Republican senator rand paul of kentucky launched a filibuster. He demanded a firm answer on whether drone aircraft might ever target american citizens inside the United States. Attorney general eric holder had sent paul a letter saying that however unlikely, in extraordinary circumstances, it might happen. No one will ever forget jane fonda swiveling around in north vietnamese armored guns, and it was despicable. It is one thing if you want to try her for treason, but are you going to just drop a drone hellfire missile on jane fonda . Are you going to drop a drone hellfire missile on those at kent state . Brown several other republicans and one democrat, ron wyden, joined paul. And Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell offered his support last night after the filibuster ended and again this morning. And the administration should just answer the question. Theres no reason we cannot get this question answered today, and we should get this question answered today. Brown but the morning also revealed a division in republican ranks. Arizona senator john mccain, who was a prisoner of war in vietnam, scoffed at pauls claim that someone like jane fonda would ever have been targeted. To somehow allege or infer that the president of the United States is going to kill somebody like jane fonda or somebody who disagrees with the policies is a stretch of imagination which is, frankly, ridiculous. Brown and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham accused his colleagues of using a double standard. I dont remember any of you coming down here suggesting that president bush was going to kill anybody with a drone. You know, i dont even remember the harshest critics of president bush on the democratic side. They had a Drone Program back then. Brown at the white house, spokesman jay carney underscored the constitutional limitations on the president s power. The president swore an oath to uphold the constitution, and he is bound by the law. Whether the lethal force in question is a drone strike or a gunshot, the law and the constitution apply in the same way. Brown and this afternoon, attorney general holder sent paul a new letter. In it, he said senator paul declared himself satisfied with that answer. So, i am very pleased to have gotten this response back from the attorney general of the United States, and i think that americans should see this battle that weve had in the last 24 hours as something thats good for the country. Brown shortly thereafter, the senate ended the debate and confirmed john brennan. Now, we examine whats behind the senate shenanigans, politically and practically. We are joined by scott shane, a National Security reporter at the new york times; and Niels Lesniewski, who covers the senate for roll call. Is it took a while, but in the end the president got his nominee. Briefly remind us about John Brennans experience. Clearly someone well known at the agency hell head. John brennan spent 25 years at the c. I. A. They was station chief in riyadh in saudi arabia. He actually set up the National Counterterrorism center and then for four years hes been basically at president obamas right hand overseeing counterterrorism and in that role hes overseen the expansion of the drone strikes in pakistan in yemen, and in somalia. So hes perhaps one of hes certainly one of the governments most experienced counterterrorism hands. Brown brown niels, what was playing out today especially with senators mccain and graham upbraiding rand paul . What happened after last night we noticed senator mccain and senator graham were not among those joining in the effort on the senate floor in support of senator paul during his almost 13hour filibuster. And what they were really today they were really protesting against even the context of the question that senator paul sought and eventually received an answer to from the Obama Administration which sort of suggested that there could be a possibility that either president obama or some future president may want to use a missile from a drone to actually kill an american citizen at a coffee shop somewhere on u. S. Soil. Well, how strong is this divide and what is the whats behind i mean, whats the key issue behind it that theyre fighting over . Well, the Republican Party itself has had sort of a differing opinion for a while now on National Security policy. Theres the wing of the party which senator paul is becoming an emerging voice on which is more skeptical of broad executive power, i would say, in this sort of regard. Versus the traditional more hawkish National Security voices that are the likes of senator mccain and senator graham that have been the Party Standard bearers over the last numb number of years. Brown brown i heard senator paul talk about how the filibuster came at least we assume without a lot of planning it sounds like. Thats true. I notice he and his staff had been preparing for the possibility of doing this but yesterday was a perfect storm or perhaps a perfect nonstorm in that because there was no massive amount of snow at the capital that caused people to leave early, with people in the building not having a whole lot to do in some cases were able to watch their internal t. V. Monitors or externally and watch the senate floor and join in the effort with senator paul because a lot of their meetings in some cases had already been canceled. Brown brown now, scott shane, from the National Security side, this question of the use of drones on american soil how much does it fit into the thinking or planning of National Security agencies . How much has it ever been debated . Well, drones, of course, the vast majority of the drones, the Unmanned Aircraft are being used for surveillance, not for killing. I think its fair to say theres been very little thinking about using armed drones on american soil. Its conceiveable in the future that police shoot criminals in emergency situations all the time. Its certainly imaginable in the future that are drones might be part of such a scenario. But i think its fair to say that the security agencies have not found senator pauls questions sort of out of fantasy land and have not done a lot of thinking about killing americans at home. They have in one case in september of 2011 killed one american overseas and that was Anwar Alawlaki whohand had joined the Al Qaeda Branch in yemen and was actively plotting terrorism against the United States. Brown but you got the sense that they were taken by surprise that this became the i guess the final issue for John Brennans confirmation . Yeah, i think it was seen as something outlandish. But it may reflect that the administration has been extremely secretive about the Drone Program, about the targeting killing program. And attorney general eric holder promised yesterday that as president obama has said that there will be Greater Transparency on this program in the future and that may dispel some of these fears that people have about how drones might be used. Brown brown niels, where were the democrats because in the past it would often be liberals raising objections to drones and other policies. Well, one democratic senator did lend his voice to some of the objections, thats oregon democrat ron widen. But hes ban voice on these issues for a fairly long time. Senator richard durbin, the numbertwo democrat in the senate did say that he is going to hold hearings at his judiciary subcommit sfwe the constitutionality of the Drone Program and its particular use presumably for u. S. Citizens, both on domestic land and as was in the case that was just referenced overseas. And so i think well see more of that as the time goes on and there will be more questions asked probably from a broader array of senators than we saw last night. Brown scott shane, with john brennan in now, the Senate IntelligenceCommittee Report on enhanced Interrogation Program, its not public yet, you wrote about this. Its not public yet but were certainly learning more about it and it sounds like it will be very damning of the c. I. A. Program. So hes got to face that right off, right . Thats right. This is a 6,000 page study of the Interrogation Program in the years after 9 11 for at the c. I. A. s socalled black sites involving techniques like waterboarding, slamming people into walls, cold nudity and that kind of thing. And the senators who on the Intelligence Committee have said enough about this report, its quite clear to it condemns the use of those techniques. Says they didnt work very well and that they that the program was mismanaged and that, in fact, c. I. A. Officials did not accurately describe what was going on to the white house to congress, to the justice department. So its quite damning and john brennan as one of his first tasks at c. I. A. Is going to have to manage the agencys response to this. Theres still many people working at c. I. A. Who worked on that program and the c. I. A. Itself is divided about the use of these methods that many call torture just as the public has been divided and indeed the Intelligence Committee is divided. Brown scott shane of the new york times, Niels Lesniewski of roll call, thank you very much. Woodruff still to come on the newshour House Minority leader nancy pelosi on the budget negotiations and more; on north korea, new sanctions and new threats; plus, the strictest abortion law in the nation. But first, the other news of the day. Heres hari sreenivasan. Sreenivasan the u. S. Has captured osama bin ladens spokesman and flown him to new york to face terror charges. Reports today said Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was seized in jordan sometime in the last week. Abu ghaith served as a main voice of al qaeda and was also bin ladens soninlaw. In video recordings, he urged muslims to fight the u. S. In the wake of the 9 11 attacks. He is expected to make an initial appearance tomorrow in federal court in new york. In syria, u. N. Officials negotiated with the leader of a rebel Group Holding 21 u. N. Peacekeepers. They were taken captive yesterday in a village in the golan heights. Videos have since been posted online purportedly showing the peacekeepers saying that they are safe and being treated well. At the same time, there has been intense shelling in the area where theyre being held. The first bill to curb u. S. Gun violence began moving in the senate today. Democrats on the judiciary committee, joined by one republican, voted to make illegal gun purchases a federal crime. Violations would be punishable by up to 25 years in prison. The committee is also considering a ban on assault style weapons and high capacity magazines, proposed by california democrat diane feinstein. These assault weapons have a Great Attraction for grievance killers. My view is that, how could i stand by and see this carnage go on . And members, this isnt going to stop. Its going to continue on, and we have a chance to do something about it. Sreenivasan the partisan divide over feinsteins bill was quickly exposed. Texas republican john cornyn argued a previous assault weapons ban did not work. He said the new bill fails to address the real key to mass shootings. The Common Thread was Mental Illness. No one wants disturbed young men or women, for that matter to have access to firearms. Unfortunately, this legislation focuses not on the perilous intersection of Mental Illness and guns but on cosmetic features of certain firearms. Sreenivasan two other bills are also before the committee, requiring universal background checks and providing 40 million a year for schools to buy security gear. Carl levin of michigan announced he is retiring. Levin has held his seat since 1978 and is the longest serving senator many michigans history. He issued a statement saying the decision is difficult but he wont run for reelection in 2014. Levin is 78 years old. A latewinter storm spun up the east coast today and caused new damage in places still recovering from hurricane sandy. Coastal flooding was a big concern for new jersey and massachusetts. At the same time, up to eight inches of wet, heavy snow was expected across new england. This storm has proved unpredictable, sparing washington but dumping up to 20 inches in parts of virginia. In economic news, the Federal Reserve today reported Household Wealth is finally nearing pre recession levels after more than five years. It topped 66 trillion the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 33 points to close above 14,329, a new record high. The nasdaq rose more than nine points to close at 3,232. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to judy. Woodruff and we turn to the budget battles in washington, where president obama has embarked on a kind of Charm Offensive as he begins new rounds of fiscal negotiations with republicans. Newshour Congressional Correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. Reporter the occasion was lunch with the president , and congressman paul ryan was a special guest. Hes the House Budget Committee chairman and last years republican Vice President ial nominee. Joining him, chris van hollen, the top democrat on the house budget panel. The focus was back on crafting a longterm deficit deal. White House Press Secretary jay carney we are now engaged in a process that will allow the congress, both houses, to move forward with budget proposals. The president will submit his budget. That he is trying to have a conversation with lawmakers who have expressed either specific or general interest in compromise and hope that that results in a positive outcome. Reporter the president s recently launched effort was on display last night a dinner with a dozen republican senators at a washington hotel. It lasted two hours, and there were generally positive reviews. Senator, how did the meeting go . Just fine, fine, great, wonderful. Reporter for the president , it marked a departure from campaignstyle events during the failed effort to prevent across theboard spending cuts, the sequester. Republicans had insisted he should be talking directly with lawmakers. And today, House Speaker john boehner welcomed the shift in strategy. It was really kind of interesting that this week weve gone 180. Now hes going to after being in office now for four years, hes actually going to sit down and talk to members. I think its a sign, a hopeful sign, and im hopeful that something will come out of it. Reporter House Minority leader nancy pelosi also called the president s effort important, but she said mr. Obama is not to blame for past failures to reach agreement. I think we didnt reach a grand bargain because the speaker of the house walked away from an agreement that he and the president had arrived at, probably because he couldnt sell it to his own caucus. Reporter the more immediate concern for lawmakers is funding the government past march 27 to the end of the fiscal year. The house passed a republican bill yesterday that would do just that. It locks in the sequester cuts 85 billion for the next seven months but provides some flexibility in administering the reductions. Boehner today warned Senate Democrats not to make significant changes to the house version. I would urge democrat leaders in the senate to not get greedy and get carried away and try to put forward the possibility of a government shutdown. Reporter Senate Democrats plan to pass their own version of a government funding bill, but majority leader harry reid said this week hes cautiously optimistic about getting an agreement with the house. Woodruff and to our newsmaker interview with the leader of the democrats in the house of representatives. I spoke with her a short time ago. House minority leader nuclear weapons, welcome to the newshour. My pleasure to be here. Woodruff so president obama is making this very public effort now to reach out to congressional republicans. There was a dinner with 12 senators last night. He had lunch today with House Budget Committee chairman paul ryan, there were phone calls. Is all this a good idea. Before we go to far with paul ryan and chris van holland, the ranking democrat on the Budget Committee as well. Its always a good idea to bring people in to talk about the agenda. The president has not been doing this in terms of formally having meals but the republicans certainly and democrats, too, have had their opportunity to share their views with the president. In fact, in my view i served with a few president s, too, as leader and speaker and ive never seen the patience, the willingness to listen to accommodate views as president obama has extended to the republicans. Woodruff would you be doing this if you were in his place . You were quoted at your own News Conference saying he has already been patient and you were saying its