Page 3 - Consensus Choice News Today

Happen. were not going to see a nominee confirmed before the election. the president is bringing in moderates like a joe manchin state like west virginia where the president carried by double digits. theyre going to be under pressure to support this nominee. >> sure. but you dont need democrats anymore to get a supreme court nominee confirmed. this is -- the process now, the senate is now a broken institution. it used to be you needed a consensus choice, you needed 60 votes. you dont need it any...

Senate hearings. here from washington is nbc news correspondent garrick utley. >> good morning. this is the senate caucus room in washington, d.c., and its jammed this morning. jammed with spectators, newsmen, senators and their aides. and the scene adds to the sense of drama as the senate opens what is likely to become the most serious investigation it has ever made. an investigation of the american political system and the presidency itself. >> fred thompson there in the foreground and the use...

Has ever made. an investigation of the american political system and the presidency itself. >> fred thompson there in the foreground and the use of the word "newsmen." you dont hear that much anymore. well, today, may 17th, is a bigger than average day where presidential investigations are concerned. 45 years ago on this very day, the senate watergate hearings that would lead to the end of the nixon presidency got under way. and of course just one year ago, former fbi director robert mueller was...

You dont hear that much anymore. well, today, may 17th, is a bigger than average day where presidential investigations are concerned. 45 years ago on this very day, the senate watergate hearings that would lead to the end of the nixon presidency got under way. and of course just one year ago, former fbi director robert mueller was appointed special counsel, a consensus choice at the time. with us tonight is our friend jon meacham, pulitzer prize winning author, historian, msnbc contributor. impo...

Must they do this by a certain amount of time or simply whoever gets the majority no matter how many ballots, phases are cast? >> reporter: thats exactly right, fred rericfrederica. theyll keep voting until they find a candidate over the 50% threshold but in terms of the full fleet of five candidates. if they dont meet a bare minimum percentage, they actually come off of the roster and it goes to the next group of voters. so we should strengthen the bottom three candidates to make up a small por...

Overshadowed with what happens later tonight. senate democrats vigorously opposing any supreme court justice every bit as moderate as merrick garland, to do anything else to rereward the gop vacant veet for an entire year. well see that happen again unless we insist on a moderate like merrick garland. >> youre not getting that. >> we may not and if we dont i think we should filibuster and oppose -- >> all the way. hold that vacant as long as you possibly can? >> we ought to insist on a consensus...

Is a key job as chief of staff. the other person is a reince priebus. hes also been very integral in trumps world. running the ground population that got donald trump elected. hes been also very personally involved. im told their bond isnt necessarily as close but certainly much closer than people think. and im also told by people around washington erin that he would be a consensus choice. knows washington and the republicans on the hill. helping get many of them elected. so that is a choice. an...

Probably evaluating how they could get to the votes that they need without having a brawl. >> who are the capable people that you think of if paul ryan is a no and if we talk about this being capable and that they are not going to get knee capped? >> there are so many that i think it would be unfair to speculate. there are over 200 republican members of the house. there are committee chairs, people that have very distinguished careers and great reputations. right now i think people are keeping t...

A six-seat majority. we had to pull together very quickly. we did. i think we can pull together again. theyve got a much larger majority this time. so this is hardly the demise of the party, but the quicker they get this resolved the better. it will have to be a consensus choice. it wouldnt be a freedom caucus choice, it wont be establishment. it will be somebody that is acceptable to all the dirt wiff wings that can move ahead. you have issues with many looing deadlines such as the debt ceiling...

Their credit this is what they ran on. that people are fed up, stop the president, will repeal obama care, stop raising the debt limit. they think and they believe they are doing what they promised to do. the problem is they dont have the votes. they dont have the votes and now their frustration is boiling over again their own establishment. boehner is leaving because he doesnt want to put up with it anymore. mccarthy dropped out because he didnt have the votes and didnt want to do whatever it m...