of reagents which is one of the kind of nine steps in the processing. >> starting to feel like it's march and april he says. bring boo the conversation, dr. larry brilliant joining us, epidemiologist, cnn medical analyst. starting to feel like it did back in march and april. is that your assessment looking at the numbers? might see evidence of a plateau at a high level if that's the case. >> john, it is my assessment that we're back in march or april. but if i might just say a word and add some praise to john lewis. when i was a teenager in 1963, he was the leader of the march in washington as part of the big six and snik and i joined them and watching the coverage i remember sitting on lunch counters in woolworth in detroit, michigan, when the snik nonviolent activists come up behind us and hit us to remind us if we were going to be an activist we needed to gracefully fall off that stool because they wouldn't kick us but hit us on the stool and i have fond memories of him today. brings things full circle. >> it does. it is an important memory. we appreciate your adding it to the programming and for our viewers, you see the plane on the right joint base andrews, congressman lewis' cass keket a now making the way to washington soon. the sendoff here conducted in the middle of a pandemic. john lewis is receiving significant and well deserved tributes, probably not exactly as it would be if we lived in more normal times so let's come back to that if you will. when you look at california, texas and florida, if you talk to dr. deborah birx believing there's evidence of a plateau, arizona started to go down last week and then over the weekend jumped back up. governor hogan and you say you agree with him, we're back to march and april and what needs to be done now? >> what what i see is the tail end of the effect of the fourth of july. and soon we'll be at labor day and that will give us another bump and then soon we'll in flu season and that will give us another bump. if we are unwise in the way that we open schools, if we do it carelessly and do it without regard to the viral load in the neighborhood of those schools, we are in for a very bumpy autumn. i would just say one more thing. america's always been the indispensable nation. but right now we're not indispensable in this outbreak except as a source of disease. we're not the leader. in fact, we have more deaths and cases than the next two or three countries in the world combined. this is a very challenging time for the world. it's doubly challenging because the united states has been the indispensable helper in every single pandemic in my lifetime until now. >> and so, to that point, there's accountability for what's happened up to this point and then the challenge of the moment. i want you to listen here. this is a president's top deputy. this is admiral giroir talking yesterday saying, yes, we have a testing problem in america but we'll be on top of it. >> i'm never going to be happy until we have this under control and we're going to continue to push every single day to improve the testing, the type of testing that we have in the rapidity of turnaround. i'm highly confident that turnaround will decrease this week with the surge testing, point of care testing, nursing home testing, the emergency use authorizations for pooling. we are middle of the crisis, a pandemic. and we're working with every tool that we have, every authority we have. >> help me and please, please, i would love to be wrong on this point but we could go back into the library and find the admiral two weeks ago and two weeks before that and before that saying we got this, we are in the middle of a pandemic. dr. birx is traveling this week to several cities and talks saying we see the positivity rate at 3% and 3.5%. we call the governors, give them a report every monday. if they have all this data, where is the breakdown? at the federal level? mayors and governors? is it everybody? >> you know, when you get a little perspective for an investment it says past performance is no guarantee of future performance. but actually, we look to the past and we see a terrible run of bad decisions by the white house. we have no national strategy. the white house has disempowered cdc. it's disempowered the fda. when you are a destructor in chief and you come in and disable the institutions that have kept us safe and then in the midst of a pandemic you require from them heroic activities, we're not gettinging it. no, i'm not at all happy, the position we are in. i am concerned as we head into what might be a three-month period of acceleration of viral spread that we remain unprepared. we need a national strategy. all states have got to work in harmony. what you have described earlier, john, you think about it. it is whack-a-mole. back and forth between the states. that will continue for years if we don't have a singular national strategy all in marching to the tune of the same drummer and that drummer should be wearing a mask. >> we are having a conversation about whack-a-mole six months in is depressing to say the least but as always, appreciate your expertise and historical perspective on the other big story tracking today that being the day of tribute there. the procession carrying the body of the late congressman john lewis. that motorcade making the way to the national capital. congress will begin to gather shortly for a special day of tri butd. back to that in just a moment. wayfair has everything outdoor from grills to play sets and more one of a kind finds. it all ships free. and with new deals every day you can explore endless options at every price point. get your outdoor oasis delivered fast so you can get the good times going. ♪ wayfair. you've got just what i need. ♪ ♪ this is a day of celebration and remembrance here in the nation's capital. you see the motorcade there carrying the late congressman civil rights hero, american ic 0n john lewis from maryland, joint base andrews and then a procession through the streets of the nation's capital and passing monuments and museums very close to the late congressman's heart. that would include the martin luther king jr. monument. the african-american history museum a stop. might not be there if it weren't for the persistence of congressman lewis as a member of the house of the representatives. his colleagues call him the conscious of the congress. today at the end of the journey will land at the capitol building and worked there more than 30 years and will lie in state as an american hero. among those paying tribute is members of the congressional black caucus in the capitol rotunda to honor their friend, colleague, hero, mentor, their leader congressman john lewis. cnn's dana bash is part of the coverage up on capitol hill with a special guest. >> that's right, john. joined by congresswoman. we are on. who is the representative of selma, alabama. we were talking before, there's so many stories. i met you in selma or met you before that but spent time with you a couple of years ago when i was on the pilgrimage. you cohosted ten pilgrim you knows and met him as a teenager coming through selma over and over again. talk about that. >> yes. you know, i have so many great memories of john lewis. this is a treat of a lifetime. if you have been on that pilgrimage as you were to have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of john lewis with john lewis? it doesn't get any better than that. and i got a chance growing up as a little girl in selma, alabama, as a daughter of selma and a member of brown chapel ame church to sit in the pew to the left that my parents always sat in and witness so many amazing foot soldiers come back year after year, you know, everyone from coretta scott king to ct vivian, joseph lowrie and, of course, john lewis and so many of them are gone now. what a heavenly crew that must be up there. but john was such an amazing mentor and friend and it's not auchl you get a chance to really meet your real life american hero and i got to meet him and more importantly got to befriend him and he became such a mentor to me. i have so many wonderful memories of cohosting those pilgrimages, ten times. only john would be so willing to give and share a platform and to put a spotlight on the importance of the next generation. john was so giving. >> and that was so key. you are the first african-american woman to represent alabama in congress. and he -- he took special interest in a lot of people but really you. because of your connection to selma, because of his obvious connection to selma, but the two of you grew very, very close and he really walked the walk with you and teaching the next generation. what did you learn? can you even articulate what you learned from him? >> i can't. you said you weren't going to make me cry but i shared a very special relationship with john partly because of -- definitely because of the connection to selma. i couldn't be in a room where he was talking about voting rights or in the capitol when we were trying to restore the voting rights, if he saw me, anywhere in the room, he would say and, and, and terri represents selma today and grab my hand and make sure i was standing beside him or right behind him and it will be cold in that shadow of john trying to fight to restore the voting rights but i know that i -- there's a whole army of disciples of john, people that john has poured his heart out into, sowed seeds of hope into so many people and now is a time to pick up the baton and to continue his march towards making sure the full protections of the voting rights act are restored. that's john's legacy and life and remember to vote in every election. state, federal, local, all elections are important. and john would have wanted us to continue that fight. he gave us the road map. every speech he gave he said it. he said never give up. never give in. keep the faith. keep your eyes on the prize. we have to do that. i'm just so honored to have gotten a chance to know him and just more blessed that i got to know him as a friend and as a mentor. he would -- he would call me the girl from selma. i would laugh and call him the boy from troy and he would echo back the girl from selma. and i would say, but we have so much more to do. and john in his infinite optimism always said, it will happen. we are in search, a march for that beloved community. people want to do right. he really had this way about him that only john and this is a man who's bludgeoned on a bridge, for him to have such faith in humanity, it was infectious. >> i want to ask about that bridge which is in your district. the infamous edmund pettus bridge. this is a lot of talk about renaming it, maybe everyone after john lewis. you and john lewis released a statement saying it should not be renamed. why? >> you know, five years ago we did an op-ed piece about it because john felt and i did, too, that that name had been transcended by the movement on that bridge. and that you couldn't cover revisionist history but i called john right after the black lives matter movement and the death of george floyd -- >> edmund pettus was a grand wizard of the kkk. >> and a senator from the state of alabama. yes, he was. as i evolve on this, my feeling is that we have to be unequivocal. all confederate namings are offensive, offensive and they go against the quality and justice that this america is out for so seems to me what we should be doing is, you know, everything has to be on the table including the bridge talking about the con fed rate namings. selma residents should decide what it should be called. i personally would call it the john lewis bridge but i know that so many from selma fought and marched with john and shed a little blood on that bridge. i think the best tribute we can give to john is renaming hr-4, the voting rights act for the john lewis voting rights act of 2020. that's what we can do. >> sounds like -- >> in congress. i do believe symbols have their place but legislation impaktdful legislation is really what is called for. >> sounds like that will happen. thank you for sharing your memories with your dear friend and mentor. appreciate it. john? >> dana bash, please thank the congresswoman. on the right of the screen you are watching the hearse there carrying the casket of the late congressman john lewis. coming in from joint base andrews want to pass into the district of columbia, a short drive. when we come back, we'll continue this procession through some landmarks here in washington. over the weekend, his brother recalling the day john lewis became congressman lewis. >> when john was first sworn in to congress, i think i got my year right, in 1986. i was there and during the swearing-in ceremony, right before the swearing-in ceremony he looked up. he knew where i was sitting and he looked up and he gave me the thumbs up. and i gave him the thumbs up back. i said, john, what were you thinking when you gave me the thumbs up? he said, i was thinking this is a long way from the cotton fields of alabama. - sir. - we need a doctor. [running footsteps and siren] you're talking about a first generation american from the streets of the imperial valley who rose to beat the odds. she worked nights and weekends till she earned herself a master's degree. she was running in a marathon when a man behind her collapsed from cardiac arrest. and using her experience saved this man's life. so why do i think there should be more people like carmen bravo in this world? because that man... was me. lookentertainmentour experience: xfinity x1. it's the easiest way to watch live tv and all your favorite streaming apps. plus, x1 also includes peacock premium at no extra cost. this baby is the total package. it streams exclusive originals, the full peacock movie library, complete collections of iconic tv shows, and more. yup, the best really did get better. magnificent. xfinity x1 just got even better, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. no strings attached. live pictures here of the motorcade carrying the casket, the body of the late congressman american civil rights hero john lewis making the way. there will be several stops for the important procession today. the first one the martin luther king jr. memorial down near the nation's mall. that the first stop of many for the congressman as you see the procession come in and this is an important day of tribute. from there passing the justice department, also pass the african-american museum of history which he was so important of getting passed into law and small crowds but people on the side of the roads first in maryland and now the -- district of columbia. people young and old on the street, cell phones out taking picture churs of this historic day. john lewis as the procession continues. he will be at the united states capitol where he of course will lie in state at the rotunda, tributes throughout the day, the former vice president joe biden planning to visit today. the current vice president mike pence, as well. there is as we watch this procession and as the special coverage continues throughout the day that's important work happening at the capitol today. senate republicans expected to unvai a $1 trillion stimulus plan that part of the coronavirus relief package. as benefits set to expire, some, at the end of this week. the big sticking point is unemployment. at the 11th hour, pushing back and suggest a sliding scale based on earnings. the house speaker nancy pelosi says she will not support that and wants republicans to meet for more negotiations and see the statement there saying if republicans care about working families, this won't take long. that's her view. let's get to cnn's phil mattingly live up on capitol hill. a lot of finger pointing and negotiating. any progress? >> reporter: progress in that republicans today are finally going to release their opening offer and some people would look at last week when they were supposed to introduce the opening offer and think that's not much progress at all since republicans and democrats have to come together and reconcile the proposals but it is the reality of this moment. they were up here on the capitol, at the capitol, meeting with staff throughout the course of the weekend trying to hammer through the belated proposal and told at this point they expect to release it after 4:30 this afternoon. here are the basic components of the proposal. $105 billion for education, split between k-12 and colleges and universities, some money to schools that are able to reopen based on what's happening on the ground with the coronavirus, trying to spur that effort along if you will. there will be a second round of stimulus checks. you remember that from round one. more targeted loans. forgivable through the paycheck protection act but the big issue they were working on throughout the weekend was that unemployment insurance, a federal enhancement on top of the state system, set in march at $600. a flat rate and part of the reason at a flat rate at that level is because they couldn't figure out a better way to do it or a more accurate way to do it because so many states have antiquated systems, no technology to implement anything on top of the state benefits. republicans try to pull that off with the proposal. at the moment, they're going to propose dropping the $600 flat rate to $200 over the course of a transition period at which point they believe states will be able to implement something to give approximately 70% of wages from unemployed workers, past wages. the issue republicans have had not just the white house but senate and house republicans is that that $600 flat rate for some individuals giving them more money than they were earning. i think the issue right now is kind of back to what i was talking about at the beginning. this is the opening bid and one that democrats won't accept, democrats that control the house and have to have votes to have anything passed through the senate and given that state of play and where things are right now i think the big question when you realize most people got the last federal enhancement checks last weekend the official end of the program is on friday, how quickly can they move girp t -- given the dynamics? they proposed narrowing down a proposal to move that forward with urgency. democrats said this is a package deal. you have to do everything together and as we start this, john, start the negotiations things seem pretty far apart. >> things do seem far apart. a couple of clocks ticking. an election 99 days away. phil mattingly, keep us posted on developments throughout the day. stay with us. we'll continue to follow what you are seeing there, very important day, the procession carrying the late congressman john lewis through washington, d.c. among the stops, the martin luther king jr. memorial. >> this monument will serve as a reminder to each of us that it is better to love and not to hate. it is better to reconcile and not to divide. it is better to build and not to tear down. it will remind all of us that to dream of martin luther king jr. is not yet accomplished. what do you think? i don't see it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ you say the customer's maklet's talk data.s. only xfinity mobile lets you switch up your wireless data whenever. i accept. 5g, everybody is talking about it. how do i get it? everyone gets 5g with our new data options at no extra cost. that's good. next item, corner offices for everyone. we just have to make more corners in this building. chad? -your wireless, your rules. only with xfinity mobile. now that's simple, easy, awesome. switch to xfinity mobile and save up to four hundred dollars a year on your wireless bill. plus, get two hundred dollars off when you buy an eligible phone. live pictures here, this procession carrying the casket there, the hearse, carrying the casket of john lewis, the former congressman of alabama. the procession will pause in the king memorial. dr. king, of course, a man that played a piftdal role in the early life of john lewis. just moments away. you see main avenue. we'll be at that memorial within a matter of moments. lauren fox is there. this is an important first stop in washington, d.c. >> reporter: that's right, john. remember that this was someone that representative lewis really leaned in to as a mentor when he was a young man and trying to get into the state college in troy, alabama. he said he sent his application, transcript and then never heard anything back and wrote a letter to dr. king and he received a round trip bus ticket in return to meet with dr. king in montgomery. a meeting with a tremendous impact on his life and how he looked at nonviolent activism for the rest of his career. and for the rest of his time fighting for equal justice in this country. of course, this is just one of the places that the motorcade will drive by today as a way to sort of take a moment to remember the impact that this place had on congressman john lewis and the impact that the congressman had on this city. we also expect that he will drive by the lincoln memorial. of course, that is the site of where he gave that speech in 1963, the youngest speaker during the march on washington, when he was just 23 years old, john. he will also be moving past that museum, the national museum of african-american history that he fought so hard to create. introducing a bill every year that he was in congress and in an attempt to make sure that the history of african-americans in this country would be remembered saying during -- when this museum came to be and spoke at the opening, quote, giving up on dreams is not an option for me. in 2003 it was finally passed and signed into law by george w. bush that this museum would exist and just a day to remember not just the impact he had on capitol hill but the impact he had on this city and there's a small group of individuals who have come to pay their respects here at this memorial as you noted before, you know, there are people lining up along this street as they wait for the motorcade to remember and say good-bye to congressman john lewis. john? >> lauren fox for us across from the important memorial. second away from you, lauren. it is a remarkable scene. lauren noted he is going to be right close to the lincoln memorial, also to his left, to the hearse's left across the water is the jefferson memorial. to the right the washington monument. and then the martin luther king jr. memorial. two of our founding fathers, mr. jefferson, mr. washington, slave owners. as you watch the procession go right now up through it is a remarkable moment and van jones and nia malika-henderson with us. when they get there and stop, i may interrupt you to pause and see the treasury department there, as well. the washington monument on the left of the screen. van jones, dr. king was a man or the, a friend and then for john lewis after the tragic events of 1968 it was left to him to continue to try to spread the message, march but be peaceful, march but do not choose violence, but please march. >> yeah. you know, he actually inherited two mantles. i think he was aware of one, dr. king killed in '68 but also bobby kennedy. he was a part of bobby kennedy's campaign and trying to keep the alive to coin a phrase and to move it forward. one thing to point out is this idea of a pilgrimage, a final pilgrimage, i'm not sure the viewers know. every single year he would go back to selma and reenact what happened and talk to people and used that opportunity to go to the bridge that build bridges. he always brought republicans with him. he always brought people who had been opponents with him and they had to absorb that john lewis magic and that spirit of reconciliation and then he would go back and try to change laws. so this idea of him being on this final pilgrimage going past all these monuments, you know? for those of us who went on the pilgrimages with him in selma, you know, it is powerful and the last thrng to say is this is not the only time he is celebrated in an extraordinary way. at the 50th anniversary when president obama went to give that speech in honor of everything he had done, i have never seen this before. usually everybody goes on stage and you welcome the president. the one thing to do it in reverse, president obama, michelle obama on stage and they welcomed john lewis. the most powerful man in the world standing there applauding this small, mighty figure coming on stage in front of the whole world so he's been an extraordinary person and given that extraordinary love for a long time but today's especially powerful. >> van jones, just watching now as the motorcade pulls up. we expect a pause, not a stop here and see as lauren fox noted some residents trying to capture a moment of history standing in the shadow of the martin luther king memorial watching one of his key lieutenants pass by in that hearse. as you see go through here. nia, as we watch this play out ux it's sad, i don't know if that's the right word, but because of the contentious times, because -- just got to pause for a second here as you see the white marble there. that's the martin luther king memorial. the hearse passing by. the road does not pass in a way to see facade of the wonderful memorial but you see this, the first stop, appropriately, the first stop for the procession through the streets of washington. see them slowing down but continue, continuing to move on here. they will pass soon the lincoln memorial, vietnam memorial. you see the motorcade coming to a stop here. nia, they're not far from the white house and the reason i said sad is that it was -- not criticizing anyone for what they said in that moment, that's not what i mean, but when congressman lewis passed there were those asking the president of the united states to say nothing. saying that they did not want his voice, his tweets, his words to ruin the moment if you will, to ruin the tributes. on this day where we pay tribute to this hero, that is -- i'm going to use it again, sad statement on the course of our discourse on any issue but especially on an important issue of race and civility that an american hero can pass and it is controversial for the president of the united states to say anything. >> yeah. and john lewis himself was saddened by this fact. he, of course, did not go to the inauguration of donald trump. he lamented the lack of moral clarity, moral leadership in this white house hinting that he is pausing by the memorial to martin luther king as well as other founding fathers of this nation and that is who he was. he was one of the founders and it is fitting that we celebrate him in this way today. he was certainly saddened by what he has seen as a real i think dedgration of the movement and that is what led him, that christian faith and the idea that you leave with love, right? that there's always room for redemption, that you might hate what people do, hate the kind of things they inspire others to do, but you don't hate the person. and so, here he is going through the streets of washington. he gave 30 years of his public service to serving those folks in georgia. i think certainly saw that a lot of the work he was doing more work to do. if you traveled throughout the south, towns like selma, many of us have been there. so much work to do. so much racial inequality, educational inequality, economic inequality so he was constantly in this fight, encouraging others to get into this fight that he brought, he was brought into by martin luther king and had a long life. unlike mart lut king, right? he didn't live to be 40 and those folks that joined the movement didn't have long lives. he lived to be 80 years and grateful that we gotit to. >> 80 great years, well lived. in a lot of good trouble as congressman lewis would say. you see they have just left the martin luther king memorial. it is a short drive to pass the lincoln memorial. stop three is the black lives matter plaza, the new black lives matter plaza here in washington, d.c. which is steps from the white house. steps from the white house. dana bash is still with us, as well. dana, you were with congressman lewis on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of dr. king, someone whose life and legacy shaped his fellow hero, congressman lewis. >> that's right. i was lucky enough to be on one of those pilgrimages that van was talking about. it was two years ago, 2018. and they always go to selma but then they also take different trips depending on what happens happening that year and it was the 50th anniversary of martin luther king jr.'s assassination so we went to memphis and went to the lorraine motel which is now a memorial for mlk and it was the first time john lewis had ever been there. the night that king, his mentor and friend was assassinated, john lewis was with rfk, robert kennedy working and helping on his campaign and had never gone until that moment and as you can imagine it was incredibly emotional for so many reasons. not the least of which is he was at that time 78-year-old man who lived a very long life, mourning the friend who brought him into this incredible movement. >> you see now the motorcade at the lincoln memorial. driving up there. an american hero of the 1860s being visited by an american hero of the 1960s. who then of course after being in the civil rights movement served in the congress for 33 years. that sky, it is a warm day here in washington. a hot day here in washington but a beautiful day here in washington. as a man who was living history john lewis is taking us on a tour of some of the nation's capitol and the historic places here. retracing steps that were important to him. it is just a remarkable scene. the reflecting pool behind the lincoln memorial. congressman lewis passes in front. van jones, please. >> you know, you think about that march on washington and it's -- he is kind of going back now past that whole place. how young he was and how young dr. king was. >> right. youngest speaker. >> dr. king was 33 or 34. he was, john lewis, even younger than that. dr. king considered the old man barely in his 30s at the march on washington and this guy was a kid already a national leader, already a part of the so-called big six because he had already taken so many risks and this was before selma. selma is '65. he is already a national figure. he is a national figure is being beaten on that bridge. just hard to get your brain wrapped around what that generation accomplished, what people like ella joe baker, dr. king, and so many others whose names we have forgotten were able to accomplish but i so appreciate what nia-malika said. he got to live out his full life and get to be of service and put him to bed at the end of the life opposed to so many put to bed at the beginning. >> that's an excellent point. i don't know if we have this. i'm asking a lot of the control room today. don't move away from the live pictures but to putt up the image of the march on washington. they're slowly rolling away but we talked about this the sunday after the congressman passed and she mentioned this earlier. you show the lincoln memorial there. on the day of the march on washington, the elders took john lewis into a holding room inside the monument to ask him to tone down the speech. there was a fabulous story about this in "the new york post." find that story in "the washington post" about urging him because he was more radical, more aggressive, more con tron fragsal in his youth to please tone down the rhetoric a little bit. this is a remarkable moment in the history here. we are going to move on now. i'm sorry, van. as this moves on, i want to go ahead to joe johns standing at the next stop which is become now a painted street in the middle of america's current racial reckoning. steps from lafayette park, more to the white house. you see it right there. this is now black lives matter plaza as they call it in washington, d.c. our joe johns is right there. >> reporter: john, this is seen as sort of a bridge between the youthful activism of john lewis and the youthful activism of today. we are expecting to see the procession in just a few minutes. what i want to do is point out to you what's going on in this intersection. you look over my shoulder, you can see a mural of large photograph of john lewis. that apparently is his last public appearance we're told it was here at black lives matter plaza on june 7th. as you can see he is wearing a mask with arms crossed. now, why is this a bridge? it is a bridge for a number of reasons, including because of the demonstrations, the fact that this is the place where the president of the united states cleared a group of peaceful protesters in order to walk over to st. john's episcopal church to do a photo-op holding a bible. it is more than that. when you look at the life of john lewis, this is an activist, from the student nonviolent coordinating committee, everyone to congress and looking forward to seeing the procession pull up here. there's been some hope that there will be a moment for the mayor of washington, d.c. who sort of created black lives matter plaza here to hand over a replica sign of black lives matter plaza, a street sign, to the procession. we don't know, though, if the hearse or i should say the procession's going to stop long enough to do that. john? >> joe johns standing by for us. i'm watching. you can't see this. the live pictures, they're moments away from you as they pass by the nation's mall. and they're prepared to turn up. van jones, i had to cut you off a moment ago about the history. i'm going to say something here. they're now -- where joe johns is, where you see the hearse and joe johns is, in between them is the white house. i know the president of the united states is traveling today. i'm not sure if he left the white house yet but what a moment for all americans if the president of the united states, democrat or republican, doesn't matter, on this day would salute this hearse as it drove by his house but that will not happen. van jones? to that point -- van, i heard you come back in there. >> all right. some it can call issues as we work through this day. you are seeing the hearse right now traveling past the nation's mall right there. it is a spectacular place full of the monuments, the washington monument to the right there. you see the motorcade beginning to turn. i believe that's 17th street. where they will go up past the white house complex, up past the white house complex. van, this is not a day for politics, not why i said it, but seeing so much history, the hearse is about to pass. it is turning on to 17th street. the white house will be to its right as it goes up the street here to black lives matter plaza. the newly created black lives matter plaza here in washington, d.c. if you look at the right hand of the screen you see the flags flying up there. that is the againing of the white house complex as it goes up the street to be saluted by president whether that president is a democrat or a republican. >> i agree and what i would say is that the whole country saluting that hearse and i want to remine people, people may say black lives matter, though more popular now and still so controversial they might say. why is this happening? this is something that anybody everybody can't embrace. don't forget that john lewis was not somebody that everybody could embrace. the sort of black lives matter of its day was considered very controversial. you know? and what happens is that over time hurt people holler. if you are sitting on a white hot stove of injustice you tend to holler. people say calm down, shut up, please be quiet but over time the message gets through. you mentioned the great story of the great a. phillip randolph taking john lewis to the side at the march on washington, a couple phrases where john lewis said we'll march through the south like sherman. it was hot rhetoric and a. phillip randolph, a champion for generations said, please son, i spent a life to get us here. if you could just take one paragraph off to all stay together and birk marshall a part of the kennedy administration was prepared to literally unplug the entire rally. john lewis didn't know that but based on the strength of the plea the young man took out that one line, still gave a very strong speech and they moved on together. generations can co-author history if they're willing. the young people in black lives matter right now, some people see them as controversial, there's john lewises out there and others who years to come will serve the country in similar ways and embraced in similar ways. i'm glad they're going by black lives matter plaza. >> when we lose an icon like this, a gift if you will, a tough word, we get to remember the history, relearn and reread the history in the tributes and learn new lessons, that is pennsylvania avenue, the hearse is crossing to the right just moments ago was the eisenhower executive office building part of the white house complex. steps from the white house which is where black lives matter plaza now is. lafayette park, the protesters cleared so the president could go to st. john's church. it is right there. where you now have a new plaza for the new generation as van notes of activists. again, a tour through history for a man who until he was taken from us just days ago was literally living history. >> he really was and we are lucky that we get to see him celebrated in this way today through the streets of washington, d.c., in yesterday going over that bridge in selma for the last time in that horse-drawn carriage. just amazing images. you mentioned going by the white house. you know? in some ways it is fitting that the president doesn't salute john lewis. he's cut from a different cloth. right? john lewis deeply spiritual man. someone who cares about justice and equality and has a real vision for this country that is inclusive and that is very different from the vision that this current president has for this country. again, this is something that saddened john lewis and kept him busy. that is what he was so hard at work doing for most of his life. right? beginning at the age of 15 until his last days saluting the work of these black lives matter protesters who van noted aren't necessarily embraced and john lewis and that huge movement in the civil rights era wasn't necessarily embraced either. martin luther king at the time of his death wasn't a real celebrated figure in the way he is now and so here we have john lewis 80 years old going to his rest, going to join willie may and eddie lewis, his parents who never could have imagined that their son would end up celebrated in this way by an entire nation. >> you hear "amazing grace." let's listen. ♪ ♪ ♪ you see the scenes, downtown washington, d.c. even the street sign, the city put up a street sign, black lives matter plaza. see the mayor of washington, d.c. right there presenting a plaque to members of the lewis family. other dignitaries from the city are there, as well. this is a new plaza and it also is moments ago when we had the wider shot to see the photograph as joe johns talked about earlier with john lewis inspecting this remarkable scene visited daily sometimes were demonstrations and others just come to see steps from the white house. in washington, d.c. just watching the pause right here and listening to the music. members of the lewis family in the procession, as well. congressional staffers. you see in the center of your scene the street sign installed recently on what otherwise would have been 16th street in washington, d.c. again you see the washington monument, this shot is shaky. as the photographer there follows the live event but you are going straight back to the white house, to your right. going down that street you get to the white house. and the mall behind it. this is the site of the last public event. you see the motorcade, the hearse beginning to roll slowly there with the large crowd on hand. afl-cio headquarters there i believe with the black lives matter soon, as well. van jones, st. john's church, where the president came and held up the bible. the white house there in the middle of the scene. van jones, your thoughts as we see this sight play out. >> it is hard not to get emotional. for me, i know so many of the people of that generation. i was blessed as you know, i was born in 1968. i talk about it all the time. a year they tried to kill hope in america. can you imagine being a young john lewis? having seen both of your heroes shot down in the same year within months of each other. and having seen your own friends, your personal friends murdered in the south. i mean, people want to give up now because of the frustration and all of the outrages that are going on but he never gave up. that's his legacy. the persistence, the consistency. the good days, the bad days. you just keep pushing forward. and look at what he is inspiring around the world. people around the world are looking at the great grand kid of an enslaved african, a kid of a sharecropper. went to little black school called fisk university. please give credit to those schools. look at what he has done and done as a country. we have a long way do go but we have a roadmap now that he didn't have. we have examples of a demonstrator to a legislator, a rabble-rouser to a bridge builder that he didn't have in the same way that we have so it's a beautiful day to see him get his just reward and diane nash is watching. luckily diane nash is still alive who marched with him in nashville. still watching. it is a powerful day. >> indeed. the hearse carrying john lewis, black lives matter plaza here in washington, d.c. the white house just ahead. an honor and a privilege to be with you these last two hours. brianna keilar picks up the
the speech is expected to last about 35 minutes, after which, we'll talk with our panel and bring you highlights from his remarks, but we obviously will bring president obama in full, we expect him to come out in the next minute or so. this is something george washington we were talking about was the first president, obviously who chose to give a farewell address. >> right, when he did it, he did it because there was no such thing as a two-term president. he could have been president for years and years and years, and he wanted to make clear to america that we didn't have a king anymore. sounds like we could be seeing the president? oh, maybe not. [ applause ] certainly sounded like the music coming out, but that was the purpose of that is to say, look, we are a democracy, we are not a monarchy. so that's where the tradition started. >> let's listen in. ♪
ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪
>> hello, chicago! [cheers and applause] it's good to be home! [cheers and applause] thank you, everybody. thank you! thank you. thank you! [cheers and applause] thank you so much. thank you, thank you. thank you. it's good to be home. thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. thank you. we're on live tv here, i got to move.
i was in my early 20s. and i was still trying to figure out who i was. still searching for a purpose in my life. and it was a neighborhood not far from here where i began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. it was on these streets where i witnessed the power of faith. and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle. and loss. [ crowd chants "four more years" ] >> i can't do that. this is where i learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.
after eight years as your president, i still believe that. and it's not just my belief. it's the beating heart of our american idea. our bold experiment in self-governing. it's a conviction that we are all created equal. endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. it's the insistence that these rights, while self-evident have never been self-executed. that we, the people, through the instrument of our democracy can form a more perfect union. what a radical idea. a great gift that our founders gave to us.
the freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good. for 240 years, our nation's call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. it's what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny. pioneers to trek west. slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. it's what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the rio grande. it's what pushed women to reach for the ballot. [cheers and applause] it's what powered workers to organize. it's why gis gave their lives on omaha beach and iwo jima, iraq and afghanistan. and why men and women from selma
to stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well. [cheers and applause] so, so that's what we mean when we say america's exceptional. not that our nation's been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change. and make life better for those who follow. yes, our progress has been uneven. the work of democracy has always been hard. it's always been contentious. sometimes it's been bloody. for every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back.
but the long sweep of america has been defined by forward motion. a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some. [cheers and applause] if i had told you eight years ago that america would reverse the great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history [cheers and applause] if i had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the cuban people, shut down iran's nuclear weapons program without
firing a shot [cheers and applause] take out the mastermind of 9/11 [cheers and applause] if i had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance [cheers and applause] for another 20 million of our fellow citizens [cheers and applause] if i had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. but that's what we did. [cheers and applause] that's what you did. you were the change. the answer to people's hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, america's a better, stronger place than it was when we started. [cheers and applause]
in ten days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. [ crowd boos ] >> no, no, no. the peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected president to the next. [ applause ] i committed to president-elect trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest-possible transition, just as president bush did for me. [ applause ] because it's up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face. we have what we need to do so.
we have everything we need to meet those challenges. after all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful and most respected nation on earth. our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. but that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. [ applause ] only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now. that's what i want to focus on
tonight, the state of our democracy. i understand democracy does not require uniformity. our founders argued. they quarrelled. eventually, they compromised. they expected us to do the same. but they knew [cheers and applause] that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity. the idea that for all our outward differences we're all in this together, that we rise or fall as one. [ applause ] there have been moments throughout our history that threatened that solidarity.
and the beginning of this century has been one of those times. a shrinking world, growing inequality, demographic change and the spectre of terrorism. these forces haven't just tested our security and prosperity, but are testing our democracy as well. and how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids and create good jobs and protect our homeland. in other words, it will determine our future. to begin with, our democracy won't work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. and the good news is that today the economy is growing again, wages, incomes, home values and retirement accounts are all rising again. poverty is falling again.
[ applause ] the wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes, even as the stock market shatters records, the unemployment rate is near a ten-year low, the uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. [cheers and applause] health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years, and i've said, and i mean it. if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than our health care system that covers as many people at less cost, i will publicly support it. [cheers and applause] because that, after all, is why we serve.
not to score points or take credit. but to make people's lives better. but for all the real progress that we've made, we know it's not enough. our economy doesn't work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class, and ladders for those who want to get into the middle class. that's the economic argument. but stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic idea. well, the top 1% has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families in inner cities and in rural counties have been left behind. the laid-off factory workers, the waitress or health care
worker who's just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills, convinced that the game is fixed against them, that the government only serves the interest of the powerful. that's a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics. there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. i agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. but the next wave of economic dislocations won't come from overseas. it will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle class jobs obsolete. and so we're going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need. [ applause ] to give workers the power to unionize for better wages. to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now. and make more reforms to the tax code so our corporations and individuals who reap the most in
this new economy don't avoid their obligations to the country that's made their very success possible. [cheers and applause] we can argue about how to best achieve these goals. but we can't be complacent about the goals themselves. for, if we don't create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come. there's a second threat to our democracy, and this one is as old as our nation itself. after my election, there was talk of a post-racial america. and such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic.
race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. now, i've lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were ten or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. you can see it [ applause ] not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young americans across the political spectrum. but we're not where we need to be. and all of us have more work to do. if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.
[cheers and applause] if we're unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants just because they don't look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children, because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of america's workforce. [cheers and applause] and we have shown that our economy doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups. for men and for women. so, if we're going to be serious about race going forward, we
need to uphold laws against discrimination in hiring and in housing and in education and in the criminal justice system. that is what our constitution and our highest ideals require. [ applause ] but laws alone won't be enough. hearts must change. they won't change overnight. social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. but if our democracy is to work the way it should in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in american fiction, atticus finch who said you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. until you climb into his skin. and walk around in it. from blacks and other minority
groups, that means tying our own, very real struggles for justice, to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face. not only the refugee or the immigrant or the rural poor or the transgender american, but also the middle-aged white guy, who, from the outside, may seem like he's got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. we have to pay attention and listen. [ applause ] for white americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and jim crow didn't
suddenly vanish in the '60s. [cheers and applause] that when minority groups voice discontent, they're not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. when they wage peaceful protest, they're not demanding special treatment but the equal treatment that our founders promised. [cheers and applause] for native-born americans, for native-born americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said almost word for word about the irish. and italians and poles, who it was said were going to destroy the fundamental character of america. and as it turned out, america wasn't weakened by the presence
of these newcomers, these newcomers embraced this nation's creed, and this nation was strengthened. so [ applause ] regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. we all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do. that they value hard work and family, just like we do. that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own. [ applause ] and that's not easy to do. for too many of us, it's become safer to retreat into our own bubbles.
whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses or places of worship or especially, our social media feeds. surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. in the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economics, all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. increasingly we become so comfortable in our bubbles, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. [ applause ]
and this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. look, politics is a battle of ideas. that's how our democracy was designed. in the course of a healthy debate we prioritize different goals and the different means of reaching them. but without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point and that science and reason matter, then we're going to keep talking past each other. [cheers and applause] and will make common ground and compromise impossible. and isn't that part of what so often makes politics
disspiriting? how can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids but not when we're cutting taxes for corporations? how do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party but pounce when the other party does the same thing? it's not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts, it's self-defeating. because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. [ applause ] take the challenge of climate change. in just eight years, we've halved our dependence on foreign oil, we've led the agreement that has the promise to save this planet. [cheers and applause]
but without bolder action, our children won't have time to debate the existence of climate change. they'll be busy dealing with its effects. more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary. and we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. but to simply deny the problem, not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country, the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our founders. [cheers and applause] it is that spirit, it is that spirit born of the enlightenment that made us an economic powerhouse.
the spirit that took flight at kitty hawk and cape canaveral, the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket. it's that spirit, a faith in reason and enterprise and the primacy of right over might that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the great depression. that allowed us to build a post-world war ii order with other democracies. an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but built on principles. the rule of law. human rights. freedom of religion and speech and assembly and an independent press. [ applause ]
that order is now being challenged. first, by violent fanatics who claim to speak for islam, more recently by autocrats and foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power. the peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. they represent the fear of change. the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently. a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable. an intolerance of dissent and free thought.
a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right. because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, because of our intelligence officers and law enforcement and diplomats who support our troops [ applause ] no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. [ applause ] and although boston and orlando and san bernardino and ft. hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. we have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists,
including bin laden. [cheers and applause] the global coalition we're leading against isil has taken out their leaders and taken away about half their territory. isil will be destroyed, and no one who threatens america will ever be safe. [cheers and applause] and all who serve or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your commander in chief. [cheers and applause] and we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. [cheers and applause] but protecting our way of life, that's not just the job of our military. democracy can buckle when it
gives in to fear. so just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. [ applause ] and that's why, for the past eight years i've worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. that's why we've ended torture, worked to close gitmo, worked to protect privacy and civil liberties. that's why i reject discrimination against muslim americans [cheers and applause] who are just as patriotic as we are. [cheers and applause]
that's why, that's why we cannot withdraw, that's why we cannot withdraw from big global fights to expand democracy and human rights and women's rights and lgbt rights. no matter how imperfect our efforts. no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that's part of defending america. for the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the night against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. if the scope of freedom and
respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases. and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened. so let's be vigilant, but not afraid. [ applause ] isil will try to kill innocent people. but they cannot defeat america unless we betray our constitution and our principles in the fight. [ applause ] rivals like russia or china cannot match our influence around the world, unless we give up what we stand for. and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors. which brings me to my final point. our democracy, our democracy is threatened whenever we take it
for granted. [ applause ] all of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. [ applause ] when voting rates in america are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder to vote. [cheers and applause] when, when trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service.
when congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes. [cheers and applause] but remember, none of this happens on its own. all of this depends on our participation. on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship. regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging. our constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. but it's really just a piece of parchment. it has no power on its own. we, the people, give it power.
[cheers and applause] we, the people, give it meaning. with our participation and with the choices that we make. and the alliances that we forge. whether or not we stand up for our freedoms, whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. that's up to us. america's no fragile thing. but the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured. in his own farewell address, george washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity and liberty. but from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth. and so we have to preserve this truth with jealous anxiety that
we should reject the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties that make us one. [cheers and applause] america, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialog to become so corrosive that people of good character aren't even willing to enter into public service. so coarse with rancor that americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided but as malevolent. we weaken the whole system when we write off the whole system as corrupt.
and without examining our own role in electing them. [cheers and applause] it falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. to embrace the joyous task we've been given. to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. because, for all our outward differences, we in fact all share the same proud title, the most important officer of
democracy, citizen. [ applause ] citizen. so, you see, that's what our democracy demands. it needs you. not just when there's an election. not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. if you're tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking with one of them in real life. [cheers and applause] if something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes, and do some organizing.
[cheers and applause] if you're disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. [cheers and applause] show up. dive in. stay at it. sometimes you'll win. sometimes you'll lose. presuming a reservoir of goodness in other people, that can be a risk. and there will be times when the process will disappoint you. but for those of us fortunate enough to have been part of this work and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. and more often than not, your faith in america and in
americans will be confirmed. mine sure has been. over the course of these eight years, i've seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. i have mourned with grieving families, searching for answers, and found grace in a charleston church. i've seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. i've seen wounded warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. i've seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. i've seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their
generosity of our obligations to care for refugees. or work for peace. and above all, to look out for each other. [ applause ] so that faith that i placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary americans to bring about change, that faith has been rewarded in ways i could not have possibly imagined. and i hope your faith has too. some of you here tonight who are watching at home, you were there with us in 2004, in 2008. 2012. [cheers and applause] maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off. let me tell you, you're not the only ones.
michelle [cheers and applause] >> michelle robinson, girl of the south side. for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children. you have been my best friend.
you took on a role you didn't ask for. and made it your own with grace and grit and style and good humor. you made the white house a place that belongs to everybody. and the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. so you have made me proud. and you have made the country
proud. malia and sasha, under the strangest of circumstances you have become two amazing young women. you are smart and beautiful, but more importantly you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion. you wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. of all that i have done in my life i am most proud to be your dad.
to joe biden the scrappy kid from scranton, who became delaware's favorite son. you were the first decision i made as a nominee. and it was the best. not just because you have been a great vice president. but because in the bargain i gained a brother. and we love you and jill like family and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives.
to my remarkable staff. for eight years and for jefferssome of you a whole lot more, i have drawn from your energy and every day i try to reflect back what you displayed. heart, and character. and idealism. i've watched you grow up. get married, have kids. start incredible new journeys of your own. even when times got tough and frustrating you never let washington get the better of you. you guarded against cynicism. and the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we've done is the thought that all the amazing things you are going to achieve from here.
and all of you out there, every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in. every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every american who lived and breathed the hard work of change you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for and i will be forever grateful. because you did change the world. you did. and that is why i leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. because i know our work has not only helped so many americans, it has inspired so many americans. especially so many young people out there.
to believe that you can make a difference. to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourself. let me tell you, this generation coming up, unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic. i have seen you in every corner of the country. you believe in a fair and just and inclusive america. you know that constant change has been america's hallmark. that it's not something to fear but something to embrace. you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. you will soon outnumber all of us. and i believe as a result, the future is in good hands. my fellow americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve
you. i won't stop. in fact, i will be right there with you as a citizen for all of my remaining days. but for now, whether you are young or whether you are young at heart i do have one final ask of you as your president. the same thing i asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. i am asking you to believe not in my ability to bring about change but in yours. i am asking you to hold fast to that faith, written into our founding documents. that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists, and that song for those who marched by justice, and the creed
reaffirmed by those who were in battle. a creed by every american whose story has not yet been written. yes, we did, yes, we can, yes, we will. may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you.
by the kremlin, an important point as well in the way donald trump painted his relationship with intelligence agencies in this country vis-a-vis how it could be taken overseas. right now is the start of the 1:00 p.m. hour here in the east. imagine the role of this man right now. this is a live picture in front of the senate foreign relations committee, and that is the ceo of exxonmobil, a multinational company so large, while it's said they can't change the weather, they can forecast it. they have their own weather bureau, a sprawling organization of 70,000 employees. rex tillerson is the nominee to be our next secretary of state, a job offer that came to him. it's been said in the public domain in part because of his relationship with russia, because of his relationship with
vladimir putin. imagine all of this in light of the news conference we just witnessed, in light of what donald trump said and didn't say about russia and putin, in light of what donald trump said about u.s. intelligence agencies, here is a part of what we just witnessed this last hour. >> the democratic national committee was totally open to be hacked. they did a very poor job. they could have had hacking defense. president putin and russia put out a statement today that this fake news indeed fake news. they said it totally never happened. now somebody would say oh, of course he's going to say that. i respected the fact that he said that. if he did have something they would have released it and glad to release it. if putin likes donald trump, guess what, folks? that's called an asset, not a liability. do you honestly believe that hillary would be tougher on putin than me? i think it was disgraceful,
disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out. i think it's a disgrace. and i say that and i say that, and that's something that nazi germany would have done and did do. i have no deals. i have no loans, and i have no dealings. we could make deals in russia very easily if. we wanted to. i just don't want to because i think that would be a conflict. >> kristen welker was inside the room. she is now outside trump tower, on what can be a perilous stretch of fifth avenue in new york. andrea mitchell in the equally perilous confines of the u.s. senate in washington, standing by to talk to us. kristen, i'm still going through the quotes on, what, 15 to 20 topics from that news conference. what couldn't we see from our vantage point, watching on television that perhaps would assist our understanding of what
a high wire act and high tension event this was? >> reporter: well two things, brian. one, of course, this is the first news conference he's had in 168 days. so you had reporters, we're always trying to get our questions in. but the number of questions, the range of questions i think was so expansive because there was souclost time to make up for, and i think that that contributed to some of the tension that you saw unfold there, and then of course you had these developments overnight, this reporting on russia that the president-elect dismissed outright, and that caused him to again attack his intelligence communities right off of the top. and i guess i would make one more point, brian, there are a lot of questions that went unanswered on his intelligence community. does he trust them? does he trust his intelligence officials? i tried to pin him down on that at the very end of the news conference and he sort of dodged
exchange that he had with cnn's jim acosta, when he attacked cnn for their reporting, and jim said, let me at least get a question in, and he wouldn't allow it. that's really extraordinary, brian. i've been to a number of news conferences and you've been to a number of presidential news conferences and never really seen that type of tension before. again i would just underscore, this is the first news conference he's had since july so there's a lot of questions we didn't get to, like isis, like israel and the middle east, so it all set the stage for fireworks. >> kristen welker thanks and thanks to the mta for parking a bus behind you during our conversation. andrea mitchell is one of the people who has us beat in terms of our combined attendance at presidential news conference. andrea, i just can't ask you in enough ways to sum up, if this isn't a president-elect at war with the intelligence community, such a vital arm of government
when you're a president, the intelligence community which is both vendor and client, to overseas countries, to private organizations, i don't want to see what war is, but try to sum up what the impact, the concussion this is going to cause in washington. >> well, concussion's a great word because there are concussion bombs. this is a concussion bomb. brian, he compared the intelligence community pretty directly on twitter and at his news conference used the same analogy to nazi germany. you're talking about men and women, thousands and thousands of them here and overseas who are often covert, and even those who are not have to make considerable sacrifices in their lives, not for great amounts of money. many of them have died. their stars are on the wall at langley. they've been expanded in the last 15 years since 9/11, big
expansion perhaps too much bureaucracy, that could be addressed. lot of critics internally and externally think that that is the real focus that he should be looking at once he gets into office but to raise that question, to talk about these leaks i think a lot of people, including myself last night on thir with you, questioned why there was that addendum of what most likely is unverified information that was attached to the classified intelligence brief. so those are the kinds of questions that you can ask but to compare them to nazi, germany, that is really escalating this war. this was the first grudging acknowledgment that russia was behind the hacking but again in the next sentence he compared it to the office of personnel management hacking 22 million people by china. well that did happen two years ago, there was a lot of attention. i was on the air a lot on "nightly news" and msnbc on the "today" show, we covered that story. the difference between what
russia did and what china does, what north korea does, what we do, our country to, you know, foreign countries, allies and adversaries alike, i've covered stories of us hacking the french and the japanese over commercial contracts, and whether airbus and boeing get contracts. all these kinds of things happen every day. the difference here in the russian hacking which was the consensus agreement of 17 agencies, it was weaponized. it was drnted. drnted under order by our own exclusive reporting by vladimir putin and confirmed by the report that was released to wikileaks, whether wikileaks was winning or not winning, wikileaks distributed it and distributed this harmful information, a lot of which could have had an impact on voting and donald trump kept refers to wikileaks during the campaign. he did it again today, in fact. look at the horrible things that john podesta said from wikileaks
about hillary clinton, his characterization, not mine. the point is he keeps pointing to wikileaks the conveyor of stolen information hacked by russia and leaked during the campaign and this is the offense which may even be a criminal offense in some regards. we don't know what's been investigated. there have been hints of an investigation. so it's just amazing, and he's going to have to rely, i heard chuck todd say he has to rely on the same intelligence agencies and their career people. doesn't matter who is at the head. it's a big superliner to turn around. you're going to have to rely on the analysis of those men and women. it takes a long time to train them. you're not going to have them all, you know, leaving immediately. if north korea is close to launching an icbm that can hold a nuclear weapon and reach the continental united states, he has to not only persuade the american people but our allies about the veracity of that intelligence and what he is doing now arguably is destroying the credibility of american
intelligence at home and abroad. >> that's a serious and important point you make there at the end. the only place you're going to learn abou the moves north korea is makings the very same intelligence agencies that were in for such a drubbing today. in our studio here we have ali velshi, we have katy tur, we also have standing by a guy who has been so patient with us, steve clemmons, editor at large for "the atlantic." steve, where to begin? what was your lead story from that event? >> i think the lead story is two things, is that as you were showing earlier the rex tillerson exchange with the members of the senate foreign relations committee, many people say the intelligence was seemingly soft on some of the issues. i was struck by how hard he was in comparison to donald trump, so the taking of crimea was a taking.
he criticized the obama administration for not putting in enough defensive weapons and not putting in enough support. it was a sort of hard edged assessment, and that it was highly unlikely, he said, that the united states would become friends with russia, and that just stands out as an obvious contrast with the tilt and tone of donald trump even with the kinds of things saying maybe we won't be friends with vladimir putin and others, but donald trump continues to sort of largely publicly hug that vladimir putin and hold that out, so i've got a divide with a press conference going on at the same time as the senate hearing between the likely secretary of state, potential secretary of state and the president-elect, and that stood out. the other thing that's gotten almost no attention was that he nominated and talked about david shulke, veterans affairs obama appointee. he will be the first obama appointee if confirmed in the trump cabinet. that may not compare to all the other news out there but that is
interesting. >> indeed. he's an d., and you're right, he will be a holdover from adstration t administration. also a very tough job to fill among all the cabinet agencies, but steve, imagine this. what you're talking about, the way donald trump treated and handled all things russian, from putin to russia in general, this was all in the context of a news conference that was designed in part to quash and criticize what they saw as scurrilous reporting tying donald trump to russia. >> i think what david ignatius said before is that the hostility really between the intelligence agencies and donald trump didn't get much help from this exchange. there's an opportunity with this call that donald trump has made for the first 90 days he'll get a report from the dni, the director of national
intelligence, and the cia that strengthens our hand in the hacking arena, but broadly when you look at it, donald trump thus far goes to extraordinary lengths not to put russia on the spot, and that has put him at odds with a lot, not just the intelligence community, but a lot of national, republican national security stalwarts, and if there was going to be a break between the legislative department and the executive over something big, it's over these issue, and his dedication to kind of continuing really this crisis, not between democrats and republicans, but between republicans and republicans is i don't know what to call it. it's impressive, donald trump's willingness to continue to kind of run on that edge where his own credibility is going to be held in doubt by many of the top intelligence people in the country, but also the lindsey grahams, john mccains, marco rubios and many other that will matter to him on a whole variety of key executive decisions in the world.
>> steve, finally, as someone to whom the printed word is so important, fake news. someone spent months making fake news a thing, an entity, fairly vibrant entity and now it's a bucket into which stories one doesn't like can be thrown. >> reminds me of the old days the founding of the republic. bill sapphire wrote a clever his oshlg torqual novel called "scandal mongers." he talked about the early pamphleteeres who invented stories that defamed leading figures and they'd fight the pages out there. i'm reminded of that era in american history we've come back into that as well. it's important we in journalism maintain critical distance and objectivity in what we do and find a way to present that as the alternative to this raif of fake news that seems to be
proliferating on both sides, if there is, are two wils it's there. >> this era may test us all. steve thank you very much. always a pleasure to hear from you and talk to you. we're going to whipsaw a bit into the hearing room that had our attention yesterday. senator jeff sessions of alabama nominated to become the nation's top law enforcement official, the next attorney general. we're going to hear some extraordinary remarks here, congressman lewis from georgia, is about to speak in opposition of senator sessions, and senator booker from new jersey. the importance of this, a senator speaking in opposition to a fellow sitting senator. there are only 100 people in that community. it is a very, very small world indeed, but this is part of the opposition lined up against senator sessions to be attorney
general. we'll listen in, in the hearing room. >> -- like caucus. welcome to the committee, congressman richmond. finally we will hear from mr. william smith. mr. smith worked for senator sessions as the first african-american general counsel on the senate judiciary committee. he has known senator sessions for 20 years and we know him because that service as a staffperson here as well. welcome to all of you, and we'll start with senator booker. >> thank you, airmangrassley. i want to thank senator leahy as well, as well as the distinguished members of this committee. i know it is exceptional for a senator to testify against another senator nominated for a cabinet position and i appreciate the opportunity you've given me today. i've worked closely with many of you on this panel on both sides of the dais, on matters related to criminal squlus reform and you know just how deeply
motivated i am by the many issues our next attorney general will heavily influence, especially the crisis of mass incarceration. i know that some of my many colleagues are unhappy that i am breaking with senate protradition to testify on the nomination of one of my colleagues, but i believe like perhaps all of my colleagues in the senate that, in the choice between standing with senate norms or standing up for what my conscience tells me is best for our country, i will always choose conscience and country. senator sessions and i have consistently disagreed on the issues, he and i have always exercised a collegiality and a mutual respect between us. perhaps the best example of this is the legislation we cosponsored to award the congressional gold medal to those foot soldiers who marched at selma, one of the foot soldiers is sitting next to me now. this was a blessing and an honor
to me, because in 2015, a retired judge who was white told me that it was those brave marchers on the edmund pettis bridge who inspired him as a young lawyer in the 1960s to seek justice for all in new jersey and begin representing black families looking to integrate white neighborhoods, black families who were turned away and denied housing. one of the families was mine. i am literally sitting here because of people, marchers in alabama, and volunteer lawyers in new jersey, who saw it as their affirmative duty to pursue justice, to fight discrimination, to stand up for those who are marginalized. but the march for justice in our country still continues. it is still urgent. i know also though of the urgency for law and order. i imagine that no sitting senator has lived in the last 20 years in higher crime
neighborhoods than i have. i have seen unimaginable violence on american streets. i know the tremendous courage of law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every single day to fight crime in america. i want an attorney general who is committed to supporting law enforcement and securing law and order, but that is not enough. america was founded heralding not law and order, but justice for all, and critical to that is equal justice under the law. law and order without justice is unobtainable. they are inextricably tied together. if there is no justice, there is no peace. the alabama state troopers on the edmund pettis bridge were seeking law and order. the marchers were seeking justice, and ultimately a greater peace. one of the victories of the
modern civil rights movement was the 1957 civil rights act, which in effect made be the attorney general not only the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, but also vested in that office the responsibility to pursue civil rights and equal protection for all of america. senator sessions has not demonstrated a commitment to a central requisite of the job, to aggressively pursue the congressional mandate of civil rights, equal rights, and justice for all of our citizens. in fact, at numerous times in his career he's demonstrated a hostility towards these convictions, and has worked to frustrate attempts to advance these ideals. if confirmed senator sessions will be required to pursue justice for women but his record indicates that he won't. he will be expected to defend the ecall rights of gay, lesbian
and transgender americans but his record indicates that he won't. he will be expected to defend voting rights butis recd indicates he won't. he will be expected to defend the rights of immigrants and affirm their human dignity but the record indicates that he won't. his record indicates thated aattorney general he would object to the growing national bipartisan movement towards criminal justice reform. his record indicates we cannot count on him to support state and national efforts towards bringing justice to the justice system, and people on both sides of the aisle who readily admit that the justice system as it stands now, is biased against the poor, against drug addict n addiction, against mentally ill and against people of color. his record indicates that at a time that even the fbi director is speaking out against explicit racial bias in policing and the
urgent need to address it, the last two attorney generals have taken steps to fix our broken criminal justice system as a time when the justice department he would lead has uncovered systemic abuses in police departments all over the united states, including ferguson, including newark, senator sessions would not continue to lead this urgently needed change. the next attorney general must bring hope and heal iing to thi country and this demands a more courageous empathy than senator sessions' record demonstrates. it demands an understanding that patriotism is love of country and love of country demands that we love all of our citizens, even the most marginalized, the most disadvantaged, the most degraded, and the most unfortunate. challenges of race in america cannot be addressed if we refuse to confront them.
persistent biases cannot be defended unless we combat them. the arc of the moral universe does not just naturally curve towards justice. we must bend it. if someone to be attorney general, they must be willing to continue the hallowed tradition in our country of fighting for justice for all, for equal justice, for civil rights. america needs an attorney general who is resolute and determined to bend the arc. senator sessions' record does not speak to that desire, intention or will. with all at stake in our nation now, with the need for healing and love i pray my colleagues will join me in opposing his nomination. mr. chairman i'd like to submit my testimony to the record and thank you for your opportunity to testify and finally i'd like to acknowledge which was not done that sitting behind me are proud members of the united
states congress and the congressional black caucus. thank you, sir. >> and you shouldn't have had to recognize them. i should have done that, i'm sorry. >> thank you, sir. >> because i knew they were here. mr. huntley? >>. >> good afternoon. >> you got to push the button. >> i see, thank you. i'll start over briefly. >> you might pull the mike a little closer, get as close as you can. >> good afternoon. that's much better. my name is willie huntley and i'm an attorney located in mobile, alabama. i'm a solo practitioner and i have been practicing law for over 30 years. i'm a graduate of auburn university, where i attended college on a football scholarship. i graduated from auburn in 1980, and i attended cumberland law school after that. i finished cumberland law school in 1984.
after i finished law school i started a federal clerkship with a federal judge in montgomery, alabama. after i completed that process, i began a tour with the,ed aan assistant district attorney in macon county, alabama. i was there from 1985 to 1987. then my life changed. i got a phone call one day and my secretary comes in the office, and she says, jeff sessions is on the phone. and i'm sitting there wondering why is jeff sessions calling me? i was wellware of the allegations that had happened in his bid to become a federal judge, which made me wonder why he was calling me. i answered the phone and i find out that jeff sessions wants me to become an assistant united states attorney in the southern district of alabama. this presented an ideal situation, so i decided to take advantage of that and the first time i actually met him was at a
dinner in montgomery. that dinner was supposed to last probably an hour, hour and a half. we ended up meeting for about three hours. during that time period, we discussed a number of topics, football, religion, politics, family, we talked about all those things, and during the course of that meeting with him, i got the feeling more and more and more that the allegations that had been spread through the press weren't true. i also was contemplating whether i should make this move, because i thought if i go to mobile, i don't know anybody there. i have no family there, and what if this man turns out to be exactly how he's been portrayed? fortunately, it didn't turn out like that. i was at the u.s. attorney's office from 1987 to 1991. he assigned me the general criminal trial cases.
he also assigned me to civil rights cases, and i would supervise all the civil rights cases that came through the office. during this time period, i can recall where we successfully prosecuted a police officer that was charged with excessive use force. unfortunately, i made a decision to leave the.s. attorney's office in 1991. that decision wasn't based on anything that had happened to me during my time period in the u.s. attorney's office. during that time period, jeff gave me advice, counsel. he provided a great deal of support in everything that i did. one thing in particular that he did was my second child was born, and there was a knock on the door that morning and through the door walks jeff sessions. after i left the u.s. attorney's office, jeff became the attorney
general of alabama. he asked me to join his staff at this time, but i declined to join his staff. however, he made me a special assistant attorney general and he put me in charge of handling defense cases for the state of alabama. also during this time period, jeff became charged with violating the state of alabama ethics act. it involved a company by the name of tyco. jeff sessions could have hired any lawyer he wanted to, to represent him in that matter. jeff decided to hire me in that particular case. we had that case and during the course of it, it was probably the longest hearing that had ever been held before the state ethics commission. at that point, jeff was fully exonerated of all the charges involving the state ethics act. one of the things that i can say about jeff is that he has always been the same person that i have
known. he's always been available for me, and always been there when i needed him. at no point in the time that i've known jeff has he demonstrated any racial insensitivity, and i see my time is rapidly winding down and i would just like to say that, in my, jeff sessions will enforce and follow the laws of the united states even-handedly, equally and with justice for all. jeff sessions will adhere to the justice department motto "quid pro domina sequitor" it means for the lady justice, jeff will protect and defend the rights of all people. thank you for this opportunity. >> thank you. now we'll hear from congressman john lewis. >> chairman grassley, senator leahy, and members of the
committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. millions of americans are encouraged by our country's efforts to create a more inclusive democracy during the last 50 years, what some of us call the beloved community, a community at peace with itself. they are not a minority, a clear majority of americans say they want this to be a fair, just and open nation. they are afraid that this country is headed in the wrong direction. they are concerned leaders reject decades of progress and want to return to the dark past and the power of the law will use to deny the freedoms protected by the constitution.
the bill of rights and its msnbcs, these are the voices i represent today. we can pretend that the law is blind. we can pretend that it is even-handed but if we are honest ourselves we know we are called upon daily by the people we represent to help them deal with unfairness and how the law is written and enforced. those two are committed to equal justice, in our society, wonder whether senator sessions calls nor law and order will mean today what it went in alabama when i was coming up back then. the rule of use we use it violate the human and civil rights are the poor, the d
dispossessed, people of color. i was born in rural alabama, not very far from where senator sessions was raised. there was no way to escape or deny the chokehold of discrimination and racial hate that surrounded us. i saw the signs that said "white waiting, colored waiting." i saw the signs that said white men, colored men, white women, colored women. i tasted the bitter fruits of segregation and racial discrimination. segregation was the law of the land, the order of society in the deep south. any black person who did not cross the street when a white person was walking down the same sidewalk who did not move to the back of the bus, who drank from a whitewater fountain, who
looked at a white person directly in their eyes could be arrested and taken to jail. the forces of law and order in alabama were so strong that to take a stand against this injustice we had to be willing to sacrifice our lives for our cause, often the only way we could demonstrate that a law on the books violated a higher law, was by challenging that law. by putting our bodies on the line and showing the world the unholy price we had to pay for dignity and respect. it took massive well-organized nonviolent dissent for the voting rights act to become law. it required criticism of in this great nation and its laws to
move toward a greater sense of equality in america. we had to sit in. we had to stand in. we had to march. and that's why more than 50 years ago a group of unarmed citizen citizens, plaqblack and white, gather on march 7, 1965, in a peaceful nonviolent fashion to walk from selma to montgomery, alabama, to dramatize to the nation and to the world that we wanted to register to vote, wanting to become participants in a democratic process. we were beaten. tear gas, left bloody, some of us unconscious. some of us had concussions. some of u almost died on that
bridge. but the congress responded, president lyndon johnson responded, and the congress passed the voting rights act and it was signed into law on august 6, 1965. we have come a distance. we've made progress, but we're not there yet. there are forces that want to take us back to another place. we don't want to go back. we want to go forward. as the late a. randolph the dean for the march on washington in 1963 often said, "maybe our forefathers and our foremothers all came to this great land in different ships. well we're all in the same boat now." it doesn't matter how senator sessions may smile, how friendly he may be, how he may speak to you. but we need someone who is going to stand up, speak up and speak
out for the people that need help, for people who have been discriminated fence and gainst, doesn't matter black, white, latino american, native american, asian-american, whether they are straight or gay, muslim, christian or jews. we all live in the same house, the american house. we need someone as attorney general who is going to look out for all of us and not just for some of us. i ran out of time. thank you for giving me a chance to testify. >> thank you, congressman lewis. now i go to mr. sorroyer. >> chairman, senators of the committee it's an honor for me to be here and i thank you for your time. my namis jesse sorroyer jr. i've been in law enforcement since 1976 to 2016.
i've served in local police departments for 11 years, served in the united states marshal service for 8 1/2 years, served in the attorney general's office for 20 1/2 years. i first met jeff sessions when he was u.s. trt he were to in the southern district of alabama. jeff was prosecuted at that time by the name of henry hayes. jeff prosecuted that person for the abduction and murder of a black teenager. following jeff's election as attorney general i had the privilege to serve with him and his administration as his chief investigator. the beginning of jeff's tenure as attorney general presented senator sessions with challenges that included budget crisis, and one-third reduction of staff. things that jeff did when we came with the budget crisis and the reduction of staff, there were several people in the
office that had to seek other jobs elsewhere. there was a black investigator in the office that came and had less than a year left before he was eligible to retire. jeff sessions allowed that to take place. he didn't have to do that. he did not have to do that at all, because of the situation that we were in. jeff sessions retained me. he did not have to do that. but he did. following the election, you know, we were charged with the responsibilities of a lot of crimes and the expectations of the attorney general was charged with the responsibilities of working various cases which included white collar crimes, public disruption, voter fraud and criminal investigations. as i reflect on our work there was never a time when any of these cases was investigated with any political agenda or motive. the utmost respect and zeg sbeg
rit w integrity was exercised for all individuals involved. jeff sessions decisions as attorney general earned him a reputation and respect among his colleagues in appreciation for his willingness to do what was right. when jeff sessions got to the u.s. senate, as attorney general, he had argued to uphold the conviction and sentence of klaansman henry hayes for the murder of michael donnell. when jeff sessions became u.s. senator, he helped me with an appointment for u.s. state marshal for the district of alabama. he didn't have to do that but he did. i have known jeff sessions for 20 years. he's a good and decent man. he believes in law and order for all the people, all the people in alabama, because of his colleagues and all surrounded him, the things that he's done
for the law enforcement community and citizens of alabama is great. it's without any questions as to whether or not he would be fit to serve this country as the united states attorney general. now, i did not learn these things from a political press conference or any website where i read about it. i know jeff sessions as the man, the man that i know is a decent and honest and respectful man that will put all of his life into public service. he's done that. when we talk about the criminal justice system, you know, we enforce the laws, and we do it because we have a love for the laws. jeff sessi loves the people that do the enforcement side of it. he respects the citizens, deserves a good and honest person that's going to give all he has to make sure that everyone is treated equally and fairly under the law.
but his decency as a man, and his honesty as a man speak for itself. he is the type of individual that i support for the united states attorney general's office, because of my reputation and his history with me as a person, and the things that i've seen over the years in jeff sessions. it's hard being a public servant. i was in law and been in law enforcement for 40 years. it's a tough job. we don't violate the laws. we don't get out there and do things that would cause ourselves to be brought into the system, and i'm not saying everybody is the same. but i believe that he'll take hold of the justice system, justice department and he'll be fair, he will be honest and he'll do the same thing for every person with honesty and respect for all of us. my time is up. and thank you for listening. >> thank you, mr. sorroyer. now congressman richmond. congressman richmond?
wait just a minute, congressman. >> human beings who are innocent -- >> let me thank thechairman and ranking member for allowing me to testify. >> i would ask to you hold. you won't lose any time. >> stop torturing people! >> proceed, congressman. >> let me thank the chairman and ranking member for allowing me to testify. the senate's duty to provide advice and consent to presidential nominees is a fundamental component of american democracy. i know you do not take this responsibility lightly.
before i jump into my substantive testimony i want to address two timely issues. first i want to express my concerns about being made to testify at the very end of the witness panels. to have a senator, a house member and a living civil rights legend testify at the end of all of this is the equivalent of being made to go to the back of the bus. it say petty strategy and the record should reflect my c consternation at the process that brought us here. my record on equality speaks for itself and i don't mind being last but to have a living legend like john lewis handled in such a fashion is beyond the pale and the message sent by this process is duly noted by me and the 49 members of the congressional black caucus and the 78 million americans we represent and the over 17 african-americans that
we represent. further on the issue of senator sessions' record of prosecuting the marion three, stemming from a complaint filed by african-americans, i say the following. history is replete with efforts by those empowered to legitimize their acts of suppression and intimidation of black voters by recruiting other blacks to assist in bringing trumped up charges against law-abiding citizens who are engaged in perfectly legitimate voter education and empowerment activities. those tactics were effectively used gns former congressmen robert smalls, and hundreds if not thousands of black office holders and landholders in our post-reconstruction era, and they were used several years ago against mr. and mrs. alfred turner who was discussed by this committee yesterday. the declaration of independence set forth the idea of universal equality that rests at the heart of our democracy, but it is the
14th amendment of our constitution and its equal protection clause that has helped bring us closer to fulfilling that foundational principle and bringing us closer to a more perfect union. all cabinet officials have a responsibility to protect the interest of all of the american people, but there's no office for which the duty to apply the law equally is greater than that of the attorney general. in my capacity as chairman of the congressional black caucus, i urge you to reject senator sessions' nomination. throughout our nation's history, attorney generals have used the resources of the federal government to vindicate the right of the most vulnerable in society. after the civil war, the first attorney general to lead the doj prosecuted the kkk for its widespread use of violence aimed at suppressing the black vote. this facilitated massive black voting turnout in 187 for the
first time in our nation's history, former slaves were aforred the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. simply put, senator sessions has advanced an agenda that will do great harm to african-american citizens and communities. for this reason the cbc believes senator sessions should be disqualified. he has demonstrated a total disregard for the equal application of justice and protection of the law as it applies to african-americans and false short on so many issues. jeff sessions supports a system of mass incarceration that is disproporgtately targeted of acap american sit stenographcit devastated african-american communities. he opposed common sense bipartisan criminal justice reform, and jeff sessions cannot be relied upon to enforce the voting rights act. in his decade's long career in public life, senator sessions has proven himself unfit to serve in the role as attorney
general. and i would not have the opportunity to testify today if it were not for men like john lewis who was beaten within an inch of his life in his pursuit for the right to vote for african-americans. it's a shame he must sit here and he will litigate this 50 years later. we sit here as the prodigy of men and women who were bought, sold, enslaved, raped, tortured, beaten and lynched. black people were bought as chattel and considered three-fifths of a human being. we've been able to endure and largely overcome that history thanks in part to brave men and women, both democrat and republican, who sat where you sit and cast often difficult votes for free tom and equality. these senators fought opinion and even their own party to do what was right? i come before you today asking you to do the same. now you all must face a choice.
be cougeous or complicit. if you vote for session session you take possession of everything he may do or not do in office. he has no track record of fighting for justice for minorities despite the characterization you've heard from others today. he and his supporters have told you he is a champion for civil rights and equality. characterization and revisionist histories are not the same things as facts. he is on the record on numerous issues. i have provided just a few examples today. let's think about this logically. if he were in fact a champion for civil rights, wouldn't the civil rights community support his nomination instead of speaking with one voice in near unanimous opposition? in closing, each and every senator who casts a vote to confirm senator sessions will be permanently marked as a coconspirator in an effort to move this country backwards towards a darker period in our shared history. so i ask you all, where do you
stand? it is clear from senator sessions' record where he stands, where you stand with him and allow history to judge you for doing so. i implore you all to weigh these questions properly as you prepare to cast what will be one of the most consequential votes in your time as a united states senator. res ipsa loquitor, a legal term which means the thing speaks for itself. senator sessions' record speaks for itself and i would urge you not to confirm senator sessions as attorney general of the united states, and thank you, mr. chairman, for allowing me to go over. >> thank you, congressman richmond. now i call on mr. smith. >> chairman grassley, members of the committee, i ask my written statement be made part of the record. >> it will be and that's true of senator booker and anybody else that didn't get their entire statement put in the record, it will be in the record, yes. >> it's an honor for me to support senator sessions to be the next attorney general of the united states of america.
he will do an outstanding job. the american people had an opportunity to witness yesterday through his testimony a brilliant legal mind, a man of the highest character, and great integrity. let me briefly address this legal mind. as a staffer your job is to be more prepared than the member. senator sessions made this difficult. when he didn't speak on the topic i would hand him another note on another topic. timely he decided to speak and he did as he did in his testimony yesterday, he crushed it. senator sessions was not ignoring my notes. he was systematically thinking about how to put all the notes together in one speech. a number of my colleagues i told them blank sheet of paper and told him to make me look good,
and that's what he did. senator sessions spent yesterday proving to the american people that he understands the law, will disperburse it equally and made a bunch of staffers look good. lot has been said about senator session' character. we've seen people who have never met senator sessions claim to know him, know his heart. we've seen members of this body and members of the house of representatives just now who has worked with senator sessions and praised him for his work and now turn to attack him. this should not be. the reason we did not see a lot of this yesterday, during the hearing, is because the members of this committee know senator sessions. you know he's a strong conservative but you also know he's fair and honest. if you disagree because of his political views let's have a conversation about that but let's do it on the facts, not on 30 years of old innuendos and allegations that have been disproven. there's something very consistent about praising senator sessions for for aiding
african-american communities and working on crack and powder cocaine legislation and then criticizing him because it takes a different political view on another matter like immigration. enforcing immigration laws is want out of the mainstream. on the panel that testified before this one, through personal attack after personal attack after personal attack, i doubt any one of those individuals attacking senator sessions outside of yesterday has spent 30 minutes in the same room with him. that's 30 minutes in the same room, not 30 minutes talking to him. i doubt any of them have spent 30 minutes or ten minutes talking to senator sessions. this process should not be about -- this process should be about facts, not about political aspirations. every allegation and witness from 30 years ago has been discredited. members in the media should move on. senator sessions testified yesterday that he would enforce the laws whether he agreed with them or not. that's the role of the attorney
general. not to embrace every point of view in the shifting political winds. if you come before jeff sessions, you will get equal justice and you will respect the outcome even if you lose. how do i know this? i know it because i know jeff sessions. i'm not testifying as someone who just met him yesterday. i know his family. i've dined at his house. we've eaten johnny rockets burgers together. i've traveled across the state of alabama with jeff sessions. i've watched him order a heath blizzard at dairy queen, quote, heavy on the heath. i've watched him prepare for hearings. i debated him on legislative matters. i've written speeches for him. i've made speeches on his behalf. i've been in every political situation with him. senator sessions is unquestionably qualified for the job, for which he's been nominated. he's a good christian sxhan a good family man. he's a man who's dedicated his
life to public service. in the course of that he's absolutely fault for disenfranchised. not only did he fight for citizen reform, he accomplished it. he fought for civil rights. he prosecuted members of the klu klux klan. and he fought for all americans, regardless of the color of their skin or beliefs. this is the way it should be. after 20 years of knowing senator sessions, i have not seen the slightest evidence of racism because it does not exist. i know a racist when i see one, and i've seen more than one. but jeff sessions is not one. senator sessions has served with distinction throughout his career as united states attorney, as attorney general for alabama, and as a member of this body. the legal profession is better for his service. this body is better for his service. and this country at the end of his term will be better for his service. and every season, jeff sessions
has been measured, courteo and kind. he has treated me and everyone respectfully and fairly. not showing favoritism at any point. this is the kind of attorney general our nation needs. a mraud his selection. i look forward to his swift confirmation. thank you, war eagle. >> the record will stay open until tuesday. i thank all of you for your testimony and the hearing is adjourned. >> there you heard it from chairman grassley after an emotional series of speakers. and it was the congressman from louisiana who asked the very basic question, and that was, why this panel was going dead last in the hearings. our justice correspondent, pete williams, has been riding this news day and yesterday along with us. pete, we've been whip-sawed between the donald trump news
conference, the rex tillerson confirmation hearings, remembering all the while that this, the confirmation of jeff sessions for attorney general goes on. how are we to fit in what we just saw against the overall records so far with the sessions hearing? >> well, this is day two of these hearings. they all follow the same pattern. you get the nominee on the first day and then people for and against the nominee the second day. you've just heard a little bit of that. this morning we had speaking in favor of senator sessions, former attorney general, former deputy attorney general, member of the commission on human rights, the president of the fraternal order of police, opposing him we had the president of the naacp, advocates for rape victims, of former dreamer, someone who came here illegally under age and became an army veteran and u.s. citizen. this afternoon this somewhat unusual panel, all african-americans, all given the
opportunity basically to speak without the members asking them any questions. whereas, there were questions of the panel this morning. the committee chairman, charles grassley, said this is something he and the ranking democrat dianne feinstein worked out in order to give, in essence, a platform to those folks who wanted to talk about senator sessions this afternoon, but were not in the sort of pro and con interest group area. but passionate statement from cory booker, who became the first u.s. senator. we checked with senate historian's office on this. he is the first u.s. senator to ever testimony against the nomination of a fellow senator. but what he said this morning is that he had to choose between his conscience and his country and the senate norms. basically, the message from the civil rights community here has been that senator sessions both in his time as the federal prosecutor, a state attorney general and a senator, has not
shown the commitment to aggressively pursuing civil rights that they want to see in an attorney general. he has said yesterday, he spent a lot of time saying he would enforce laws, even though he disagrees with, but what you just heard from this panel of civil rights people is that they want to see an attorney general nominee, somebody who doesn't merely show a tolerance for those laws but somebody who would aggressively enforce them. nonetheless, i don't think that this passionate testimony this afternoon is going to change the outcome. it does appear that senator sessions, it comesown to a matter of simple arithmetic. the republicans have et votes. they need to get him confirmed. we have not seen any signs that opponents of senator sessions have peeled away a sufficient number to deny him the confirmation. as for timing, brian, my guess is the democrats will do what they can do in these situations. normally they could go -- first of all, the committee can't consider the nomination until
there's a president to nominate him. so, this is all doing their homework in advance. they can't vote on the nomination until donald trump is inaugurated and formally sends it up to the senate. then the democrats have the option of asking for ten extra days. they may well do that. if that's the schedule, we may see a vote on senator sessions maybe early -- the first full week in february. >> pete williams, our justice correspondent, thanks. our viewers might have noticed our other guest standing by to talk to us. that's the former chairman of the republican party, michael steele. michael, where do you stand on the sessions nomination? >> i'm in support of it, number one. i find -- i found the hearing process to be largely pretty good. i think jeff sessions has handled this very well. he articulated his failure in the past to really appreciate
words. that is the man who sits before us. nominated to be a justice on the highest court of our land. judge kavanaugh has the backing of his former law clerks and law students, his colleagues on the bench appointed by both republican and democrat presidents and many members of his local community in which he remains so closely involved. he is a man of honor, integrity and well respected in the legal community. there is no dispute he is qualified to serve on our nation's highest court. mr. chairman, i look forward to the hearing from the nominee himself when we all get done with our statements. [ protester talking ] >> as we discuss with judge kavanaugh for the public to hear, in his own words the proper role of a judge in our constitutional system. i look forward to this hearing and again, judge kavanaugh, thank you for being willing to
be here. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator booker. >> thank, mr. chairman. welcome judge kavanaugh i want to say welcome to your family sincerely as well. we're all americans taking part in what is truly historic moment. mr. chairman, chairman grassley, i hope you do not think earlier this morning that in any way i was questioning your integrity or decency, i was appealing to it earlier before and you have conducted this hearing giving myself and others at least the opportunity to speak and make our case, even though you've not ruled in our favor, of which i'm disappointed, i do hope you understand that i value your friendship and frankly some of the most valuable moments i've had on the senate i still remember shaking your hand and coming to agreement with you on criminal justice reform and i've could have tom a deep respect for you. >> if you worry about our friendship being affected, it will not be. that gives me an opportunity it say something to the public at
large. that is, about this committee. you would think that republicans and democrats don't talk to each other. but i'd like to remind the public that when they think that happens, they ought to think of the record of this committee. no the just this chairman. but this committee, in the three and a half years, maybe even before i got to be chairman. but in the three and a half years i've been chairman, every bill that got out of this committee has been a bipartisan bill. proceed, senator. >> thank you, very much, sir. i appreciate that. it doesn't detract from the fact that i just fundamentally disagree with the way you've been concluding today. when i first got to the senate i was very fortunate that a lot of senior statesmen, yourself, senator hatch included, pulled me aside and gave me hard wisdom. i came to the senate in a special election at a time we were changing some of the senate rules. senator levin brought me aside and gave me a hard talking to. senator mccain gave me a hard talking to. all of them made similar points,
about this idea that sometimes you need to be as objective as possible and see how you would react if the pendulum was swung the other way. in other words they warned me that what goes around in this place, comes around. and to really think that if the shoe was on the other foot and i've been struggling with that, sir, with all honesty of what would the republicans be saying, what would we be saying if we had a democratic president right now, a democratic nominee right now. and this process was in the reverse. and i would like to believe, how i would behave and i'm pretty confident, i would be a betting man, be willing to bet, that if the republicans were being denied effectively about 90% of the documents about a person's public record, and i actually do believe that some of the analogies that are made to senator, to excuse me justice kagan and her solicitor-general time, is not a fair analogy. this is a part of the nominee's history that he himself has said
was one of his most formative times. i would not hire an intern in my office knowing only 90% of their resumé. there's not a person here that would buy a home only seeing -- excuse me, only seeing 10% of the rooms. i just believe what we're doing here, just on the objective view of fairness, is sincerely unfair and it's insulting to the ideals that we, that we try to achieve with some sense of comity and some sense of rules. i want to go deeper than that. i'm trying to figure out what the jeopardy would be, what the jeopardy would be if we just waited for the documents. last night we had a document dump of tens thousands of pages. it's been said already there's no judge that would allow a court proceeding to go on, no judge that would move forward if one of the parties had just got
documents as of 5:00 last night or potentially as of 11:00. what i don't understand is what's the jeopardy of just waiting, not just for us to digest these documents, but other documents? the reality is, is that senator grassley, you yourself have asked for specific more finite set, more limited set of documents, that you haven't even gotten. and so whether it's not seeing 90% of the resumé of the gentlemen before us or 50% or 40% that should come within time and there's no jeopardy when we have a lifetime appointment. he'll be there for decades and decades, waiting another week or five days or two weeks for those documents that you yourself have requested, which is a more limited subset, for even those documents to come through. i don't understand what the rush is, especially given all that is at stake. and so those are the reasons why i say to you with sincere respect, that this is an absurd
process. it just seems unfair to me and it could easily be solved by us putting a pause here in this process, waiting for the documents, evaluating the documents and it would be a much more robust set of hearings, on this nominee. as i said i would not hire an intern if i had not seen, if i had only seen 10% of their resumé. to be a fuller body of the work of this gentleman before us, who as one of my colleagues called popping up in some of the most interesting times in the last decade or two, on some of the most important issues, already the limited amount that we call 7% of the documents that i've seen, unfortunately those are things that being held committee confidential. which i don't even know if i can use in my questioning here, i think the penalties is being ousted from the senate. even the little limited documents that have potentially made my questioning far more rich and substantive to get to
the heart of the issues of this individual nominee. i try to summon the spirit of some of the elder statespeople i had the privilege of serving with from rock feller to levin to mccain, to summon that spirit, to be as objective as possible, i do not think it is unreasonable for us to wait for a week or two to get the full body of those documents. it will cause no harm or damage, except to have more of a full telling of what is at stake here. this is, the stakes are too high on what this nominee represents for us to rush through this process without a full sharing of the documents. and with that, i'll continue, sir, with my opening statement. i have said before already th that -- >> i'll take this opportunity to probably say that you said i didn't get all the documents i requested. you, you probably heard the first sentence of something i
said after our break. and that was, that i could, i first started talking about expecting a million documents. we end up i think with 488,000. but then i went on to explain that the process with all the software and everything else that can speed things up, duplicates were, were eliminated, et cetera, et cetera. so we've gotten all the documents i requested. just to correct you. >> sir and to my understanding -- >> go ahead with your opening statement. >> i want to make a point to that if you don't mind. you requested a limited set of documents of his time in the white house counsel's office. we have not received all the documents from his time, they're still being vetted slowly through a system of not a representative from the committee, but the bill burke individual is still reading through those documents as we speak. i imagine some of them will be dumped on to us as this process is going on and predict with quite confidence that some of
those documents might still be trickling out in the days before the actual full senate vote. please, sir. >> you're talking about committee confidential. and you have access to them right now. they just, there hasn't been a determination that like, 80% of all the documents are on the website, so the public can see them, but in regard to some, they were forwarded to us. without a second review. the second review gives, gives an opportunity then get them out to the public. if there's not no reason that they are excluded under the law and you can read those committee confidential documents right now. >> well, sir, i submitted a letter days ago asking for that i will resend it in the next 24 hours before tomorrow. >> we responded to your letter. >> again, did you not respond our letter by allowing committee
confidential documents. >> lease go to your opening statement. >> look i was -- you know, form former, now former vice president biden talked about not questioning your colleague's motives and some of the colleagues across the aisle have called the efforts by some of us sincerely to get access to these documents, a sham, a charade. i can go through a lot of the words that were used. to question the motivations i have or doing what i believe, sir, is perhaps the most grave and important duty that i have as a senator. yes as senator cornyn has pointed out. i announced my decision already. but my duty is to fully vet an individual. that's why i think the documents are important. that the full record is made clear and we have chance to ask questions about them. i also have said that i oppose this nomination happening right now because of the moment we are in american history. which is very unprecedented.
i remind thaw we have had bipartisan statements by senators working in tangent about the attack on the united states of america. which was an attack going to the core of what our democracy is about. the voting processes. a special counsel was put into place and that has led to dozens of people being indicted. people around the president of the united states. it has led to dozens and dozens of charges and that investigation is ongoing. we have seen the president of the united states credibly accused by his own personal lawyer as being an unindicted co-conspirator. we have one judge being chosen who was not on the original list. he wasn't on the outsourced federal society's original list. he wasn't on the second version of that list. he got on to that list after this special investigation got going.
after the president was in jeopardy. he was added to the list and the president pulled the one person from all of that list, that was added late. that would give him in a sense the ability to pick a judge. that has already spoken vast ly about a president's ability to dismiss or end an investigation. so that's the second reason why i've asked to put a pause on this process. judge lar were hand said this, as powerful and profound as the documents of this country are, our founding documents, they're not worth much if the people themselves lose faith in them. and i believe the nom nay of a judge from ongoing investigation
prosecution, will shake the faith that millions and millions of americans have in the fairness of the process and the system and i've asked judge kavanaugh time and time again to recuse himself to restore that faith, to alleviate the concerns of americans and he has thus far refused to do so. now i am upset about the process. and this is not manufactured outrage this is sincere concern for a process that seems wrong and just not objective and fair. i am concerned about as my colleagues are on both sides of the aisle. a russian atag on our nation. but there's a lot more going on here that makes this nomination of great concern. and it's frankly some of the things i've heard from both sides of the aisle. when we travel this country and what we are hearing from individuals. and how that relates to a position on the supreme court. right now millions of american families are watching this, in
sincere concern and fear, i've heard them, i've gotten the calls. i've traveled the country. i've talked to republicans and democrats, they're fearful about where the supreme court is going and what it will do when it has the power to shape law, shape the lives and liberties for individuals for decades to come. i've talked to workers all over my state, all over this nation. workers that now work in a country where wages are at a 60-year low as a portion of our gdp. whose labor protections, workers whose labor protections are being diluted and whose unions are under attack. so many of those individuals are asking whether the supreme court of their lifetimes will be an institution that elevates the dignity of american workers, or one that allows powerful corporate interests to continue to weaken labor protections that didn't just happen. labor protections that were fought for. that people struggled for. that some, you know the labor movement actually died for. are these labor rights going to
become aggravated? are they going to become limited? further increasing the vast disparities of wealth and power in our country? we know this, we've talked to both sides of the i'll. we've talked to cancer survivors, americans with disabilities. survivors of domestic hay wus, parents with beautiful children that happen to have disabilities, who because of the affordable care act can no longer be denied coverage because of quote a preexisting condition. there's a texas case where that's being challenged right now. that's moving up. it could likely go before the supreme court. well knowing your record, it is right that these americans, so many of them with preexisting conditions are asking whether the supreme court will be an institution that affirms and protects the rights of people with access to health care. many people who rightfully believe when they read our founding documents that talk about life, liberty and the
pursuit of happied in, that health care they believe is fundamental. we all know too many people who have set aside prescription drugs because they're too high because of what corporations are doing there. people who have put off going to see the doctor because a visit is too expensive. that is in the balance with this nomination. i've gone across the state and senator durbin, i was in your state talking to a republican farmer, about how the farm country is changing so dramatically the livelihoods of so many independent family farmers are being threatened by the consolidation of large, multinational corporations. these corporations have acquired so much power this consolidation now from the seeds that they buy, the prices going up to who they have the ability to sell to, the abuse of corporate consolidation is driving so many farmers out of business. you see, one farmer was telling
me about the suicide rates. now people are saying this is histrionics, this is not life or death. i know these things are. often a matter of life or death when our insurance rates go down, more people without health care often lose their lives. there are, there is not one senator on the republican side or democratic side who has not seen, i've only been here five years and i've seen the culture of washington change. because of the obscene amount of dark money pouring in to our political process, corrupting our political processes. rigging the system. this nomination will have an effect on that. i've seen americans all over this country, it's a bipartisan work that i've done with senators on either side, who feel entrapped by a broken criminal justice system. one we know is unassailably
disproportionately targets black and brown americans. many americans believe, we have a system that treats you better than if you're rich and guilty, than poor and innocent. these issues are in the balance now. and everyone who is concerned about these issues and more are wopdering what the story of america is. we have this great leader, a man named king who said the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. there's so many american who is fought for these fundamental rights. whose family members, union organizersoring, civil rights activists, women's rights activists, who fought for, struggled for, and died for these rights. the right for women to make their own medical decisions, including right to an abortion, not a back alley butcher. the right of all americans to marry who they love. the right to vote. and to work free of discrimination regardless of race and the rights of all
americans. these are our rights, these are our american rights. and so we know the answer to these questions, i've looked through the record. i've had access to, to see the pattern of your decisions. and that's the pattern that really troubles me, judge, and i know we're going to get a chance to go through this. and my know my colleagues will as well. it seems so clear that in your courts the same -- the same folks seem to win over and over again. the powerful, the privileged, big corporations, special interests. and over and over again, folks that lose -- the folks, why i came to washington to fight, working folks, consumers, women, immigrants, minorities, the disadvantaged, the poor -- this is, the challenge before us, this is why so much is at stake. i love that my colleagues keep going back to the constitution. but understand this -- i laud
our founders, i think they were geniuses. but you got to understand that there are millions of american who is understand that they were also flawed people. we're the oldest constitutional democracy. we're the oldest one. we were founded in a break with human events, you know this, judge, i've read your writings, we not founded on some kind of tribalism, as much as we think it's breaking out in our country. we weren't founded because we all look alike, or we all pray alike. we broke with the course of human events and formed this nation, god bless america, god bless our founders, but we know our founders and their values and their ideals. we know that they, that they were flawed and can you see that in the documents. native americans were referred to as savages, women weren't referred to as all. african-americans, slaves were referred to as fractions of human beings.
constit-i can only say three-fifths of the world. >> senator booker -- >> i'm almost done. >> the only reason i stopped you at this point is -- i thought -- i would let people go at least as far as senator blumenthal went. and you reached that point. >> i'm a bit of a trail blazer, i'm going to push two or three more minutes. my point, sir, is that i'm proud of this -- >> your clock when it reaches 10 is your two and a half minutes. >> i want to point out from the activism of stone wahl, selma, seneca falls. there's an activism that i wo y worry, rights that were gained were rolled back and there's an amazing activist here right now, ms. carlotta walls lanier. and i thank her for coming today. it was 61 years ago on this very day, on september 4, 1957 that
ms. lan year at the age of 14 were shouting racial slurs, she was jeered. on that day, miss lanier joined eight other students, a group that would be known as the little rock nine to try to desegregate an all-white high school in little rock, arkansas. we know what they did that day was much bigger than the first day of school. it was the first major test of the supreme court's landmark decision, brown v. board of education. there are some judges that trump has appointed refuse to even say that that's settled law. there are people like ms. lanier who are part of gaining rights in this country, advancing the ideals of this nation towards the purity of the ideals put forth by the founders, despite the inperfections and now the fear and the worry is, where the trend of the court is doing, is rolling back those gains. undermining that progress. is restricting individual rights. as the rise of corporations, the rise of dark money, the rise of
the interests of the powerful and the privileged and the elite. so i just say in conclusion, sir, i said this to you in a heart-to-heart moment the last seconds that you were, you came to my office to meet with me, one-on-one which i appreciated. i pointed to the map behind my desk, the central ward of newark, new jersey. a place with mighty people. it's a low-income community. people still struggling for the fullness and the richness of the promises of america. that that's, that's the concern that i have right now. that is what is at stake. so i say in conclusion, sir, this to me, is a profound and historical moment. ky not support your nomination, not just of the body of your work, because also the perverse process by which this comes forward. we should not vote now. we should wait. and if we're not waiting, we should object to your nomination. thank you. >> senator tillis? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i have a 12-minute preamble and
an 18 minutes of comments. in all seriousness, i hope to beat senator flake in being brief. first off to ashley, i know that margaret and liza are gone, but you've gone through a very difficult day and you've held up well, to your parents, judge kavanaugh, i've got to compliment you on your mother's composure, i'm pretty sure my mother would have been out of the chair by now. so i appreciate all that you've done. you've obviously raised your son right. you know, i think we need to go back and recognize, we were going to be here this wasn't going to be a kumbayah moment. we had every member on this committee either publicly state or participate in a press conference before the sun had set on the first 24 hours of your nomination that they were going to vote against you. now we're asking for all kinds of documents and you're getting them. as a matter of fact, i think that the chair has done an extraordinary job. he started ott on this process by offering acquiring as many as
a million documents, we determined because of duplication and relevance, it was only half a million. and they've all been provided. and i'm not an attorney, but i am a technologist and i'm also a process person. and i know damn well, that if you get documentation like that, you can get through it in a matter of hours. and for the documents sent yesterday, can you get through it in a matter of hours, they have plenty of time to get documents, they only need to run up the score because they know they're going to run against you. i want to compliment you on your composure. you've taken a lot of notes. i'm going to spend more of my time listening to your responses, rather than talking over to and try to simplify things into yes, no answers that you can't respond to. so i look forward to your testimony tomorrow. i, you know the, as the hearing was going on. there were two things that caught me. i'm not doing my prepared statements, i'll submit them for the record, mr. chair, we're
talking about all this dark money and efforts going on the other side. i got an email from organizing for action. y'all would know that as the legacy campaign of president obama. telling me to oppose you because you're going to deny reproductive rights, deny health care coverage. advance climate change and in a bad way and end gun violence prevention. i don't know near as much about the institutions of government as let's say senator sasse, but i'm pretty sure once get confirmed on the bench you're not going to be able to file a bill to do any of that. what you may end up doing is finding out we got lazy, we didn't work hard enough, we didn't understand the constitution, we didn't reach across the aisle to create enduring value which is largely the reasons why people get frustrated with you. they want you to do our job. justice gorsuch sid numerous times in his confirmation hearing, it's not my job to do your job, mr. senator. if you're frustrated and worried about the prospects of somebody
being able, denied coverage, for preexisting conditions, then les fix it that's why i filed a bill a couple of weeks ago. let's fix it. don't play politics and blame the supreme court for your inadequate architecture of a bill. let's fix it. if you're worried about the balls and strikes that judge kavanaugh has called on the bench around regulatory issues, it seems to me you've called balls and strikes on both sides of the administrative procedures act. and there seem to be flaws in there that need to be fixed. for the attorneys in the room, who are studied on the law, rather than trying to get judge kavanaugh to commit one way or another on these policy initiatives, that the president obama and others around this table are interested in, get him to explain to you the legal theory behind his position. that may have in fact produced the outcome that he didn't particularly like. but because he did it based on his interpretation of the
constitution and the laws. don't expect him to be a politician. and as for motivations, you know i have to say that it's been said by at least one person on this committee, that on the one hand we shouldn't question other people's motivations, on the other hand, i find it personally insulting to think that because i think we have before us an em in-depthly qualified judge, someone who is going to call balls and strikes, to suggest that because i'm inclined to support him, that i'm complicit and evil really makes me wonder the sincerity of questioning other people's motives. so judge kavanaugh, i am glad that you're before us. i believe that you have 300 opinions that people should look at and read and try and spar with you on the basis of your legal knowledge. your constitutional understanding of the statutory constructs. it would be great and i hope that people are actually taking time to look at the single-most important factor in your resumé.
it's not maybe where you went to school. i guess that's good. it's not maybe where you practiced law. but it's the 307 different opinions, you can read and the dissents can you read. spar on the basis of your legal knowledge. those of you who want to prove to be the smartest lawyer in the room and see if you can prove a better theory that may actually give judge kavanaugh pause. but that's not what this hearing has been about. and i'm so glad that i'm one of the last people to do an opening statement. because what i hope i hear tomorrow, and by the way, just from a process standpoint. the we're going to have 30-minute rounds which in senate time is about an hour and a half per member. tomorrow. and then we're going to have 20-minute rounds the following day. everybody take time to talk about legal theory. stop the theater, and start talking about what's really meaningful here. i think if we do that, i have every confidence judge kavana h kavanaugh, you're going to be justice kavanaugh and i'm proud
to actually see you composure yourself the way you have today. i'll be asking you several questions on some judgments that frankly i didn't like. but i know you probably made the right decision and i believe that when you get confirmed to the bench, you're actually going to take some other opinions that i don't like. because it's what i wished you could do for me, because we failed to get it done here. but it will be done for the right reasons. and i think if people objectively look at your record, they're going to be hard-pressed to take all this theater we've heard today and boil it down into something that makes you look like you're an activist judge, just waiting to be one of the members of the nine-member legislative branch down the street. i think you're one of the single-greatest, great opportunities that we have to make the supreme court make us do our job and to rein in the dangerously high amount of authority that our administrative branch has. that's all i want you to do. and i look forward to asking you questions tomorrow. i yield back the rest of my time.
>> i see senator graham has rejoined us, he's more senior. okay, great. so i thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to restate my objection from earlier for the record. which is my motion to postpone the hearing. a number of comments have been made by my honored and respected colleagues, i'd like to address a few of them. one there was some mention a concern about elena kagan's hearing and that the white house at the time, there was an agreement that those certain records are sensitive and should therefore not be disclosed. it's my understandings that a a point of distinction between that time and today, that those were active cases in the white house and for that reason, there was an understanding and agreement that they were of a sensitive nature and should not be disclosed. in terms of the point that's been made about playing
politics, and blaming the supreme court, i think that we have to give pause when those kinds of concerns are expressed to also think about the fact that there have been many political campaign, that has been run, indicating an intention to use the united states supreme court as a political tool to end things like the affordable care act. the voting rights act and campaign finance reform. which makes this conversation a legitimate one. in terms of a reasoned concern about whether this nominee has been nominated to fulfill a political agenda. as it relates to using that court and the use of that court. as it relates to the 42,000 documents, or 42,000 pages of documents, i find it interesting that we get those documents less than 24 hours before this hearing is scheduled to begin. but it took 57 days for those
documents to be vetted before we would even be given those documents. so there's some suggestion that we should be speed-readers. and read 42,000 pages of documents in about 15 hours. when it took the other side 57 days to review those same documents. so the logic at least on the math is not applying. now the chairman has requested 10% of the nominee's documents, that's 10%. of 100% of his full record. the nominee's personal lawyer has only given us 7% of his documents. 7 out of 100% of the full record. republicans have only given 4% of these records or made them public. that's 4% of 100% of a full record. 96% of his record is missing. 96% of his record is missing.
it is reasonable, it is reasonable that we should want to review his entire record. and then we can debate among us the relevance of what is in his record. to his nomination. but it should not be the ability of this, the leadership of this committee, to unilaterally make decisions about what we will and will not see. in terms of itsed a missibility, instead of arguing about the weight of whatever is made admissible. the late senator kennedy of massachusetts called these hearings a supreme court nominee's quote job interview with the american people. and by that standard, the nominee before us is coming into his job interview with more than 90% of his background hidden. i would think that anyone who wanted to sit on the nation's highest court would be proud of their record. and would want the american people to see it.
i would think that anyone privileged to be nominated to the supreme court of the united states would want to be confirmed in a process that is not under a cloud. that respects due process. i would think that anyone nominated to the supreme court of the united states would want to have a hearing that is characterized by transparency and fairness and integrity and not shrouded by uncertainty and suspicion and concealment and doubt. we should not be moving forward with this hearing. the american people deserve better than this. so judge kavanaugh as most of us know, and i will mention to you and you have young children and i know they're very proud of you and i know you are a great parent and i applaud all that
you have done in the community. as we all know, this is a week when most students in our country go back to school. and it occurs to me that many years ago, right around this time. i was starting kindergarten and i was in a bus, a school bus, on my way to thousand oaks elementary school as part of the second class of students as bussing desegregated berkeley, california public schools. this was decades after the supreme court ruled brown v. board of education. that separate was inherently unequal. and as i've said many times, had chief justice earl warren not been on the supreme court of the united states, he could not have led a unanimous decision and the outcome then of that case may have been very different. had that decision not come down the way it did, i may not have
had the opportunities that allowed me to become a lawyer or prosecutor. i'd likely would not have been elected district attorney of san francisco or the attorney general of california. and i most certainly would not be sitting here as a member of the united states senate. so for me, a supreme court seat is not only about academic issues of legal precedent or judicial philosophy, it is personal. when we talk about our nation's highest court, and the men and women who sit on it, we're talking about the impact that one individual on that court can have, impact on people you'll never meet and whose names you will never know. whether a person can exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot, that may be decided if judge kavanaugh sits on that court. whether a woman with breast cancer can afford health care, or is forced, off life-saving treatment. whether a gay or transgender
worker is treated with dignity, or maybe treated as a second-class citizen. whether a young woman who got pregnant at 15, is forced to give birth or in desperation, go to a back-alley for an abortion. whether a president of the united states can be held accountable or whether he'll be above the law. all of this may come down to judge kavanaugh's vote. and that's what's at stake in this nomination. and the stakes are even higher because of the moment we're in and many of us have discussed this. these are unprecedented times. as others have already observed, less than two weeks ago the president's personal lawyer and campaign chairman were each found guilty or pleaded guilty to eight felonies. the president's personal lawyer under oath declared that the
president directed him to commit a federal crime. yet, that same president is race raising to a position to the highest court in our land. a court that very well may decide his legal fate. and yes, that's essentially what confirming judge kavanaugh could mean. so it is important, more important i say than ever, that the american people have transparency and accountability with this nomination. and that's why it is extremely disturbing that senate republicans have prevented this body and most important, the american people, from fully reviewing judge kavanaugh's record and have disregarded just about every tradition and practice that i heard so much about before i arrived in this place. judge kavanaugh, when you and i
met in my office you said with respect to judicial decisions, that rushed decisions are often bad decisions. i agree with you. i agree with you. and when we are talking about who will sit on the supreme court of the united states, i believe your point couldn't be more important. mr. chairman, when judge kavanaugh was nominated in july, he expressed his belief that a judge must be independent, must interpret the law, and not make law. but in reviewing this nominee's background i am deeply concerned that what guides him is not independence or impartiality. it's not even ideology. i would suggest it is not even ideology. what i believe guides him and what his record that we've been able to see shows, is what guides this nominee is partisanship. this nominee has devoted his
entire career to a conservative republican agenda. helping to spearhead a partisan investigation into president clinton. helping george w. bush's legal team insure that every vote was not counted in bush v. gore. helping to confirm partisan judges and enact partisan laws as part of the bush white house. and in all of these efforts, he has shown that he seeks to win at all costs, even if that means pushing the envelope. if we look at his record on the d.c. circuit, and in his recent writings and statements, it is clear that the nominee has brought his political bias to the bench. he has carried out deeply conservative partisan agendas as part, as a judge favoring big business over ordinary americans, polluters over clean air and water and the powerful over the vulnerable. just last year judge kavanaugh praised the dissent in roe v.
wade and ruled against a scared 17-year-old girl seeking to end her pregnancy. he has disregarded the supreme court precedent to argue that undocumented workers weren't really employees under our labor laws. we have witnessed horrific mass shootings from parkland to las vegas, to jacksonville, florida. yet judge kavanaugh has gone further than the supreme court and has written that because assault weapons are quote in common use, assault weapons and high capacity magazines can not be banned under the second amendment. when he was part of an independent counsel investigation into the democratic president, the nominee was dogged in demanding answers. and yet, he has since changed his tune, arguing that presidents should not be investigated or held accountable. a position that i am sure is not lost on this president.
these positions are not impartial, they are partisan. judge neil gorsuch, judge kavanaugh's classmate insisted before this committee that judges are "politicians in robes." i fear that judge kavanaugh's record indicates that is exactly what he may very well be. now, i know members of this committee and the nominee's friends and colleagues have assured us that he's devoted to his family and supportive of his law clerks and volunteers in his community, and i don't doubt that at all. but that's not why we are here. i would rather that we think about this hearing in the contest of the supreme court of the united states and the impact it will have on generations of americans to come, and do we want that court to continue a legacy of being above politics and unbiased or are we prepared
to participate in a process that is tainted and that leaves the american public questioning the integrity of this process? and i'll close by saying this, we have a system of justice that is symbolized by a statue of a woman holding scales. and she wears a blindfold. justice wears a blindfold because we have said in the united states of america, under our judicial system, justice should be blind to a person's status. we have said that in our system of justice, justice should be blind to how much money someone has, to what you look like or who you love, to who your parents are and the language they speak. and every supreme court justice must understand and uphold that ideal. and sir, should those cases become -- come before you, judge kavanaugh, i am concerned whether you would treat every american equally, or instead
show allegiance to the political party and the conservative agenda that has shaped and built your career. i am concerned your loyalty would be to the president who appointed you, and not to the constitution of the united states. these concerns i hope you will answer during the course of this hearing. i believe the american people have a right to have these concerns. i also believe the american public has a right to full and candid answers to the questions that are presented to you during the course of this hearing. i will be paying very close attention to your testimony, and i think you know the american public will be paying very close attention to your testimony. thank you. >> senator graham? >> am i the last person? >> yes. but don't forget, we're going to hear from the nominee and his introducers before you can go home and go to bed.
>> okay, thank you. [ laughter ] i was going to ask you to take me to dinner, but that's not going to happen. >> you know the answer to that. >> that's right. [ laughter ] so to my colleagues, i look forward to working with you. i think you have to be blind as to what's going on here. you know justice briar, i guess you can't say anything. where did he come from? he was ted kennedy's judiciary person. where do you think republicans are going to find a judge? the whole argument is, you can be a conservative republican president but you have to nominate a liberal to be fair to the country that's absurd. where do you think ruth bader ginsburg came from? what groups do y'all use to pick from? this is shaping up to be the hypocrisy hearing, and that's
hard to do in the senate in today's time, to be hypocritical. but let me just point to a few of these things. clinton, it didn't bother anybody for clinton to nominate briar while he was under investigation. we actually did it. didn't bother any of y'all that ted kennedy staff person was his pick. it didn't bother me anybody, because that's who i expect you to pick. this is ridiculous. you're one of the best choices any republican could make. as i said with justice gorsuch, i am glad you're here, because there were days i'm wondering who he would have picked. [ laughter ] and this is a home run from my point of view. let's talk about roe v. wade. who would ever play politics on the campaign trail. what a bastard donald trump is.
until you hear about hillary clinton. february the 3rd, 2016, this is what hillary clinton said. when asked does she have a litmus test for supreme court nominees. i have a bunch of litmus tests, because the next president could get as many as three appointments. and i hope she's right. we go to be sure to preserve roe v. wade. october 2016, we need a supreme court that will stand up on behalf of women's rights. it's important that we not reverse roe v. wade. i want a supreme court that will stick with roe v. wade and a woman's right to choose. i understand where she's coming from. anybody running for president over there, i dare you to disagree with her. you will wind up like i did, getting 1%. [ laughter ] if you even suggest that you
will pick a nominee that's not going to uphold roe v. wade, that's the end of you. but you've figured that out. so this is the way we do politics. this is a big decision called roe v. wade. there are two sides and a bunch of nuances. here's what i know about you. you're going to take it as precedent, you wrote a big book which i'll never read, and you're going to tell us what it takes to overturn long standing precedence. nobody on this side will care if you overturn citizens united. they will cheer you on. somebody will challenge citizens united and you'll say let me hear both sides and i'll tell you whether or not i should uphold it. so hillary clinton, we know where she's at on roe v. wade, and that's just the way it is. now, what other things? executive power. this idea that trump picked you to save him.
amazing concept, since you said what you said back in 1998 and 2008. the bottom line is, when clinton was being impeached, my good friend, and this is true, he is my good friend, on february the 12th, 1999, introduced into the record during the deliberations of the clinton impeachment trial, an article by brett kavanaugh suggesting that you should wait, if there is an indictment, until after the president is out of office. the same concept we're talking about here today, when the shoe was on the other foot, here's what joe said about your thinking. the president is not simply another individual, he is unique. he's the embodiment of the federal government and the head of a political party. if he is to be removed, the entire government likely would suffer, and the military, our economic consequences to the
nation could be severe. these repercussions should not result from the judgment of a single prosecutor, whether it be the attorney general or special counsel, and a single jury. prosecution or nonprosecution of a president is, in sport, inevitable, unavoidably a political act. thus, as the constitution suggests, the decision about the president, while he's in office, should be made for all great national political judgments, and our country should be made in the congress of the united states, according to joe biden. the gift that keeps on giving for us. i think that's pretty hypocritical. during the clinton days, you were right. but all of a sudden you're a danger to the republic. let's talk about -- there's so many -- how many minutes do i have here? the bottom line is -- >> don't exceed what -- >> i will not. guns. somehow you're going to make
sure that congress -- the bottom line on guns, dianne feinstein is a wonderful lady and has passion on this issue about assault weapons. she was able to succeed politically after ten years the gun assault weapons ban expired and it's been hard to get it reestablished. she introduced legislation in 2013 that got 60 no votes. 16 democrats. so i don't believe they see you as a threat to the nation if you come out on the idea that the second amendment has some meaning. in other words, the political process, when it comes to guns, is a work in progress. and i would rather us decide that than you. when it comes to the pillar of virtue comey.
in kenya. at least 60 people killed during that four-day siege there. and will carr is following the new threats from our west coast newsroom. will, what can you tell us. >> well this terror group is calling for attacks on malls in canada, the united kingdom and the united states. specifically, the mall of america in minnesota. the mall of america releasing a statement saying it is aware of the video and it's monitoring the threat with the help of local and federal authorities. they say some increased security measures may be noticeable. others will not be. authorities urging people going to the mall today to be very vigilant. our jr. reporter on the scene says the threat has not kept people from going to the mall today. although she says employees say it's not as packed as usual. al shabaab which has pledged allegiance to al qaeda has targeted the minneapolis area before for recruiting because it's home to the largest somali population in the country. this morning, homeland security secretary jay johnson says the internet and social media have moved terrorism into a different phase that's more complex and decentralized. >> the reason i think we are all concerned about this is because it encourages independent actors who could strike with very little notice to our intelligence community or our law enforcement community here at home. >> important to point out that jay johnson says despite the video there is no credibility threat. then this morning he add because there isn't a credible threat that doesn't mean somebody in the united states wouldn't take it upon themselves to strike with no warning signs. >> will carr thank you very much for the update. eric. >> arthel as we face this apparent threat president obama is now facing more criticism, including from some within his own party. he used the word islamic -- for his reffal to use the word islamic terrorism. jay johnson weighed in on that today saying he should not give the terrorists more credible than they deserve. >> critics are increasingly skewering the obama administration over its absolute refusal to identify the greatest terrorist threat of our time isis as an islamic intent. last week's three day conference on terrorism omitted the phrase. ray hart inflamed the critics by reasoning that lack of jobs has drawn many vulnerable youth to isis. she left out the appeal of its ideology. jay johnson tried to explain the administration's reasoning on fox news sunday. >> to refer to isil as occupying any part of the islam icic theology is playing on battlefield that they would like us to be on. i think to call them -- to call them some form of islam gives the group more dignity than it deserves. >> general jack kane appearing moments ago saying isis belief system is a literal interpretation of the koran. >> isis itself it draws its central belief system from the koran and from the writings of the prophet mohammad. that's undeniable. it is a mid-evil interpretation of it. it is a literally interpretation of it. slavery, crucifix and beheadings are part of their portfolio. >> in atlantic magazine writer graham wood who has studied the inkri kate workings of isis says obama is misleading the people. he said, and i quote here, we are mislead by a well intentioned campaign. they refer to derisively to moderns. they insist that they will not cannot waiver from governing preaccepts that were embedded in islam by the prophet mohammad at its earliest follow erls. money is set to run out next week unless congress can come to a agreement on a new spending bill. >> we'll have more on the department of homeland security issue later on in the program. >> eric right now, to weigh in on this is a former poip official who has had -- pentagon official who has had decades on the battles. steve buchy is here he is a director at the heritage foundation. >> thanks for having me on the show. >> does secretary johnson make valid points? >> no. he is twisting himself into rhetorical pretzels here. i understand the intent of not wanting to identify isis with the rest of the islamic world. but general keen is right. i mean, these guys base themselves, their theology on the koran. identify it as a fringe, very small, very radical group, but don't say it's not based on islam. it is. and we need to call it that. >> what daboll do you think should be used? and why? -- label. >> i think they should be referred to as islamist extremists. not islamic. islamist. that is a political term that refers to their particular brand of islam. that is a more accurate term, and it does still tie them to that theology that they follow. >> steve do you think that this war of words, the debate over semantics is perhaps too distracting and gets in the wear of the powers that be to devise a cohesive comprehensive plan to defeat isis? >> well, i think that the president is spending way too much time trying to get us to not use the term. he should be focusing on fighting these guys making our response much more robust than it is. but i think the criticisms of him and his administration are legitimate. i mean this is a rhetorical dance that he is insisting on staying with, which is wrong. and he ought to abandon it. say, look, i give up. these are bad guys. they are radical extremist islamists. let's go get them. >> steve what do you think is the best way to beat isis at the propaganda war? they are very savvy with the -- you know w the internet with twitter, et cetera. >> you know i'm almost at a loss on this one. i was in the last administration. we tried to fight this propaganda war as well. it's hard for to us do because of the rules that we have prohibiting the use of pop began de because our own people see it. it's tough to do that in the modern world. she is guys can say whatever they want. they don't have to tell the truth. it's difficult. we need to really make an effort and just having 350 guys and gals tweeting is probably not sufficient. there needs to be more thought process put into this than just a bunch of kids answering tweets. >> any final thoughts before we you go? >> we need the address this directly head on, call it what it is, and then go after it with every bit of our energy because these guys are a real threat. and we need to treat them that way. >> steve buchy thank you. eric. >> arthel, van now responding to a warning from secretary of state john kerry who is in geneva today for continuing nuclear talks. mr. kerry says the u.s. is ready to quit the ongoing talks with iran warning president obama is fully prepared, he says, to walk away from the table unless tehran agrees to a deal showing it has no idea in atomic weapons. a senior iranian official giving a curt response to that saying that steving or leaving quote depends on the americans. all this back and forth comes with just a month to go before the latest deadline for a final agreement in march. meanwhile, israeli prime minister is calling the next four weeks of those talks critical for preventing an iranian nuclear deal. he is set to speak before congress on this matter next month andn this lore war on iran's true nuclear intentions. it's out with one storm, and in with yet another one. a new system spreading snow and ice across the rockies and into the south. it could make a mess of your monday morning commute. in tennessee snow and ice bringing down the roof of this industrial building. nearly two dozen employees were inside. we are told they got out safely. meteorologist janet dean has more from the fox extremely busy weather center. whoa, j.d. a lot going on there. >> absolutely. every weekend we are talking about a new winter storm. look at the snow totals we got from this last one over the the middle east and the eastern seaboard. 13 inches in parts of maryland. d.c., eight inches for you yesterday. i know a lot of our employees had a hard time getting home. at jfk, 4.5 inches of snow. as arthel mentions we are now watching this storm develop from the swechlt it's going to move into the southern plains over the next 24 to 48 hours. you can see the temperatures, really dangerous wind chills over the upper midwest and the great lakes where we have wind chill advisories, wind chill warnings, anywhere from minus 35 to minus 45 is what it's going to feel like with those wind chill values. those are your current temperatures. you factor in the wind chill and there is the proof there. minus 27 is what it feels like in international falls. we will see snow across the colorado rookies, snow for cankansas. this is going to be quite an event as we head into tomorrow morning's rush hour. keep that in mine and of course listen to your local weather forecast. from is a look at how much snow we're going to get out of this one. over two feet in colorado rockies. and measurable ice for central texas into louisiana. arthel, this is not good news for your home state tricky heading into work tomorrow morning. >> ice is tricky because there is that swaying. black ice. you don't see it when you are driving. thanks for staying on top of it j.d. >> arthel, you have to be able when you walk and when you drive. mother nature dealing air travelers another kmily blow. an overnight storm led to more than 3,000 fights that were canceled or have been delayed. as we heard from janice, the situation could get worse tomorrow. not just in the the middle east. brianianis joins us with the latest on what janice called the wintry mix. >> that wintry mix is especially hitting hard in dallas. the dallas fwort international airport, the nation's biggest hub for american airlines has already cop more than 970 flights, more than half of their flights, on monday according to flight aware.com. travelers are being encouraged to try to change any connecting flights they may have tomorrow. many airlines are waving the change fees. most of today's cancellations are out of denver, philadelphia and dallas. but today's travel is better than what we saw yesterday, after snow halted flights out of dulles and reagan airports in washington, d.c. meanwhile, in maryland, several inches of snow and ice on saturday causing major traffic messes and accidents. 2400 trucks and plows and salting going on throughout the state state. but freezing temperatures causing snow to pile up quickly. >> it's not so much that you've got two or three inches or four inches of snow. it's really nothing. but everybody is out here with two wheel drive, rear wheel drive vehicles that shouldn't be on the road. >> in the the middle east after days of sub zero temperatures a warm and balmy 30 to 40 degree break turned snow into slush on sidewalks in boston and new jersey. >> you know it is a jersey winter when 20 degrees feels good, right. >> a new winter storm hit colorado saturday dropping up to three inches of snow an hour in parts. the weather, though, an excuse for some neighbors in denver to throw a snow apocalypse party. >> i called her and i said i drove all this way for my first blizzard party and i'm g they know me or not. >> when in doubt stay inside and watch and drink. stay inside if you can, especially tomorrow with the morning commute. if you have to go out and work stay safe with all that ice out there. >> two words for you, dog sleds. maine made dog sleds.com. anyway -- >> i'll check that out. >> that's a real company. >> i saw looking it up. when we come back, we'll tell you about crews scrambling to pull survivors from the water after a ferry cap size. what caused it. and the latest from the dramatic rescue attempts underway. and bracing for another battle on capitol hill. this time over immigration. do you think they will stop funding fog for homeland security right at the same time terrorists continue to threaten our country. >> we shouldn't be playing politics with national security. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. ah! come on! let's hide in the attic. no. in the basement. why can't we just get in the running car? are you crazy? let's hide behind the chainsaws. smart. yeah. ok. if you're in a horror movie, you make poor decisions. it's what you do. this was a good idea. shhhh. be quiet. i'm being quiet. you're breathing on me! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance you switch to geico. it's what you do. head for the cemetery! (soft, calm music.) hi, you've reached emma. i'm out of the office right now, but will get back to you just as soon as i possibly can. your call is important to me. join princess cruises for exclusive discovery at sea experiences. enjoy cruises from $499 during our 50th anniversary sale. call your travel consultant or 1-800-princess. princess cruises. come back new. oh i'm on the cookie air diet. you just... and that's it. i prefer real food fruit, nuts, and whole grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. let's get real. quick check the headlines. 38 39 people, many women and children are dead after a ferry collided with another body on a bangladesh river and capsized. rescuers managed to save at least 50 of the 100 on board and are now searching for any other possible survivors. more than 480 workers are safe after being rescued from a severe can mine where they had been trapped by a fire. the cause of the fire is under investigation. and security officials have regained control of a south texas prison after inmates took over part of the facility setting fires, causing significant damage. some of the 2800 inmates are now being transported to other federal facilities so repairs can be made. >> congress returns from its break tomorrow with a major problem on its hands, a looming budget battle over the department of homeland security. the dhs funding deadline is set for friday, just five more days, to keep the department up and fully running. but the senate and the house right now are locked in a stalemate. and at the center of it all, president obama's unilateral actions on immigration. >> what is going on in congress is there are some who wants to defund our executive actions and do it in a way that holds up the entire budget of homeland security for this nation. >> it's in the final analysis we cannot shut down a national security agency when the threat environment is so high out there. i think that would be an unwise and dangerous course of action. >> that's republican mccall. who also said the house has done its job. now it's up to the senate. what will happen? who will blink. david drucker joins us now. david, first of all what do the republicans want? what do they hope to achieve. >> they have been holding the bhs as leverage so the president might reverse course on his executive action on immigration. here's the thing. even if dhs shuts down and runs out of money on the 27th the immigration goes forward because of the way it's fundsed. you don't actually stop this thing unless you get the president to sign a bill that reverses his order. i don't think he is going to do it. >> what are the chances of that. >> about as many chances as i have of opening spring train forth the gnats as the lead-off hitter. >> they didn't do as well this season. maybe not as well as others on capitol hill. john cornan says there is no chance of course they are going to shut done the department of homeland security. got the threat today about the mall of america. can you give us an idea why they have this dance month after month where one side threatens knowing it ain't going to happen and the others don't pull back? >> the republicans who run the congress now, only really have the power of the purse to try to force the president's hands. they thought we'd hold out this crucial national security skpags we will get the president to explain why his executive order is more important to him than funding homeland security. but as you know that's not way these things play out. the power of the bully pulpit with the presidency is louder than it is with congress. i think why now the question has been turned around on republicans. and i don't know if they really understood what the filibuster meant when they were taking full control of congress at least republicans, in the house. i think they figured we'd get some democrats in the senate who didn't like the order to join us and debate the bill. here's the thing. i think it's about what's going to happen in the senate. >> what do you think is going to happen in the senate? >> i think it depends on what happened over the break. congress as you know has been on recess about a week, they have been home talking to voters. if they come back to washington this week and they feel a real sense of urgency because of the threat level of domestic terrorism and those possibilities, it could start to sort of disrupt the log jam that we've seen in the senate. but i don't know that house republicans are going to budge until the senate at least sends them a clean bill. now, if the senate sends them a clean bill the spotlight is going to be back on them. but they don't want to send a message to democrats in the senate that every time you filibuster we'll cancel our plans and sends you whatever you want. >> when you say a clean bill you mean a bill that doesn't connect the two. >> correct. it's hard to find 218 votes in the senate to do that. even the republicans are wary of the idea that you are going to get the minority democrats set the agenda. as long as they hold together then you don't consider the department of homeland security bill. that's what they have been doing, filibustering it so you couldn't debate it. >> of course, it won't get shut down, but at the same time it raises this issue. and as you said they could pick off democrats. is there a sense if this issue is raised, we're talking about it covering it it puts that in front of the american people and makes them think hey maybe something should be done about this. >> well it's very possible in a the spotlight to change the political calculations in the senate. but here are some things that i don't think are going to happen. the dimtsz democrats are not going to break apart and join with republicans to move the bill before there is a shutdown of the agency. i think the only way you really change the calculation in the senate other than republicans folding completely and sending a clean bill through, is to let this thing run out of money and all of a sudden nerve the senate and in the administration are going to get skittish and start talking. >> dave, good insight. we'll see happens this week. get down to spring training. it has already started. >> of course. >> what position did he say he wanted? >> i think he said pitcher. >> okay. well, the month long oil refinery strike hits industry's largest plant. and there is little hope picket signs will come down any time soon. we'll tell what you that could mean for prices at the pump. >> talk politics there is a special tonight on the fox news channel hosted by brad bear. the democrats, coronation or confrontation. it is a all about hillary. hillary, hillary, and her chances for 2016. you think she is already anointed a shoe? some candidates are trying to block her path. one is already oning. bret baier sits down and talks with him. right here tonight at 8:00, on the fox news channel. the place for your politics. do you want to know how hard it can be to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva respimat does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva respimat. discuss all medicines you take even eye drops. if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells you get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine stop taking spiriva respimat and call your doctor right away. side effects include sore throat cough, dry mouth and sinus infection. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. to learn about spiriva respimat slow-moving mist ask your doctor or visit spirivarespimat.com time for the top of the news. minnesota's mall of america ramping up security today after being specifically threatened in a new terror video. the footage calls for a wave of attacks on western shopping centers. the al qaeda links somali and terror group al shabaab said to be behind those claims. ukraine's second largest city rocked by a tedly bombing. officials say the bomb went offer in the middle of a march, killing two and injures about a dozen others. the even was marking one year since the removal of the russian backed president. a new winter storm spreading ice and snow across the rockies. parts of colorado bracing for two feet or more. the frigid conditions extends across texas and through the southeast. no resolution in sight for a labor dispute that has crippled our nation's labor production over the past month. the situation has gotten worse. there are now picket lines at 15 american plants including the largest oil refinery in the u.s. making this strike the largest of its kinds since 1980. now contract talks are at a stalemate. and back up workers were brought in in some of the cases. but analysts are telling us it's just a matter of time before motorists see all of this reflected in the prices at the pump. brenda buttner is here. she is senior business correspondsent and anchor of bulls and bear. she has the latest. first of all we've been enjoying these great gas prices. now are we going to start feeling the pinch at the pump as a result of this. >> some people already in. in california gas prices are higher. they rely on in-state refineries, many of which are hurt by this strike. and there are pockets of the country where there are refineries targeted by the strike. they will feel it again. already, in just one month, gas prices have gone up 20 cents. and this could just get worse because right now the refineries are in what's called a maintenance period. so they are not producing as much. but as we move into the summer, we usually expect to see more supply. and if the strike goes on, that's going to cripple that. >> that's -- so this whole situation is serious. i mean, i want you to talk a little bit more about the overall impact. it's my understanding that they are having this stalemate, because according to strikers the industry has refused to meaningfully address safety issues through good faith bargaining and the union wants to discuss staffing levels and want limits on the use of the contractors to replace the union members in daily maintenance work? >> right. you know, union members have less leverage than they night have a couple of years ago because oil prices have fallen by 50% since the summer. so anies aren't producing as much. so they don't have as much leverage. but this is very serious because just the port arthur texas refinery alone that's the nation's largest, produces 600,000 barrels a day. now, right now, there are 15 of the 19 -- 12 of the 19 plants that are being targeted produce a fifth of the nation's capacity. the usw has 30000 workers at many refineries, 63. that makes up two thirds of the nation's product capacity. so the longer this goes on, and the longer there is a stalemate, the harder it's going to be on us. >> yeah. any idea do you know if there is any sort of resolution in sight that's coming soon? >> well, we learned that they were pretty close on friday. but then the unions just said no. you for example it depends. the unions don't have as much leverage. but this has been going on for a long time. they have had talks since the summer. and it has broken down again and again. the unions have refused seven deals from the oil companies. so it's really thard to tell how long this might last. >> i know this is something you will be staying on top of. >> yes, definitely. >> good to see you. remember, you can catch brenda on bulls and bears every saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. earring right on the fox news channel. eric. speaking of oil, there is an alarming warning from the u.s. department of transportation about our rail system. it predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol could derail at an average of ten times a year over the next two decades. the agency claims that could be hundreds of injuries or deaths and the damage could pass $4 billion. the agency says this underscores the need for stonger tank cars and other improvements like phasing out older cars. last monday a train carrying crude crashed in north virginia forcing many to evacuate the area. we are just hours away from hollywood's biggest night. and not even a rainy forecast can dampen the mood there. oh, no. all eyes on the dolby theater as the final touches are being made ahead of the oscars a. sneak peek at all the glitz and glamor live from the red carpet. that's straight ahead. you show up. you stay up. you listen. you laugh. you worry. you do whatever it takes to take care of your family. and when it's time to plan for your family's future we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills and living trusts. so when you're ready start with us. doing the right thing has never been easier. legalzoom. legal help is here. ♪ ♪ the bold nissan rogue, with intuitive all-wheel drive. because winter needs a hero. now get 0% financing or up to $1,000 back on the 2015 nissan rogue.ssannova test. test. toenail fungus? 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i mean, you should be here. then i could say who are you wearing? >> next year. and then i'll tell you. what's happening? who have you seen in what's going on with the preparations. >> the excitement is starting to build. in a couple of hours some. biggest stars in entertainment will be making their way down red carpet. it has been a big year for film. a tight race in terms of best film this year. people are saying it's neck-and-neck between boyhood and birdman. but tonight american sniper steps into the ring and they go at it. we could be in surprise for a upset with american sniper for best film or best actor with bradley cooper. >> michael, you do this all the time. you are stand willing on the glamorous red carpet. it's 1:40 in the afternoon there in los angeles. give us insight about -- it's not all -- i mean, you love it. but there is some hard work involved there because you've been out there early this morning. and there is a lot of prep behind it. talk to me about your job and what you have to do. >> we've been up early doing hits on fox and friends from 4:30 this morning. going at it. it is a long day. but it is a lot of fun. we've been building towards this the last six weeks. there has been countless awards shows. tonight is the big night. >> hollywood's big night. you can seal the energy and excitement. we are getting ready to talk to some of the big stars. bradley cooper. brad pitt. we're just all excited. look, when you enjoy what you do, arthel, it's not work. you know that. >> you are absolutely right, michael, it's always good to see you. we'll be watching for all of your reports and track you on fox news.com and everywhere you are. >> if our viewers tune in tomorrow morning we'll have a wrap-up of the winners, the losers, who wore what who didn't wear anything. we'll have it tomorrow morning on fox and friends. >> we'll be watching. >> that's gowns and those dresses and all that they talk about. >> oh, yeah. >> who do you think is going to win? best picture and other top categories, there could be an upset. here were some predictions -- actually more than predictions, what insight and what a track record. gaerz conic your track record, nine for night right last year in every single one of the major categories. >> and 21 -- >> out of 24 overall. that's right. >> do you want to start with the predictions? >> absolutely. readers hopefully read my article on fox news.com. in a nutshell for best picture of the year and best director i'm predicting birdman. that's because it has won most of the major guild awards, i think it wins over boyhood, which won most of the critics prizes earlier. moving on to a best actor, i think it's going to be eddie redmayne in the theory of everything. he plays a physicist, stephen hawking, just astonishing physically trons transforming performance. he has been compared to daniel day lewis which one five years ago. julianne moore in still alice was sensational. it is her fifth nomination. best supporting actor, j.k. simmons in whiplash as a sadistic music teacher. best supporting actress, booedhood does win here for patricia arquette as a loving but upg struggling single mother. she is wonderful. >> she is having a good year for sure. >> absolutely. >> wow. you any, it's fascinating to talk to you. you are so passionate about this. he has really encyclopedia in his mind on everything oscars. >> thank you. >> you do. i want to take the time to ask you, why are you so passionate about this? >> my first year watching the academy awards was 1978. star wars was nominated for ten academy awards. i was a small child growing up in illinois and my older brothers were science fiction fanatics and wanted star wars to clean up. by the ends of the night jack nicholson came out to present the announcer. star wars lost. my brothers were so mad and they haven't watched since then. but i have been watching since that time. study it all the time it means a lot to me. >> american sniper, some think it wouldn't win because of hollywood and the political connection. some others think it would. what goes into the decision? we have the report that the hollywood housekeepers leave the ballot on the table with the nail and they say to the housekeepers, you fill it out. what's goes into the decision. >> let's start about who belongs to the academy. 6,000 members, they work in the industry. actors, writers, producers, directors, sound workers makeup artists, what not. how many former u.s. senators do you think belong to the act me. >> five. >> i think there is just one. >> that's right. >> good answer. >> what do i win. >> you should win something. >> he goats to vote on acting writing, visual effects. i'm sure we saw a lot of strange things in washington over the years, but can he judge visual effects? who knows. but it's fascinating. and the actors meryl streep robert deniro and adam sandler has been invited to join. seth rogen, beyonce has been invited to join. if american sniper doesn't make the cut is that a snub. >> it has made more money than all the other nominees combined and then some. it is the biggest hit of the year. some voters do like it. we joke oftentimes if a film is too commercial, too successful they almost don't want to vote for it. american sniper there, perhaps it's not artistic enough to get the best picture oscar. they want to vote for something they think is prestigious and artistic, high brow. birdman. >> unbroken wasn't nominated. >> "selma." >> "selma" has nominations for best picture. i think it will win for best original stong song for the song glory. >> they got that at the golden gloep globes. >> yes. >> and how good is the golden globes as a predictor. >> it varies from year to year this. year i think we will see most of the globe winners repeat at the oscars with the exception of boyhood. birdman has come on strong in the recent weeks. it's going to be a photofinish. i think birdman wins for best director. but it is not a lock. watch out for grand budapest hotel, a colorful kaib caper set in 1930s europe. could be an upset. watch until the very end. >> go to fox news.com to check out his predictions. >> before the the show. >> thanks. one of the nation's top dance companies in the spotlight as we celebrate black history month. this renowned school first took the stage during the civil rights era four decades later it is still an inspiration to young dancers around the world. we'll tell you why and show you why. >> it's important to remind everyone that we are more alike than unalike. that sounds simple but it's at the core of what is needed. you just got a big bump in miles. so this is a great opportunity for an upgrade. sound good? 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>> we do many performances no young people, from different neighborhoods, who may never have come to the theater, but they see the company and they say to me how could i study and be like that? what can i do? what i always say use your imaginemation. you know? if you can see it, it will happen. >> with tall enand determination, robert fought his way into the dance program at the july -- julliard in new york and then to parsons and then created his own. now he has the daunting tack of continuing tradition at alvin ailey. >> we are talking about the issue. but you will have your own legacy. what will it be? >> wow...something i remember said by a nobel prize winner and it struck me as my own mantra and how i view the world i am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me. it just opens the door to the possibilities. that, to me, is my vision for the company and how i want to lead the company, all curious, always moving forward. >> what a heartfelt and inspiring ceremony that was harris. >> fox news alert the daytona has been won and fox congratulates the 24-year-old winner. >> and it looks easy. >> we missed the drama. do you think my sister's prettier than me? 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aircraft carrier. romney spoke for 20 minutes. the speech ended with a standing ovation from the crowd. but lots of questions about how well he was being received behind the scenes. romney said to be taken aback by the cold water that some leading republicans have been throwing on the idea this past week. he does seem to have his family onboard, a seeming reversal from a few months ago, when ann romney told "the los angeles times" quote, not only mitt and i are done but the kids are done. done, done done. seemed definitive when she said that back then. her change of heart is front-page news in "the new york times" this morning. you can see the story there. if there's one takeaway from romney's speech it's this. this is not just a behind closed doors thing right now. romney has publicly confirmed he's considering another run for the white house. no one has won a nomination for president and lost the general election and come back to win the presidency since richard nixon in 1978. not many have tried since then either. matt was at the speech last night. he joins us from san diego this morning. 5:00 a.m. this morning out there. we're going to have some sound in a minute to show everybody. set the stage last night. mitt romney shocks everybody with this news. now, he makes public statements. what are people saying after that speech. what's the reception like? >> this was a big moment for romney. it was a skeptical crowd. you know, the days leading up to it there were a lot of sort of negative comments about the potential romney campaign. people were appreciative respectful warm. it wasn't -- i wouldn't describe it as overly enthusiastic. everyone was polite. people thought he did a good job for the most part. and he tried to address some of the issues that he sees as justification for getting back into another campaign. >> we have some -- we want to take everybody to that aircraft carrier last night. let's play one clip. >> the world is not safer six years after barack obama has been in office. and the results of the hillary rodham clinton/barack obama foreign policy have been devastating. >> matt, i guess the other issue here, too, is how romney himself and the people around him have been interpreting the skepticism you're talking about of the last week. i hear reports they're taken aback. >> that's accurate. eviscerating, an editorial in "the wall street journal." you talk to romney people they never had a great relationship with the editorial board at "the wall street journal." stinging rhetoric for the former nominee of the party. they're surprised at the degree to which they were getting blowback for him considering running again. i think last night, they felt a need to go a little further and articulate a little bit of his rationale because, to date he hasn't done that really. he's described to a close knit group of donors what he wants to do. but he hasn't done that publicly. last night we saw the first articulation of that. but he's got a lot of work to do within the party. >> i'm just curious. you've been covering this guy for so long. you probably never thought you would be covering mitt 2016. where do you think this is going? he's dipped his toe in the water publicly here. is there a tremendous for a candidacy here? >> it was perfectly clear that he's thinking about getting in the race. but he kind of had some pregnant pauses about that. joked about, you know i'm not going to run for u.s. senate in massachusetts, he said at one point. kind of making light of his potential decision. i think a couple days ago, people around him thought he was in. you know? it was just a question of when. i do think that the blowback has caused him to sort of -- and mitt romney himself, to re-evaluate that and test whether this blowback is something that will subside over the next couple of days. if there's work they can to further make the case you know for his candidacy. >> yeah. of course, we should say, no senate races in massachusetts until 2018. still time for him to reconsider that i guess. thanks to matt viser getting up this morning. our panel fortoday luke russert, capitol hill correspondent. jessica tander. and crystal ball co-host of "the cycle." we have more of the sound of the romney speech last night. let's give you a taste of it right here. >> there's some speculation on whether or not i'm about to embark on a political endeavor on which i've been previously unsuccessful. let me state unequivocally that i have no intention for running for u.s. senate of massachusetts. i should tell you that the last few days the most frequently asked question i get is what does ann think about all this? and she believes that people get better with experience. [ applause ] and heaven knows, i have experience running for president. i'm giving some serious consideration to the future. regardless of what happens in the primaries and the political process that goes on, ann romney and i are going to be fighting for our nominee. and make sure we win back the white house for the american people. >> that's what mitt romney was saying in san diego. but what matt was saying struck me. he thought the tone might have been more restrained than romney had been planning on or had been saying privately in the last week. that maybe the blowback he's gotten from republicans here has had some effect on him. >> i think they're a little surprise. i think maybe they thought he would come in and be the savior of the party again. or people would be clamoring for him to run. that's not what i've been hearing up on capitol hill. one of the biggest obstacles is he lucked out. you had chris christie mike huckabee jeb bush passing on running. that's not the case this time. the big question is who isn't going to run, but who is going to run? everyone is jumping in and seeing this. you saw walker this week making it very clear, rand paul never afraid to take a punch. romney, you time is past trying to send him this signal. and he could be an elder statesman in the party and take that role. but if he guess forward and tries to do this and really emparseem embarrassing himself, it further tarnishing his legacy. >> he survived the juggernaut of rick sanatorium and herman cane. they think about their legacy. >> politics is all timing. president obama can tell you that. he came in at the right time for his brand. the right time for mitt romney's brand was 2012. and that brand got destroyed. mitt romney did not just barely lose. he got destroyed in the electoral college. he lost every swing state with the exception of north carolina. when you talk to members, like i did in hershey, p.a. nine out of ten go this is lunacy. this is absurd. this is not what he should be doing. this is going to take away donors from early on for jeb bush. and that could create problems in the establishment wings. he wants to do a push on poverty. he talks about his time as a poster in the mormon church how he catered to the sick and the poor. mitt 3.0, it's difficult to rebrand yourself after 47% and after the way you were a venture capitalist and so many people lost their jobs. you can say that's the way business rolls. but it just doesn't work. and when i was talking to republicans, these are not just rank and file. high-level republicans that people would know with name i.d. they throw their arms up going, this guy is out of his mind to do this. >> and nobody thought -- the thing about romney he was supposedly from the same reasonable logical -- he's the calculating business man. that's the image of him. you would think -- i don't know can you make the case this can work somehow? anybody making that case? i'm fascinated. >> he has to be looking at the poll numbers. i'm leading in iowa i have a shot here. that's what he's thinking. in a way, his data and the numbers are doing him a disservice right now. someone with human common sense would go this is insane. on a personal level, why would you want to do this again? you have a great family. a great life. you have all of the money you could possibly need. there's so many things to do in the world. why put yourself through this? >> is part of it -- we talk with the midterm elections, the president elections. but is part of it you run in 2012, you're mitt romney. yeah, the electoral college wasn't too close. but a four-point race basically. and you look at obama over the next four years. the approval ratings drop. the republicans have is a huge win in the midterms. do you say the country's changed a little bit? >> democrats aren't his problem. republicans are his problem. he was flawed. the winds are in his favor. the reason why he lost is his inability to sell himself, which came across as awkward and not able to relate. and on top of that he started off first with the speech last night. foreign policy saying the obama/hillary clinton foreign policy. he didn't mention afghanistan in his rnc speech in tampa. we were all shocked by it. how do you re-create yourself as the foreign policy and the poverty hawk. >> what rebranding number are we on now? he was the, you know the social liberal running against -- >> i remember that. >> left on gay marriage. then, the social conservative trying to win iowa against mike huckabee. then, the severe conservative. there's been so many rebrandings, i don't know how many time swres to be subjected to this idea that if we only knew the real mitt romney we would clamor for him. >> what happens now? jeb bush is making an aggressive play right now. is this a thing? does this encourage donors to go to jeb bush to send mitt romney a message? does this create an opening for somebody to stand up? the joe mccarthy moment? >> we've seen several donors that have solidified their support for jeb. mitt romney's own florida chair in 2012 says he's behind jeb if he runs. and thinks too, a lot of people wanted jeb to run last time. he passed. i think that if -- if some of his big donors and his big bender wills may be there. but with the field the way it is, i think eventually, like you said, he is a calculating businessman. eventually, he looks at this. i feel like someone's got to sit him down and say, look mitt. >> it's like -- >> emblematic with everything that's wrong with the system. the media hears about this and we feed on it. we can't believe this is going to happen. then all of the people around him, all of his operatives, they want to go on for another round. why not? they want to get rich out of it. he has plenty of money. he's listening to the donors. who are the donors? guys just like him. why did he lose? because he was out of touch with the rest of america. you're listening to the guys who are just like you, talk like you, have the same amount of money in their bank statements. you're taking their advice to take over a country that's diverse with 300 million people. >> what you said he probably looks at the polls where we've seen. all of the talk about jeb bush every time they put me against jeb bush i've been winning. you see on the screen. psychological, that does. >> he wanted to be president. he's looking at the polls. he's saying maybe i still have a shot. and i'm sure he misses being the center of attention. there was this little mitt romney boom like how much -- on the republican side how much better things would have been if mitt had won. that did not equate to therefore we want you to run again. that was the sentiment i don't think he understood that distinction. >> raise some money for me. but go on your way, thank you. >> we have to end it here. i have a feeling we'll be talking about mitt in the next few days. thanks. we'll see you throughout the show. still ahead this morning, elizabeth warren scores a big win against the white house. we'll have the postgame. and what began in paris as a french problem is turning into a worldwide problem. the latest on the terror raids and the violent protests overnight on the other side of this break. stay with us. callahan's? 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[ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. transform tomorrow. can this decadent, fruit topped pastry... ...with indulgent streusel crumble, be from... fiber one. fiber one streusel. my name is tony sartorio. i'm a lineman for pg&e out of the concord service center. i have lived here pretty much my whole life. i have been married for twelve years. i have 3 kids. i love living here and i love working in my hometown. at pg&e we are always working to upgrade reliability to meet the demands of the customers. i'm there to do the safest job possible - not only for them, but everybody, myself included that lives in the community. i'm very proud to do the work that i do and say that i am a lineman for pg&e because it's my hometown. it's a rewarding feeling. these are some of the headlines we're waking up to this morning. at the end of a truly remarkable week. dozens held across europe islamic suspect sweeps. europe on alert. u.k. police on highest ever terror alert after belgian arrests. the anger that began in paris, directed at a magazine, "charlie hebdo" is spreading far, far beyond. >> a muslim backlash is building. in algeria, police struggled to contain huge crowds, angry that the french magazine has once again published a cartoon of the prophet muhammad. in jordan, demonstrators carried pictures of the killers. and police fired tear gas in karachi. there were protests in iran turkey and elsewhere. muslims are rallying. and europe is rattled. >> that's nbc's bill nealy reporting. here to talk about this michael kay, a former british senior officer and foreign affairs correspondent. the response we've seen in europe this week the raids, the preemptive strategy right now, what do you make of this strategically? there was so much criticism after paris, these guys had been under surveillance before. does this change the equation this strategy very proactive. >> i think there has been a paradigm shift, when it comes to the posturing of the intelligence community and the security forces. what we saw post-"charlie hebdo," in terms of the brothers going on the run. the hostage crisis. and then in the city center that puts the intelligence community and the security forces and the police, it put them on the back foot. it was a reactive posture in terms of how they had to deal with the outcome of that. what's happened now, is europe has gone and has changed. it's gone to a proactive shift. we've seen that by the decision to put police on the streets, for example, 10,000 troops on the streets of france and paris. there has been this rally around anti-terrorism, in belgium at the moment. it's trying to make it easier to deploy troops on its home soil. trying to make it easier to strip suspects coming back from syria, for their citizenship. you can't do that under international law. and france amended a law on hate speech. if someone is charged for the spoken word they can get potentially convicted up to five years in prison. on the internet 7 years and $120,000 fine. there's reactive posturing from what we saw in "charlie hebdo." what we see from bill nealy's reporting, there are muslims reacting to the "charlie hebdo" covers. but we mustn't mistake a protest against what a muslim finds offensive to becoming a radical. and that is not one in the same. so there is a broad range here. that's what the intelligence communities will be struggling with at the moment. >> it does feel like the heat is getting turned up on all sides here. the crackdowns this week. the aggressive crackdowns by authorities. the laws you're telling me about being passed. and certainly, there's probably most if not all, the people we just showed there, they're protesting something they find offensive. but obviously, it was "charlie hebdo's" work that created -- didn't create it but fed into the violence. where does it go from here? >> it's a very fine line. we've been talking about and debating and struggling with the balance of tolerance of religion, versus charging people for inciting hatred extremism or violence. and the u.k. has been prominent in that. hyde park, one of the biggest parks in london. you have one of the speakers corners in hyde park. the people can come and talk freely about whatever they want. and that includes people who want to talk about extreme versions of islam. they've been allowed to do that. but there's a contemporary debate about what is the balance? what is the line? one thing we were talking about before we came on is terrorism looks different in the context of globalization. that's something we also have to struggle with. we knew there were insurgencies in vietnam. now, there's insurgencies in syria. and it's easier to jump on an airplane at jfk, and fly to europe and travel all the way through europe into turkey and into syria. the access is easier. getting passports is easier. the ability to spread rhetoric over special media is easier. and i think all of these things are convoluting and making it more complicated for the intelligence services to counter the threats. a couple of months ago, six months, a year ago, there was a debate about the nsa and the nsa's ability to troll e-mail accounts and look for that needle in the haystack. the intelligence community has a really difficult job. damned if they do damned if they don't. but the effects of people coming back from syria, the intelligence community has a difficult role. they do a job behind the scenes that no one knows about. and we only hear about it when "a," they get it wrong. which isn't very often. and when the raids start occurring. the work that goes into all of that is phenomenal. and maybe we should take some of the resources that we're putting into foreign policy. we will have spent $6 trillion in iraq and afghanistan, when it comes to 2020. maybe we need to funnel that into more domestic resources, financing on the security forces, home security forces for intelligence. >> there's so much that we see. so much that we don't see, as well. thanks as always to michael kay. we appreciate you getting up and joining us this morning. still ahead, if you're old enough to drive, should you be old enough to vote? 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all of the resistance we've been hearing. the skepticism we've been hearing. do you think he changed anybody's mind last night? >> i don't. and i'm surprised that it was not more definitive. i think at this point, you know he can't waste too much time. if he's in he's got a lot of work to do. he's got, frankly, jeb bush if he's not careful, is going to eat up a lot of his donor base. i guess i thought he was going to be if he was going to run, he was going to almost say that more definitively. i was surprised he didn't do that. but you know, look. i don't know if the speech was going to change things. there is plenty of former supporters of his who want to remain on the sidelines are aren't sold. >> where does this go from here? at some level, and there's been reporting on this this has surprised him a little bit, the blowback this has generated. do you think this leads to a point where he sort of looks around and says, all right. i'll stay out. or is he so far in now, he has to stay in for a while? >> i look at it sometimes, what's logical and rationale to outsiders, you have to remember, we're dealing with human beings here. number one, he's a very competitive person. number two he's not used to failing. and i think when you think about that as part of his own just sort of dna, i would have a -- i was a skeptic. and then last weekend, he's the one making calls. you know? i was a skeptic because it was others making calls on his behalf. but he was certainly calling john mccain, calling kelly ayotte calling folks, to gauge reaction. i think he's out there. and i think the competitor in him is going to make it hard for him to pull -- i would be surprised if he would pull back. if he does it's admitting he can't beat jeb bush. i don't think he's ready to admit that. >> we talk about how early these things start. this one -- the aggression in the earliness. what is it having on donors and the rest of the field? >> you know it so well in your days of covering new jersey politics and the northeastern donor community, wall street et cetera jeb bush -- i think he clearly has been very methodical about his planning on this campaign. this was not a sort of fly by the seat of your pants situation by jeb bush down to the fact i think he lost 15 pounds over the calendar year of 2014. he got himself physically in shape. and then sort of got his own financial house in order. got his family house in order. and knew he had to go somewhat early because number one, there's people that never believed he was going to run. he had to show more leg because other candidates because people didn't believe him. that's one. two, he has work to do with conservatives. he has to figure out how to win them over. so, you need a longer run-up time. and then three, this is a shock and awe on the financial front. their whole plan here they're not going to be hiring campaign staff in the next six weeks. their whole plan here is to choke off financially mitt romney and chris christie as fast as possible on that front. and possibly do damage to scott walker, who also wants to -- i think has potential to do well in the establishment donor community. that's what jeb is doing. he accelerated this thing. and suddenly romney who had been pondering it more seriously than we realize, he had to accelerate his case. ditto to everything else. >> the other thing in the news this morning. i want you to talk about the politics of it. is the supreme court agreeing to take up same-sex marriage. a hypothetical here. but if the court were to say same-sex marriage was the law in all 50 states looking ahead to 2016, there's never been a republican that said i'm okay with same-sex marriage could that change the equational all? >> i'm wondering if it will. it might in the primaries. but i say that. and i know you've seen these comments. to watch mike huckabee walk this line. where he wasn't -- you know he's accepting the law of the land atmosphere when it comes to same-sex marriage. not saying he's going to be a supporter of it. but it doesn't sound like he wants to achemake it part of his platform, the idea that this has got to be stopped and things like that. if even mike huckabee's not ready to do this and he has an evangelical base who does? rick sanatorium? i talked to rick sanatorium. he doesn't want to be the social conservative guy this time. he wants to be seen more frankly, as a national candidate. more as a wholistic candidate that can speak to different parts of the electorate. i don't know beyond ted cruz goes on this issue, maybe down this road. i'm looking around in this republican field steve. and i don't see somebody who is going to decide to make it their be-all, end-all. it's a possibility to use the issue to do well in an iowa. there's a lot of evangelical voters who feel that evangelical leaders haven't fought hard enough on this issue of marriage. i don't see politicians prepared to run comfortable doing it. >> all right. chuck todd the moderator of "meet the press." still ahead this morning, the supreme court sets the stage for a historic decision on same of sex marriage. once and for all, either way. and next republican lawmakers on a sugar high this weekend. charlie dent joins us on the other side of the break. audible safety beeping audible safety beeping audible safety beeping the nissan rogue with safety shield technologies. the only thing left to fear is you imagination. nissan. innovation that excites. if you're running a business legalzoom has your back. over the last 10 years we've helped over one million business owners get started. visit us today for legal help you can count on to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here. 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[ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ ♪ we needed 30 new hires for our call center. i'm spen how could a luminous protein in jellyfish impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 70% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. you had your choice of spending a few days in san diego, where it was sunny, and temperatures in the 70s this week. or hershey, pennsylvania, where it barely got above freezing. which would you choose? hershey has chocolate. if you were a republican, chances are you were lucky enough to visit one of those destinations. the rnc had winter meetings in san diego. congressional republicans, house and senate members gathered in hershey, pennsylvania. a rare joint meeting. republican leaders and legislators from both houses. the retreat featured a performance by jay leno. and a speech by former prime minister tony blair. and joanie ernest will give the gop rebuttal to the president's state of the union this tuesday night. we are joined by congressman charlie dent of pennsylvania. and luke russert, who was rereporting from there. he's back at the table now. congressman, let me start with you. this was in politico trying to recap what happened at the retreat. they called it little more than a chocolate-infused meat beat. the chocolate fog. saying that you in the house and the senate got together and there's not much that but were able to settle on policy-wise. is that a fair way of summarizing it? >> well first, let me say, as the congressman who represents hershey, pennsylvania, i'm very proud of it. i prefer being in hershey. we had a lot of chocolate, reese's and everything else. and lebanon baloney. we needed to manage expectations. that is an argument that we needed to hear from the senate. the house is only able to accomplish as much as the senate is able to pass. that drove much of the discussions. whether it was the recent homeland security appropriations bill. i know the senate will not take that bill in its current form. members of the house have to accept the reality of the senate -- >> is what you're saying basically -- it sounds like what you're learning the lessons of the shutdown. learning not to push too far. is that what you're getting across to members? >> that's one of the messages we wanted to get across to members. manage expectations. bring them back to reality. second thing, we have to talk about what issues, where can we collaborate? i don't think the senate is in a position to do tax reform. i thought going into the retreat, the senate might be in a better position to do limited tax reform. i walked out pessimistic on that front. on trade, infrastructure, i had the impression that the senate was more amenable to those issues and we can work with the president on those issues. >> luke you were there. and the congressman alluded a minute ago, one of the issues coming up is the funding for homeland security. and the republicans passed a bill that could do away with all of obama's executive actionon this, in exchange for funding. democrats say that's a nonstarter with them. a nonstarter in the senate. where does this go? what's the end game on this one? >> they're kind of stuck the right now because they moved this bill forward. it started out very far to the right. we should mention congressman dent voted against something that was the repeal of dacca. the president did in 2012, that allowed the children of undocumented immigrants to stay in the country. and talking to leadership folks, they thought the bill wednesday too far to the right. by but they did that so boehner could send it back and say, we can't move it. they're in a tough situation because they want to stand up to the president on immigration. they want to make a point they were not okay with the executive orders the president did the most recent round in november. but they've chosen -- they've chosen to do this on terrain which now does not look good for them, in light of what happened in paris and the foiled terror plot against the capitol. one of the central pillars of republican philosophies the national level, is strong national security. to play games with homeland security money leadership will tell you, mr. dent will tell you, is probably not a good idea. they have to figure out how to stand up. and it's unclear how they're going to do that to the president. >> congressman, so as luke says, you voted against that amendment, most republicans voted for it. but you and a dozen or -- >> 26. >> 26 voted no. but those republicans, who are basically saying we need to take something off the books here. we need to make some kind of stand here against what the president has done on immigration. obviously, the white house and democrats say no. none of that's coming off the books. where is the give? >> here's where the give is going to be. clearly, all house republicans very much object to the president's executive actions on immigration. that said, many of us in the republican conference believe that we mustard immigration legislatively. that simply expressing our dis displeasure with the dacca is not enough. we have to come up with a plan on immigration. not just border security. i support that. we have to deal with high-tech visas, we have to work with interior enforcement and the children who came to this country, through no fault of their own. simply saying no to the president's action isn't enough. we need to deal with it legislatively. and walking out of the retreat, i have a sense that we are going to be dealing with several pieces of immigration reform. so that's really the issue for republicans. we're having this discussion. we have to be proactive on this not just talk about redealing what obama has done. president obama has done. what we're going to replace his actions with. >> before we let you go congressman, i have to ask you. probably a lot of talk about this at the retreat, too. mitt romney running for president again in 2016. do you think it's a good idea? >> well third time is not a charm. and i -- as much respect and admiration i have for governor romney, i've not -- i'm not one of those who is encouraging him to enter the race right now. i just don't think there's much to be gained by a third kick here. i don't think -- i don't think it will work out for him. >> okay. there we go. another republican on the record on that one. congressman charlie dent representing hershey, pennsylvania. thanks for getting up. luke russert. see you again. up next this morning, making income equality a reality. that's on the aidagenda for world leaders this morning. out of 42 vehicles... based on 6 different criteria... why did a panel of 11 automotive experts... ... name the volkswagen golf motor trend's 2015 car of the year? we'll give you four good reasons the all-new volkswagen golf starting at $17,995. there's an award winning golf for everyone. this is the equivalent of the sugar in one regular can of soda. and this is a soda a day for a year. over an average adult lifetime that's 221,314 cubes of sugar. but you can help change that with a simple choice. drink more water. filtered by brita. ♪ and introducing our new advanced filter, now better than ever. your eyes really are unique. in fact, they depend on a unique set of nutrients. that's why there's ocuvite to help protect your eye health. as you age your eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite is a vitamin made just for your eyes from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. ocuvite has a unique formula that's just not found in any leading multivitamin. your eyes are unique so help protect your eye health with ocuvite. y'know what my business philosophy is, reynolds? 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who told members of the council, hyattsville should lower the voting age to 16 so young people can get active in their communities, which will continue with them in their entire lives. when the number of voters increases, the city government is bound to be better represented and backed up by more support. we're happy to have on the set, sarah leonard, who brought this campaign to fruition this week. and luke back at the table with us. you're 15 years old. you're going to start voting, 16-year-olds will start voting in a few months. you won't be eligible at first. you have to wait another year. tell us about how you would get this idea in the first place. where did it come from? >> my council member came to me and told me about the legislation he was trying to pass. and i thought it was really really interesting and a great opportunity. and i wanted to speak at the city council meeting because i thought it was really important to get involved politically and not just like thinking about getting involved like in the future. but thinking about getting involved now. and how cool it would be to vote next year instead of waiting. and going to college and not being -- living in the same place and being able to vote while i'm still living in hyattsville. >> have you been interested in following local politics for a while? and it's been something you were interested in to begin with? >> this year i started taking a government class. and i think that got me interested and involved in like, government and like local and state and national government. and so it got me interested. what does our city council do? and what does all of our government do? this year i really got involved. >> what was the argument against this? to me it makes so much sense. you're in high school. the city council is talking about roads. schools, all things that impact you really directly right? what was the argument against lowering the voting age? >> the only arguments i heard were that we didn't have enough life experience which i don't -- >> that's so overrated. >> i mean i have a job and i pay taxes. and i am learning how to drive on the city roads. i feel like that is enough life experience to be able to vote in a city council election. >> they didn't have a whole lot to offer in terms of a counter? >> yeah. >> clearly, your argument won the day. >> from conversations with your friends, do you think this will spur civic activity? it's remarkable you showed up in the numbers you did. and you're well-spoken and pushing forward. it stems from your interest in a government class. do you think your friends will be talking about the municipal elections around the cafeteria at lunch break? >> definitely. my friends were like what is a city council do? how do you vote for that. and interested about what their opportunity meant. and i thought they were interested. they were asking if they could run for mayor. >> how about any plans to -- can you run for office at 16 now? >> yes. >> you can? any thoughts. >> you want to make an announcement today, sarah? >> i would consider running for council member. i think it would be cool. and anyone who is 16 and can convince their neighbors to vote for them should have that opportunity. >> we just made news in hyattsville hyattsville, maryland. the first conversation with the 2016 candidate for city council. this applies to city elections. municipal elections. it does not apply to voting for governor or president. is that something you want to see, though? >> i think we should get, after, a lot of cities try to lower the voting age. and it shows how it increases voter turnout and increases political awareness and activity, then state governments might consider lowering the voting age. to increase voter turnout, just like this. >> you think there's a direct correlation. you mentioned your friends were talking about it at school. i would assume if you're 16 and you come into school and your teacher says you can exercise your right to vote you can make a difference these are what the issues are to me you're a better informed voter because you're getting it from school. and you have your friends who are collectively trying to do something. >> yeah. i think we are really informed voters because we're currently learning about it. we learn about it every day. and we research it. >> what's more than some 75-year-old who hasn't been brushed up on the issues for a long time. >> it's exciting because you know we've seen a huge drop-off between presidential years to midterm to city council, is usually the lowest turnout that you see. to me i think it's exciting the idea of being so invested and so focused on those local elections, which really have the biggest impact on people's day-to-day lives. >> yeah. >> and more of a chance to have an impact. if there's lower turnout and you mobilize, you can have -- sarah leonard, activist and potential hyattsville city council member. really appreciate you coming in. an hour of 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the latest on the "charlie hebdo" protests overnight. we want to begin that the supreme court is setting the stage for historic decision on same-sex marriage. it was only last week that florida became the 36th state in the country to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. the number of states that allow same-sex coverage has doubled in the last six months. it's the supreme court to decide once and for all, in what might be the cultural issue of our time. the justices announcing late yesterday, whether same-sex couples have a right to marry everywhere under the constitution. this morning, believes the court will do just that. a litigation partner at gibson and dunn as well as a former clerk to sandra day o'connor. thanks for joining us. it's early out there. you say you're confident that taking this case means the supreme court is going to rule in favor. why? >> thank you, steve. the supreme court's decisions over the last two decades really compelled that result. going back to lawrence versus texas and just not even two years ago, in the doma case and the proposition "a" case the supreme court has recognized that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same equality and that marriage is a fundamental right. they've held that over a dozen times over the last century. these are principles that are fundamental. and the constitution protects every american. and just again, the doma decision which was written by justice kennedy, truly compels that result. that justice scalia noted in his disscent dis dissent. he says every person in every state has the right to marry the person they love. >> what does that mean? kennedy is the swing vote. are we looking at a 5-4 ruling do you think here? does it matter if it's not unanimous? what does it look like? >> i would not limit it to 5-4, steve. i think that it's possible for there to be even more justices who will agree. again, these are fundamental principles. and they've been reaffirmed many times. and the supreme court is consistently struck down discrimination in all forms, against a variety of disfavored groups over the decades, women, racial and ethnic minorities. it's now clear in a laws like these, these discriminatory marriage bans truly harm not just gay and lesbian couples, but their families and their children. as justice kennedy said, in the doma decision these children are humiliated by laws like this. but their voices are asking the court to protect them. and that's the role of the courts. the courts are there to protect the rights of minorities and our constitutional system. >> what would happen if the court, if you're wrong on this, and the court ends up saying no and we're going to strike down gay marriage 36 states all of the people who have gotten married in the last few years, what would happen there? would there be a basis for another legal challenge? the couple saying we had the right and now it's taken away. is that a separate legal mat center. >> absolutely. first i think it's unlikely that the court would uphold the laws that are at issue, in the four cases from michigan ohio tennessee and kentucky. but even if they did, if a right is granted and then it's taken away, as we argued in the proposition 8 case, that allow is a constitutional violation. >> all right. my thanks. we'll keep a close eye on this story story. a big decision coming down this morning. and turning to the battle between the white house and elizabeth warren. and a big win for the massachusetts senator. wall street investment banker antonio weiss, withdrawing his name from the number three post at the treasury department. he cried uncle after attacks from elizabeth warren. in a letter to the president, weiss said, quote, i do not believe that the treasury department would be well-served by the lengthy confirmation process my renomination would likely entail. on paper, weiss looked like another routine appointment. but opposing him, warren may be setting a new precedent. >> enough is enough with wall street insiders getting key position after key position. and the kind of cronyism that we have seen in the executive branch. >> democrats and republicans, more sympathetic to wall street are worried about the impact warren's win will have on future nominations. former obama spokesman ben labolt saying, she established a new litmus test if you worked on wall street to regular lair agency or even agency that touches economic policy. here to try to answer that question, perry bacon jr. and josh green. thanks for joining us this morning. you wrote an interesting story this week. the headline put it up on the screen. "queen elizabeth." talking to people who are on wall street, close to wall street. in the financial industry what's their reaction to what they're seeing what happen here? >> their reaction is a combination of horror and frustration. first of all, because weiss was only the latest white house nominee with ties to wall street, who elizabeth warren was able to kind of push aside. and real concern because, by any traditional measure, weiss wasn't a flawed candidate. he hadn't worked for one of the big banks that got a federal bailout. he didn't have any ethical problems, anything like that. and yet, still, he was essentially forced out of the role that the president had nominated him to simply because of his ties to wall street. and specifically warren said because he was involved in something called tax inversions where u.s. companies purchase smaller companies overseas and move their headquarters to escape u.s. taxes. so, in defeating weiss' nomination, the worry on wall street is that she has expanded the list of what are considered to be unacceptable financial sins. and that potentially hurts or eliminates an awful lot of people on wall street who would like to someday serve in government. >> perry, in terms of government, this is a nomination that was probably going to sail through if elizabeth warren doesn't speak through. when it's on the issue of banks and on the issues of big business corporate america, when she speaks up an awful lot of democrats don't want to be against her. >> she had a lot of -- josh's piece was excellent. one thing he noted was barney frank noted the point that people in your district care what elizabeth warren thinks even if you don't live in massachusetts. a lot of liberals nationally look to elizabeth warren as a guide. if she says this nominee is bad, the house and senate members fell like, i can't vote for this person. she wasn't the only person opposing weiss. you have dick durbin, the senator from illinois, very close to the president, i don't want this nomination, either. i think she's gaining a lot of power. like josh said this is not the first person she opposed. she was behind the scenes opposing larry summers, heading the federal reserve, as well. she is not just attacking people with wall street experience. people that are close to the clintons, who are more pro-wall street in policy even if they didn't work on wall street. just the broader schism between a pro-wall street view of the democratic party, one that can work with wall street. and warren is almost anti-wall street anti-citigroup, break up the bank vision of the democratic party. >> the democratic party, when bill clinton was president, made the alliance with wall street. put this on a broader context. republicans have made it to go of dodd frank. hillary clinton tweeted on that subject. attacking financial reform is risky and wrong. better for congress to focus on jobs and wages for middle-class families. are we watching the end of that alliance that bill clinton started between the democratic party and wall street? >> i don't think so no. i think what we are seeing is the full measure of warren's expanded power. one of the things that frustrated her, if you talk to her allies is that obama had not been nearly as vigorous in defending the dodd-frank financial reforms. there were provisions slipped in with the tass et agreement of the white house rolling back some of the financial reforms. warren objected to that. and one reason she came out so hard against weiss, is to essentially let democrats friendly to wall street know there is a price to be paid for this behavior. she will knock off the nominees if they don't stand up for the laws. i don't think it's any coincidence that hillary clinton is out there tweeting about the need to defend financial reform laws. she's seen the flight and knows what's at stake. >> she had been a little cute with the speculation saying i am not running. putting in the present tense. a lot more definitive this week. have we heard the end of that? >> i think we have heard the end of it. i think the base groups that want her to run, the draft warren groups are going to keep going. the iowa caucus doesn't start until next year. and they have a year to change her mind. i don't think they're going to do that. but josh is right. elizabeth warren's campaign is to push the democratic party to the left without running for president. i think yesterday's hillary clinton's tweet told me that hillary's noticing what warren is doing. there's a strong part of the democratic party that's excited about warren. there's nervousness from democrats i talk to is hillary going to be tough enough against wall street. i think hillary knows she's adjusting to that. and warren may be success in moving the party without running for president. i don't see her running for president at this stage. >> perry bacon jr., and josh green from bloomberg business week. chris christie is telling backers to relax. but again, he compared himself to a duck. we'll explain after this. can't say thank you enough. you have made my life special by being apart of it. 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(announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. what is chris christie telling people these days? with wnbc's report of looming indictments in the bridgegate saga and other candidates aggressively pursuing the gop establishment, people in christie's corner, what is the governor saying these days? this is what he told a new jersey radio station. >> what i told everybody supporters of mine potential donors of mine, staff, is relax. >> christie's message may be laidback, but here he was at yesterday's inaugural for iowa. iowa, the first state to vote for the presidential nomination. and here he is, on the steps of the statehouse in south carolina. christie angling for '16. but the headlines have been whether he's at risk of getting elbowed out before the gop race even starts. can he even catch up to jeb bush and mitt romney when it comes to lining up the support. "the record" in new jersey recording that some of the home state backers crossed the river to manhattan for a secret meeting with jeb bush. while jeb bush and mitt romney turn up the heat on donors is chris christie at risk at getting left in the dusk? talking about state government in that radio interview, he may have said something about his presidential strategy, too. >> all of the biggest issues you remember over the years, i'm like a duck on the pond. all calm up front. but paddling like crazy under the water. >> joining me now is robert costa, political reporter with "the washington post." christie saying everything is fine here. paddling like a duck under the water. is there a risk here with aggressive moves from jeb bush and mitt romney that chris christie is losing out on what he needs to be doing at this point? >> governor romney and governor bush have sped up the clock. you see all potential contenders moving up their efforts to get staff, get the fund-raisers in line. but the confidence that christie and his people have comes from the national political network they established last year running the republican governors' association. they believe they can go to the governors they helped to elect and put them in their camp eventually. >> the other issue here and we said this at the top here we have a report from wnbc in new york that six, maybe more indictments, of people around christie, no expectation, christie himself, but people around him, may be getting indicted in the bridgegate thing. one of the potential wall street donor was quoted in politico this week about christie saying i like him. and under other circumstances, i could support him. but not with mitt and jeb in the race. and christie has so many other issues. and i wonder robert when you say so many other issues i think he means bridgegate the scandal around christie. is that a way that donors look at christie saying, we want this resolved more first? >> certainly. i spoke to members of the republican national committee, in san diego, and members of congress in hershey for a retreat, they speak positively about christie. they think he has a conservative record in new jersey. they have reservations about the bridge episode. they think it continues to cloud his possible candidacy. >> the radio interview at the top, chris christie was asked about his relationship with the bush family. >> that's just the way it goes. so if jeb decides ultimately to run, and i decided ultimately to run, i think i've said this to you before. i hope that what we do is to run based on our particular vision for the country and for our party. and may the best person win. >> it's interesting because we talk about these republican primaries. we're so used to saying there's the establishment candidate. and then the conservative, grassroots candidate. they split up the vote and allowed the accomplishment candidate to win. mccain or romney. christie and bush are angling to play the same role. what would the dividing line between them be? >> the dividing line is temperament. you see jeb bush courting christie's people in new jersey, that sends a signal about how the bushes are going to play hard for christie's own base. and christie is in a tough spot. you look at his political career. gets his start in '92. helps george h.w. bush's campaign. and it was the bushes that were calling for christie to run in 2011 when he declined to run for the white house. running against the bushes that machine, that will be difficult for the governor. >> interesting. this morning you a story, the 2016 turning into a fight between veterans and newcomers. how do you assess the big picture? >> you have huckabee romney jeb bush all the names from the past running against a new class of republicans. scott walker, ted cruz rand paul. who is going to lead the republican party in the post-obama era? that's the generational flight. >> robert costa, appreciate you joining us this morning. if chris christie does run for president, he needs to bay ware of this photo. the lessons learned from martin o'malley on a horse. that's next. ♪ with the incredible fuel efficiency of 38 mpg highway... ♪ ...you can feel like royalty in the nissan altima. ♪ now get great offers on the 38 mpg highway nissan altima. nissan, innovation that excites. want to know how hard it can be... ...to breathe with copd? 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i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today. everybody, today, we're setting up the right to rise pact which is a pact to support candidates that believe in conservative principles that allow all americans to rise up. you're interested go to righttherise.org. that's jeb bush announcing the formation of his pac, in a video posted to instagram. it's one of the newer forms of social media. and how the candidates are using this. give you a tour of what's going on there. there's attention when you have politicians that are trained to do scripted on-message political things like you see on jeb bush's page here versus the politicians that are let loose a little bit on social media, especially instagram and have fun with it. jeb bush just joined. only 13 posts so far. not many shots of him doing fun or adventurous things. some of the other candidates, using it differently. we noticed on the republican side lots of hunting pictures. bobby jindal we think, the louisiana governor, had the most. you can see he's been on this thing for a year and a half. another bobby jindal with the kids going hunting right there. rand paul. rand paul has a lot of fun with twitter. here, using a bow and arrow. not as many hunting references. but he mixes the explicitly political with the personal personality building stuff. a good following. you see paul ryan. he is into hunting, as well. he took himself out of the mix for 2016 this week. ted cruz giving the example he's a little less personal. and little more on the explicitly political messages. he had one exception on his page, we want to show you. when george h.w. bush had his 90th birthday. ted cruz took out his socks. a tribute to him there. what do we notice about scott walker's instagram account? he had the most references to ronald reagan. the most pictures to ronald reagan. we counted five or six on that page. he's been on it only for a few weeks now. chris christie we noticed this. chris christie, he's somebody who seems to have a lot of fun with instagram. nearly 10,000 followers. but a number of pictures that seem to be showing leadership. assuming the role of a coach here almost in talking to a high school football team. that's something we actually also saw with the vice president. with joe biden, by far the most instagram followers. with the u.s. national soccer team. the leader role the coach role. this we thought was the funniest picture we found on anybody's page. this is martin o'malley the ex-governor. 588 followers. this is the guy that may be running againstrun ing against mchk. elizabeth warren was pictures from her 2016 campaign. nothing since then. the interesting thing we found, on the democratic side besides martin o'malley hillary clinton, no official page. jim webb no official page. bernie sanders, no official page. no official account. if instagram has anything to say about who the next president is they want to get involved in that. that takes us to the end of our little tour of instagram. we'll have news when we come back about a violent protest overnight. new concerns about a potential attack in europe. up next who officials fear terrorists may be targeting next. stay with us. 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"charlie hebdo" protests around the world. this is what it looked like in pakistan. four people injured with gunshot wounds there. similar scenes in algeria, in jordan, in niger, where four people were killed. 20 people have been arrested in raids in belgium, france and germany. belgium sending in armed soldier soldiers to beef up its police presence. the u.k. this morning, at its highest terror alert ever. stay with msnbc and nbc throughout the weekend for the latest developments. this morning on the show why john kerry brought along a friend with him to paris. and up next, where in the world are we taking our contestants in the second-annual up against the clock tournament of champions. that video, the only hint they're going to get this morning. no one said becoming a champion would be easy. stay with us. they're still after me. get to the terminal across town. are all the green lights you? no. it's called grid iq. the 4:51 is leaving at 4:51. ♪ they cut the power. it'll fix itself. power's back on. quick thinking traffic lights and self correcting power grids make the world predictable. thrillingly predictable. i have a cold with terrible chest congestion. i better take something. theraflu severe cold doesn't treat chest congestion. really? new alka-seltzer plus day powder rushes relief to your worst cold symptoms plus chest congestion. 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seven days, and we'll buy your car even if you don't buy ours. but if i decide to buy a convertible? the offer is exactly the same either way. nice! aaanndd... here it is! we'll take it! terrific. sell your car the fast and easy way, with no strings attached, at carmax. start here. live from studio 3a in rockefeller center usa, it's time for a special "tournament of champions" edition of "up against the clock." he's practically a member of the e. street band since he's been to 41 bruce springsteen concerts. say hello to luke russert. she's the reigning "up against the clock" champion and plans to do it all over again. please welcome krystal ball. she played the french horn. and looking to hit the right notes today, it's jessica taylor. now, the host of "up against the clock," steve kornacki. >> thank you jim cutler. thank you, contestants. thank you, studio audience. everyone tuning in at home. and welcome to a very special opening round edition of "the up against the clock," 2015 tournament of champions. all three contestants you see here today, well this, is actually not true. i'll explain this in a second. jessica and luke won their qualifying matches earlier in the season. maybe you remember those games. krystal ball as the returning national champion from 2014 out tomatically placed in the tournament. >> i thought i was world champion. >> we change the title. galactic why not. she is the number one overall seed. the next three weekends opening round match-ups. the winner from each of those games will compete in a very special national championship edition or world championship edition of "up against the clock." one bit of news about the rules. they remain the same for tournament play, but we're supersizing the round. instead of 100 seconds, they will now be 105 seconds. maybe an extra question or two there, depending on how fast you are on the buzzers, contestants. the rules remain the same. you can ring in at any time. you will be penalized for wrong answers. instant bonus and quoted note bonus, as they come up. with that i will ask you to put your hands on the buzzers. we'll put 105 seconds on the clock. and the tournament of champions will begin with this. caramel popcorn was on the dessert when president obama had a working dinner at the white house with this world leader. >> david cameron. >> jessica on the board. on monday arne duncan proposed changes to this education act. >> no child left behind. >> jessica with the early lead. a congressional delegation let by patrick leahy is departing for -- >> cuba. >> jessica, with 300 points. with their bare hands thursday, tommy summoned -- >> el capitan. >> it's located in what -- >> yellowstone. >> incorrect. >> luke? >> yosemite. >> in yosemite. 100 points for luke. he's on the board. she will not run for governor in 2016. krystal? >> barbara boxer. >> incorrect. this missouri democratic senator. >> mccaskill. >> stop the clock. a lot of early activity. luke, you have triggered our instant video bonus question. no penalty for a guess on this one. we have a special celebrity guest who will read you a famous political quote if you can identify who spoke those words. direct your attention to our video monitor. and susie essman. >> i'm susie essman with this week's up against the clock of note. which former first lady said the following in her wellesley college commencement address. someone in this audience may be someone who will follow in my footsteps and preside over the white house as the president's spouse. i wish him well. good luck. >> hillary clinton. >> incorrect. it was barbara bush at wellesley college. no penalty. that was a bonus question. we'll set the clock back in motion. this major u.s.-based retail giant, announced this week it will be closing. >> target. >> 133 canadian stores. the national republican senatal committee announced that this texas senator -- >> ted cruz. >> will no longer be the chairman of grassroots outreach. president obama held a white house screening of this controversial movie. >> "selma." >> "selma" is correct. the cadbury candy company announced it is changing the recipe for this iconic treat. >> cat cadbury eggs. >> dairy eggs? >> we can accept that. only in the united kingdom. cream eggs. which probable 2016 contender said in an interview, it's the definition of insanity. >> rand paul. >> about a mitt romney presidential campaign. 100 points for krystal. jessica taylor out to the lead with 400 points. luke behind her at 200. krystal getting it to zero. easy to make up ground in the 200-point round. questions a little harder. twice as valuable. 105 seconds on the clock. the 200-point round begins with this -- the obama administration's new proposal to require companies to provide paid sick leave to their employees on what site. >> linkedin. >> 200-point toss up. marijuana smoke was high in the air as the local band string cheese incident and the lumme nears played at tuesday night's inaugural festivities for what colorado govern center. >> john hickenlooper. >> hickenlooper's inauguration. on thursday this person said quote, compromise is not a dirty word if it moves texas forward. >> senator john cronyn. >> rick perry. in his farewell address. not only do you get 200 points for correctly identifying rick perry, but you have trig ured our use it or lose it bonus question. here's how it works. we have a question that is related to the one you just answered. if you choose to take the question and correctly answer it we will double what you just won, giving you an additional 200 points. if you're incorrect, we will take the 200 points away. i have the bonus question. will you use it or lose it. >> the tournament of champions. go big or go home. >> i like that attitude. here's your follow-up question. rick perry goes out of office as texas' longest serving governor in history. who was the second-longest consecutively serving governor of texas? >> kay richards. >> it was george w. bush actually. eight full years. we take the 200 points off the board. you're in the lead. and the clock back in motion. on monday ohio state won the first-ever college football playoff national championship. name one of the senators from the state whose -- >> luke? >> rob portman. >> incorrect. i'll complete the question. whose school lost that game. >> krystal? >> patty murray. >> incorrect. >> jessica, want to answer? >> whose school? >> whose school lost the game. we call time. we would have taken john widen. >> next weekend, a number of potential 2016 republican presidential candidates will be attending an event in iowa. >> steve king. >> 200 points for jessica. 200-point tossup. after president obama announced his proposal to make community college tuition free, this actor -- >> tom hanks. >> jessica turning up the heat here. it was announced that this broadway and animated film star would be performing the national anthem. >> idina menzel. >> 200-point toss up. paul lepage said he -- >> angus king. >> may challenge angus king up for re-election in what year? >> 2018. >> ends the round. luke gets to zero. jessica, 1,200. krystal behind. things can get funny moving to the 300-point round. the hardest questions we have. the most valuable. we have seen crazy things happen. we'll dim the lights for dramatic effect. to the final round. we'll put the clock up on the board. we begin with this. gun legislation, supported by the nra was vetoed this week by this republican governor of a blue state. >> jessica? >> rick snyder. >> rick snyder in michigan. 300-point tossup. at a lecture on world peace on tuesday, this global religious leader declared as far as socioeconomic theory i am -- >> dalai lama. >> i am marxist. this coming wednesday, boyd rutherford will take the oath of office in the state of maryland becoming the third-consecutive african-american to hold this -- >> lieutenant governor. >> the lieutenant governor of maryland. 300 points for you. paul ryan announced this week he will not be running for president in 2016, referring to focus -- >> chairman of the house ways and means committee. >> incorrect. i'll finish the question. how many ways and means chairman in history have gone on to become president? krystal? >> zero. >> incorrect. you want to guess? the answer is three. in the wake of barbara boxer's retirement, this lieutenant governor -- >> gavin newsom. >> gavin newsom will not run for her seat in 2016. on thursday this western state became the first in the nation to require high school students to pass a federal civics test. >> arizona. >> chip englander. >> i'll complete the question. successfully -- >> bruce rounen. >> failed to make the district of columbia the 53rd state was introduced by in nonvoting delegate. time. she got it in. that is the game. jessica taylor very impressive opening round performance. 1,800 points. you will advance to the national championship game. and upset victory, defeating the national champion. you see the bracket for the championship game. the other two match-ups to come. now, we will tell you what you win if you win the national championship game. >> with your victory today, you earn a spot on contestants' row, in the "up against the clock" tournament of champions title game. putting you one step closer to earning this season's grand prize, an unforgettable night at the ballpark. yes. that's right. we'll send you and three of your closest friends on a free new york city subway ride to historic mcu stadium in brooklyn, home of the new york mets single-a short season minor league affiliate, the brooklyn cyclones. but wait. there's more. you'll be escorted to the pitcher's mound before the game by sandy the sea gull, the official brooklyn cyclones' mascot where you throw out the ceremonial first pitch. all of this could be yours. but only if you're smart enough fast enough and tough enough to win the "up against the clock" championship. >> all right. our thanks to the brooklyn cyclones for taking part in our grand prize. very excited for that. jessica, that is what you'll be playing for a few weeks from now. >> got to be warming up. >> a very impressive performance today. krystal and luke you leave with the home edition. up next you may not want to brew another pot of coffee this morning. maybe it means you do. the top headlines catching our eye this morning. they are next. i make a lot of purchases for my business. and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. for a crowd this big your everyday dishes will only go so far. literally. you had to go deep into the cupboard. embarrassingly deep. can this mismatched mess be conquered... by a little bit of dish liquid? 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they are going to have to go on the record and vote on that. >> that was one of my favorite. >> i'm really interested to see how this plays out. a couple other things, we have the philadelphia inquirer with the big news in pennsylvania. the ncaa and penn state have cut a deal. they are restoring the wins of joe paterno. his legacy was ruined by that child sex abuse scandal. it keeps the $60 million fine intact but allows penn state to give that money to child protection services instead. 111 victories are restored. >> this is absolutely absurd. the hockey team is going to put 409, the number of wins on the helmet. the basketball team is going to wear shirts that say 409. let's not forget what happened here. penn state decided that football and their university and all the legacy of joe paterno was more important than keeping children safe. i'm shocked that there's not more outrage over this. >> i've had a tough time. i was a huge paterno fan for years. i bought into the whole idea this was the sainted coach. this is what everybody should aspire to be. trying to assign blame, was this a guy who willfully turned the other way or he was 70 years old and didn't understand. >> his legacy has been tarnished forever. this is something that that's what we're always going to associate them with. >> in 200 years from now someone is look through the record book and assume his name will still be up there, in the past a there would be a huge asterisk. that's the huge win for penn state. the further and further we get away from this that will be on every graphic next year. >> your point that they are celebrating this fact and putting 409 on the helmet that to me is really gross and shows that the community didn't actually learn anything from this whole horrific situation. >> let's see what else here. npr reporting that public sales of google glass are going to end later this month, which leads to an obvious question what is google glass? are they eye glasses? >> they are very creepy. >> you can take pictures with them but people don't know. you're wondering are they taking a picture of you. >> my partner in crime frank thorp wore these for like a week. a lot of members of congress were like this is interesting. when he has them on all the time and realize he can videotape you, he can look you up and it's very creepy. michele bachmann liked them. >> do you blink and it takes a picture? >> can you google things with your eyes? i feel like the thing of the future. i want to google this so it will google this. >> technology serves a purpose. the watch that apple just came out with. >> somebody in line at starbucks whipped out their wrist and that was it. they paid. >> you may have seen this last night. secretary of state john kerry and james taylor together at last. >> i thought this would be a trivia question. >>. we don't have the sound. >> i'm going to be the only person in america that thinks this. i loved it. i thought it was great. he's getting destroyed. the right is going after kerry saying this was a lame thing. a lot of people are saying i grew up with james taylor. my parents used to play cassettes. james taylor is great. "you've got a friend", there's not a better song than that. >> great song. it was my eighth grade graduation song. a quick final note here. we want to get this in. chelsea clinton she tweeted this about as a lover of coffee, the study about skipping your morning cup. if you regularly withdrawal symptoms headaches, fatigue, e decreased alertness so avoid that. thanks to the panel. we'll be back here tomorrow morning. coming up next melissa harris-perry. thanks for getting up. i've been called a control freak... i like to think of myself as more of a control... enthusiast. mmm, a perfect 177-degrees. and that's why this road warrior rents from national. i can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. and i don't have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. and i don't. and national lets me choose any car in the aisle. control. it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. sunday dinners at my house... it's a full day for me, and i love it. but when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. i don't like asking for help. i took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. so my daughter brought over some aleve. it's just two pills, all day! and now, i'm back! aleve. two pills. all day strong, all day long. and now introducing aleve pm for a better am. 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and dogs, and then it's selma. you had alabama state troopers that we're pushing into the the peaceful marchers going over the bridge to rot for the right to vote. >> and it seemed like what country do we have that this can happen. >> and yet the conscience of the american people was fired. we've got to civil rights it's at changed the face of the south. we've got a voting rights act that finally made voting free and fair for many black americans. and the system worked in that sense? yes, you had to sack so nations and yes, you had anti-war anti war movement even worked at the beginning when mccarthy campaign, and it led to the withdrawal of lyndon johnson, his willingness to sell say that the bombing would stop. it's willing to say i'm going to negotiate with the north vietnamese and then things got out of control. martin luther king died, robert kennedy died, and it seemed like the system was undoing itself. and that led to the violence at the democratic convention in 1968. >> so we remember that the last part we've got to remember the other part that it was a decade that was powered by individual believing that they could
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