#weobject to tell why you object to neil gorsuch. all theearing about reasons neil gorsuch would be a disaster for a lifetime appointment to the supreme court, so send the picture, send a tweet, let donald trump know we object and we will not back down without a fight. thank you all. [cheers and applause] a please welcome representative from the byp 100. [cheers and applause] >> hi. [cheers and applause] >> i am so glad to be here to 0, a national 10 organization that has a chapter here in d.c.. we advocate for rachel justice through a black queer lens and strongly stand with we object. 45 has nominated nothing but racist, misogynist, and ill-prepared people one after the other. jeff sessions was a push to close the civil rights division of the department of justice. devos is more concerned about grizzly bears than protecting our children, especially black children. she said she wants schools to be ft.ected like uber and lyfy that is not going to work for our education system. , anotherudge gorsuch conservative. he is not legally all

neil gorsuch is conservative. president trump got elected and he got elected. >> elections have consequences. >> elections have consequences but in the democrats mind, so do what the republicans did to mere ri merrick garland. >> mitch mcconnell says judge gorsuch is going to be confirmed one way or the other. it's probably going to happen by friday. they have the numbers. so what realistically will democrats have gained if you do end up filibustering the supreme court nominee? >> we've got to make it clear that what has happened to the selection process for federal judges across america needs to come to an end. we have to make a stand. this is not just a one-off decision when it comes to the supreme court. we've seen now almost for ten years an effort by the republican to dominate the federal judiciary. they used the filibuster in the senate to the point where we couldn't get judges approved. that's why the rules were changed. then when president obama tried toill the supreme court vacancy,ch mcconnell said no, m

in particular, to oppose the nomination of john neil gorsuch to the supreme court. -- justice neil gorsuch to the supreme court. i'm also here today to share a personal story about an experience that nearly brought my life to an early end. traveling for work in asheville, north carolina, i found myself caught in a house fire. as the building quickly went up in flames and smoke, i realized that my only chance of escape and survival was to climb out on to the roof and jump from the third floor. i fractured my spine in four places, broke every rib on the left side that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks body, punctured my left lung, collapsed my right lung, shattered my left shoulder, and suffered several other serious injuries. i then laid in a ditch for two hours completely paralyzed from the neck down but fully if conscious waiting for the firefighters to find me. fortunately i did make a full recovery and in some ways i'm perhaps stronger now than maybe i ever was before. but were it not for the affordable care act i would not have had health ins

she made neil gorsuch squirm in his seat.ut his feet to the fire and she is now said that allah will she vote against this judge, bt she's going to stand with the people and filibuster his nomination. [cheers and applause] please welcome to the stage senator hirono from the great state of hawaii. [cheers and applause] >> aloha, everybody. so how many of you watched all four days of the gorsuch hearings? i have to hand it to you guys. after what we refer to as the vent and we have to to all my g, what happened? some of us call it the event, and as we decided what the heck is going to happen to a country, what happened was the very next day after the inauguration you had the march on washington and -- [cheers and applause] and that started with a retired attorney. her name is teresa shook and she use social media and within a day 10,000 people people said we will do something, and all across the country and all over the world. and this activism, this engagement has not stopped since. that's because of you guys and all of us hav

. >> neil gorsuch is monument alley qualified to be on the supreme court. you watched the hearings, he's a man of intelligence and integrity. all you need to do is read his long history of rulings. he's a man that's independent as well. so we're all going to be asked to cast a consequential vote coming up of a justice who will apply the law and not legislate from the bench. this filibuster moving forth is truly historic and even the "the washington post" in their editorial this morning made that comment. they say democrats are preparing to filibuster a well-qualified judge marking the first time a partisan filibuster has been mounted against a high court nominee. this is not the about principal, this is about political pressure from the far left, come the end of the week neil gorsuch will be confirmed, will be on the supreme court and the country, all of us, will be pearl as a result. >> by friday of this week, we will know whether or not the architect of obstruction is successfully in changing 200 years of senate custom. we've seen a lot of people make sta

meanwhile a critical week for nomination of neil gorsuch. three days of formal debate begin tuesday, with republicans hoping to confirm gorsuch by friday. 52 republicans and eight democrats are needed for nomination. senator joe donnelly the latest to get on board. dozens of democrats vowing a filibuster. >>> and mitch mcconnell vowing to change the votes. >> neil gorsuch will be confirmed this week. how that happens really depend on our democratic friends, how much of them are willing to close -- to kill a supreme court nominee? never before happened in history. >> he would be able to join the supreme court this month in time to participate in the final cases of this year's term. we get more. >> reporter: christine and dave, today is a big day for neil gorsuch. the senate judiciary committee will vote on his nomination, he's expect today vote on party lines but also get a glicmpse o the democrats, it all comes down to the math. it takes 60 votes to confirm him and more than 30 democrats led by chuck schumer said they plan to filibuster the n

are entitled to an up or down vote on judge neil gorsuch. show of hands a on who will vote for the nuclear option? do that.not going to >> no? [laughter] >> what you say to mayor portland in this situation? merrick garland -- garland? - >> i am going to do whatever it takes to get gorsuch on the supreme court. i'm going to do whatever it takes to get gorsuch on the supreme court. andre the republicans angry are they prepared [indiscernible ] -- considering what everyone said four years ago? >> there was not a filibuster of a judge at all until george w. bush became president of the united states. it was always a possibility but because of chuck schumer, because of a number of liberal up thiss, they cooked idea that you could establish a 60-vote threshold, a majority vote threshold. this is, in many ways after a long, painful detour a return to from thes quo back george w. bush presidency. that means president trump will be able to get his supreme court justices confirmed with a majority vote but that also means the next democrat president wi

. >>> let's play some of the sounds from democrats saying they're going to try to block kne neil gorsuch. i know senator coons didn't answer any of kacie's questions, but listen to this. >> unfortunately, based on gorsuch's record in the department of justice, his tenure on the bench, his appearance before the senate and his written questions for the record, i cannot support this nomination. >> my conscience will not allow me to ratify the majority leaders' actions. not last year, not this year. i will not, i cannot support this nomination. >> senators feinstein and leahy right there. kristin welker, if mitch mcconnell has to go nuclear to get this through, can the white house count it as a win? >> reporter: oh, absolutely, and the president has said he is open to that. he has given mitch mcconnell the green light in the past, katy, when he was first asked about this. but the white house has been all hands on deck when it comes to mr. gorsuch's confirmation process, officials on theill with him, helping him get to know se of these senators, also helping to pre him for that very long, ver

neil gorsuch squirm and his seat. she put his feet to the fire and she is now saying not only will she vote against him, but she will stand with the people and filibuster his nomination. [applause] welcome the senator from the great state of hawaii. [applause] a loja everybody -- aloha everybody. how many of you watch all four days of the gorsuch hearing? you,e to hand this to after but we referred to as the --nt and we kind of had to the event, the election. what was going to happen to our country, what happened was the very next day, he you had the march on washington and that started with a retired attorney of molly -- maui. a day, 10,000 people have said they were going to do something. activism has not stopped since. it is because of you guys that all of us who have worked with trumpcare.e stopped was the labor secretary nominee dropped out. i have heard from more of my constituents in the time that the president has been in office than in the entire years that i have served in the house and senate. hawaii, 4000,

yes, there were three democrats who recently came out and said that they will support neil gorsuch, but that is far short of the goal that republicans and gorsuch need the support of democrats to end that democratic filibuster. if that happens and if that sticks, which in all likelihood it very well will, john and poppy, that would force republicans and mitch mcconnell to enforce the so-called nuclear option, which would change these longstanding senate rules on the books for a long time. so, it has some serious implications up here on capitol hill. john and poppy? >> absolutely, it would completely change precedent going forward for these nominees. sunlen, thank you very much. let's get a closer look at what's ahead this week for these confirmation hearings. ariane de vogue is joining us from washington. we heard from neil gorsuch for some 20 hours just weeks ago. now he'll go to a committee and then full vote. the nuclear option, i think no question it will be used, correct? >> it sounds like that's the way they're going. this committee is going to meet at 10:00. he won't be present,

neil gorsuch decided to protect the police officer instead of the child to say what the child's fault the police officer used excessive force this is how gorsuch fields -- feels that the police should be interacting with our community teaching right from wrong so in less than 100 days there is the attack on the department of justice or our education system and now although last line of defense course it is part of their agenda. gorsuch has to be stopped. [cheers and applause] [applause] >> now from the national ldp t task force. >> good morning beautiful people. thanks for coming out here including those behind care -- hear that we object ago reproductive council for the national lgbtq taskforce. we object as an organization we understand how one important of lifetime position is to assess the supreme court over 40 year term he could have on the supreme court that is detrimental to all of us who believe in justice the rights of workers over corporations we object and we recessed we know judge course it has ruled terribly over reproductive rights for all people who could become pregnan

that was the neil gorsuch standard. that standard went to the supreme court and the supreme court just recently issued its decision and it was not a confirmation that it's okay to just have a mere improvement over doing nothing. it was a wholesale rejection because the law is very clear and neil gorsuch tormented and twisted it and torcherred it that you could do nothing and meet the standard of the law that says you have to do quite a bit. 8-0, not six out of eight, but eight out of eight, no matter where they were in the ideological spectrum said that is an absurd finding an overthrew the neil gorsuch decision. so we have these three substantial major issues to consider and it's why this conversation should be set aside until we resolve the russia investigation. let me read the guardian view of trump's russia links. it says, why days before the president election did the f.b.i. announce it was reopening an investigation into hillary clinton when it was silent about its probe into mr. trump's russia ties? when the pres

neil gorsuch to the tenth circuit court. senator leahy, a member of the judiciary committee did not object to judge gorsuch. senator feinstein, another member of the judiciary committee didn't oppose neil gorsuch. senator durbin, the minority whip, did not oppose neil gorsuch 11 years ago. senator cantwell, senator carper, senator menendez, senator murray, noun of them opposed judge gorsuch's confirmation to the tenth circuit court. senator reed, senator wyden, all of them are here today. none of them objected to neil gorsuch. it's even more than that. then senator barack obama did not object to judge gorsuch's confirmation. then senator hillary clinton didn't object to judge gorsuch's nomination. and then senator joe biden helped pass his confirmation, his appointment, make sure it cleared on a voice vote. and so to hear the partisan bickering here is extremely disappointing and disingenuous. and so i hope this chamber will do what we do best in this country and that's come together on issues of doing our job of confirming a

and god willing, neil gorsuch may serve on the court for 30 or more years. these ffa students, children and perhaps even grandchildren will be part of judge gorsuch's i'm on the courts, given that he likely will serve for three decades or more. as it stands today the united states senate is on the precipice of confirming judgeoc gorsuch to be our next u.s.s supreme court associate justice. however, as the news is reporting, as our twitter feature overfilling with information, and looks as though my called on the other side of the aisle are caving, they are caving to the pressures of the far left, and there set toli unleash an unprecedented filibuster. i have met with judge gorsuch. i've watched his confirmation hearings. and what i have seen and what most americans agree, judge neil gorsuch has been incredibly transparent. he's been accessible. he is the right man for the mais position. he is mainstream. he's a westerner. he's committed to judicial independence. he has a brilliant legal mind. that's without dispute. he's exceptionally qualified. in fact, the

gorsuch? please raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, neil m gorsuch do solemnly swear -- justice gorsuch: icom and neil m gorsuch do solemnly swear that i will -- and to equal rights. andthat i will faithfully -- discharge and perform all of me asties incumbent upon associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. under the constitution and laws of the united states. so help me god. congratulations. [applause] metice gorsuch: i see before so many to whom i owe so much. i know i would not be here today without your friendship and support. bottom ofall from the my heart. i want to thank the president for nominating me. and for the great confidence and trust he proposed in me. i want to thank the vice president for his constant encouragement and friendship throughout this process. it is not possible to mention here everyone i should mention. that i would be remiss if i did not think the president's counsel don mcgann and the vice and everys council single person in the white house counsel's office for their tremendous and tireless r

he will have to change the rules if he wants neil gorsuch confirmed. >> jenna: he would have to change a precedent in the senate to allow this to take place. if that precedent is changed, and republicans are able to vote for gorsuch to go to the supreme court, what are the ripple effects of that? >> lawmakers are concerned that if this happens for the supreme court nominee, they will be growing pressure on mcconnell to get rid of the filibuster, get rid of the 60 vote threshold for legislation. that was something mcconnell was asked about over the weekend paired he said rest assured, wrote not going to change the rules on the legislative filibuster, but when we sat down with him earlier, we asked point-blank about the filibuster and he said we have no current plans to change the rules, a few months later, he is changing the president for all intents and purposes, this is a rule. the practice in the senate has been the supreme court nominee needs 60 votes, that will no longer be the case. this is a very important precedent peer mcconnell says don't worry, this is as far as we will go, b

every single democrat serving in the senate at that time voted in support of neil gorsuch, including 12 members who are still serving in this chamber today. his bipartisan support has not stopped there. senator bennet from colorado says that judge gorsuch represents the best qualities of colorado and that we need to fulfill our responsibility to this nominee. senator donnelly from indiana said i believe he is a qualified jurist who will base his decisions on his understanding of the law and is well respected among the peers -- among his peers. from west virginia, senator manchin acknowledges that while he may not agree with future decisions made by judge gorsuch, he also said without question -- let me quote -- he has not found any reason why this jurist should not be a supreme court justice. senator heitkamp from the dakotas said that during her meeting with our supreme court nominee, judge gorsuch reinforced the importance of a judiciary that remains independent from the executive and the legislative branches of government. neal katyal, former acting solicitor general under presiden

is neil gorsuch qualified? really, can anyone contest that he is highly qualified, perhaps one of the most qualified people to ever to have been nominated by a president for the high court. he has degrees from columbia, harvard law, from oxford university. he has received the american bar association's highest rating, the gold standard that we look at when it comes to judging nominees for the federal bench up to and including the high court, and he served for ten years with distinction on the tenth circuit court of appeals. and so, clearly, he's got the qualifications and clearly he is among that group of qualified individuals that the president promised to look at back during the campaign. and promised to send that type of individual over to the supreme court. so i -- i really don't think there's much that can be said to contradict the fact that neil gorsuch is qualified and highly qualified. so now let's ask is neil gorsuch somehow out of the broad judicial mainstream? and again, i think it is clear that base

history, the taking of the judicial oath by the newest member of the united states supreme court, neil gorsuchjustice gorsuch, i just want to congratulate you and your entire family. it is something so special. in fact, i have always heard that the most important thing that a president of the united states does is appoint people, hopefully great people like this appointment, to the united states supreme court, and i can say this is a great honor. [applause] president trump: and i got it done in the first 100 days. that is even nice. [laughter] president trump: you think that is easy? this ceremony has special meaning, as justice gorsuch is filling the seats of one of the greatest supreme court justices in american history, and that is antonin scalia, who was a terrific judge and a terrific person. justice scalia was a patriot who revered our constitution. he was beloved by many, very many who are here today, and he is deeply missed by all of us. i want to at this time recognize his incredible wife, maureen, who i got to know very well over the last short period of time, and, maureen, these sta

>> the senate judiciary committee expected to vote on neil gorsuch. formal debates to begin tuesday. all 52 republicans and eight drams are needed for confirmation, so far only three democrats are supporting gorsuch, with joe donnelly the latest to get on board. >>> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell vowing to get gorsuch on board even if it means changing the rules. >> how that happens really depends on our democratic friends, never happened before in history. >> if republicans are able to get gorsuch confirmed by friday he would join the supreme court this month, christine in time to participate in the final cases of this year's term. >>> joining us to discuss this, so much going on cnn politics reporter eugene scott. what is the game plan of democrats here? they want -- they think this is mer merrick garland's seat. they want to show their disapproval but doesn't that embolden the democrats to have a even more conservative appointment later on? >> i think it certainly could but i think the democratic strategy is resistance, chuck schumer wants t

claire mccaskill has announced she will vote against neil gorsuch. while joe donnelly says he plans to support the nomination. follow live senate debate all week on c-span 2 and www.c-span.org. you can also listen through the free c-span radio app. >> all month we are featuring our student cam winners the videocam competition. this year students told us the most urgent issue for the new president and congress. our second prize high school winner our 11th and 12th graders from elk grove. michelle kwan and chris are students at frequent high school and their documentary of lgbt there be an conversion, take a look. are 318.9 million people living in the united states. 12,756,000 people of those identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered. >> they have been receiving more attention, but not all of the attention has been positive. one of these issues is conversion therapy. >> we are going to end the harmful practice of so-called conversion therapy. of so-called conversion therapy. >> conversion therapy. it is a topic that has come up in t

every single democrat serving in the senate at that time voted in support of neil gorsuch, including 12 members who are still serving in this chamber today. his bipartisan support has not stopped there. senator bennet from colorado says that judge gorsuch represents the best qualities of colorado and that we need to fulfill our responsibility to this nominee. senator donnelly from indiana said i believe he is a qualified jurist who will base his decisions on his understanding of the law and is well respected among the peers -- among his peers. from west virginia, senator manchin acknowledges that while he may not agree with future decisions made by judge gorsuch, he also said without question -- let me quote -- he has not found any reason why this jurist should not be a supreme court justice. senator heitkamp from the dakotas said that during her meeting with our supreme court nominee, judge gorsuch reinforced the importance of a judiciary that remains independent from the executive and the legislative branches of government. neal katyal, former acting solicitor general under presiden

dagen: is a good for business if neil gorsuch get seated on the supreme court? >> it is good for workers if you define that as more jobs with less expanding worker rights, not pro-business and anti-expanded worker rights and those make it hard to fire people lead to less employment, look at europe. it is not for everybody but in general it is like not having the union, not so much boosting corporations as holding expansion of worker rights. dagen: it is also about fairness, a judge who looks at the law and is not playing politics. >> he promised he is not going to bring politics, not going to bring ideology to the table, he is going to read the law, he is a constitutionalist who is good for business and if he is going to will against union that is not bad either, that can be pro-business, progrowth and keep things balanced. a lot of times unions have too much control why the taft-hartley act is in place and things like that, we got to look at the law and what that means for business. dagen: special thanks to lee and julie coming up they say april showers bring m

rule to do it. >> i am telling you that neil gorsuch is going to be confirmed. the way it occurs is in the hands of the democratic minority. >> this is as trump's major push, healthcare still appears to be stalled. a harsh critic of the healthcare plan that collapsed last month. sources say no real breakthrough appears imminent. >> i will remain optimistic that we'll get obamacare repealed. >> if you want to ensense how much the tone has changed from the white house from the previous president, look at the photo ops today. compare that to president obama never even inviting him into the white house, the egyptian president. >> high drama in capitol hill today. 41 senate democrats will vote no on the procedural motion to allow on the neil gorsuch's confirmation. democrats are threatening to filibuster the nomination. cnn's sunlen is live for us. >> reporter: but certainly there is a sense that this is a supreme court's nominee, a potential lifetime appointment so we are entering some uncharted territory here. we saw the democrats with the debate going against neil

gorsuch do solemnly swear. >> i neil m. gorsuch do solemnly swear. >> that i will administer justice without respect to persons. >> that i will administer justice without respect to persons. >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and that i will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform. >> and that i will faithfully impartially discharge and perform. >> as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. >> as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. >> under the constitution and laws of the united states. >> under the constitution and laws of the united states. >> so help me god. >> so help me god. >> congratulations. [ applause ] >> i see before me so many to whom i owe so much. i know i would not be here today without your friendship and support. thank you all from the bottom of my heart. i want to thank the president for nominating me. and for the great confidence and trust he had in me. i want to thank the vice pres

but there's none of them that exceeds neil gorsuch. and it's kind of a shame that we can't in a bipartisan way vote his selection. i suspect there's more to it than just judge gorsuch. i think our colleagues on the other side know that this is early in president trumps rain as president of the united states. that he might very well have another one, two, maybe three or four nominees to the court. and i don't blame my colleagues on the other side for being concerned because let's face it, he is unlikely to put people on the court with whom they agree. on the other hand, he is very likely to put them on the court for great lawyers who have had great experience , who will bring great distinction to the court and who will without telling us how they're going to vote and how they're going to rule do the job that we all count on the supreme court doing. the supreme court to me is a sacred institution. we've had great justices on both sides, on all sides as a matter of fact. we've had great democrat justices, we've had great republican justice

senators are planning to start debate on neil gorsuch. democrats refused filibuster they will invoke the nuclear option, a rule that changes the senate and spoke to a simple majority, 51 votes instead of a normal procedural vote that requires 60 votes. >> i find it ironic and sad that we are going to change the rules over somebody who has lived such a good life, this is more about the senate than it does neil gorsuch. >> reporter: the majority of democrat senators say they will not budge. they are determined to vote against him. >> based on neil gorsuch's record at the deferment of justice, his tenure on the bench, his appearance before the senate and his written questions for the record i cannot support this nomination. >> some democrats are even expressing anger over former president obama's nominee judge merrick garland, republicans have refused to consider him. >> we are not allowed the majority leader's actions, not last year, not this year. i will not, i cannot support this nomination. >> reporter: chuck schumer is advising the repu

and neil gorsuch ask that justice kennedy deliver that oath and the reason is why is gorsuch served as a clerk for kennedy. that is a little bit of precedent, poppy. this is the first time that we have a former clerk who will sit on the bench with the justice who he worked for. so, it's symbolic and, poppy, new precedent here at the court. >> it's fascinating. now, they have a full bench, which means no more 4-4 ties like they were facing before. ariana, thank you so much. >>> let's talk about all of this with cnn supreme court legal analyst and former federal prosecutor and here on set with me,er the one and only jeffrey toobin. and it is now this morning and the oath, the nine. >> 14 months of eight justices. you know, it's really important when you think about how long these justices serve for. neil gorsuch is young for a nominee to the supreme court. he could serve 30 or 40 years and we think today that we know the issues that he will be confronting. the controversial issues like church/state and abortion rights, gay rights. who knows what it will be in 30 years. the only thing we'

she says she opposed neil gorsuch's nomination. here's what she said just a few minutes ago. >> unfortunately, based on judge gorsuch's record at the department of justice, his tenure on the bench, his appearance before the senate, and his written questions for the record, i cannot support this nomination. >> reporter: and importantly, in addition to not supporting his nomination, a spokesperson for dianne feinstein confirms to cnn that she will also vote no on cloture later this week. that's important. that essentially means that she will be filibustering along with many of her other fellow democrats, his nomination, and it basically gives one more vote to the democrats, inchi ining t closer to a point really of no return, the point where they have lockstep numbers to block his nomination. that would force the republicans, kate, to do what they're promising to do to change the senate rules, invoke the so-called nuclear option. >> yeah, exactly. sunlen, thanks so much. let's talk about that math, ariane. the math is very important t

history, the taking of the judicial oath by the newest member of the united states supreme court, neil gorsuch. justice gorsuch, i just want to congratulate you and your entire family. it is something so special. in fact, i have always heard that the most important thing that a president of the united states does is appoint people, hopefully great people like this appointment. to the united states supreme court, and i can say this is a great honor. [applause] president trump: and i got it done in the first 100 days. that is even nice. [laughter] president trump: you think that is easy? this ceremony has special meaning, as justice gorsuch is filling the seats of one of the greatest supreme court justices in american history, and that is antonin scalia, who was a terrific judge and a terrific person. justice scalia was a patriot who revered our constitution. he was beloved by many, very many who are here today, and he is deeply missed by all of us. i want to at this time recognize his incredible wife, maureen, who i got to know very well over the last short period of time, and, maureen, these s

votes that they need to essentially lock in a filibuster for donald trump supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. that came in the form of the last hour. they reached that threshold when senator chris coons speaking became the 41st senator to come out and say he will oppose joibing democrats and filibustering gorsuch with his support that means that republicans don't have the numbers here to block that filibuster, which pushes this into a nuclear shutdown, as we call it here in the senate. first, here's that moment with chris a moment ago. >> i have kept an open mind throughout this process. after reviewing judge gorsuch's record, after meeting with him twice, after participating in four days of very well-rounded senate confirmation hearings, submitting questions and e getting feedback from thousands of delawareans, i have decided that i will not support judge gorsuch's nomination in the judiciary committee today. >> all this math is a complicated senate procedure boils down to this. the only way gorsuch can get through and become the next supreme court justice is if senate republicans go ahead

over the last several weeks my republican friends have tried to paint judge neil gorsuch as the ideal of a neutral and impartial judge.te they've insisted that judge gorsuch is a straight down the middle guy, someone who will just call the balls and strikes. the majority leader even likes to cite the look of a friend of the judge who says there is no principled reason to oppose his nomination. of course there are several principled reasons to object to judge gorsuch. today, i'd like to focus on one in particular. judge gorsuch's long career ties to conservative interests and conservative ideological groups. the idea that judge gorsuch would simply be a neutral jus mainstream justice is belied by his career, his judicial record and perhaps most of all, the manner with which he was selected to serve on the supreme court. lis he was called from a list of, and list hand-picked by the ha heritage foundation. conservative organizations that are spent the last few decades e systematically trying to shift the balance of the courts way to the right. most of my colleagues on the other side know

[applause] this is a very, very special moment, because many years ago, a young neil gorsuch started his legal career as a law clerk to justice kennedy. you will remember that, right? it is a fitting testament to justice kennedy's impact that upon giving the oath to justice gorsuch he will become the first ever supreme court justice to serve with one of his former law clerks. that is sort of a big deal. i like that. that is sort of good. [applause] president trump: it has never happened before. it is pretty good. also, it shows you have a lot of respect for this man. it is very good. we are thrilled to share this historic moment with justice kennedy with all of you here today, and with all americans watching us at home. justice gorsuch, i again congratulate you and your entire god's, and i wish blessings on your amazing journey ahead. downe no doubt you will go as one of the truly great justices in the history of the .nited states supreme court i now invite justice kennedy to say a few words. thank you very much. [applause] justice kennedy: thank you, mr. president. mr. chief justice,

west a floor debate between the majority and minority leaders on the confirmation vote for judge neil gorsuch. this exchanges 20 minutes. retirement -- build a nest egg for retirement. now, mr. president, on another matter, since judge neil gorsuch was nominated to the supreme court, senate democrats have searched high and they've searched low for a reason to oppose him. they looked at his background, and they found a columbia alum, a harvard law graduate and an oxford scholar. they looked at his reputation and found an impartial and fair judge, and eloquent writer and humble and even tempered man. they looked at his record as a judge and found someone who follows the facts where they lead without favoring one party over another, someone respected by democrats, independents, and republicans alike. and someone who understands his role is to interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. now colleagues across the aisle also had the opportunity to spend hours with judge gorsuch at his confirmation hearing. once again they found little to hang their hat on when it comes to a reason to oppose hi

neil gorsuch is a mainstream nominee. his records and rulings and decisions over the year and aba qualifications and the kind of people who have endorsed him both democrats and republicans he is a mainstream nominee. chuck schumer just wants him to be a mainstream liberal come knee. >> shannon: i talked to judge na pal and if they were to step down during president trump's time in the white house if the democrats allowed this to go to a nuclear 51 vote threshold it will be uglier if a liberal steps down and replaced by conservatives. will that be enough to stop a handful of the democrats from going with the filibuster idea? >> we just don't know. you heard people like pat leahy and ben carland about opposing the vote even if they oppose judge gorsuch. it's possible i suppose you could have enough democrats to allow us to get to a vote and they reach the 60-vote threshold and then gorsuch is approved in the traditional way. at is the same time you had harry reid signal the lowering of the threshold would come and he said t

oathaking of the judicial by the newest member of the united states supreme court, neil gorsuch. ustice gorsuch, i want to congratulate you and your entire family. it is something so special. i have always heard that the most important thing that a president of the united states does is a point people. hopefully, great people like this appointment, to the united states supreme court and i can say this is a great honor. [applause] and i got it done in the first 100 days. that is nice. you think that is easy? this ceremony has special as justice gorsuch is filling the seat of one of the greatest supreme court judges in american history. antonin scalia, he was a terrific judge and a terrific person. whoice scalia was a patriot revered our constitution. he was beloved by many. there many, who are here today. and he is deeply missed by all of us. at this time, recognize his incredible wife maureen, who i got to know very well over the last short amount of time. please stand up. thank you. very much. [applause] thank you and your family. thank you. havecans are blessed to neil gorsuch,

this the way that they have ended just shows there is so much pressure to vote for the quality of neil gorsuch. and they think aruba deals that looks at it carefully. there has never been days successful filibuster of the supreme court nominee. judge gorsuch will be confirmed by the united states senate and the place as the next associate judge on the supreme court. >> i cannot say a much better than that hour to accredit colleagues -- democratic colleagues when you have the white house issued can appoint people to the supreme court. i can thank president trump more you listen to people wonder stand the law he could not have chosen a better person, paul ryan could not have chosen a better person to filibuster him shows a this is the end of the qualification standards of the supreme court. i'm sorry we got here but we are where we are i will vote to change the rules of war not be part of the senate this is not what it is all about. >> when the facts are against you and also heard a fair amount of that. this is the judge to achieve correct outcomes under the law. unable to attack him and any oth

he joined two other democrats in supporting neil gorsuch. but that is still not enough to avoid a filibuster. >> reporter: one way or another neil gorsuch will be confirmed this week as the next u.s. supreme court justice. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says that will happen even if they have to change the rules. >> he will be confirmed. the way in which that occurs is in the hands of the democratic minority. >>> new york senator chuck schumer said he thinks it is unlikely neil gorsuch will get enough support to avoid a filibuster. >> why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans sit down and try to come up with a main stream nominee. >> reporter: he made it clear on cbs face the nation that republicans plan to push nothing figure through with or without democratic support. >> if they filibuster neil gorsuch they will filibuster everyone. >> reporter: he joined a small group of democrats supporting neil gorsuch issuing a statement adding the senate should keep the threshold for supreme court nominees but it isn't clear wheth

why not give neil gorsuch an up or down vote? >> let me make a proposal to maybe break this problem that we have, okay? it looks like gorsuch will not reach the 60 vote margin. so instead of changing the rules, which is up to mitch mcconnell in the republican majority, why doesn't president trump, democrats and republicans in the senate sit down and try to come up with a mainstream nominee? look, when a nominee doesn't get 60 votes, you shouldn't change the rules, you should change the nominee. give me one minute here, because this is important. let's just look at the history, okay? our nominee was merrick garland. mitch mcconnell broke 230 years of precedent and didn't call him up for a vote. it wasn't in the middle of an election campaign, it was march. second, then, now we -- looks like we have the 60 -- the votes to prevent gorsuch from getting on. now, that doesn't mean you have to change the rules. each side didn't get their nominee. let's sit down and come together. our republican frids are acting like you know they're a ca

i, neil gorsuch do solemnly swear? >> i, neil gorsuch do solemnly swear. >> i will administer stress without -- do equal right to the poor and the rich. >> do equal right to the poor and the rich. >> and that i will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform -- >> that i will faithfully perform -- >> all of the duties incumbent upon me -- >> all of the duties incumbent upon me -- >> of the associate justice of the supreme court of the united states -- >> of the associate justice of the supreme court of the united states, so help me god. >> congratulations! [applause] >> i see before me so many to whom i owe so much. i know that i would not be here today without your friendship and support. thank you all from the bottom of my heart. i want to thank the president for nominating me. and for the great confidence and trust that he has imposed in me. i want to thank the vice president for his constant encouragement and friendship throughout this process. it is not possible to mention here everyone that i should mention

neil gorsuch is officially going to become the ninth judge on the supreme court with those eight justiceseen going on since justice scalia. >> jon: the appeals court judge from colorado, is now justice gorsuch. >> julie: we'll see you back here and one hour. "outnumbered" starts right now. >> harris: neil gorsuch is confirmed as justice. this comes one day after invoking the nuclear option after failing to get the 60 votes needed to move the process forward. this is "outnumbered." here today, sandra smith, host of kennedy on fox business, kennedy, also from fbn, dagen mcdowell, and today's 322, juan williams. he is outnumbered. good to see you. >> juan: what a newsday. this is the kind of newsday that you feel like is a fire hydrant.

away from senate democrats trying to filibuster the nomination, the confirmation i should say of neil gorsuch to the supreme court, but the senate republican leadership is not expected to stand for that. they are going to try to lower the threshold to break a filibuster. that will confirm judge gorsuch to the supreme court. we expect to see fireworks on the senate floor today as long-standing precedent is changed. that is the nuclear option and a final confirmation vote tomorrow with only 51 senators needed or 50 senators plus the vice president, mike pence, if there is some kind of surprise or absence that we don't know about yet. >> jon: peter doocy come alive on capitol hill. thank you. for more on the historic change taking place as we await the senate vote on ending debate over the gorsuch nomination. that vote we now understand is underway. let's bring in the political editor for "the washington times." as i mentioned, that vote is underway. it requires 60 votes to end debate, republicans have 52 members, they have four democrats who said they will vote with them. that doesn't give them

and neil gorsuch doesn't like that. and he doesn't like workers having the chance to confront corporations on the issues of sexual harassment. in pinkerton vs. the colorado department of transportation, judge gorsuch joined an opinion discounting pinkerton's evidence of discrimination and including pinkerton's performance, not discrimination, resulted in her termination. >> >mr. merkley: but there is a third big problem with the fact that we are here tonight considering this nomination. the first big problem was the seat was stolen by the republican majority, the first time the theft like that has happened in the history of our nation, in an effort to pack the court. that is a big deal. the second is that trump nominated somebody completely outside the judicial mainstream. the third is something that should give every american pause, and that is that at this very moment investigations are taking place into the conversations, into the meetings between the trump campaign and the russians. now, we know it's very, very publi

is neil gorsuch qualified? really, can anyone contest that he is highly qualified, perhaps one of the most qualified people to ever to have been nominated by a president for the high court. he has degrees from columbia, harvard law, from oxford university. he has received the american bar association's highest rating, the gold standard that we look at when it comes to judging nominees for the federal bench up to and including the high court, and he served for ten years with distinction on the tenth circuit court of appeals. and so, clearly, he's got the qualifications and clearly he is among that group of qualified individuals that the president promised to look at back during the campaign. and promised to send that type of individual over to the supreme court. so i -- i really don't think there's much that can be said to contradict the fact that neil gorsuch is qualified and highly qualified. so now let's ask is neil gorsuch somehow out of the broad judicial mainstream? and again, i think it is clear that base

neil gorsuch is now confirmed.e was 54 to 45, announced by vice president pence sitting in the chair of

absolutely right, wolf, because democrats today have secured enough support to be able to filibuster neil gorsuch's nomination, which dares republicans to do what they have been threatening to do all along and invoke that nuclear option, essentially changing the senate rules to allow gorsuch to go through on a simple majority vote. right now it looks like republican are making good on that threat. >> judge gorsuch's answers were so diluted with ambiguity, one could not see where he stood. >> reporter: partisan battle lines are now fully drawn. >> the colleagues on the other side who are willing to vote against the nominee for the united states supreme court, for the first time in history conduct a filibuster, i think that's unworthy of the senate. >> reporter: the senate is headed toward a high stakes showdown over president trump's supreme court nominee, neil gorsuch. >> the democrats are setting a very dangerous precedent. >> reporter: today democrats locked in enough support to essentially filibuster neil gorsuch when he faces the full senate later this week. >> i will be voting against cloture