supreme court confirmation hearings. we were joking with another, did he ever think he would serve decades on the court and i would be president of the united states on the day he came in to retire? he looked at. i will tell you what he said. i'm joking. i'm proud and grateful to be there at the start of his distinguished career, supreme court. i'm very proud to be here today on his announcement of his retirement. during his confirmation hearings back in 1994, stephen breyer said, "the law must work for the people." he explained our complex legal system has a single purpose, tell people who make up our country. it was a different time. his brilliance, values, scholarship are what he became justice breyer by overwhelming bipartisan vote at the time. today justice breyer announces his intention to step down from active service after four decades on the federal bench and 28 years on the united states supreme court. his legacy includes his work as a leading scholar and jurist and administrative law, bringing his brilliance to bear to make government run efficiently and effectively. it includes his stature as a beacon of wisdom on our constituti

supreme court confirmation processes. we are going to see an audition for the united states supreme court. and that audition will be televised. it will be on television next week. on tuesday south carolina federal judge, michelle childs, will testify at her senate confirmation hearing for a promotion by president biden to the washington, d. c. court of appeals, the most important federal appeals court in the country. more supreme court justices come from that court than any other. president biden nominated judge childs to be for the court of appeals in december and as luck would happen her confirmation hearing was scheduled before the severe news that justice stephen breyer will retire at the end of the supreme court's term in the early summer. tuesday's hearing will be in effect, a full dressed rehearsal for the supreme court confirmation hearing of judge michel child's, if president obama nominates her to the supreme court at the end of february, which is the timetable that the president announced today for his big decision. the hearing will also show us whether any other nominee the pre

court. hest appealed to the united stas supreme court. he also filed an emergency application with them to get them to -- before they handled the substance of the matter, tried to get them to weigh in to block this. it's that emergency application in to the united states supreme court that we got the 8 to 1 supreme court ruling. one who writes quickly about these is josh gerstein. i want to know why they think the ruling may be the most significant moment yet for the january 6th select committee investigating the attack on the capitol. i'm no law year here. the title of the document is "an application for stay of mandate and injunction pending review." those are all words that i understand individually and alone, but i do not necessarily understand them when they're all put in that order. said, i think the basics here are fairly straightforward, but i do have some questions, for which i think weue need some expert hel. the first question i have, probably the same one you have, is this it? is this it? i mean trump was waiting -- he filed a

what will it mean for not just the court but the country if the united states senate can confirm a black woman to the united states supremetep forward. one of the things that president biden committed to when he was running was to have his appointees look like the country. and he has really made good on that promise. and this is another opportunity to open the door to expand the opportunities that we want available to all americans to an african american woman on the court. that would just be terrific. >> i want to turn to another big subject. the supreme court is topic number one. you're a member of the foreign relations committee and involved in negotiations in the senate about a potential package of sanctions against russia because of the standoff with ukraine. the united states and nato allies submitted some written responses to russian questions about where we might have some negotiations. the kremlin spokesman said it cannot be said our considerations were taken into account. whether any willingness to take into account our concerns was demonstrated. you see a pessimistic view from the russian perspective. that beca

supreme court pick. president biden: the person i will nominate will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. yamiche: justice steven breyer announces his retirement. and president biden vows his replacement will make history. >> i'm going to give the president nominee whoever that may be a fair look. yamiche: setting the stage for a nate debate ahead of the midterms. plus -- >> we're acting with equal focus and force to bolster ukraine's defenses and prepare a swift united response to further russian aggression. yamiche: tensions over russia and ukraine intensify. next. announcer: this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided b. additional funding is provided by the estate of arnold adams, koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities, sardinha and carl delay-magnuson, rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and sues be rosen palm. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again from washington modetor yamiche alcindo

supreme court confirmation hearings. we were joking with one another when he walked in did we ever think that he would have served decades on the court and i would be president of the united states on the day when he came to retire. when she looked at it. anyway, i'm joking. but i was proud and grateful to be there at the start of his distinguished career in the supreme court and i am very proud to be here today on his announcement of his retirement. during his confirmation hearings back in 1994, nominee stephen breyer said quote the law must work for the people. he explained to us his faith that our complex legal system has a single purpose. to help people who make up our country. it was supreme court. his legacy includes his wo his scholarship are why he became justice breyer by an overwhelming artisan boat at the time. justice breyer announced his stepping down after four decades on the federal bench. 28 years on the supreme court. his legacy includes his work as the leading scholar and jurist in administrative law, bringing his means to bear to make government run more efficiently and effectively. it includes his stature as a beacon of wisdom on our constitution and w

where the future works. >>> breaking news surprise this hour from the supreme court of the united states liberal justice, stephen breyer, plans to retire. his decision will shape the arc of president biden's second year giving the supreme court pick in the middle of a mid-term election fight. justice breyer has said he will serve out his term, and this is important, he will stay on the bench until his successor is in place. let's get more insights from our reporters and analysts beginning with kaitlan collins. >> reporter: it's a massive moment for president biden because this is the opportunity that every president wants, not every president gets. and, of course, biden's predecessor had three of the opportunities to put a justice on the supreme court and now president biden will have the same with this announcement from justice breyer and, of course, as a candidate on the campaign trail to get to the white house biden pledged to nominate the first black woman to the supreme court. and so, of course, when it comes to the nominees and the names we will be looking at over the next several

supreme court confirmation hearings. we were joking with one another when he walked in, did we ever think that he would have served decades on the court, and i'd be president of the unitedame in to retire. and i said i'm joking. but i was proud and grateful to be there at the start of the sort distinguished career of the supreme court and i'm very proud to be here today to announce his retirement. during his confirmation hearing back in 1994, nominee stephen breyer said "a law must work for the people." he explained to us that our complex legal system has a single purpose, to tell people who make up our country. it was a different time of course, when his brilliance and values on scholarships, when judge pryor became justice breyer, by an overwhelming partisan vote at the time. he has announced his determination to step down from active service after four decades, 28 years in the united states supreme court. his legacy includes work as a leading scholar and jurist bringing his brilliance to bear to make the government run more efficiently and effectively and includes his stature as a beacon of wisdom on our constitution and what it means. i threw it all, justice breyer

court kron four's theresa takes a look at the short list. >> let the speculation race began. president biden now focused on placing his pick on the united states supremeollowing justice priors retirement from the bench. joe biden said when he was running for president that he was going to nominate a black woman. he was going to make a historical nomination of a black woman to the supreme court. there has not >> a black woman. there is a woman of color. sonia sotomayor is there and there have been women, but i think is going to stick to that pledge, which narrows the field down to a few people. >> professor roy little with uc hastings law school says that if president biden does stick to that pledge, several names stand out. for example, one leading contender, california supreme court justice leondra kruger. >> i think we have a crew. there is absolutely fantastic. i think she would be great on the supreme court and i would applaud president biden if you were to nominate her. i think she would be confirmed. she is a moderate. she is not a a radical left progressive type. she's a moderate democrat. she's got experience in front of the supreme court. she

but he skipped that step, and went straight to the united supreme court. he also filed an emergency application with it. to try to get them, even before it was handled, to block the release of these documents to the investigation. well, it is that emergency application, that got the 8 to 1 no sir ruling from the supreme court tonight. moments like this, one of the people who writes very quickly around us is josh at politico .com. he described tonight's rolling as the most significant one yet for the january six investigation for the attack on the capital. i want to know why they think that. i'm no lawyer, and i have to tell you, what we are literally talking about here is the court's ruling on. the title of the document is an application for state of mandate an injunction pending review. those are all words individually, alone. i do not understand them in that order. i think the basics here are pretty straightforward. i do have some questions, for which we will need expert help. first question is, is the set? is this? it i mean trump filed a supreme court

cruelty and the forced separation from their families led more slaves to try to escape the united supreme court. sanction a law, the peer to the slave while requires the country to hunt slaves, no matter where they are. there's no provision for that in the constitution. so we have this extremely broad reading of the rights of slave owners, which basically says the state can deputize every citizen united states, to hunt down slavery by the slave state or not. the country is going to all this length to protect slavery. oh, i. by now, i was seeing a deeply troubling pattern in our history, white people, whether they owned slaves or not. clearly had a stake, making sure that the majority of blacks were maintained as slaves. but by the mid 18 hundreds, networks, like the underground railroad, were helping thousands of slaves. fleet to canada and the non slave us dates the immense pressure over slavery led to the start of the american civil war. in 1861 hanging in the balance where the lives of 4000000 enslaved human beings, whose monetary value now exceeded that of all manufacturing and commercial e

that person will be the first black woman nominated to the united states supreme court. >>> urging parents to get their kids vaccinated. the push by a california senator. why he says now is such a crucial time. >>> lawsuits against social media companies. we will tell you if they might be headed to court coming up. >>> the news at 5:30 starts right now. >>> step by step we will have a new supreme court justice. stephen breyer officially announcing his retirement. president biden was by his side and made the bold pledge to replace justice breyer with the high court's first black woman justice. here is nbc's alice barr. >> reporter: president biden standing alongside supreme court justice stephen breyer and on the verge of history. >> today justice breyer announces his intention to step down from active service. >> reporter: he will retire at the end of this term after nearly 28 years on the high court. >> justice prior worked to give faith to the notion that the law exists to help the people. >> reporter: the 83-year-old had been under pressure to step down while democrats control the white

and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it's long overdue in my opinion >> reporter: thought to be atop the short list, judge ketanji brown jackson, on the powerful federal appeals court here in washington a 51-year-old harvard law graduate who was confirmed with bipartisan support just last year and 45-year-old california supreme court justice leondra kruger along with j. michelle childs, a federal judge from south carolina breyer hand-delivering his retirement letter to the president today, saying he wil serve until the end of the court's term the president's supporters hoping it's a chance for a political reset with his legislative priority stalled bu republicans are pushing back >> they're trying to use this to distract from what is their failed agenda the american people are all concerned with inflation and crime and covid. >> reporter: president biden promises to reach out to senators from both parties for advice as well as his vice president and others, indicating he's looking for someone in the mold of justice breye

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that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it's long over due in my view. i made that commitment during the campaign for president. and i will keep that commitment. >> joining us know. retired judge. nice to have you back on the program. you broke barriers yourself. you were the first african-american woman on the northern california superior court. if you think back to that day, was it a bumpy road? and will it be a bumpy road now. >> being the first is always a little bumpy. i don't care what area. be in business and education. being the first there's a lot of pressure. people are watching. because one part people have stereo types about that person. not specifically -- doesn't get into the who the person is. what the person represents to people. there are expectations out there from communities of color. hoping the person doesn't screw up. and does a good job. and expectations of those who expect the person not to to do well and fail. the pressure is always there. not a new thing. and the pressure i'm sure is going to be on

court, 28 years of service. a couple of points i want to highlight. he did mention when he makes the decision he will nominate the first black woman to the united states supreme also gave us a little bit of a sense on timing there. he said he will make that nomination before the end of february. we'll be right back. d. to go beyond ordinary etfs. and strengthen client confidence in you. before investing consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. go to flexshares.com for a prospectus containing this information. read it carefully. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. every day in business brings something new. whose resumes on indeed so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix an

the find a way to say that you are part of picking the first latino woman member of the united statesla supreme court, sonja sotomayor, and you're looking forward toun making the first african american woman a member of the united states supreme court. clyburn said. clyburn believed and there was good evidence to support his supreme court justice was worth a lot more to the black community than a vice president. vps come and go. clyburn thought. al gore was vice president. where is he now? but a supreme court seat, well, that's for life. the meeting on the yorktown was fresh in front of biden the next day as he prepared for that night's debate and he understand the difference between ani narr victory and a blowout. his margins with black voters. if he committed to naming a black woman to the united states supreme court, that might give him a lift. i think i should do it, he told his advisers. don't do it. simone sanders replied speaking in concert with the group if he wanted to do it at some point, he should make a carefully considered plan around announcing it and it wasn'tfu t kind of thing he shou

supreme court. he appealed to the united states supreme court and filed an emerge aengs application to get them, even before theyandal the sgnls. and it's that emergency ookuization. moments like this is jaulgs and describe tonight's ruling as the, most kifrant moment yet for the january 6th committee for the attacken the capital. >> i want to know why they think that. i'm no lawyer and what we're talking about is the -- the title of the document is application for stay of mandate and injunction pending review. those are all words i understand individually and alone but not necessarily when they're all put in that order. i think the basics are pretty straight forward. but i have some questions for which we need expert help. same question you have. is this it? is this it? trump was waiting to hear from the supreme court is going to get ahold of the documents. what we've got tonight is a clear 8/1 no skp a ruling in response for app his application for a stay, vus is different. so, how can we understand that? to us nonlawyers, does the fact that this is a ruling on that emergency application for a stay

the united states supreme court in recent years has weakened the voting rights act. and now, the defeated former president and his supporters use the big lie about the 2020 election to fuel torment and anti-voting rights. new laws designed to suppress your vote, to subvert our elections. here in georgia, for years you have done the hard work of democracy. registering voters, educating voters, getting voters to the polls. you built a broad coalition of voters, black, white, latino, asian american, urban, suburban, rural, working class and middle class, and it's worked. you've changed the state by bringing more people, legally, to the polls. that's how you won the historic election the senator warknock and senator osoff. you did it the right way, the democratic way. and what's been the reaction of republicans in georgia? choose the wrong way. the un-democratic way. to them, too many people voting in a democracy is problem. so they're putting up obstacles. for example, voting by mail is a safe and convenient way to get more people to vote. so they're making it harder fo

and there is a very, very long list of qualified black women for the united states supreme court. but, because of the rigors and risks of the senate confirmation process, the shortlist will heavily favor black women who have already been confirmed by the united states senate and are currently serving as federal judges. the real shortlist, likely, only has two names on it. both currently serving as federal judges. the front runner has to be ketanji brown jackson, who has been confirmed twice by the senate as a federal judge. most recently, in june of last year by the current senate. when president biden nominated her to the federal circuit court of appeals in washington d.c. where several that judges have served before being elevated by presidents to the united states supreme court. three current supreme court justices served on that same court and five others served on other circuit courts of appeal. judge jackson began her career as a federal judge in 2013, when president obama nominated her for the federal district court in washington d.c., judge jackson's 51 years old and, like

court of appeals for the first circuit where he served 14 years before his confirmation to the united states supreme court. and i might add for the record, his vote on confirmation to the court was 89-7. it was a remarkable showing of strength and support whose politics were clear as he served with ted kennedy on the senate judiciary committee as his lead counsel for many years. justice breyer's record when he came to the supreme court was awe inspiring, from criminal justice to consumer protection, from campaign finance to immigration, justice breyer's voice has been powerful, pragmatic, thoughtful and enduring whether in the majority or in dissent. consider, for instance, justice breyer's dissenting opinion in the 1995 case, united states v. lopez. in that case the court's conservative majority overturned the gun-free school zone's act, citing the power under the commerce clause. in his disenter, he -- dissent he melded the constitution. citing the facts and the law he methodically explained how the widespread gun violence threatened commerce. he concluded, i quote, holding the particular statute

but he said he would do is put an african american woman on the united states supreme court if he was elected president and had a nomination to make. that was four days before the south carolina primary. it was the first time he had ever made that pledge and the crowd went wild. south carolina congressman cyburn endorsed president biden the next day. in an incredibly emotional and effective endorsement. clyburn's endorsement is credited to this day by many people with joe biden winning south carolina, winning super tuesday. and ultimately, thereby, winning the democratic nomination and the presidency of the united states. but congressman clyburn himself told nbc news today that what he credits biden's win in south carolina to it's not actually his own endorsement of joe biden. but he credits biden's win in south carolina to is that pledge that biden made on the debate stage the night before his endorsement. that pledge clyburn pushed him backstage to make. that an african american woman would finally be nominated to the nation's highest court for the first time in our country's histor

the united states supreme court in recent years has weakened the voting rights act. and now, the defeated former president and his supporters use the big lie about the 2020 election to fuel torment and anti-voting rights. new laws designed to suppress your vote, to subvert our elections. here in georgia, for years you have done the hard work of democracy. registering voters, educating voters, getting voters to the polls. you built a broad coalition of voters -- black, white, latino, asian american, urban, suburban, rural, working class and middle class, and it's worked. you've changed the state by bringing more people -- legally -- to the polls. that's how you won the historic election the senator warknock and senator os off -- osoff. you did it the right way, the democratic way. and what's been the reaction of republicans in georgia? choose the wrong way. the un-democratic way. to them, too many people voting in a democracy is problem. so they're putting up obstacles. for example, voting by mail is a safe and convenient way to get more people to vote. so they're mak

by president biden, they wrapped up their report and the presidential commission on the supreme court of the united states and one of the things that they had been out there during early in the biden administration was the idea of adding justices to the supreme court that's been called court packing and here's what the commission found. they concluded, they said article 3 of the constitution requires that there be one supreme court but does not specify the number of justices that shall serve on the court. the historical practice is the conclusion that congress has the authority to change the size. congress exercise that power on numerous occasions. the nation as a whole takes no position on the validity of strengths force expanding the supreme court mirroring the public debate there's profound disagreement among commissioners on this issue and this hour we will touch on some of the other findings of that supreme court commission and the conclusions they came to. 202-748-8000 allied to call for democrats. 202748 8001 for republicans and for all other steps 202 748-8000two . this is the washington po

you know, our united states supreme court has never been so threatened in its credibility, never so much-inflicted by the court, but also partly the result of the very partisan pitch battles that we have had for prior nominees, and there is a higher good here and a public interest that will be indicated by moving quickly. but we are prepared to fight, make no mistake. we are prepared to fight the options we have to get this job done. it's a job that will get done. this nominee will be confirmed. >> i want to switch gears and ask you about a comment you made on a call with ukrainian americans about their concerns about the rhetoric coming from the right, and it was your sense that some of the pro-russia rhetoric that is furthered by tucker carlson and some of the loudest voices on the right isn't necessarily the view of elected republican officials, but you made this comment that they are not willing to say it publicly. quote, most republicans are only willing to disown it in private. does that weaken this president, and is that on purpose? >> it weakens the country for republicans to fai

now have five women who have served on the united states up -- supreme court. not a single time has a black woman ever been seriously considered. so i took that issue up with then-candidate biden in 2020. that i thought the time had arrived for us to do something about that. how many times have you heard it said that black women are the backbone of the democratic party? you can't just say it, you've got to show it. i believe it is deeds that matter, not words. so president biden made it a commitment at the debate back in february two years ago. and said that if he got the opportunity, he would appoint or nominate an african-american woman to serve on the court. he has reiterated in recent days that he plans to keep that commitment. as it relates to who, i don't have anything against the seven or eight names i have seen floated. there are possibilities. they are all great people. the fact of the matter is, i have been discussing michelle childs with the president and his people now for, i guess, at least 13 months. now she has which everybody says is the second

as you likely know, in april, president biden established a commission from the supreme court of the united states tasked with quote, providing analysis of the principal arguments and the contemporary public debate for and against supreme court reform. including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals. the conversation today with two experts who can help us shed some light on the commission's processes and the commission. first, a commissioner on the presidential commission on the supreme court of the united states, professor for the administration of justice at university of pennsylvania school of law. we're very pleased. a faculty advisor at the student chapter there as well. and focusing on constitutional law and conflict of laws and published scholarly books including the myth of judicial activism, making sense of supreme court decisions which sets the standards by which citizens can determine whether the supreme court is doing its authority to interpret the constitution. the new book, "the nation that never runs" considers the civil war and period of reco

plus, the united states supreme court justice, sonia sotomayor.ur sanity week" continues when we answer the question. all next on "live!" ♪ ♪ and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! [applause] >> kelly: morning. morning, deja. morning, ryan. >> ryan: morning. good to see you. >> kelly: i just hollowed out loud at the "save your s

supreme court conformation hearings. we were joking with one another when he walked in did we ever think he would have served decades on the court and i'd be president of the united states on the day he came to retire? and anyway, i won't tell you what he said joking. but i was proud and grateful to be at the start of the distinguished career on the supreme court and i'm very prude to be here today on the announcement of his retirement. during his conformation hearings in 1994, nominee stephen breyer said quote the law must work for the people. he explained the faith that our complex legal system has a single purpose. tell people who makeup our country. it was a different time, of course but his brilliance, values and scholarship are why judge breyer became justice breyer by an overwhelming bipartisan vote at the time. today he announces his intention to step down from active service after four decades and 28 years on the united states supreme court. he is a leading scholar and juris in administrative law. bringing his brilliance to bear to make government run more effectively and efegsantly. a beacon on our wiz wisdom of the constitution and he's worked tireless

remember this is a supreme court that monopolized men being on the court. there is a case, bradwell v. illinois, the united states supreme court said that women couldn't even become lawyers. we have a long history of shunning women as lawyers on the court. but it's not new. as you showed at beginning of this hour, president reagan made that same promise. president trump made a similar promise. i imagine once the person is seated on the court, her colleagues will come to see how exceptional she is. it's just simply the matter of how black women coming through this profession have had to be twice as good as if not three times as good as, prepared and ready. >> reminds me also how you had some critics said in sotomayor's confirmation she was not as smart as she thought she was, have now come to laud her publicly. republican-led states rushing to pass antiabortion bills before the supreme court rules on roe versus wade, what is the strategy? >> the new nominee will not be in place. votes have been taken, dobbs out of mississippi expected to gut roe v. wade. unfortunately for those who support abortion rights,

as you likely know, in april, president biden established a commission on the supreme court of the united states, tasked with, quote, providing an analysis of the principal arguments and contemporary public debate for and against supreme court reform, including an appraisal on the merits and legality of particular reform proposals. -- we are awfully lucky to be having a conversation today with two experts who can help shed light on the commissions processes and the commission's conclusions. the first is kermit roosevelt, who served as a commissioner on the presidential commission on the supreme court of the united states. he is the david burger professor for the administration of justice at the university of pennsylvania school of law. we are pleased that he is here. -- adviser at the acs sun chapter as well. he works in a diverse range of areas, focusing on conflict laws and has published scholarly books, including the myth of judicial activism, making sense of supreme court decisions, which set standards by which citizens can determine whether the supreme court is abusing its authority