reid: mr.resident? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're in a quorum call, is that true? the vice president: that's correct. mr. reid: i ask that it be virkted. the vice president: without objection, it is vitiated. mr. reid: mr. president, what is the business before the senate? the vice president: the swearing in of the senator from massachusetts. the chair laser before the senate a certificate of election to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of senator john f. kerry of massachusetts. the certificate the chair is advised is in the form suggested by the senate. if there's no objection, the reading of the certificate will be waived and will be printed in full in the record. if the senator-elect will now present himself -- mr. reid: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i know a lot of people want to say some real nice things about this good man. but they're going to have do it later. we have a lot of things to do here. and as he will learn, the senate is

now reid wants to change again.uing the change is necessary because the body of the senate is not functioning the way it should. during all of bush's two terms, cloture was invoegsed 141 times. cloture doesn't always mean a fila buster but it's the best way senate historians have of keeping track of this issue. senator reid's proposed change would mean it would only take a simple majority, 51, to cut off debate. the change would apply only to cabinet change nominees not judicial appointments or legislation. joining me now is someone who knows these rules better than anyone else. a professor of political science at george washington university robert dove. mr. dove, how are you, sir? >> i am fine. i'm glad to be here with you. >> it's good to have you back. walk me through the process -- assume tonight doesn't go well. harry reid has to do what he's going to do. i'm confused here a little bit. there's -- supposedly it takes 67 votes to change the rules on senate unless it doesn't. explain how he's getting around here

as senator reid said earlier, that used to be 40%. is wrong, and something needs to be changed. >> host: okay. chad, thanks for the call. if you're just tuning in, we're about an hour and 45 minutes into a meeting. we talked to senator lott earlier, he expected the closed-door session would run at least two hours, and we're approaching that mark. it is happening behind closed doors which is why our cameras are not inside the old senate chamber. again, the issue is changing the rules of the filibuster, the so-called nuclear option, and much of this came to a head last thursday. let's take you back to the floor of the senate and the exchange between the democratic leader, the majority leader, harry reid of nevada, and the republican leader, the minority leader, mitch mcconnell of kentucky. >> madam president -- >> republican leader. >> madam president, i have a consent that i think would set up these votes in a much more expeditious way than the way the majority leader is proceeding. but first met me just say these are dark days in the

so when it comes to next steps, we defer to senator reid. we are very appreciative for all he has done, all he is doing and will do to ensure that the president's qualified nominees are preferred -- confirmed. >> does the president believe that the majority leader should go through with the nuclear option? because when senator obama was over there in the senate, he once said when the roles were reversed and the majority was ,hreatening to use that option he said i fear the partisan atmosphere in washington will be poisoned to the point where no one will be able to agree on anything. and that is not what the founding fathers had in mind. so given his previous statement on this, he would agree with senator mcconnell on this, right? >> i think he would agree with this statement from senator mcconnell: "i think the president is entitled to an up or down -- that is a simple majority vote on nominations, both to his cabinet and to the executive branch, and also to the judiciary." that's senator mcconnell in the spring of 2005. the fact is, citing

reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the morning hour deemed manned -- manned tower quorum be waived and when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until monday, july 15, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for use later in the day and that i be recognized and following the remarks of the two leaders the time until 5:30 be divided equally between the two leaders or their designees, with senators permitted during that time to speak for up to ten minutes. further at 5:30 i will be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, then there will be roll call vote at 5:30 p.m. on monday. there will also be an all-senators joint conference at 6:00 p.m. on monday in the old senate chamber. if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands

it looks like it was harry reid 1, mitch mcconnell 0. >> how i think he is right. harry reid won. i am disappointed. i was hoping there would not be a deal and harry reid would go nuclear. i wanted him to go thermonuclear. he did this only four presidential appointees. i was hoping he would buy about a filibuster all together because republicans are likely going to have control of the senate soon. it iside argues hypocritical depending on who is in the majority and minority. there's not one person on the field who is principal about this. if you are going to drop the big one, do it. i am disappointed. i wish i had seen the leveling of the playing field. >> are you disappointed? >> i am not. the reason we got this outcome is because john mccain did the same thing as 10 years ago. he recognized the senate was about to take a serious step that could disrupt the place. andink he put party behind put comity ahead. he brought them to some resolution. he is still going to oppose nominations and nominees. but you do not have to resort to a filibuster over each nominee. they reached the ri

senate majority leader harry reid.ast night, senate majority leader harry reid looked senate republicans in the eye and said to hell with institutional rules and norms, i will nuke your filibuster of nominees. and i have the 51 votes to do it. over the past few days harry reid who has in the past been pretty reluctant, frankly, to mess with the filibuster at all, managed to convince republicans he was serious this time that this time he was actually going to go through with the so-called nuclear option. that he had the 51 votes needed to change senate rules to allow for executive nominees and only executive nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority vote. and in response to harry reid's credible brinksmanship, senate republicans, well, fell right in line. ladies and gentlemen, i come before you to say, not only did democrats win, but they got almost everything they wanted in a stunning victory. this morning, senate democrats and senate republicans reached a deal to not nuke the filibuster. in exchange for a vote on

senator reid believes that two weeks is an unconscionable delay and yet it was the same senator reid that held up my nomination during a prior administration for 2.5 years after senator obama put a hold on the nomination. the point is that the claims being made to the rules being changed because of the president's legislation and the nominees are being stopped and the president is suffering disproportionately. it is factually not true. why is this being done? let me tell you that i would suggest that you read an interesting article that may give you a clue. it is in "mother jones" magazine that is not conservative. they had issued an article on january 9 of this year in which they described a meeting that was held in washington, one month after the november election. some of the most powerful liberal advocacy groups and unions in the country were at this meeting including the national education association, the sierra club, the sciu, the naacp and the afl-cio. the organizations at this meeting are the backbone of the liberal political world and they provide the money, the support, an

joy reid, there you have it. we have one of the -- the juror who is speaking tonight saying that the jury instructions in her view pretty much locked them in to a not guilty verdict. and when you read the difference in the charges to the jury, the instructions to the jury, before stand your ground and after stand your ground, it does seem as though we have changed the dynamics of every self-defense case in florida with the stand your ground law. >> yeah, absolutely. and i spoke with dan gelber today, lawrence, and he was talking about the fact that first of all it passed the state senate unanimously at the time, he was in the house. and he argued at the time the problem with changing those instructions is that essentially you encourage somebody who's inclined to be uncivil or do something overly aggressive or something stupid not to have that sense of restraint because what you've now said is you don't even have to avoid getting into a situation that could result in you using deadly force. meaning that for george

yesterday on meet the press, senator reid lee reid said we're just making -- it's just changing it just>> bill: let's listen. >> the changes we are making are very, very minimal. we're saying look american people shouldn't president obama have somebody working for him that he wants. the constitution is pretty specific, if you have a super majority vote, look at the treaty, but if you want to look at nominations, you know what the founding fathering said, simple majority? >> bill: not a wholesale killing of the filibuster, just that change. >> it really is a small change but one that is greatly needed. if we want the agencies that are charged with giving us clean water, clean air protecting workers and consumers to function, they need their leadership team in place, and the president is entitled to have that. for more than 200 years we have been giving executive nominees an up or down vote and that's what we should be having today. so it's good to see the leader is going to try to make that change. >> bill: the ones that are up are the head of the epa, the nominee for secretary of labor

the mentors reid and mcconnell are talking. -- senators reid and mcconnell are talking.aybe it will yield a result before it is all said and done. proposals?ific >> none other than the obvious, which is give us six republican votes for cloture and this can be avoided. .r do not do the nuclear option if this were to happen, does this mean we will not have another threat to change the rules this session of congress? nobody's willing to make any kind of those hard types of commitments. thune,enator john republican of south dakota, talking with a big school of reporters after last nights three and a half hour meeting with all senators who met in the old senate chamber. no deal was reached. they will come to the floor today. our coverage on c-span up around 10:00 a.m. the first vote is expected around 11:00 a.m. then the two sides will recess for their weekly senate luncheon. at that point, we will take your calls and tweets and facebook comments. around 12:30 p.m. eastern time on c-span 2, getting your reaction to what you heard on the senate floor and last nights meeting ab

>> harry reid is partially right.eaches a pretty narrow scope that he would change specifically for executive nominees, but the minority could still revoke and put in place a filibuster, so in that sense, harry reid is correct. the danger is that whenever you start changing senate rules and you have the republicans say if harry reid does it this time then the next time we are in the majority, we're going to change the rules even more and get rid of the filibuster completely. so it could set a dangerous precedent. but we have never had nominees have to wait this long as you pointed out. >> michael: or this many of them. john tester said he is not going to -- i'm sorry brian schweitzer said he is not going to run for senate in montana. there's a chance the republicans are within striking distance of taking control of the senate then would either party change their tune if those roles were reversed? >> i don't worry about whether what harry reid does sets a precedent for republicans. if they find it advantageous to chang

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senator reid wants a trillion dollar tax hike.ax reform and demands instead a massive tax increase. and forget the compromise worked out between dave camp in the house and max baucus in the senate and forget the bipartisan agreement. no, says senator reid, we can't have tax cuts, we must have more revenue, a trillion dollars more, he's making the political calculation that the slogan, tax the rich, will bring in the votes next year, who cares about growth and prosperity if you can convince voters that taxing the rich makes solid policy. sure, it's divisive, class warfare. if you win at the polls, who cares? well, america is beginning to care, we have recession fatigue. we want growth. we want jobs, we want rising, not falling incomes. after four years of misery we know that raising taxes does not work. i said a trillion dollar tax hike will be a disaster for the middle class, so it will be. we've added 7 trillion in debt and no prosperity to show for it. can you imagine the impact of taxes on top of obamacare, they don't care, the

this is harry reid talking. the storm had been gathering all year, and word from conservative columnists and in conservative circles was that senator frist of tennessee, who was the majority leader, had decided to pursue a rules change that would kill the filibuster for judicial nominations. this is senator reid's book. it's an excellent book, and i appreciate being mentioned in it. and once you open that pandora's box, senator reid wrote, it's just a matter of time before a senate leader who couldn't get his way on something moved to eliminate the filibuster for regular business as well, and that, simply put, would be the end of the united states senate. i believe that. i believe it would be. it's not a mere rules change. any time this body changes its rules in the middle of a session without following the 67-vote rules requirement, any time it does that, it doesn't matter what it's for, it can do it again for a matter of precedent. so if it does it for judicial nominations, the importance of the change is not

senator reid believes that two weeks is an unconscionable delay and yet it was the same senator reid that held up my nomination during a prior administration for 2.5 years after senator obama put a hold on the nomination. the point is that the claims being made to the rules being changed because of the president's legislation and the nominees are being stopped and the president is suffering disproportionately. it is factually not true. why is this being done? let me tell you that i would suggest that you read an interesting article that may give you a clue. it is in "mother jones" magazine that is not conservative. they had issued an article on january 9 of this year in which they described a meeting that was held in washington, one month after the november election. some of the most powerful liberal advocacy groups and unions in the country were at this meeting including the national education association, the sierra club, the sciu, the naacp and the afl-cio. the organizations at this meeting are the backbone of the liberal political world and they provide the money, the support, an

harry reid was as effusive as harry reid can be in his praise of john mccain. >> i'm going to tell one person and no one else how much i appreciate their advocacy here. their persuasiveness, persistence. no one was able to break through but for him. and he does it at his own peril. >> michael: jay carney also applauded mccain's work, but denied that the white house had any direct involvement in the deal. >> the white house was not involved in negotiating. the white house provided information and answered questions. when it came to working with hence, including senator mccain. what we've seen deserves credited for finding a solution here. >> michael: in the meantime,:mcconnell kept a low profile. >> i think it's a step in the right direction that the majority has chosen not to exercise the nuclear option. we feel good about that. i think they feel good about it. i think that crisis has been averted. we still will be dealing with controversial nominees in are a way that controversial nominees inevitably produce. a great debate. >> reporter: now for the latest on this story we head just o

reid's comments. i think that -- i didn't catch his whole speech but he says this is about the constitution, and i'd like to know where the in the constitution it talks about filibusters in article one or article one section a, and parliamentary procedures is roberts results of order. i'd like no know why there is not three-fourth of the vote when the minority's rights are going to be taken away, you knee 3/4 of a 0 vote. both parties for play. both parties need to know and that's the only way to save our country. >> host: you can china in on the conversation. the filibuster is not a rule of debate. it blocks debate and gives a veto to 41 senators over the entire legislative process. >> carl, good evening from kansas city. democrats line. go ahead, place. >> caller: hello, is this me? >> host: if you're carl go ahead. >> caller: great. here's what want to point out. we're throwing around a lot of rhetoric about minorities and majorities and tyrannies and the like, but the 13 colonies were more or less

reid and fellow democrats have had it with the g.o.p.'one walling tactics which have not only held up president obama's nominees for the cabinet but have sandbagged his entire legislative vaned. dusting off his boxing gloves, reid singled out senate minority leader mitch mcconnell for leaving him no other options than to go nuclear air. >> the republican leader has failed to live up to his commitments. he has failed to do what he said he would do, move nominations by regular order except in extraordinary circumstances. i refuse to unilaterally surrender my right to respond to this breach of faith. >> michael: of course, mcconnell struck back claiming that reid was manufacturing a crisis to replace the senate mandate of "advice and consent" with quote sit down and shut up. >> it appears as if they've convinced the majority leader to do their bidding and hijack the senate. they're not interested in advise and consent. they're not even interested in what this would mean down the road when republicans are the ones making the nominations. they

thank you very much >> thank you, everybody. >> senate majority leader harry reid -- >> harry reid and mitch mcconnell debated a change to senate rules for filibusters. next on cspan. on its morning's washington journal, they will discuss the health care law. that starts at 7:00 eastern. >> i needed politics, business, entertainment, food, finance, art. i also was interested in the pattern that you see with newt gingrich, opera, jay-z, people who really begin in very humble places and are not unlike the main characters but who reinvent themselves as something andand find a new language a new idea that is riveting to americans. and through that they build an empire. and they cannot stop holding it. it is almost like an imperative, like with the corporation you have to keep growing. even as a brand, you have to keep growing. eventually, the decadence sets in, where the language becomes a parody of themselves and they no longer seem to be producing something good. they just continue to produce -- gingirrich keeps writing books. oprah is on the cover of every issue of her magazine. they be

harry reid should have used this om option before. why did he wait until now, until 735 days in to even try this? i have to say the cowardice of the democratic leadership in the senate -- as if the republicans can do worse than filibustering literally everything that comes to the floor. what more could they do, harry? what is it going to take for you to show some leadership? no relation. >> look, i was disappointed, too. the filibuster is a tool of obstruction. a compromise to retain a tool of obstruction does not advance the cause of peace. i think there is a kind of filibuster which belongs, which is the kind you saw wendy davis do in texas where you stand up and dlifeliver a talking filibur on an issue that matters to you that much. but the rest of it is one of the things that's wrong with washington. it is not in the constitution. it is a senate rule and it is a senate rule that in this case is being badly abused. so i think this is a shame that they've worked it out. >> ari, we hear a lot of of yosemite sam style positions on thi

reid: madam president? the presiding officer: under the previous order the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid on the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume legislative session and proceed to a period of morning business with senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from ohio. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that senator stabenow be recognized for up to 3 minutes and that i be recognized for up to 5. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. ms. stabenow: thank you, madam president. i appreciate my friend from ohio yielding for just a moment. i just wanted to indicate as it relates to moving forward on the farm bill, i want to congratulate the house for sending their version of the farm bill to us this morning, so we now have it. and tomorrow it would be our intent, senator cochran and

this is reid being reid. >> i can't help but look at, this i feel like it's a carbon copy of what we happen to harry reid in 2010. >> absolutely. >> mcconnell may win but he is going to come out of this a battered, battered politician. >> absolutely. harry reid is nothing if not a fabulous politician. that not only is what happened to him in nevada but that was a playbook we saw in a couple other states where republicans had a tough time. yes, i'm sure he's perfectly happy to let this tea party -- >> the biggest frustrations for republicans is the waste of money in primaries. mitch mcconnell has been the biggest opponent to barack obama, he stopped him on levels, the tea party should be pleased. we're wasting resources. mcconnell will win and that's fine. we could take that money and take back the senate and do something against obama. >> he's wildly popular in kentucky. >> come back, a teaser for you, talk about bob filner. coming back we'll see, the president gets a library. we want to talk about the brits, the man that made america. a little george washington. first today's trivia

senator reid said it would destroy the senate. make no mistake about it, their document executive nominations today. if you do this, it blows the door wide open. they will establish a precedent and it will not -- it will only be a matter of time before it is used for legislation as well. there is going to, time where there are no longer any majority. it is going to be difficult to turn back the hands of time if him -- if they move forward with a are talking about doing. i hope cooler heads will prevail. >> you mentioned the panel nominees are being contested. the issue of her republicans say is they are unconstitutional. if you confirm them now, they would be constitutional. they did understand the argument there. when addressed your concerns? >> they disobey the rules and went around the rules. it seems to meet up with the people that have gone around the rules into powerful positions. there are are people who will not abide by the rules. like i suggested, if they want to pick to others the same philosophy philosophy, they would

>> senator corker and senator reid. the one thing that is certain about egypt is the amount of uncertainty. beyond that, it's anybody's guess. they could name a new prime minister to take over without one of the parties who was supportive of morsi going, saying, no, we are not going to work with this guy. you have to pick somebody else. senators corker and reid both said the u.s. should be a calming influence over the region. now, they may be able to do that in terms of the egyptian military because we give them an awful lot of money. but there is a free for all between the anti-morsity and pro-morsi forces and how do you inject any kind of calming influence, particularly on the morsi side and islamic militants

senator reid believes that two weeks is an unconscionable delay and yet it was the same senator reid that held up my nomination during a prior administration for 2.5 years after senator obama put a hold on the omination. the point is that the claims being made to the rules being changed because of the president's legislation and the nominees are being stopped and the president is suffering disproportionately. it is factually not true. hy is this being done? let me tell you that i would suggest that you read an interesting article that may give you a clue. it is in "mother jones" magazine that is not conservative. they had issued an article on january 9 of this year in which they described a meeting that was held in washington, one month after the november lection. some of the most powerful liberal advocacy groups and unions in the country were at this meeting including the national education association, the sierra club, the sciu, the naacp and the afl-cio. he organizations at this meeting are the backbone of the liberal political world and they provide the money, the support, and ge

we have harry reid, mitch mcconnell on "meet the press" this weekend.want to see it. don't miss that. they went head to head on the floor. see how it turns out. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> a teenager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man made assumptions. he is dead not just because the man made those assumptions but because he acted upon those assumptions. unfortunately, unfortunately, because his assumptions were wrong, trayvon benjamin martin no longer walks on this earth. >> the murder trial of george zimmerman winding down. what can we expect as the defense gets set to present its closing arguments? >>> going nuclear? the leaders of the senate in a war of words over the use of the filibuster. >>> and the movie that's sweeping the nation. we're talking about "sharknado" and the twitter response that has sharks all over the world planning their 15 minutes of fame. this is "way too early." >>> hi, everybody. so we'll get wet and wild with "sharknado" in a moment. i'm thomas roberts in for brian shactman

i'm excited to be here with paul reid. we met before and we have talked before and we are both churchill buff so it's a pleasure to see them again and paul thank you for coming out to chicago. we are going to talk for maybe 40 minutes and there will be plenty time for questions so i hope you can keep that in mind and we will hear from as many people as possible. paul will be signing books so feel free to talk to him after. paul is really a wonderful guy. on top of that he is a journalist who got his start in journalism after a career manufacturing

lining harry reid was p. this is according to the republican side, but i didn't hear harry reid try to refute ny of these numbers. it's taken 51 takes to confirm nominees, obama's administration, whereas bush it took 55 days, and clinton it took 50 days. so i mean, they're all basically the same averpblgs, so i think they're just pulling this -- getting rid of the fell getting rid of the filibuster thing. host: national labor relations board, also members of the president's cabinet, and the head of the consumer financial protection bureau. here's what chris in alabama tweets in. the filibuster is not being removed, it's being limited with respect to obama's nominees only. chris, columbia, maryland, independent caller. go ahead. caller: that's what i was going to talk about, the filibuster is good sometimes. there's a need for it. but when it is being used to block all of the president's appointments, it's just not fair. and it's a shame that we don't have elizabeth warren coming in to protect the consumers. t

but certainly this is in harry reid's mind. say a couple polls this week showed republicans are blamed by the public more than democrats are for being obstructionists. in that sense harry reid could have some of the numbers on his side. >> thanks to both of you, appreciate it. great conversation. i do appreciate it. >>> still ahead, the george zimmerman acquittal and the issue of the jury's makeup. ♪ when you experience something great, you want to share it. with everyone. that's why more customers recommend verizon, america's largest 4g lte network. resoft would be great, but we really just need "kid-proof." softsprings got both, let me show you. right over here. here, feel this. wow, that's nice. wow. the soft carpets have never been this durable. you know i think we'll take it. get kid-friendly toughness and feet-friendly softness, without walking all over your budget. he didn't tell us it would do this. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get whole-home installation for just 37 bucks. >>>

reid: mr. president, i'm going to talk just for a minute about the national labor relations nominees. the nlrb has helped to protect the rights and safety of workers for about 80 years. it is a vitally important watch-dog for working americans. it's also important for employers. it also protects employers. but unless we act before the senate recesses in august, the nlrb will lose its ability to operate and will fail to have a quorum, it can't work, it can't -- it can't be effective. so the nomination of the full membership of the nlrb is really a priority. i understand that republican senators are frustrated by president obama's recess appointment to two members of the nlrb. i accept that. so no one has raised any questions, however, about these two good people, griffin and block. they're really fine public servants and the record should be spread with that fact. however, republicans have insisted on the president's nominating new people and he's done that. it's a right they had and this is a c

but come, who believed harry reid's options. who takes those threats seriously? harry reid? mr.cked down on the filibuster threat, but guess what, he actually won the day any way with a little help from his new friend. you see what harry needed was a hero, a real live american hero riding on a white steed with the wind blowing away all memories of his ill conceived vice presidential pick. enter senator john mccain who worked in a bipartisan fashion. i'll say that again for those who are unfamiliar with the determine, bipartisan passion to broker a deal to confirm five nominees, and he did it behind mitch mcconnell's back. >> a lot of people have been extremely helpful but this was all directed towards john mccain from me. no one was able to break through but for him. >> john: it's like the return of 80's john mccain, and he did it behind mitch mcconnell's back. here to discuss kumbaya moment, we're joined i rick unger of forbes.com. and karen hunter is a politzer prize winner who owned her own publishing company karen hunter and sam seed seder. is this a victory for john mccain

harry reid is not willing to accept that deal. kind of interesting he wants to go all in. >> here is what we know. we don't have a deal yet. less than two hours votes on the executive appointees. first richard cordray, appointee to head consumer financial board. if the republicans filibuster him or any of the seven nominees, harry reid says he's going to deploy that nuclear option. so we have kind of less than a two-hour window. you alluded to one of the sticking points, democrats are saying, look, we might be able to work out a deal on seven nominees so they don't get filibustered today. we want to be able to have the opportunity to deploy the nuclear option going forward. remember, there already is a vacancy at the department of homeland security. there could be other appointees in other big confirmation fights. democrats are saying, look, we wan to resolve this but also resolve future matters as well. >> obviously a history of senate changing its rules, founding of the institution. from where we sit politically, the election in

my question to you is the relationship between reid and mcconnell, how would you describe it? >> basically devolved to small talk over the fate of the washington nationals and not much else to it at this point. these gentlemen who stood, you know, just a few lengths apart from each other on the senate floor most mornings in recent months sparring over the potential future of the party, and i see senator rand paul left the meeting, and he declined to talk to reporters. >> host: we saw that as well. >> guest: just hang with me. we see senator bob menendez also leaving the meeting. checking with him to see if he says anything, steve. you can either hang with me or perhaps we speak later. >> host: we'll stay with you for a moment if you're able to talk to one of the senators. >> guest: okay. hold on. >> host: again, you're looking at live pictures from the ohio clock area. according to ed o'keefe of "the washington post," the meeting -- which ran just over two hours -- appears to be concluding, at least senator rand paul you saw just a moment ago leaving. what else are you seeing,

of defending reid and the white house's position and also, sort of agreeing with what reid is saying,bstructionism is at all-new levels. now, it's not clear if reid were even to propose it, that he would get enough votes to end the filibuster. there are some democrats who say, they're not sure they can support it, including carl levin and mark pryor. so this is nothing something that has actually happened. it still remains sort of a threat that reid is holding out there. and as you point out, they'll be back at it on monday. betty? >> you know it's a serious threat when they call it the nuclear option. all right, kristen welker at the white house for us, thank you, kristen. >> thanks, betty. >> sure. >>> it is both inspirational and riveting. the words of a 16-year-old girl that brought an audience from around the world to its feet. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. [ male announcer ] some question physics. some question

we had senator reid and senator mcconnell going at it all day.is rare to see that much attention paid in that much passion on the floor of the house and the senate. both majorities and minorities are upset over the prospects of what was happening in their own chambers. host: we have a few seconds left with sarah binder from the brookings institution. make a i would like to couple of points. the president nominate someone, they give him deference and he gets the people he wants for his cabinet. the that the number as compared to president obama and present bush and other republicans. filibustering obama's nominees for next to nothing. i hope harry reid goes nuclear and gets rid of the filibuster. withan anyone negotiate these is the tea party people like ted crews and these other ones and rand paul? they refuse cruz and rand paul and the other ones. they refuse to compromise. host: this is george joining us from georgia on the republican line. go ahead, please. theer: every time republicans oppose a bill or something like that, harry reid closes i

reid says he doesn't see it, hasn't read it but is against it.e have a tatax code that's ridiculous, gives favors to big business and people with power. it's happened for decades. that's why we have 72,000 pages of an irs man you'll. that's why we'll pay the highest tax rate because i can't buy off the crooks in d.c. because i don't have money, influence. that's why google, amazon, all are paying 16% to 18% corporate tax. overhaul the entire system. that fixes it. >> jonas, you say we need spending cuts and tax hikes. >> yes. this revenue neutral thing, it doesn't work. the bottom line,we're never going to get out of the budget deficit with athing revenue neutral. we have to cut spending and raise revenues. there's no way around that. can it be put together with mething like that? yeah, we could remove the deductions chshgs is why americans most pay a a single digit federal tax rate. it's hard to say -- who cares if this their rate goes up a little because some of the deductions are taken away. however, wcan't go -- the biggest tax deduction is a

it was successful on reid's part.f democrats feel like maybe president obama could take a lesson from that in the way he handles congress and republicans nationwide. >> bill: absolutely. i'm still of the belief that we could have had a public plan option in obamacare if the president had been willing to fight for it and push it to a vote. we don't know because we never -- we bowed out before they got to the brink on that issue. >> i was in the opposite camp on that bill. i covered that closely and thought the only put the public option up so republicans would have something to shoot at. it felt very much like a paper tiger they were setting up. that they were always willing to let go on so that they could get some of the other reforms. >> bill: i believe the president that he really wanted it. how foolish of me. i mean he convinced me and a lot of americans that this was an absolutely essential part of obamacare. >> he never went to bat for it. he never got up there and said to his democratic colleagues in the congres

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks an those of the republican leader, the time until 12:30 today will be equally divided and controlled with the republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the next 30 minutes. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 for some caucus meetings that we are going to have. mr. president, last month the republican leader spent a great deal of time talking about the importance of keeping one's word. i agree without any question. senators and everyone else should keep their word, and i also believe that a deal is a deal, a contract is a contract, an arrangement is an arrangement, a bargain is a bargain. and as long as each party to such an agreement holds up his end of the bargain, senators should stick to their word. but an agreement is a two-way street. if one party fails to uphold their end, the agreement, of course, is null and void. the republican leader wants everyone to b

but we want to start with the majority leader, harry reid. leader reid, always good to have you here. >> thank you, david. >> before we get to the senate business and debate there, the zimmerman trial, the verdict. was justice done here? you spoke out about it after the shooting. >> david, i am a trial lawyer, have been, over 100 cases to juries. i don't always agree with what the jury does, but that's the system. and i support this system. now, i may have -- i may feel differently but i wasn't sitting as a juror or prosecutor or defense attorney. i will accept the verdict and look at the law in florida that is so unusual. >> the stand your ground law, self-defense law. >> i think that's up to the state. i think they should revisit that. >> is this a new racial wound that you think needs to be addressed and healed as a result of this, in this country? >> i heard the mayor. i think it should continue on the path that he outlined. >> and the president, does he have a role in speaking about it as he did after the shooting? >> oh, of course. i th

>> aye. >> though officials may argue reid's claim of not being a troublemaker, even reid acknowledgeserever and whenever he finishes his sentence, he'll have issues to deal with. >> so what happens when you get out of prison? >> what happens? i don't know. i'll need to be very careful. one mistake and i'm back for a recall. >> you think you're going to drink? >> why not? >> seems to cause you problems. >> i've been doing it for 40 years. any time i'm out. can i see myself stopping? no. no. no. >> jimmy had told us about all the problems his drinking had caused. and that he had concerns, but the fact that when he was released he planned to go right back to drinking, it was evident, that's who he is. that's who jimmy is. >> i'll be okay. i'll be all right. i hope. >>> coming up -- >> i stood on the bed, and i put the rope around his neck, and i killed him. >> how long did that take? >> five minutes. >> the chilling account of one young inmate's descent into murder and a life in prison. that's me... i made you something. ♪ i made you something, too. ♪ see you next summer. ♪ [ male announ

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: it's my understanding a motion to proceed to s. 1238 is now pending. is that correct? the presiding officer: narc. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion at the desk. ifer officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 14, s. 1238, a bill to rammed the higher education act of 1965 to extend the current reduced interest rate for undergraduate federal direct stafford loans for one year, to modify required distribution rules for pension plans, and for other purposes, signed by 18 senators as follows: reid of nevada, harkin, reed of rhode island, gillibrand, leahy, klobuchar, udall of new mexico, whitehouse, wyden, cardin, blumenthal, coons, brown, casey, warren, franken, durbin, stabenow. mr. reid: i ask