doing. she reportedly told her constituents on this town hall that trump's efforts to hold back funding that's already been appropriated by congress, quote, cannot be allowed to stand. she said, quote, if we in congress allow that, we effectively cede some of our authority. she said, quote, we have to stand up the we has to be more than just me. and this is where it becomes more of a challenge. we have to stand up today in the united states senate after that call with her constituents last night, lisa murkowski was in fact part of a very small we she was one of two republicans, along with susan collins, who joined every democrat in voting against kash patel to be director of the fbi. now, bottom line, they needed four republican knows to stop him. they got two, but two is not. none. joining us now is senator cory b

republican senator lisa murkowski just said about how she'll vote. news reporters are following all of the latest developments. we begin with this new inflation report. it's getting a lot of attention from washington to wall street. i want to bring in nbc business correspondent brian chung. brian, a lot to unpack here, but what exactly might this mean for us? >> yeah. well, we got new government statistics this morning showing what prices look like in america. and to no one's surprise, prices are going up 3%. that's how much prices rose in january of this year compared to january of last year. you'll notice that that's an uptick from the december to december period rate of 2.9%. and when we unpack the categories where we saw some of this inflation. and by the way, you can see in the chart ahead of you that the rate of inflation has been trending up since the fall of last year. but it's really things like food, gas and also just the cost of putting a roof over your head, which they categorize as shelter. these are the monthly changes that you're seein

senator murkowski kind of summed it up perfectly, the nature of how some of this is being handled. you know, for example, at opm, a lot of these people who were fired, there was an example of them being on a microsoft team call with hundreds of other employees being told you're being laid off. i mean, the nature of how this is happening, how it's happening without, again, some of these deep review processes, all of that. you can hear the concerns percolating, but i don't think it has hit that peak yet, where you're kind of getting a lot of these calls directly to how public this is, is a double edged sword. i mean, elon musk has made this a national story that everyone is watching at every step. that's something that trump loves. at the same time. that's why you're getting hundreds and thousands of people showing up at these town halls when normally, you know, what are the senators i talked to said, normally we get like 20 people. and right now we're getting these huge groups. >> so i think part of what's happening here is that a lot of rank and file democrats in particular, are re

just moments ago, senator lisa murkowski of alaska, republican swing vote just voted against this nomination on the floor of the united states senate. this after her support to advance this to a final vote. we have not seen a statement from her yet. i asked her about this today. she did not want to say how she would vote ultimately on this. yet. we'll see what she has to say now. we also expect another no vote on the republican side that susan collins of maine, she voted against proceeding to a final vote earlier today, and she put out a statement aligning with a lot of the democratic concerns about kash patel to lead the fbi, she said. in her statement. she said mr. patel's recent political profile undermines his ability to serve in the in the apolitical role of director of the fbi. therefore, i will vote against his nomination. now, if they're the only two no votes, that's still enough for patel to be confirmed on a 5149 vote. the republicans will control the senate, 5347. and what does mitch mcconnell do? he is, of course, the former republican leader today announcing that he would retire

so i am not quite sure how senator murkowski plans to hold him accountable. he is known for making frequent and. erroneous public comments about science, about disease, about, um, his views. uh, so he now has been given the opportunity to serve in this amazing office. and hhs is a huge asset for the united states. it's the public health agency, the gold standard for research. controls the three largest health insurance programs in the country, where about half of americans get their health insurance. children and family programs, mental health. substance abuse. so drug, um, safety and effectiveness. so he has an enormous role. and, um, while i find it heartening that senator murkowski says she wants to hold him accountable, she is now giving him the green light to speak with the authority of the secretary, the health minister of states, at a very critical time. >> yeah. kathleen sebelius, thank you so much for sharing your perspective. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> in just moments, we're going to take you to the white house, where president trump just an

lisa murkowski, you mentioned her. said in her statement that she did have a conversation with kash patel this morning. she respected their their conversations, their meetings. she hopes that he does well. she actually said he needs to succeed in this job. but she said she hopes that he can understand that she cannot support him at this time, given those firings, given his comments, what an ally he's been to trump, both during his first administration, but also in the comments that he's made since. clearly he wants to clean house at the fbi. lisa murkowski was a supporter of chris wray, the outgoing fbi director that trump essentially left no choice but to leave the agency. and nonetheless, we heard from democrats, particularly their opposition this morning in the top democrat on the judiciary committee, dick durbin, standing outside of the fbi building with some of the other members on that panel calling kash patel a political hack, saying that he will be a yes man for donald trump. that is exactly who donald trump ha

now, just in the last few minutes, she has been joined by senator lisa murkowski, the moderate from alaska, who put out a statement saying that she, too is voting no on kash patel in this vote. she says her reservations with mr. patel stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership. the fbi must be focused on crime and corruption, she argues, not focused on settling political scores. now, despite that, alex, republicans have 53 senate votes, which means they're going to need at least two more to vote no on kash patel in order to sink his nomination. at this point, we don't see those two, so he is still on track to be confirmed. at this point, i think throughout this process, we've we've seen two versions of kash patel. one is the pro-trump firebrand, you know, who went on radio shows in recent years, backed the idea of law enforcement going after trump's critics, his perceived political enemies. he wrote a book about his grievances with senator dick durbin, the top democrat on the committee said was essentially an enemies list. then we saw a different

senator murkowski wants to end the back and forth with an act of congress. >> when alaskans. leave our home state, and coast outside to people, whether we're spinning a globe or just talking about it, we say that's denali. that's the great one. she's out today. so that is why today i have introduced legislation that would officially restore the federally recognized name of this quintessential mountain as denali. >> both of alaska's senators are backing the measure, and if it passes, it will require the mountain to be referred to as denali. in any laws, maps, regulations, documents, papers, or other u.s. records. it was once a hub for recruiters to find talented engineers. but this year, an annual conference attracting top students is getting snubbed by military recruiters. a founder of that conference joins us next. >> cnn this morning with kasie hunt weekdays. >> at five eastern. >> top line this is a quality comprehensive exam. come again? you asked me to top line it for you. >> okay. >> bottom line. well, the bottom line is this is an amazing value. what? get two pairs of

we needed one mor -- lisa murkowski and susan collins. we needed one more, 51-49 cashed two more, really. it makes me worried about the republicans. they are scared to death not just about donald trump, but we haven't mentioned the copresident at this point, elon musk, who can literally call and say if you don't vote this, i guarantee you will have 100 million for a primary opponent to challenge you. $100 million to him is nothing he can do that. he did as much of the last election. heidi: so how does a citizen than invoke the responsibility, professor baude, of article i? i voted for my congressional representatives, i want them to run the country, they are not doing it. do i have standing to assert article one power as a citizen in the court? william: in the courts, no. as a citizen you have standing on your own rights. people whose citizenship is being revoked, whose funding is being lost, they are suing. the way our government works is we elect them to congress and we have to hope they do their job, and if they don't, we have another

the final vote, 51 to 49, with republican senators susan collins and lisa murkowski murkowski joiningts in opposition. democrats have raised concerns about patel's qualifications and flagged past statements that he made, criticizing the agency that he is now supposed to lead. patel said those comments were taken out of context and claimed all employees, past and present, will be protected from political retribution. >> patel is the president trump's 19th administration pick to be confirmed. from radical cuts to government spending to banning paper straws. trump's first month back in office has been a whirlwind of activity, both big and small. >> in his first 30 days, the president has signed 73 executive orders. one of the first declaring a national emergency at the border. illegal border crossings have since fallen, a reported 36%. trump has also been on a mission to cut costs with his new right hand man, elon musk, and the department of government efficiency, or doge, leading the way. >> not optional for us to sit to reduce the federal expenses. it's essential. >> the reason they're

and lisa murkowski knows that. susan collins knows that. todd young knows that.you know these guys, they all know it. and they wouldn't vote for her no matter what. if she was nominated for this by a democrat. and the reason she was a democrat is because a lot of her views of the world were really far left. so, i mean, these guys have lost their minds. they've just lost their minds. i don't know what else to say. >> david. >> in a bubble, you'd like to. >> think. >> mitch mcconnell. >> is. >> having a john mccain. >> moment, but mitch mcconnell always. >> seems to disappoint. and john mccain rarely did. >> i think we can't overlook the real. >> significant national security. geopolitical story that happened this morning. >> and for. >> much as we see. >> the. >> trump administration's chaos today was. >> clearly so. >> well coordinated. >> tulsi gabbard. >> is. >> confirmed, while pete hegseth is addressing. >> nato. >> saying ukraine. >> has. >> to give up their sovereign. territory to russia, while. >> donald trump is on the. phone with vladimir. putin engaging

lisa murkowski of alaska, a key swing vote. i just asked her how she would vote on kash patel. she said that she would vote to advance the nomination, meaning that she would vote yes on this first procedural vote, and then it would move to a final confirmation vote. she did not say how she would vote, then another vote to watch senator susan collins of maine. just moments ago, she told me that she would issue a statement shortly about how she would ultimately vote on this critical nomination. but even if she were to vote no, and even if lisa murkowski on the final confirmation vote were to vote no. there simply are not four republicans who are expected to break ranks, which means that he is very likely to get confirmed on a straight party line vote or a largely party line vote. despite major concerns voiced by democrats like kash patel, in their view, would carry out donald trump's agenda of retaliation and the like, and their concerns that christopher wray, the how he was essentially pushed out of this position. typically, fbi directors serve ten year terms. new administration

, murkowski and senator collins. i do believe they have come out pretty strongly when it comes to ukraine. you know, you have senator wicker saying there are good guys and bad guys in this war, and the russians are the bad guys. you have senator thune, who's the leader, there's no question who started the war. russia is the aggressor here. so we need to hear more of that. and then they need to put the pressure on the president. this should be a pressure campaign against russia with our allies, not a campaign of accommodation, which the trump administration is engaged in. >> and we played a bite from senator tillis also being, you know, very, very strong on this. how much of this do you think is about president trump agreeing with president putin about geopolitics and sort of admiring the, you know, yeah, let's take half the earth minerals from from ukraine and not, you know, not as payback for the past, not as something a deal moving forward necessarily. >> well, he has not been shy about saying that he admires vladi

i mean, i don't think murkowski and curtis are indicative of where the median of the party is at. but look, i think in principle it's not it's pretty common sense should be accountable for what you do and ready to talk about it. i think where it gets headlong into specifically some of this with the cabinet secretaries and agencies is that it's going through opm, right? which is essentially the hr of the federal government and not through the respective agencies. that's where i think you saw a military. intel, whether it's dod, dni with tulsi gabbard people who, again, not necessarily squishy by any stretch of the imagination in the trump administration. kash patel at the fbi saying, hey, hold off on responding for a little bit, or maybe we will handle that in house, because otherwise, if you put the wrong thing in the email, it might be just a little light reading for the chinese government. so i think that is kind of where you're seeing some of this kind of run a little bit. i think if you're if you were to ask a lot of these cabinet secretaries, they'd rather be the ones handlin

>> well, i think senator murkowski is spot on in her analysis that congress is article one. authorities are being trampled by the executive. full stop. the executive branch does not have the authority to shutter agencies or departments that have been created, authorized and funded by congress, like usaid. she is right. and i would also add to that the idea. >> of a. >> doge, of finding efficiencies in government is actually makes a lot of sense. the problem with doge is they're not simply an advisory body. they should be offering advice to congress and the president about ways to save money. and then it's up to congress and the president to enact those recommendations if they think they're appropriate. that's what should be happening. but doge is taking on this operational life of its own without any consideration, frankly, for the dignity and the humanity of the people who are working in the government. i mean, they just fired a guy at a national park who was responsible for all the codes and the keys for the bathrooms. and there's, you know, where i come from, we call that

patel as the new fbi director by just two votes, 51-49, with republicans susan collins and lisa murkowski joining democrats, both senators citing concerns over patel's ability to remain impartial, not use the agency to settle political scores. during his hearings he promised not to politicize the fbi, but in the past he has said he plans to investigate who he believes are enemies of the president. democrats fear it will include fbi agents who investigated donald trump during the biden administration. >> kash patel has consistently demonstrated a complete lack of judgment, a lack of preparation, a lack of independence necessary to serve as director of the fbi. >> patel served in the department of defense and national security council during the first trump administration. >>> the irs expected to begin layoffs today that could result in nearly 6,700 employees losing their jobs. that's about 6% of the agency's workforce during the middle of tax season. most of had the workers who will lose their jobs are on probationary status. many were hired during the biden administration to increase enfo

i mean, it was interesting to see lisa murkowski saying, well, i need to see the context. i mean, you can look at the context all you want. it doesn't get any better. um. >> no, there's no context for that. >> john thune told cnn's manu raju that there's no question that russia is the aggressor here. later, he told fox that this is, quote, the back and forth that occurs in a situation like this where the stakes are really high. um, what leverage, if any, do congressional supporters of ukraine republicans? i mean, i don't know if any republicans would, would speak up or democrats like, what can anybody in congress do? i mean, is. >> congress could do a lot if congress did its job. but congress is run by republicans right now who, again, are just scared of trump. and so behind the scenes, democrats like myself, especially those of us who do have good relationships with republicans across the aisle, especially on national security committees like the armed services committee, we're trying to convince our republican allies to just have some courage to say in public what they'r

i mean my friend lisa murkowski was chair of the energy committee with certainly, you know, qualified. i mean, she's, you know, up up against it and she's terrific. we have a story in there about when i went to visit alaska. and i was willing she suggested it eat some liquefied natural gas captain honey or graham crackers or something like that. yeah. you said it doesn't taste like. but what does it taste like? not something i'd come back for. okay, but the point is she and i worked together. yeah, we worked on campaign finance. we worked on and, you know, part of what i'm very proud of in the last chapter deals with is that i learned lessons working with senator murkowski that allowed us in the finance to break 50 years worth of gridlock on climate change. you know, that's what our energy tax credits did. and it seems like it's through a partizan lens because you say there's anti-hero those who may look as though they're exhibiting chutzpah like donald trump. well, the trump. what's but let's be clear on yeah i believe puts but is inherently good. mm hmm. trump basically uses it for

senator lisa murkowski.or susan collins i asked both of them just now if they would vote to confirm kash patel collins said that she will have a statement out shortly. murkowski didn't say, but even if they were to vote no, pamela, it requires four republicans to break ranks on any party line vote to stop a nomination from going forward. so far, zero republicans have come out in opposition, which is why republicans are very confident that after weeks of fighting, after efforts by democrats to try to stall, delay and derail the nomination, that kash patel will get the job later this afternoon. >> bonnie raju from capitol hill, thank you. and coming up, bracing for major budget cuts at the pentagon. the memo, sent by defense secretary hegseth on where to cut first. up next. >> welcome back. >> have i got news for you? news saturday on cnn. >> time to press rewind with neutrogena rapid wrinkle repair. it has derm proven retinol expertly formulated to target skin cell turnover and fight not one, but five signs o

okay. >> we heard from senator murkowski. at the top here talking about having compassion, humanity, dignity around these layoffs. do you feel in those that you represent feel that lawmakers are listening to those concerns that you have? >> you know, we wish that this congress would stand up and really hear the concerns that we have because, you know, in essence, we don't think that they are paying attention because it's inhuman. it's un-american to treat these veteran employees the way that they are treated when they are patriotic. employees wanting to provide the services for the american people have done an outstanding job of providing services to the american people, so we wish they would hear the concerns of the working americans. >> how's morale right now with federal workers? >> say that again. >> how is morale right now? federal workers? >> i mean, you know, you got to understand that anytime you're constantly harassed, you know, morale is going to go down. but what i'm proud about is that the employees that i represe

alaska senator lisa murkowski said the senate's phones were getting 1600 calls a minute compared with the typical 40. i mean, that is a stunning difference. is the chaos that trump and musk are unleashing on the government exactly what democrats warned would happen before the election. and have you noticed any republicans or trump voters expressing any buyer's remorse? >> it is. >> what democrats warned of. >> i did. >> see a. >> there's an. >> article this morning. >> that and we at the at the bulwark. >> do some focus. >> groups where you heard. >> from some people that were. >> trump. >> voters who said that this was chaos, that they were not looking for. so we have seen. >> you know, a. >> couple of examples of that. that's anecdotes. it's not data at this point. it's pretty early. but just as a general principle. >> if you stand back like. >> trump has. >> succeeded with voters when he is doing his kind of pr game, right, which is. >> a lot. >> of pomp. >> and circumstance. >> a lot of. >> brashness, you know, attacking. >> foes, but. >> then not actually. >> doing a whole lot. >

and it wasn't clear how collins and murkowski would vote until they both announced their opposition earlier today, citing kash patel past political work in recent political statements as concerns that it could undercut the apolitical nature of the fbi director. but mitch mcconnell did put out a statement saying that, quote, the bureau's reputation in recent years has been plagued by high profile scandals that risk politicizing its critical work. director patel is committed to restoring americans trust in the fbi, and i hope and expect he will move quickly to reset the bureau with greater transparency, accountability and cooperation with the congress. now, mcconnell's statement, though, was pretty middle of the road, jake, and he has supported most of donald trump's other nominees. and when he has, he has put out statements saying that he is proud to support any given nominee. he did not say that with kash patel, which is perhaps one reason why he signals how he ultimately views this nominee, even though he did vote in the affirmative in helping getting him to the post. >> and manu mcconnell

we heard from lisa murkowski over the weekend who called it an absurd email. curious to see if that will grow. i suspect it will. >> and then you also have some of the opposition, or perhaps just, um, uh, wariness from the department of homeland security, the fbi, the state department, the ntsb, which has multiple investigations going on, all of whom had supervisors tell their employees, hold off, do not respond to this. we are figuring out how to proceed. >> yeah, i think it was very interesting. kash patel, you know, one of the most controversial and, you know, maga nominees to be confirmed recently told the fbi employees, hey, let's hold off. let's let's figure out what this email was about. so even in trump world, super maga world, there is, you know, a little bit of dissension about the email and what it meant, because these trump appointees, as political as they are, are facing the reality of having to manage a workforce and actually do this work. and i think a lot of them felt that the email this weekend, for many reasons, was not helpful and confusing.

if cassidy indeed is a thumbs down. >> well, certainly collins or murkowski wants to watch here again, they were on the health committee. and, you know, their questioning was relatively light compared to cassidy's in terms of. but they did both mention vaccines as an issue for them that they're watching and that they want assurances from him on. so i think that they are still key swing votes. and then, you know, a senator who's been obviously quiet on a lot of these nominations is mitch mcconnell. you know, the former senate gop leader. um, you know, he actually had polio. and so the polio vaccine when, you know, was a big issue that kennedy has affirmed his support for that. but i think he might have other questions, too. and because he doesn't really talk to the press, you know, we don't get as much insight into where he is. and he was kind of, you know, that last surprise vote there with hegseth so we could see again where he maybe is a swing vote to watch as well. >> all right. lindsey mcpherson, thank you so much. thank you. we'll be right back. >> cnn presents hbo's real time wi

>> lisa murkowski, who, of course, along with susan collins, had joined mitch mcconnell in voting no against pete hegseth, just cast her vote and she is a yes vote. and so that, along with susan collins and bill cassidy, clearly indicates that kennedy is on his way to being confirmed here by the senate. we watched several of the senators here leave the judiciary committee to run just down the down the halls over to cast their votes, including josh hawley. so we expect them to come back before they finish up their business here as it relates to kash patel. but as we're watching this vote here unfold, i just think it's important that we note the extent to which for president trump here he is. you know, he said this from the outset that during the transition process that he wanted to ensure that he had individuals who he had the utmost faith in, that they would be loyal to carrying out his agenda. and those ultimately were the types of names that he selected. and now the republican majority that they were able to secure during these ms. slotkin, no. ms. klobuchar, no. mr. whitehouse, no

uh, what was the thinking behind, i mean, susan collins and lisa murkowski voting against him? and what is the future for the bureau? so one of the things that susan collins. >> cited was that. this really. >> should be. >> a staunchly apolitical. position and that. >> which is why it's a ten. >> year post. >> in theory. >> it's supposed to span several. >> uh, several administrations in order to keep it. >> out of politics. >> that is. >> instead. >> when someone like a christopher wray. >> who is another. >> trump appointee. >> was known as someone who kind of. >> skewed politics. >> stayed away. >> from it. >> however. >> this is a very. >> departure from that. kash patel, as we know, is a trump loyalist. >> he is someone who said all sorts of things. >> when trump. >> was inside and outside. >> of office. >> and which is why you're hearing so much concern from democrats. >> and as. >> you mentioned, some corners of. >> the republican party. >> yeah. jackie, let's talk kind of big picture here, because the other thing that we saw unfold yesterday on the cpac stage, i mean, w

, murkowski and senator collins. i do beeve they he come out pretty strongly when it comes to good guys and bad guys in this war, and the russianare the bad guys. you have senator the, who is the leader, there's no question who started the r. russia is the aggressor hereso we need to hear more of thatand then they need to put the presre on the president. this should be a pressure campaigngainst russia with our allies, not a caaign of accommodation, which the trump administraon is engaged in. >> and we played a bite from senator tillis also being, you know, very, very song on this. how much of this do you think is about presidt trump agreeing opolits and sort of admiri th you kw, yea let's take om ukrnend notyou kn, not as pback f the pt, not as sething deal ving forward necessaril >> well, he has nobeen shy abt saying that air vlimir pin. i n'know how hedmiresomeonehose reme hashot do passeer d has imprison journists, erica. was oe in hrd the story aeli whe the rson om thembassyrote. thank ile th were namingheir a ki

murkowski, aye. the clerk: mr. bennet, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, aye. presiding officer: the yeas are 52, the nays are 48. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the majority leader. mr. thune: i move to waive the mandatory quorum with respect to the kennedy nomination. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture the clerk: cloture we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of robert f. kennedy jr., of california, to be secretary of health and human services, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by mandatory consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of robert f. kennedy jr., of california, to be secretary of health and h

. >> the final vote was 51. 49 republican senators susan collins and lisa murkowski voted against patel. democrats were unanimous in their opposition despite his controversial nomination. republicans are rallying around him arguing tells the right guy to bring reform to the nation's top law enforcement agency that they allege has been corrupted. >> today marks one month since president trump and vice president vance took the oath of office. administration officials have worked at a fevered pitch to implement the president's aggressive agenda. but democrats argue all they've brought is chaos and confusion. kron four's washington correspondent jessi tenure gives us a recap of the past month and tells us what could be next. that split screen continued to play out today with the white house celebrating the 70 plus executive orders president trump has signed and democrats holding protests over a lot of them. >> president donald trump's first month in office has rocked the country and world from mass firings of federal workers to new tariffs on goods and vice president jd vance says it's just

the senate voted today. 51 to 49 to approve him. 2 republicans, susan collins and lisa murkowski joined democrats opposing him. all right. let's talk weather as we get a live look from mount tam who would oppose today's weather? no, lawrence, wouldn't. he's a fan. yeah, i'm a big rain fan. but hey, i'll take that sunshine. and with his beautiful out around the bay area today as we get ready. >> not far away from the weekend. now on the weekend is looking spectacular around the bay area. so yeah, enjoy the nice weather today. that sunshine all the way. the coastline, couple high clouds. but look at this beautiful shot out there right now from the berkeley hills, looking back toward the golden gate bridge. gorgeous weather out all around the bay area. nice to feel those temperatures warming up a bit out there as well. and so a beautiful day today. tomorrow. another nice day coming our way tonight, we are going to see some partly cloudy skies. some patchy fog likely to form, but not much. and then tomorrow morning, maybe just a patch or 2 of fog. and then some passing high clouds. otherwis