that nominee was neil gorsuch. and i have to say president trump hit a home run with justice gorsuch. i came to this floor nearly a dozen times in support of justice gorsuch's nomination because i knew neil gorsuch and i knew what kind of a judge he would be. i knew he would interpret the constitution according its original meaning, not according to the pet theories of liberal law professors or liberal activists. i knew he would give effect to the plain text of statutes rather than running around to find bits and pieces of legislative history to support his preferred view. and i knew he would hold the administration -- the administrative state to task and help check the unrestrained growth of the unelected, unaccountable fourth branch of government. justice gorsuch has done all that, and more. he has shown himself to be an independent thinker who faithfully applies the text of the constitution and the text of statutes. he's shown that is perfectly be comfortable every -- comfortable disagreeing with the administrati

like neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh is unquestionably qualified. like neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh has shown a commitment to the constitution into the principle that the judges are to interpret the law, not make it up. like neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh will be confirmed. i have confidence in my colleagues. he will be confirmed. he is a good man, i know him personally and have known him for a long time. he is a good man. he's a brilliant man and a man his nomination i am honored to support. i will do everything in my power to see judge kavanaugh confirmed to the supreme court. i cannot be more pleased than to help shepherd through one less nominee terminations highest court. i cannot be more pleased that nominee is judge brett kavanaugh. i know judge kavanaugh, i know what a great just as he will make. i know he will be fair. i know he will live in accordance with the law. i know he has courage and conviction. that he will do what justices have to do. that is, interpret the constitution. there are statutes in the next country that's about all we c

one of the judges with neil gorsuch.e dealing with tonight and trump again is turning to the list of 20 judges and working off of the list comes to the fore that we think we are dealing with. i say i think because he could surprise us. this white house is famously chaotic and constantly off message. always going off the rails and has a hard time with discipline. they have been remarkably disciplined for the last 12 days to narrow down that list 24 -- to 4. >> thank you so much. >>> coming up next, eight last chat with our political and legal analyst on the supreme court decision. we are more than an hour away from that fine dish -- that final announcement. we know sometimes taking a bath means just going for a swim. we know the great outdoors. we love the great outdoors. make this summer last during family summer camp at bass pro shops and cabela's. plus get great deals on great gear. like savings of 40% on finley river sandals for the whole family. and this lew's mach baitcast combo for under $80. bass pro shops and cab

he co authored that with neil gorsuch and several other judges. it says when you have a major precedent, you have to look at it and struggle with it. >> neil: what if they find that that precedent is wrong and what was done in the past? i get a sense from chief justice roberts that would take an act of godly influence to change a precedent that's been established by the court and people have gotten used to for 45 years. do you know whether justice kavanaugh feels that way? >> no one can know what a supreme court justice will do. i'll tell you this, this is a court that if you look at trends in history is minimalist in term of when it overturns precedent. it avoids that. that's where we are historically. so the important question is really what senator collins and others have been asking. do we have someone that will not show hostility towards cases and will grapple with precedent. brett kavanaugh's record shows that he goes into a case being fair and open-minded and he does believe that the courts need to consider precedent. that's a very important

to now as a justice neil gorsuch? >> neil gorsuch is exactly who he has been since the time i first met him when he was 37 years old. he is the same person, he had a tenure record on the bench. he has been on the supreme court a little over a year. his rulings have come out the way everyone said they word. they are not conservative or liberal.they stay in line with the law. as a result that is a kind of judge the president said he was looking for. he got neil gorsuch and i think that is what he will have with the next nomination. >> was the big what if you are telling us right now that it doesn't matter if they are more leaning or conservator or not. it kind of doesn't matter. why then, is the president very much focused on a list of candidates who are conservative? why does it matter then? why not broaden the scope? >> it is important point. the reason why is our very different views about how judges do their job. some believe judges job is to interpret the law, not in line with text but also with their on personal l

he continues to talk about his success with neil gorsuch. he values this immensely. he had been told by those around him how important the supreme court nominee is. some of the senators have already tasted the president's wrath on the campaign trail. are they really going to want to be seen voting against him this late in this season. the other part is if they get the wrath of liberal groups in their state. but they can take that back to the voter. i am independent but i can support the president when i need to. host: the white house counsel is helping the president lead this effort. can you let us know what is happening behind the scenes, the role of the heritage foundation? guest: those two groups were important early on in crafting those lists. this is someone who is in contact with the president. and told by folks inside outside, constantly, they are talking about these nominees. answering the president's questions. it is hard to overstate with his role with these outside groups in helping craft the universe of in shapingdates and how the president sees them, wha

he was the runner-up to neil gorsuch last year and served with the president's sister. and then judge kethledge from michigan. he says he enjoys working in his northern michigan cabin alone with no internet connection. that's a little slice of each. we'll have more on them in just a moment. president trump is choosing somebody to fill justice anthony kennedy's seat. he was a swing vote on many issues like abortion rights and gay rights. his retirement means the court will be split. so the president has a chance to give the conservatives a clear majority. as a result, this means that president trump's pick will likely face a very tough confirmation battle on the confirmation florida. the republicans have a razor thin majority. choosing a justice gives presidents a chance to leave a lasting legacy on the united states and affect millions of americans for many years to come. our chief white house correspondent john roberts is on fox's top story and live on the north lawn this afternoon. hi, john. >> good afternoon. breaking news here at the top of the hour. a source with k

that nominee was neil gorsuch. and i have to say president trump hit a home run with justice gorsuch. i came to this floor nearly a dozen times in support of justice gorsuch's nomination because i knew neil gorsuch and i knew what kind of a judge he would be. i knew he would interpret the constitution according its original meaning, not according to the pet theories of liberal law professors or liberal activists. i knew he would give effect to the plain text of statutes rather than running around to find bits and pieces of legislative history to support his preferred view. and i knew he would hold the administration -- the administrative state to task and help check the unrestrained growth of the unelected, unaccountable fourth branch of government. justice gorsuch has done all that, and more. he has shown himself to be an independent thinker who faithfully applies the text of the constitution and the text of statutes. he's shown that is perfectly be comfortable every -- comfortable disagreeing with the administrati

those with longish memories that remember when neil gorsuch was nominated. the senate still had rules in place that allowed a 60-vote threshold for confirming a supreme court justice. along the way to gorsuch's confirmation, that filibuster threshold was done away with. that potential problem for president trump has gone away. a t does not mean that supreme court justice will be confirmed on a party line vote. the president has a handful of republicans that he needs to worry about. we think susan collins, lisa mccow ski, the two most moderate republicans who support abortion rights and jeff flake and bob corker, two senators who are retiring and emboldened. he needs to win those folks over. if he can't win those over, he needs to hope he can get at least the same three democrats that voted for neil gorsuch last time. and ansion, joe donnelly heidi of north dakota. host: joe crowley lost that seat. you tweeted about it in the victory of alexander ria cortez saying politicians face a rorschach test. what did you mean by that? how do you think democrats will ta

>> if the president nominates somebody extraordinary like neil gorsuch again, i think it's hard to stophat kind of a nomination. >> chris: we will handicap possible nominees with leonard leo, who will play a key role in the president's choice. and how will democrats try to block the confirmation? we will ask dick durbin, the senate number two democrat who wants to delay a vote until after the midterms. plus. >> journalist, like all americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job. >> chris: critics of president trump link his attacks on the press to the shooting deaths of five people at a newspaper in maryland. we will ask our sunday panel about both sides playing a disturbing blame game. all right now on "fox news sunday." and hello again from fox news in washington. as america settles in for the fourth of july holiday, president trump has set an ambitious agenda for this week. he's finalizing his supreme court pick to be announced in just eight days and preparing for a trip to europe, including a summit with russian president vladimir putin. in

but chemistry is what got neil gorsuch the job. and it could get this new person the job. >> and the president is not a constitutional law scholar. he said, i want someone with an impressive resume. he's looking for someone who's strong and not weak, someone who's going to respect the intent of the framers of the constitution. those are buzzword-type phrases, but it matters for the president who wants to trot somebody out. >> looking at somebody who can be on the bench for 40 years. >> exactly. and the president likes to talk about iqs and degrees and things like that. so this is another opportunity for him to say, if i have an impressive person, that reflects well on me. >> that jurist has to sell themselves. this is a job interview. >> on january 31st when president trump unveiled neil gorsuch, he talked about his harvard law degree, talked about him being an oxford scholar. he wanted to tout those things. >> interesting. all right. thank you so much, ladies. appreciate it. >>> now to this breaking story. police in boise, idaho,

some democrats have tried and failed to push some narrative that neil gorsuch got no democratic votes. >> he did not face -- >> i thought he got 3 by the way. >> you might be right but i believe the democratic caucus will stand together. >> filter three democrats devoted they did vote for neil gorsuch. the push for new liberal democrats like chuck schumer who pushed for the last 20 justices confirmed the midterm election years, the interesting thing about the four names, those are four names from the original list of 25 so the idea they are expanding to look at some moderates or something like that, always possible but these four names were on the original list. >> we know you are on it, thank you very much. earlier i spoke to donald trump's judicial advisor leonard leo and asked him what will sway the pres.'s ultimate decision and he told me. >> he is right on top of it. if he wants to get a nomination on july 9th he has to start right away. >> he has had a list he stuck to since november of last year and says that is it. >> is the list and he assist counsel, don mccann working off t

this is he continues to talk , about his success with neil gorsuch. he values this immensely.e had been told by those around him how important the supreme court nominee is. some of these senators have already tasted the president's wrath, you know on the campaign , trail. are they really going to want to be seen voting against him this late in this season? the other aspect is if they get the wrath of liberal groups in their state. but they can take that back to the voter and say, see, i voted with president trump on this most important thing when he asked me to. i independent, but i can support am the president when i need to. that can be powerful reelection campaign message for them. steve: the white house counsel is helping the president lead this effort. can you give us a sense of what has been happening behind the scenes, the role of the heritage foundation, the federalist society, and those close to the president? chris: i know those groups were important early on in crafting those lists. this is someone who is in contact with the president. i am told by folks inside and

if what makes you comfortable is another neil gorsuch you're going to go with kethledge. to the extent there's a split it's betwe the more traditional perhaps pro-business types that would be kftwble a gorsuch kethledge and the social conservatives who would like to ke a blow with barrett. susan collins had said she doesn't want anybody who expresses a hostility toward roe. that would raise questions like barrett than the other twoid caes not that she may not vote for any of them. but that would be a tougherse . but i think for president trump himself why he has said that roe v. wade that it's gone in his presidency, he said that in his campaign. he has fought against what he sees judicial activists, democratic judges w he thinks are biased and will rule against some of his administration's policies. this list whiz compiled by conservative -- this list was compiled by conservative groups. he has a list of people who he thinks are conservativ , who are republicans and who will rule on his side. i don't think he has a big problem sticking wit robert: you've been covering the

think what we are going to see is the same dynamics play out that we saw with neil gorsuch and he will get his nominee confirmed. >> harris: so you've got one of two women who were the original 25 candidates, people saying that she's not out, the president according to john roberts really likes her but she would have a difficult time and again you've got one shot at this before new congres congress. >> kennedy: you also have a president who goes very much on his intuition and how he feels talking to someone and getting to know them. that's why we have. >> harris: how do you think the president has done on that? >> kennedy: look at vice president pence. there were other people in the running for the vice presidency when he had locked up the nomination but was that he had the closest connection with. mitt romney although he would've been a great secretary of state, he and the president never really gelled personally. the president has endorsed him. >> harris: he had some pretty incendiary things to say about the president. >> kennedy: was interesting is to have this dynamic cure of dick

last year i nominated judge neil gorsuch to replace the late, great justice antonin scalia. [ applause ] i chose justice gorsuch because i knew that he, just like justice scalia, would be a faithful servant of our constitution. we are honored to be joined tonight by justice scalia's beloved wife, maureen. [ applause ] thank you, maureen. both justice kennedy and justice scalia were appointed by a president who understood that the best defense of our liberty and a judicial branch immune from political prejudice were judges that apply the constitution as written. that president happened to be ronald reagan. for this evening's announcement, we are joined by ronald reagan's attorney general, edwin meese. [ applause ] and, ed, i speak for everyone. thank you for everything you've done to protect our nation's great legal heritage. in keeping with president reagan's legacy, i do not ask about a nominee's personal opinions. what matters is not a judge's political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require. i am pleased to say that i have fo

has not been voting which means this could come down to two crossover democrats who voted for neil gorsuchast go around, joe mansion, heidi heitkamp and joe donnelly, we will find out about the timeline with the pic on monday, the confirmation in the fall, this is going to move that lightspeed. >> when the president says he is going to get it done he gets it done, appreciate it. new york state trooper gunned down in the line of duty, nicholas clark shot dead while responding to the call a suicidal man in upstate new york, later found inside his barricaded home. dozens of police cars escorted the following trooper from the scene. he was engaged to be married, standout college football player earning a trial with the buffalo bills, trooper clark is the 29th law enforcement officer killed by gunfire in the us this year. the man who stabbed 9 people including 6 children at a birthday party is charged with murder. he could face the death penalty after a 3-year-old girl died from her injuries. police say the attack was likely revenge africa, a temporary resident, was asked to leave the complex t

iny much like neil gorsuch background and philosophy. the senate has confirmed neil gorsuch. i think we have 49 solid program life vote from that angle in the senate. we have collins and makowski on record voting for gorsuch before. i mean by the content of his intellect and background but i also mean because this senate has a record of confirming someone just like him. host: do you expect the hearings will directly focus on the issue of roe versus wade, the areas of individual liberty? guest: i have no doubt this will come up in every hearing. i have no doubt because we have .een through this before especially democratic senators will be asking those questions. pro-choice senators will be asking. there is no way a justice and answer that question ethically they cannot prejudge a case they might be -- that might be coming down the line. , as every other judge that's come before the committee, will get asked those questions because they are great pr but they will not elicit the responses the democratic senators are looking for. marjorie denon -- his nominee for the ninth justi

we are going to see another great conservative constitutional judge like neil gorsuch. and i think when push comes to shove, we are going to get two or three democrats which is what we get the last time, and hopefully all of the republicans. but, and i don't think there will be litmus test type of questions. the president said that that is not appropriate for him to ask, nor is it appropriate for the senators to ask. but i asked him to play it out quickly, and it is a reminder to the trump base, this is why we elected him. the recent 5-4 supreme court decision one after another, frankly, we knew would go the other way had clinton won. we had a chance with our president to lock down this 5-4 conservative constitutional court for the next four decades. >> harris: congressman? >> that is why we elected president trump. >> harris: you say that there will not be a litmus test. he said that this will not be a question about roe vs wade. but you could look at the voting records, not the voting records, but the decision-maker records of these candidates on who had been in law i

he rewarded them by giving them neil gorsuch. i think trump understands that if he is going to turn the evangelical and catholic voters into foot soldiers in 2020, he needs to give them another neil gorsuch and the base really wants a 40 something federalist society judge and i think trump also understands a couple more things. he understands as a master brand or if he does this correctly this will be the trump card. he gets to rebrand this court for posterity for at least a generation and also understands that if he does this correctly he will put the supreme court out of the reach of the left for a generation or more and at the end of the day this could be his most singular accomplishment as president, so he's fully aware of what's at stake and he understands what his base wants. >> sandra: do you think they will be able to get somebody over the finish line? >> at this point you have to say the odds favor president trump and the republicans. they have the votes, sandra, and obviously don't of the filibuster, mcconnell did away

neil gorsuch when he was being considered for the supreme court was up for a hard right conservatives seat, antonin scalia. so anthony kennedy was more in the middle, so this has taken on much, much greater significance. it has also taken on greater meaning, i think, because the president has laid out very specifically -- in fact, when he was running for office, that if elected, he would appoint an individual who met two very specific criteria. one, he was looking for someone who was against the affordable care act, and two, he was specifically looking for an individual who would oppose roe versus wade. so, this president has himself set out a very volatile process by setting out criteria, outsourcing the choice to two outside groups, "heritage action" and "federal society," and coming up with a nominee who on a number of issues related to american life has shown as he would turn the clock back. given the stakes you have laid out from your perspective, do democrats have a realistic chance of stopping this nominee? nan: i would say that democrats and republicans have a realistic chance

it's exactly what he did with his nomination for neil gorsuch. it will be difficult to play the guessing game, the let's play again because of a 24 hours until we find out who it is. i was there with you. who do you think will be president trump's nominee? >> i think he's got a couple of candidate. we just played a clip say they have light records that conservatives don't even know who they are. the one thing i would stress here is the confirmation process needs to act and look very different. you have to have a much more substantive airing of the issues and demand the nominee present his or her opinions on a number of cases and freedom in america are that great. the number of issues hanging out there are tremendous. >> if i were to randomly guess i would say kethledge at the moment. conservatives pushing for barry. some moderates pushing forward kavanaugh and he's the one in the middle. >> is certainly could be going into the process though people thought that judge kavanaugh was the favorite. yes most extensive judicial record on the d.c. circu

to replace the late great justice antonin scalia.applause ] >> i chose justice neil gorsuch because i knew that he, just like justice scalia would be a faithful servant of our constitution. we are honored to be joined tonight by justice scalia's beloved wife, maureen. >> [ applause ] [ applause ] >> thank you, maureen. both justice kennedy and justice scalia were appointed by president who understood that the best defense of our liberty and the judicial branch immune from political prejudice, were from judges that apply the constitution as written. that president happened to be ronald reagan. for this evening's announcement we are joined by ronald reagan's attorney general, edwin meese. >> [ applause ] [ applause ] >> and ed, i speak for everyone, thank you for everything you've done to protect our nation's great legal heritage. in keeping with president reagan's legacy, i do not ask about a nominee's personal opinions what matters is not a judges clinical views, but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require. i am pleased to say that i ha

we heard them from neil gorsuch. we heard them from now chief justice roberts, about adhering to established precedent. just a couple weeks ago we saw an established precedent 40 years old overturned by the court with roberts and gorsuch supporting that step. we know that these evasive canned rehearsed answers are absolutely meaningless when they are accompanied by refusals in response to my questions and others to state that brown v. board of education was correctly decided or roe v. wade was correctly decided or loving versus virginia, or bergapel or other established principles of law. sought answer to your question is no more business as usual, no more deferential or courteous acceptance of these phony platitudes. >> that sounds like it would make for interesting hearings one way or the other. senator blumenthal, thank you for some time tonight. >> thank you. >> harry lipman, former assistant deputy general. he clerked for justice kennedy on the supreme court. and vinta gupta. former assistant attorney general at

he promised to put justices on the bench like neil gorsuch, and that is why widely lauded by the republicansnd conservatives that he put somebody in keeping with his campaign promises. >> tom: going back to what he said during the campaign, look at gorsuch, look at the way that was handled. the president, he has no problem turning up the temperature on issues but on this issue, i think he approaches things in a fairly normal establishment kind of way. he is appointing people that i think most people, he's going to appoint people most people are comfortable with and he's probably going to get a pass. it's not going to be 98-0 but he will probably get it done. i'm not even concerned by the kinds of things susan collins says. the kind of judges that get appointed are not the kind of judges, like in the judge bork days that were advocates for overturning roe v. wade. most of them keep mum on their personal views on these things. i think it's going to be noncontroversial. >> dana: the left uses the idea of roe vs. wade being overturned as the right uses the idea of guns being abolished. it's a wa

they voted yes on neil gorsuch, but terry, tremendous pressure on them now. do they stay with their party, the democrats, do they risk their own seat here? >> reporter: that's it, david. they're getting it coming and going. tonight, for example, the white house reached out to these vulnerable red state democrats and invited them to the primetime announcement of president trump's pick, they each declined. you know, it's one thing to vote for neil gorsuch, a conservative replacing conservative justice antonin scalia, it's another thing altogether to vote for a swing justice who could overturn roe versus wade. >> all right, for folks at home, it's not just the three democrats. there are two republicans being watched, too. take a look again. senators susan collins of maine, lisa murkowski of alaska, both moderates. and terry, they'll also be crucial votes here, particularly on the issue of a woman's right to choose, as we just heard from senator collins. >> reporter: that's right. that is her red line. and they are under tremendous pressure, as well. both of them

. >> neil gorsuch for whom you have vote, do yont u this they he is going to be voting to overturn roe v. wade if given the chance? >> no, i don't. i had a long discussion with judge gorsuch in my office and he pointed out to me that he is the coauthor of the whole book on precedent. so someone who devotes that much time to writing a book on precedent, i think they understand how important a principle that is in our judicial system. i think that judges have to have to a ability to puts a side their personal views and rule on the facts of the case with fidelity to the law and the constitution. >> now, only one member of the current supreme court clarence thomas is officially on the record supporting the overturn of roe v. wade and aren't they typically cautious of blowing up the precedents? >> well, we have seen the jay us in decision regarding the labor and donations or the contributions from the people in labor unions, and that is going to change late built of the precedent -- >> hold that thought for a second, because i want to point out that these are live images as the president an

. >> i'm very proud of neil gorsuch. he has been outstanding. his opinions are so well written, so brilliant. and i'm going to try and do something like that, but i don't think i'm going to be so specific in the questions i'll be asking, and i'm told i shouldn't be. >> on the campaign trail, you said you would leave it to the states. >> maybe some day it will be to the states, you never know. that's a complex question. the roe v. wade is probably the one that people are talking about in terms of having an effect. but we'll see what happens. but it could very well end up with states at some point. >> reporter: so this is an enormous decision for the president. he has already showed his hand in many ways, providing that list of 25 candidates, senator susan collins said today in her conversations with the president, he indicated that he added some additional names for consideration that have not been publicly disclosed as being on that list. and is withittling it down. so far, white house officials have not said if that has

. >> if the president dominatesme one extraordinary like neil gorsuch againha ird to stop that nomination>> we'll recap nominees who will play a key role in president choice how do democrats try to block senate confirmation. we ask the senate democrat that wants to delay a vote until after theidterm. >> plus, journalists like all americans should be free from the fear of being vintly attacked while doing their job. >> critics of president trump link his attackso on pre shooting deaths of five people at a newspaper in maryland we'll ask our sunday panel about both sideg a disturs baying blame game. right now. on "fox news sunday" hello again from fox news in washington as america sets i again from fox news in washington as america sets i for 4th of july holiday g his t supreme court o be announced in just eight days and preparing for a including a summit with russiann prt vladimir putin. in a moment we will talk with national security advisor john bolton, who is just back from moscow. but first cot's bring in esponding kevin corke atthhe white hous the latest on the president's plan. >> th

justice hardiman was runner-up to justice neil gorsuch in filling the previous high court vacancy last year. i'm joined by connecticut democratic senator chris murphy, robert costa, national political reporter for the "washington post" and an msnbc political analyst. michael steele, former rnc chair and msnbc political analyst. ruth marcus, columnist for the "washington post" and an msnbc contributor. a great -- you're the final four for tonight for us. >> oh, boy. >> senator murphy, is there any way this isn't going to become an enormously political decision by your fellow members of the senate? especially from the red states. >> he decided to make this a momentous political moment by outsourcing the decision to the heritage institute and to the federalist society the day that he basically put these right-wing political organizations in charge of selecting the next supreme court justice, who would basically telegraph that the only people on those lists are people who will not only overturn roe versus wade but possibly the right to privacy in grizzle v. connecticut. >> that was the one

neil gorsuch, his first nominee made his mark on the court. tonight's pick to succeed anthony kennedy, a swing vote in many key cases could do more on abortion, marriage equality, the affordable care act, issues yet to come. sources tell us the president made his decision this afternoon. these four are said to be the front-runners. all federal appeals court judges, all vetted by the conservative federalist society. will one get the nod late today? we learned that judge amy coney barrett is not in washington tonight or will it be someone you do not see, senator mike lee. when it comes to confirmation, will any republican senator vote no? will any democrat from a red state vote yes? a number were invited to the announcement tonight. their answer could say a lot, already the battle lines are being drawn. >> now normally in the senate we have a process of advise and consent on the supreme court. in the old days, the president would consult with republicans and democrats in the senate on a qualified judge. and then after careful deliberation nomina

all five of them voted in favor of neil gorsuch the last time. this time for the president's nominee to lose four of them would have to change votes and vote against the president's nominee. that tells you right there how hard it is going to be for democrats to stop this nominee. they have to get four of them. three democrats and one republicans to turn their votes and the question is you supported neil gorsuch, why do you oppose this nominee from the president? >> bill: has there been any reporting? has the president talked personally with collins and murcowski on the phone to figure out who they would approve? >> the white house said the president spent time talking to lawmakers meaning in the senate on both sides of the aisle. so we know for example that the president actually had some of those democratic senators over to the white house last week to talk. by the way, all three of them heitkamp, manchin, and donnelly are facing reelection this year in states donald trump won. >> bill: we get to nato after today. i want to ask you about that be

>> here is what you should remember from the rollout of neil gorsuch. first he walked out and said "are you surprised?" treating it like a game show. he so emphasized his pedigree. the fact that he went to harvard and studied at oxford. he likes to say i picked the smartest or the best somehow. he wants to use an ivy league kre dcredential credential. we have a stanford, a berkley, a couple notre dame's. he can maybe inflate it somehow, but he has a few harvard's down the list -- >> that is what populism lives, by the way. >> and i think they're fairy representative. >> the majority of americans want roe v. wade to stay legal. we will talk more about that, but also the update on family separations. does the government have any plan to reunite children with their parents who were separated at the border? we'll give you all of the developments. welcome to holiday inn! thank you! ♪ ♪ wait, i have something for you! every stay is a special stay at holiday inn. save up to 15% when you book early at hollidayinn.com like concert tickets or a new snowboard. mat

he continue that momentum by nominating neil gorsuch.train that is moved at a great pace of the last couple years and i think that pace should continue. >> laura: what about santorum? hugh hewitt, one was the last time he was right about a major political issue? no offense. i like him as a person. >> anyone who's read brett kavanaugh's opinions knows what he stands for. a lot of these folks are probably saying the way he didn't come out on the health care case. he had a prior precedent he followed. i think it's a red herring. we do stay there. leonard is going to stay with us to discuss the suggestion that the president could get yet another supreme court vacancy. raymond arroyo in the theater of the supreme court nomination. no contract. all with nationwide coverage... tracfone. for moments that matter. >> laura: all right, i am so excited. this has been such an incredible night. when it comes to potential supreme court nominees, no one has the president's ear more than leonard leo who is now himself under fire. that's the way it goes.

of course, he announced neil gorsuch in primetime as well. in terms of what the president is doing today, he's preparing for this announcement. and so is the white house. the war room getting ready to really roll out their campaign to push any one of these judges who the president does ultimately end up choosing. there's a political calculus to this. mitch mcconnell behind the scenes has been pushing the president to choose someone who can get through an easy confirmation process. and he has really pinpointed thomas hardiman and raymond kethledge as the two people who would be able to do that. but for all of the reasons that pete points out, this is complicated. all of these folks have a very robust background. and kavanaugh is someone who has gotten a lot of buzz with hardiman getting a lot of recent buzz in these final hours. so this remains a suspense here at the white house. we're just waiting and trying to drill down on who the president is focused on at this hour. >> robert costa, is the president more likely to listen to much mcconnell

i'm very proud of neil gorsuch, he's been outstanding. his opinions are, you know, so well written, so brilliant. i'm fog to try to do something. but i don't think i will be specific in the questions i'm asking. i'm told i shouldn't be. >> on the campaign trail you said you would leave it to the states. >> maybe some day it will be to the states, you never know how that's going to turn out. that's a complex question, the roe v. wade, is probably the one that people are talking about in terms of having an effect. but we'll see what happens. but it could well end up with states at some point. >> joining us with more from the white house on what will be an incredibly important decision is ed henry. ed? >> judge, good to see you. what the president is doing is moving very quickly to get through the interviews, potential nominees, to the high court. he wants to get the clock ticking so it gets harder and harder for democrats to justify any obstruction, any delay beyond the mid-term elections, what they say they want to do. they want to stall t

judge neil gorsuch is a champion against the deference.early everyone on the list of 25 is also against it why should the average person care about it? because some day the average person might be caught up on this. >> dana: that's right. >> ment the e.p.a. show >> the e.p.a. shows up on your farm and decides mud puddle is navigatable water. >> dana: they could take it away from you. >> that's correct. when you challenge the e.p.a. are they in a equal situation or a leg up. >> dana: justice general paul stevens says judges are not experts in the field and not a part of the branch of either government that's why he defers. >> i will tell you the progressives, the people who should we should be governed by experts not by congress, not by people like the rest of us are, they love chevron deference. they love getting this extra level of protection to administrative agencies. those that believe your private property is yours or when you go into court your adversary has the same stopping as you they are against chevron deference. the president i

president last week immediately brought in the three democrats who last year supported justice neil gorsuchcrat heidi heitkamp, a tough reelection in north dakota, praise the president for consulting her. democrat joe manchin is facing voters in a state that the president carried by 41 points and says he's more focused on qualifications than any one issue like abortion. democrat joe donnelly is up for reelection in vice president mike pence's home state of indiana. amy barrett, who like donnelly went to the university of notre dame, the pressure make it intense even though some democrats like kirsten gillibrand have tried and failed to push the narrative that neil gorsuch got no democratic votes. >> he did not. they said strong and they passed it with republican votes. >> i thought he got three, by the way. >> you might be right, but i believe this democratic caucus will stand together. >> collins says the white house's original list of 25 candidates may expand, though the president has to be careful about upsetting conservatives who loved that original list. >> jon: ed henry, thanks. for m

nominee was neil gorsuch. and i have to say president trump hit a home run with justice gorsuch. i came to this floor nearly a dozen times in support of justice gorsuch's nomination because i knew neil gorsuch and i knew what kind of a judge he would be. i knew he would interpret the i knew he would interpret the constitution according to its originalor meeting not according to the theories of liberal law professors or activists. i knew that he would give effect to the plaintext of statutes rather than running around dividing the bits and pieces of legislative history does the porch of his preferred view and he would hold the administration to task to help test the unrestrained growth of the unelected unaccountable fourth branch of government. he's done all thate. and more. when the administration advances and most of all he understands deeply under the constitution cn for political power lies withur the people and their elected representativesta bought nine justices in washington, d.c.. in all the ways he's been a home run. he's been an independent committed to the constitution

he was the runner-up for neil gorsuch there. i don't think mike lee's turn -- >> you think the democrats would vote yes on lee? >> claire mccaskill. there's gradations of the resistance in the democrats. claire mccaskill is much more part of the camp than heidi heitkamp that gets on air force one, talks about tax cuts, talks about voting with the president. >> exactly. >> and you might even pick up a couple more of them. it will be interesting. i'm watching with susan collins and lisa murkowski, pro choice republicans, what they're going to do. they say we can't vote for someone that is openly hostile to roe v. wade and they're not going to talk about it and a assume you will respect precedent. >> you have to keep your caucus if you're a democrat or a republican. it's up to mitch mcconnell. >> and it's up to chuck schumer to keep his party in line. the funniest thing about this is the fact that the president keeps saying i'm going to announce it in prime time at 9:00 p.m. monday night. it's like "the bachelor." we're going to se

enough and qualified enough to sit on the supreme court and will be very much in the mold of a neil gorsuchnow one thing getting a lot of scrutiny, she stands out as the only woman mentioned is amy coney barrett. i'm wondering when they start talking about how many kids she has and all that and don't do that for the male justices being considered, i think we've gone into the twilight zone again. how do you envision this process going? >> well, here's the thing, if you're a democrat, you are desperate to make sure that you derail this nomination, if you can. neil: no matter who it is, right? >> doesn't matter. it does not matter who is chosen at this point. they will be subject to vicious attacks. the problem for democrats is that, again, you cannot argue that any of these from a jurisprudence standpoint are not qualified for the court. the only thing you can do is instead suggest somehow they are out of mainstream. so you are going to see a lot of the attacks on personal aspects of these candidates' lives, their religion for instance, their personal choices, how many children they have. som

if you look at what neil gorsuch in his confirmation hearings said about roe v. and what sotomayor said in her confirmation, it's almost exactly the same. if the next nominee says these same things, shouldn't that be okay? >> i think so. as someone -- i was general counsel of the senate committee. iover saw a lot of federal nominations. there's a stock answer that judicial nominees give about precede precedent, which is that i follow precedent that it's really wrong. you do you want to say tell us what you think on these votes. abraham lincoln said we would despise a nominee that told us how they would vote in every case. in that balance, you have to say i think what sotomayor said, what gorsuch says and what i expect the next nominee to say, i'm be faithful to present unless where it's wrong. otherwise, we have to live with judicial decisions that allow segregation. we want judges to be flexible on precedent when it's wrong. >> dana: many will try to hold this next nominee to a different standard than gorsuch and sotomayor. john, thank you. >> thanks, dana. >> d

those with longest memories remember when neil gorsuch was nominated at first, the senate still had rules in place that threshold forote confirming a supreme court justice. along the way to gorsuch's confirmation, that filibuster was done away with. so that potential for problems for president trump has gone away. that does not mean that the supreme court justice will be ,onfirmed on a partyline vote because the president has a handful of republicans he needs to worry about. , the two most moderate republicans who support or, who rights, flake" flake and corker who are retiring and feel emboldened. time, he may have to hope he gets the three democrats to vote. mansion, donnelly, and heidi heitkamp. 11, joe crowley losing that state. sayingeted about it, politicians face armor sock test -- politicians face a resource -- politicians face a rohrsach test. >> mr. crawley was trying to position himself to become the next house leader of democrats. it represents a generational breakthrough for the democrats. an ideological breakthrough. we don't know how much that will be repeated. when she wan

both pro-choice, both sending signals that this may be different than last year's battle over neil gorsuch where they voted to confirm gorsuch. both of them also indicating maybe the issue of roe v. wade could be preeminent in their considerations on this. it's a big if. would they go to the lengths of voting no, joining with democrats trying to stop a trump pick? they've sent signals that have people talking about it. the math, if they were to go, if you start at 50 for republicans and lose collins and murkowski, that's an ugly four but you're down to 48 for the republicans and then you would be short. you have got to flip this around. remember, we're talking about democrats here, too. a lot of democrats running for re-election this year in states donald trump carried in 2016, some by giant margins. here's what you're looking at here. so manchin, west virginia. up for reelection, trump won by 42. heitkamp in north dakota, trump took it by 36. missouri -- i meant to circle indiana here. donnelly in indiana, trump took it by 20. donnelly, heitkamp, manchin, they voted for neil gorsuch last

and if you hope he ofneeds to the same three democrats to vote for his nominee that voted for neil gorsuch last time. joe manchin of west virginia, joe donnelly, and heidi heitkamp. >> the new york 11th, joe seat thatlosing that she tweeted that -- you tweeted that politicians face a rorschach test. what did you mean by that? that was a story with multifaceted story lines it, not the least of which mr. crowley was trying to position himself to be the next leader of the house democrats, and the ocasio.of or what she wants people to remember as her message was something i'm going to guess that we are going to your more and more from democrats between now and the election. not so much her message of progressiveness. she is a bernie sanders progressive democrats, wants to eliminate ice, once to medicare to be the sole health care, , i dofree public college not think the democrats are going to go for those progressive ideas. but what they are going to listen to which is what she said, we, the democrats, noble donald trump is, we do not need to spend our campaign talking ill of donald trump and