robert wilkins is pictured right here to serve on the all important d.c. circuit court of appeals this is the third republican filibuster of one of obama's d.c. circuit court nominees in just the past few weeks and democrats are pretty furious and they might have every right to be the d.c. circuit is the second most important court in the country after the supreme court has jurisdiction over most cases involving federal regulation cases that involve the e.p.a.'s power to control greenhouse gases for example right now the court has an even four four split between republican and democratic appointees so make no mistake about it republican filibusters of president obama's nominees have one aim in one aim only and that aim is preventing democrats from getting the majority on the second most important court in the country no one should really be that surprised by this latest bout of congressional republican sabotage under mitch mcconnell's leadership of the g.o.p. minority in the senate the use of the filibuster has skyrocketed for many democrats monday's vote

circuit court nominee robert wilkins things may have hit a breaking point but you democrats have the guts to do anything about it or not just a moment. and at one point in time america's democratic political system and democratic workforce made it the envy of the world that time is long gone tonight still a take explain why unions are the key to restoring real american democracy. best of the rest of the news washington state washington d.c. is preparing for a nuclear showdown but not in the way you might think on monday republicans in the senate blocked the nomination of robert wilkins pictured right here to serve on the all important d.c. circuit court of appeals this is the third republican filibuster of one of obama's d.c. circuit court nominees in just the past few weeks and democrats are. pretty furious and they might have every right to be the d.c. circuit is the second most important court in the country after the supreme court has jurisdiction over most cases involving federal regulation cases that involve the e.p.a.'s power to control greenhouse gases for example right now t

today they're expected to block the nomination of district judge robert wilkins, an extremely competent and experienced nominee and this had bipartisan support. i say that because no one has questioned his qualifications or abilities. likewise no senator objected to the qualifications of ms. halligan, ms. millett or ms. pilllard. instead the republicans have blocked these nominees solely to deny president obama his constitutional right to appoint judges. in years past when republican colleagues agreed to block judicial nominees only in, quote, extraordinary circumstances, close quote. these are their words, not mine. in 2005 the senior senator from south carolina, senator lindsey graham, defined extraordinary circumstances for the benefit of this body. he being a highly qualified trial lawyer, i think he's qualified to respond and set this definition that we all agreed with. here's what he said -- quote -- "ideological attacks or not and extraordinary circumstance, to me would have to be a character problem, ethics problem, some allegation about the qualification of the person, not an i

this time it was the nomination of robert wilkins to serve on the d.c. supreme court.he president railed against the move saying once again the senate is refusing to do their job. >>> john edwards, remember him? he's returning to the job where he was thrust into the public spotlight and made a fortune practicing law. he is starting a new law firm along with his daughter kate. his political career was derailed by a sex scandal back during his 2008 campaign. >>> a bill in michigan says it's time to cut the cord. it aims to eliminate land line phone service by 2017. the number of land line users in the state has dropped from 7 million in 2000 to just 2.5 million last year. education secretary arnie duncan regrets what he calls clumsy phrasing. on monday politico reported he said quote it's fascinating to me that some of the push back is coming from sort of white suburban moms who all of a sudden their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were. he was referring to the critics of common core state standards being implemented in 45 states and d.c. the white house is

skyrocketed everything came to a head on monday when senate republicans blocked the nomination of robert wilkins to serve on the d.c. circuit court the second most important court in the country after the supreme court and this was the third filibuster of one of president obama's d.c. circuit court nominees in just the past three weeks and for senate democrats it was the last straw so they took action the new filibuster rules will make it easier for the president to fill empty court seats and cabinet posts but they're not a cure all for washington gridlock republicans in the senate will still get to block popular legislation like the manchin toomey gun bill that they filibustered back in april and the cap and trade bill that they filibustered back in two thousand and ten and of course if the senate does manage to pass a bill over republican filibuster threat that bill still has to go through the house where the republican majority serves as a de facto filibuster threat of its own. we're seeing that right now with the senate's immigration bill which passed five months ago in june but which john b

and then nominees for the court patricia millett, cornelia pillard and now robert wilkins. now, these folks were highly qualified, but they were not allowed to have an up-or-down vote. the senate was not allowed to weigh in on whether they wish to confirm or not confirm. this situation in which the senate minority undermines the executive and judicial branches is unacceptable. it's inconsistent with the concept of co-equal branches of government. our constitution laid out this vision, that the house and senate as the legislative branch would serve as a co-equal branch with the executive branch and the judicial branch, and certainly the ability to check nominations, to vet nominations is part of that check on the other two branches. but when it is used in this manner, this manner in which you can systematically undermine the function of another branch, then you have taken a position and created a process that is inconsistent with co-equal branches. taken to its extreme -- and we are seeing that extreme today -- the executive branch is compromised in its ability to function.

today, senate republicans blocked robert wilkins from joining the d.c. circuit court of appeals. it's the third nominee in a row that republicans have full bustered and they filibustered these appointments not because of the nominee's character or their positions. the president cannot appoint anyone to the d.c. circuit court of appeals. the second most powerful court in the country. this is not normal behavior. >> this president has a lower percentage of -- that either george w. bush or bill clinton. the democrats don't have to accept it. harry reid -- option, simple majority vote that would change the senate rules so that nominees could be approved. instead, the republicans have counted on to obstruct. senator reid he is reluctant. threat to change the rules, but each time, he and mitch mcconnell have come to a gentleman's agreement. in january 2011 -- >> today's bipartisan agreement is. >>> it is promptly broken by republicans and the obstruction continues. this is not a way to govern, there's glowing momentum for harry reid to act. even vice president joe biden said it's worth

supreme court litigator patricia millet and professor cornelia pillard and district court judge robert wilkins were nominated in june. all three were held up and democrats complain to republicans didn't bother opposing them on ideological grounds that they claim were blocked simply because the president chose them and they don't want to see the d.c. circuit somehow changed in its ideological make up. reid almost pulled the trigger on the nuclear option earlier and stepped back after republicans agreed to let some nominees through. once they are in control of the white house and the senate. again, what the democrats do here will have an exception for just supreme court nominees. all nominees will be for presidential appointments. this is not for legislation. it will be for presidential appointments and have a carve out for supreme court nominees which will still have to deal with the 60-vote threshold. they are saying hey, you do this and when they get the majority and the white house, they will then change the rules even for the supreme court. that will be developing all afternoon. that's goin

a series of, procedural votes at an omission of robert wilkins to be a u.s. circuit judge. they will also begin work on authorization bill for defense programs. you can watch live coverage of the u.s. house on c-span. the senate on c-span 2. johnson loved to show off. the guest to the ranch would also inform gather in the den and heads of state came to visit. two things to speaker connection about the room here. one that she wanted to highlight was the native american heritage here in that he'll country. we have a small collection. she had an eye for copper. and collective various items throughout the years and had friends. mrs. johnson gave a tour of the house in 19 68 that was filmed. she featured the china you see here purchase and mexico, very colorful. she spent a lot of time here and the ranch. very important because a provider rest from the turmoil of washington especially later in the presidency. they would recharge the battery and make the connection back to the land after this place they valued so much. >> first lady lady bird johnson on c-span and c-span three. a

saying if the republicans filibuster these nominees, two in particular, patricia millett and robert wilkins and nina pillard. there are three. they are saying they will change the filibuster rules and deny the minority this tool in the u.s. senate. that would be a huge development, jay. >> it would be gigantic. it would cut against senate rules in history. the reality is with the senate democrats would have to realize when there is a republican president of the united states what are they going to do -- go back to the old rules? this is dangerous for the united states senate. the president, first of all, what's important here, the president's confirmation rate in just a few months will exceed what president bush got in his entire eight years in office. it's not like t not getting nominations through. most of them are getting through. very few are not. you look at the d.c. circuit. it's the second most powerful court in our country. it handles the regulatory issues out of washington, d.c. here is the problem. none of these are judicial emergencies. the president didn't declare an emergency.

they've just blocked robert wilkins from a seat on the d.c. circuit court. third straight nominee this month. only 76% of president obama's judicial nominees have been confirmed compared to 91% for president bush. and president obama's judicial nominees have waited an average -- listen to this -- of 228 days from their nomination until their confirmation. compared to only 148 days for president bush. why don't senate democrats change the rules to stop this obstruction, michelle? >> look, playing politics with judicial nominees and other appointees is becoming an increasingly popular game. but inside the senate, they are very careful about doing anything that could come back to bite them later when they're in the minority. the senate protects its privileges to some degree. when we talk about the nuclear option with kind of changing the filibuster rules, it's the same thing. while it might seem like a good idea at the time, everybody in the senate is careful about the long-term implications. >> but, richard, i understand the senate privileges. but we've never

bipartisan, nonpartisan, add to that a professor from georgetown university law school and then robert wilkins, too, nominated. all stopped by a filibuster. not a single person on the republican side stood up to criticizes their qualifications for the job. it had nothing to do with their qualifications, it was to deny president obama an opportunity to fill these slots on the court. that's what it came down to. then to add absolute political insult to injury, what they did to our friend and colleague congressman mel watt. it's been since 1842 -- >> 1843. >> since the senate denied a member of congress an opportunity for an executive appointment and they did it to mel watt. a lawyer who had served in the house banking committee with distinction appointed by the president and stopped cold by the republican filibuster. now, if you listened, i hope you did, i did, to the speech given by senator mcconnell, here is what you could synthesize and condense it to. the note of filibustering judges was a democratic idea. they abused it and we did, too. >> dick durbin, the second ranking democrat with harry

on monday, judge robert wilkins was from the november 12th and nominee nina pollard and october 31st patricia millett was blocked as well. joy ann reid is the managing editor of the grio.com and jimmy williams is an msnbc contributor and alahe azad is a contributor. walk us through what happens now and what all of this is going to mean, ultimately? >> so now you're going to see on the senate floor a series of procedural votes that will ultimately culminate in a rule to change the rules. they'll ask the chair how many votes it takes to pass these kinds of nominations. the chair will say 60. they will then move to change that, but this really is a very significant change particularly because it involves judges. we talked about how reid has made this push before. he did this over the summer and they had a sort of come to jesus meeting in the old senate chamber and they got past their differences. even when we were talking about that it was only for executive branch nominees. it was not for judges. judges are appointed for life and the politics surrounding them is a lot more intense. so

in a june 4 rose guard opinion ceremony, he nominated the robert wilkins, cornelia pillard and attorneyricia millet. all three have failed to garner the 60 votes needed for confirmation. a fourth nominee, caitlin hanigan, who is counsel for the manhattan district attorney, withdrew her name after she was blocked earlier this year. republicans say the d.c. circuit is just too large and that the senate is fulfilling its advise and consent role. what does the standoff mean for the judiciary? for that, we turn to: caroline fredrickson, president of the american constitution society for law and policy; and carrie severino, chief counsel and policy director of the judicial crisis network. welcome to you both. caroline fredrickson, why the impasse? >> well, you know, i think what has happened is there that there's been a complete breakdown in the process and that the republicans are unfortunately engaging in an extreme amount of obstructionism. they've decided that even though these are vacancies that exist on the d.c. circuit and have been long-standing on the second-highest -- second most im

washington; georgetown university law professor cornelia pillard; and federal district court judge robert wilkins the white house, president obama applauded the vote. he said both parties have misused filibusters over the years but that republicans have been especially "reckless and relentless." >> but today's pattern of obstruction, it just isn't normal. it's not what our founders envisioned. a deliberate and determined effort to obstruct everything no matter what the merits just to re-fight the results of the election is not normal, and, for the sake of future generations, we can't let it become normal. >> ifill: the new, simple- majority rule applies to nominees for federal judgeships and federal offices. it will still take 60 votes to defeat filibusters of supreme court nominees and legislation. the rules change inflamed debate today on capitol hill. i spoke a short time ago to two lawmakers in the middle of it, republican senator ron johnson of wisconsin and democratic senator jeff merkely of oregon. senators, welcome. explain how this came to a head today. this is a discussion we've had for

robert wilkins was six shy.cans say there just isn't enough work for three additional judges. democrats say the republicans want to stop the president from filling the vacancies because they want to keep the courts conserve leanings. >>> princeton university has decided to take drastic measures to combat a potentially deadly meningitis outbreak on campus. the university will provide students with a vaccine that is not approved in the u.s., but the cdc asked for permission to bring the vaccine in to specifically fight this outbreak. students should be able to get the first doses next month. >>> quite a sight this morning on day 44 of the olympic torch relay. russian torch bearers in bathing caps and speedos braved the icy waters. despite 23-degree temperatures, they were able to keep the torch and the flags above water. this is the longest torch relay ever. >>> time for what's moving your mon money. by now you've heard about the mysterious bit coin, virtual currency that has skyrocketed in value over the past mon

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, robert leon wilkins of the district of columbia to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit. mr. reid: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: we the undersigned senators in accordance with rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of robert leon wilkins of the district of columbia to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit signed by 17 senators as follows -- reid of nevada, leahy, udall of new mexico, begich, schatz, franken, boxer, durbin, coons, baldwin, stabenow, cardin, whitehouse, murray, mikulski, gillibrand, harkin. mr. reid: i ask the mandatory quorum under rule 22 under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the

further, at 5:00 p.m., the senate proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of robert wilkins to be united states circuit judge for the d.c. circuit with the time until 5:30 equally divided and controlled in the usual form prior to the cloture vote. and that if cloture is not invoked, the senate resume legislative session and immediately vote on the motion to invoke cloture on h.r. 3204, the drug compounding bill. if cloture is invoked on that bill, all postcloture time be yielded back, any amendments be withdrawn and the senate vote on passage of h.r. 3204, and that upon disposition of 3204, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to s. 1197, the defense authorization act. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: so there could be up to four roll call votes on monday at 5:30. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until you can see the president's news conference on our companion networ

today we're considering the nomination of judge robert wilkins to serve on the d.c. circuit. he currently serves aes a federal judge for the u.s. district court for the district of columbia. he was confirmed by the senate in 2010 by a voice vote, no controversy. 70 of my colleagues, including 28 republicans, were here for that confirmation. there's no question that judge wilkins has the experience, qualifications, and integrity to be an outstanding circuit court judge. he is a native of indiana, graduate of harvard law, worked for 11 years as public defender in washington, then joined the venerable law firm where he served as a partner for nearly a decade. he has presided over hundreds of civil and criminal cases. he has an unblemished reputation for fairness and integrity. the leadership conference on civil rights said that he is -- quote -- "a wealth of experience and impartiality and a steadfast commitment to enforcing the rule of law." he is has been rated unanimously well-qualified to serve on the d.c. circuit by the american bar association. no senator, not one, questio

along with patty millett and nina pillard, president obama has nominated just robert wilkins to feel these important vacancies. -- to fill these important vacancies. unfortunately so far we have seen nothing but more obstruction of these extremely well qualified nominees. this is an opportunity to put exceptionally talented lawyers on a significant court that has vacancies needing to be filled. i am disappointed that our colleagues recently blocked a vote to confirm patty millett, not only a great lawyer but a military spouse who managed a successful career and the care of her children while her husband was deployed overseas. and when we talk about supporting our troops, it means supporting their very well-qualified spouses, such as patty millett. i was dismayed and saddened when obstruction caused caitlyn halligan to give up on her nomination after two years. it would be disgraceful to continue this obstruction of these qualified and impressive women. i urge senators to reconsider and support these nominations. i yield the floor. ms. klobuchar: madam president? the presiding officer

that, another woman, a professor at the georgetown university law school, and robert wilkins, he was nominated. they were all stop a filibuster. not a single person on the republican side stood up to criticize their qualifications for the job. it has nothing to do with their qualifications. it was to deny president obama on opportunity to fill the slots in the court. to add insult to injury, with the did to our friend and colleague, a congressman. 1843, the senate denied a member of congress the opportunity for an executive of i met. they did it to our friends, a congressman who had served in the house banking committee. he was stopped cold by the republican filibuster. if you listen, to the speech given by senator mcconnell, here is what you can sympathize and -- synthesize and condense it to. the notion of judges is a democratic idea. that is what he said. what we said in return to him was that this change in the role will provide for no future abuse by either political party when it comes to the use of the filibuster. it solves a problem on a bipartisan basis. the last point i wan

and then robert wilkins. all of them stopped by filibuster. not a single person on the republican side stood up to criticize their qualifications for the job. it denied president obama the opportunity to fill the slots on the court. that is what it came down to. to add insult to injury, what they did to our colleagues, congressman mel watt. it has been since 1843. if you listen to the speech given by senator mcconnell, the notion of filibustering judges was a democratic idea. they abused it and we did too. that is what he said. what we said in return was that this change in the rule will provide for no future abuse i -- by any political party. it solves the problem on a bipartisan basis. we are about to take a break for a couple of weeks. i want to come back and do some work. we have things to do. we have problems to solve. if we look at the last 12 weeks, you can count on one hand what we have achieved. we put the government back in business. the enda bill, which i am proud that we passed. but it fell off of the end of the earth when it went

robert wilkins was unanimously confirmed.s smell blood, sense weakness in this administration or are trying to pounce? >> in part, i also think that a lot of republicans would actually be relatively happy if harry reid went ahead with the so-called nuclear option and did away with the filibuster for judicial nominees. what we're watching is the culmination of a process that's gone on, under republican presidents and democratic presidents alike going back to the 1980s where the filibuster has been used more and more, constantly to block george w. bush's nominees and you know, if you go back nine or ten years it was republicans threatening to use the nuclear option, so in a sense, precisely because the white house seems weakened, the democrats seem weakened, a lot of republicans say look, it's sort of a win/win. either we block these nominees or harry reid uses the nuclear option, we take back the senate in the next two or four years and easier for our justices to get confirmed under the next republican present. >> that seems l

and then robert wilkins. all of them stopped by filibuster. not a single person on the republican side stood up to criticize their qualifications for the job. it denied president obama the opportunity to fill the slots on the court. that is what it came down to. to add insult to injury, what they did to our colleagues, congressman mel mwatt -- mel watt. it has been 1860 two cents they -- if you--1862 listen to the speech gave to senator mcconnell, the notion of filibustering judges was a democratic idea. they abused it and we did too. that is what he said. what we said in return was that this change in the rule will provide for nor -- no future abuse i any political party. it solves the problem on a bipartisan basis. we are about to take a break for a couple of weeks. i want to come back and do some work. we have things to do. we have problems to solve. weeks,ook at the last 12 he can count on one hand what we have achieved. he put the government back in business. bill, which i am proud that we passed. but it fell off of the end of the earth w

the senate judiciary committee voted on a straight party line vote to move the nomination of robert wilkins out of committee and to the full senate. that's where the two other nominees already are. they are waiting for up or down votes on their nominations. on tuesday, majority leader harry reid tried to get first of those three nominees that up or down vote. he called a vote to end debate on the nomination of patricia millett and democrats needed 60 votes to break the filibuster, but fell short. the final vote was 55-38. that means only two republicans voted to end the filibuster and to advance her nomination. the chairman of the senate judiciary committee is pat leahy of vermont, he warned that the rejection of millett could force democrats to use the so-called nuclear option. to change the rules of the senate so that a nominee like millett would only need 51 votes. simple majority to be confirmed. republicans like chuck grassley and orrin hatch, meanwhile, are hauling out that old new deal era charge, they are accusing president obama of court packing. they want to keep the current eight

last week they blocked a vote on the second one of those nominees as well, cornelia pillard and robert wilkinsjurisdiction over washington, which means it hears appeals over every regulation that congress passes, every piece of legislation a president signs. three vacant seats on the court, those three obama nominees would tip the ideological scale in the democrats' favor. it seems reasonable enough, since obama is the duly elected president. he won the election, after all. he's won two elections. but the republicans don't quite see it that way. instead of playing by the rules, they're trying to change the makeup of the court. instead of filling the three empty seats in the d.c. sicircu court, they want to eliminate them. they say there are three seats too many. it is an absurd argument but republicans have sticking with it and blocked all three nominees from joining the court n short, they have been picking a fight. they have picked fights like this before, only this time harry reid did not back down from the fight. this time, not just threatening to take the filibuster power away from republ

filibuster monday blocked robert wilkins from a seat on the d.c. appeals court.rd straight nominee to the bench to be blocked. the court is considered to be the second most powerful in the nation and democrats say republicans are trying to weaken the president's influence. eight seats on that court were filled during the tenure of george w. bush. >> cairo's tahrir square, the scene of another large demonstration, protestors angry. egyptians today are marking the second anniversary of massive protests in the square against the military. >> that russian airliner that crashed in central russia plunged to earth nose-first. the security camera captured the final moments before it burst into flames on sunday at the airport. all 50 people onboard were killed. there's no word on the exact cause. experts from bowing and two u.s. agencies are now assisting with that investigation. >> still ahead, a massive $45 million bang heist, only this didn't involve men with masks. it was pulled off by hackers. >> plus a man on a personal mission to teach kids computer coding. >> dedi

president, i rise today in strong support of the nomination of judge robert l. wilkins to be a circuit judge for the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia. i was pleased to introduce judge wilkins to the judiciary committee in september and the committee favorably reported his nomination in october. judge wilkins currently serves as a federal district judge for the u.s. district court for the district of columbia and was unanimously confirmed by the senate for this position in 2010. i urge the senate to invoke cloture to allow be a up-or-down vote on this extremely qualified nominee. he is a native of muncie, indiana, obtained his d.s. from rose holeman institute of technology and his j.d. from harvard law school. following graduation, judges wilkins clerked for the honorable earl b.killia m for the southern district of california. he later served as staff attorney for the public defender service for the district of columbia. he then practiced as a partner with the venable law firm specializing in white collar crime, intellectual property and compl

circuit court judge robert wilkins. this disparity is very obvious for anyone who cares to compare. president bush -- six d.c. circuit court nominees, four of them confirmed. president obama -- five d.c. circuit court nominees, four of them likely filibustered by the republicans. this is a troubling contrast. there is no question that president obama's nominees have the qualifications and integrity to serve on this important court. there are absolutely no -- underline "no" -- extraordinary circumstances that justify filibustering these nominees. just a few days ago when the senate republicans filibustered patricia millett, they ignored the obvious. she has argued 32 cases before the u.s. supreme court. is someone literally going to come here and say, well, she is not equal tied to serve on a federal court. not only that, she has the overwhelming endorse many of solicitors general of both political parties. clearly, she is well-qualified and has bipartisan support for the job, but it wasn't good enough for the other side of the aisle. they filibustered her, stopping her nomination. f