Well, now, signs of life. The white house pushing a new round of negotiations and the various factions within the Republican Party appear to be making some kind of progress. Is that what the president was hinting at when he said this tuesday . We are going to have a big win soon, because were going to have health care, and i believe thats going to happen. And you know, there was no, like, loss with health care. This is just a constant negotiation. And the plan is Getting Better and better all the time. Lets get to the state of play right now, though. Cnns National Politics reporter mj lee is here with much more. So, mj, lay it out for us. Where exactly is the compromise, if we can call it that, and who exactly is on board right now . So, there are signs of a possible breakthrough on health care, emphasis on possible. What we know is that leaders of this tuesday group as well as the House Freedom caucus have been in talks over the easter recess to try to revive the first failed Health Care Bill that was pulled from the house floor. Now, what the members are trying to work on now is a deal that could potentially bring on board 18 to 20 new yes votes from the House Freedom caucus. Now, i just spoke a little while ago with republican congressman tom cole, and he tells me that the differences have narrowed, and this thing is very much alive. Now, just to walk you back a little bit, remember, it was exactly a month ago that the house bill was pulled from the floor because leadership could not get enough conservatives as well as moderates on board to get to the 216vote threshold. Now, clearly, the white houses thinking at the time was that if we do not get it done this time, there will not be another try. Thats shifted and we know that Vice President pence has been very much involved in trying to have more conversations with members of the House Republican conference. Now, there are some serious obstacles heading into next week. As you know, kate, members have to deal with the problem of funding the government, and that is sort of their first priority, and we also know that the existing split between the conservative faction as well as the moderates, that continues to sort of be a problem as they try to get to the 216 votes. So, well see if any sort of real breakthrough comes before members come back next week. Kate . Where deadlines havent helped them in the past with this new administration, it seems theyre setting now more deadlines on themselves. Lets see where this goes. Mj, great to see you. Thanks so much. Things are moving rapidly on this, but they could also stop quickly. John sellin is here, former chief of staff to senator max bachus, a key player in writing and passing obamacare way back when. David drucker is also here, cnn political analyst and senior Congressional Correspondent for the washington examiner. And Alice Stewart is a cnn political commentator and republican strategist. So, alice, first to you. As youre reading the tea leaves and youre talking to all the whispers going on in washington, are you ready to say youve got a breakthrough . We certainly have some progress. Ill go that far. Look, right now there is a call going on between the more conservative wing of the Republican Party, the House Freedom caucus, and the tuesday group, which is the more moderate, and theyre trying to come to a consensus on this massive bill, and they feel as though theyre closer. One of the key holdups is what is called the limited waiver, and this would be, if they come to agreement on this, its great progress. This would allow states the option of opting out of certain aspects of this bill. There is also the overall marketplace, which continues what is very popular amongst people, which is allowing kids to stay on their Parents Health insurance until theyre 26 and also keeping in the preexisting conditions option. And right now, from what im hearing, mike pence, while hes busy with foreign policy, he is really driving this train here, making sure that they get something on the table. They would like to have a victory or some signs of victory before they get to 100 days, and this would be a good step forward in that process. Right, but exactly, they wanted this victory back in march, though, alice. I mean, david, isnt some of what were laying out here as the possible points of compromise, arent these the exact issues that tripped them up the last time . What do you sense is different . Well, what i know is different is that in talking to people that have been involved with this, they do believe that they are coming together around an emerging framework for a compromise. What they caution is that they dont know how this is going to be received by rank and file members within the various factions of the House Republican conference which is a huge deal, right . Well, of course, once its presented, because what republicans are trying to do, and john will understand this, alice will as well, of course, is theyre trying to keep everything that people like about obamacare and remove everything that people dont like, and that creates a real policy conundrum. We will know more on saturday, possibly, after House Republicans convene in a conferencewide Conference Call a couple days ahead of returning to washington from their spring break, and that may tell us where they are. But dont forget, kate, if theyre able to come together on this in concept, its still going to have to go into legislative language. Im sure a lot of people will want to see a cbo score, and well see if its able to sort of survive all that and get to a point where they can vote on it. John, take us i dont know if youre having, again, some fun flashbacks here, but take me inside. Youve got basically a couple members who think that theyve reached some kind of formation, formulation that kind of, like, threads the needle, even though these are topics that were discussed that they could not get to yes on the first time around. How does this play out in your mind . Youve got members talking to each other. Then they have to go back and talk to the various factions, and then they need to come back to capitol hill. There seems to be a lot of variables that could happen before they get there. I think thats absolutely right. And look, lets go back to the fundamentals here. This bill, at least whats being discussed and what we know about so far, is fundamentally the same bill that was being discussed before. There are massive medicaid cuts that are going to make governors very unhappy, including republican governors which are making some moderates very unhappy. And many moderates very unhappy. And actually something that a lot of very conservative members of congress have gotten a lot of guff for when theyve gone back and done town halls across the country. So, thats still a massive problem for them in gathering votes. And you know, allowing states to opt out of essential benefits, they can say that they want to keep protecting people with preexisting conditions, but if you get rid of these essential benefits, you know, youre going to allow Insurance Companies to sell plans that dont cover things like hospitalizations or pregnancy or other things that maybe, yeah, maybe . Maybe. And thats part of it. Again, this is stuff that tripped them up. But something if it isnt the details of the bill, it seems, alice, something has changed here. Do you think that something is maybe what john was pointing to right there . Do you think that its the pressure on them . Maybe did they go home to their districts and were scared straight by their constituents that they want to see them get something done . There was a villageness on all sides to get something done the first time, but it just wasnt right. I know the House Freedom caucus members campaigned, and they promised all of the republicans campaigned and promised to repeal and replace obamacare. They told their constituents, this would mean lower premiums and greater access to care. House Freedom Caucus members didnt feel that was part of this first plan on the table. The mcarthur amendment, which theyre discussing now, they feel is a better snep that direction. Theyre not concerned about getting pushback here in washington. Theyre not concerned about whether or not President Trump tweets angry things about them. They are concerned about going back to their districts and their constituents being frustrated. And what they heard when they went back, their constituents were thankful they stood firm against this first option, and they are encouraged by what theyre seeing with this new amendment, and thats what their number one priority is. Everyone wants to come to yes. This is what they campaigned and won on. Its just a matter of how they got there. Kate, i do think there is some outside pressure from the fact that the Obamacare Health care system right now does have a lot of pressure on it where you have insurance groups pulling out of markets, you have premiums that are rising. Republicans are going to have to address that one way or the other, because politically, it no longer works to blame obamacare now that theyre in charge of all of government and they have campaigned on doing something about this. So, that is i think a pressure that is real, that could be driving this. And heres the other complicating thing. We have to leave it here. The complicating thing is when they come back, theyve got other problems to deal with, keeping the government funded. So, where that plays into negotiations, theyve got bigger problems because the senate could be facing a bigger issue. I dont know if thats a bigger issue now that i think about it, keeping the government funded or getting their health care promise through. Ill leave that to you all to decide. Great to see you, john, david, alice. Thanks so much. Thanks, kate. Thank you. Breaking new details on bill oreillys exit from fox news a day after fox news fired him amid Sexual Harassment allegations. The question now, how golden is your parachute . Thats next. Plus, hows this for irony . The judge that donald trump attacked during the election for his mexican heritage, comments that even paul ryan called the textbook definition of racism, well, that same judge is now presiding over a major immigration case against the Trump Administration. Thats ahead. And President Trump continues to stare down north korea. Startling, new images, though, are also coming out of a north Korean Nuclear test site showing people playing volleyball. Not kidding. What does that mean . Well be right back. Its league night . saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico goin up the country. Bowl without me. Frank. im going to get nachos. Snack bars closed. Gah ah, ah ah. Im goin up the country, baby dont you wanna go . Im goin up the country, baby dont you wanna go . Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. Only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. Tylenol® you might not ever just stand there, looking at it. 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Tte at first, getting paid was tough. Until she got quickbooks. Now she sends invoices, sees when theyve been viewed andtadahpaid twice as fast for free. Visit quickbooksdotcom. Executives at fox news headquarters have reportedly been meeting all morning discussing how the Network Moves forward after announcing the face of the network and the most highly rated anchor, bill oreilly, is out. Now new details are coming out about just how much oreilly is being paid to basically go away. Cnn media correspondent and host of reliable sources, Brian Stelter is here. How much money are we talking . How much of a payout, brian . Tens of millions of dollars. We know that because oreillys contract, his brandnew contract, was worth 25 million a year, this according to sources on both sides of this deal. So, 25 million a year for the next four years. You do the math, thats 100 million. Now, fox is not going to pay the entire thing. Right. But im told at least several tens of millions of dollars will be going to oreilly. Why . Because the network, you know, did this deal in march, just a few weeks before the New York Times wrote about these harassment allegations. Thats right. Thats right. It was a brandnew contract. On the one hand, the network felt it owed him something. You know, he helped build fox news into what it is today. On the other hand, it could no longer stand by him amid this investigation. Can you give us a little window into this Board Meeting going on at fox news . Youve got this Board Meeting going on, youve also now got a federal investigation going on. Right. Into talking about money and payouts and settlements, its going into that. How does this all play . Essentially, fox called in a law firm two weeks ago to look into oreilly. And whenever a law firm is called in, thats not a good sign for the person being investigated. This law firm comes in, provides a report to the board of directors, the people that run the company. The board of directors agreed that oreilly had to go. That law firm also looked into roger ailes last summer. He resigned under pressure, got 40 million. So, in both cases, you have these big payouts. And partly, the feds are looking at whether the ailes settlements were properly disclosed or not. The feds might be looking at other elements of fox news as well. We dont have a lot of visibility into this very secretive investigation, but the board of directors has to be concerned about exactly what could come out next. We are not at the end of this, not by a long stretch. Were in the middle of what is essentially a crisis involving the culture at fox news. With him out, though, does it nip a lot of it in the bud, though . I mean, how the fallout well, theyre signaling theyre trying to do the right thing, trying to clean up the house, trying to put the past in the past and make a cleaner future. However, theres a lot of questions about who knew what when, and those questions dont disappear just because oreilly disappears. Great point. Great to see you, brian. Thank you so much. Stick close to this. The fallout from this fox news payout reaches all the way to the white house. It is no secret President Trump is a longtime friend of oreillys, appearing on his program more than 20 times since 2003. Just ask Brian Stelter. He counted them up. Watch this. Do you respect putin . I do respect him. Do you . Why . Well, i respect a lot of people, but that doesnt mean im going to get along with him. How are you going to make the mexicans pay . How . How are you going to do it . Theyll want you to be specific. So simple. Are you ready to do that . So simple. Whos your main competition in your opinion Going Forward . Stop, stop, stop. The state of california led by jerry brown is defying you, is absolutely defying the president of the United States. So, when the audit is complete, ill release my returns. I have no problem with it. It doesnt matter but the legal people say you could do it now in the meantime, bill, in the meantime well, no, nobody would recommend that. So, things have gone very well this week for donald trump, but as you know, every day is an adventure. How do you define black lives matter . Well, first of all, i think the term is very divisive. I didnt tweet. I retweeted somebody that was supposed lay an expert and who is also a radio show why do you want to be in that zone . Bill, bill, am i going to check every statistic . Ive got millions and millions of people youre a president ial contender, youve got to check it. You know what, fine, but this came out of radio shows and everything else. All it was was a retweet. Radio shows . You owe me because i bought you so many vanilla milkshakes fox put out you owe me. What are you going to do to nieto, say hey, you have to pay for the wall to the tune of 2 billion . Hes going to say, hey, forget it bill putins a killer. There are a lot of killers. Weve got a lot of killers. What, you think our countrys so innocent . So, there is that. You also remember President Trump came to oreillys defense against the Sexual Harassment allegations against him in a very recent interview with the the New York Times, saying this i dont think bill would do anything wrong. Joining me now, cnn politics reporter, editor at large chris cillizza. Chris, do you think those words are going to come back to bite the president . In a normal political universe, kate, yes. In a political universe in which donald trump was elected president , who knows . You know, look, donald trump, the defense of bill oreilly part of which you just noted is from the New York Times interview, which came out after the New York Times reporting on all of this that led to oreillys eventual dismissal. So, it seems odd to me at the time. It seems odder to me now. Trump, im certain, didnt know anything specific about these lawsuits. Right. He just sort of liked bill oreilly and said, i dont think he would do anything wrong. Hes the president of the United States so, i think it speaks to the connection between these two guys, not only friends, similar backgrounds, similar age trump is three years older, both born and raised in and around new york city, trump in queens, oreilly on long island, but also sort of the approach that they take to life. If you listen to Donald Trumps campaign trail speeches, kate, and then you go and listen to bill oreilly in one of his segments where he just sort of talks to the camera, theres a whole lot of similarities there, and my suggestion is, it went oreilly to trump, not trump to oreilly, that trump borrowed from oreilly. I found that fascinating in your take on this, is that you argue essentially that oreilly laid the groundwork for a trump presidency. I mean, i think in a lot of ways he and i think roger ailes behind the scenes as sort of the architect of what fox stood for, did do so. The obvious things are the populism, the antielitism, the skewering of political directness, the need for the distaste of the media, but also the oreilly bro culture that we know existed at fox news. That was given a sort of, oh, man up, come on, this is how we act. Theres trumpism in that. I think, you know, trump, you have to always remember with trump, what is trumps seminole way in which he brings information in . Cable television. So, it is not a big logical leap to think that the Cable Tv Network that had huge mindshare among conservatives would be hugely influential on donald trump, and i think theres a direct line that can be drawn between the two. I said this yesterday as president , maybe hes quickly learning, if youre asked a question, you dont always have to answer it. And when it came to that issue, when it came its hard to not ask from Maggie Haberman and glen, but i understand that, but that may be a time in a New York Times interview to not answer a question. Hell be answering questions again, today in a press conference with the french prime minister. Chances are, if he reacts, he reacts to this. He probably wont. I think he should Say Something like, look, bill and i have known each other for a very long time. That doesnt mean i condone his actions, and i dont know enough about the specifics of these cases to offer any, you know that caveats critical and wasnt offered. But he wont he should have said that with maggie and glen, which is, look, i know bill on a social level, but i cant speak to these things, nor should i as the president of the United States. Whats the heart of your question, the reason i pause, kate, is because, again, my tendency is to analyze it as what would a president do in a situation like that, given his past statements about a person like bill oreilly . But im not sure that that holds with donald trump. Yeah. So, might he . Sure. And might he offer a i dont want to say fullthroated defense of oreilly, but might he just repeat, basically that, well, you know, these are allegations and im not ever in favor of settling lawsuits because it just begets more sure he might say that 37. You know, if you give me five options, i would say there is a 20 likelihood of donald trump saying them. If you give me ten options, ill say theres a 10 option of him saying each one. Its literally unknowable to make these predictions with him. I love it, chris, sticking your neck out there i love when you take a stand like that. Thank you so much, yes. D, all of the above is what were going to circle today. Thank you, chris. Thanks, kate. Talk to you soon. Coming up for us, was a dreamer just deported by the Trump Administration . That is the key question in a potentially huge lawsuit against the government right now, and overseeing that case, his name might ring a bell. Hes the same judge donald trump attacked in the campaign over his mexican heritage. Well discuss. Plus, youve heard of the nuclear football. Have you heard of nuclear volleyball . Not one, not two, but three courts on a north Korean Nuclear test site. Yes, were all scratching our heads. Thats ahead. Wahhhh. Right. 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Boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink. Be up for it my insurance rates are but dad, youve got. Allstate. With accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates wont go up just because of an accident. Smart kid. Indeed. Its good to be in, good hands. Talk about a strange twist of fate. Remember this from the campaign trail . Listen. I think the judge has been extremely hostile to me. I think it has to do with perhaps the fact that im very, very strong on the border, very, very strong on the border, and he has been extremely hostile to me. This is a case that in our opinion should have been won a long time ago. Its a race that we should have won on Summary Judgment. Were nothing with this. We have a very hostile judge. Now, he is hispanic, i believe, and he is a very hostile judge to me, and ive said it loud and clear. There should be no trial this should have been dismissed on Summary Judgment easily. Everybody says it, but i have a judge who is a hater of donald trump, a hater. Hes a hater. His name is gonzalo curiel. I have had horrible rulings. Ive been treated very unfairly by this judge. Now, this judge is of mexican heritage. Im building a wall. So, no mexican judge could ever be involved in a case that involves you . Well, hes a member of a society where, you know, very pro mexico, and thats fine. Its all fine, but except that youre calling into question his heritage. I say he should recuse himself. If youre saying he cant do his job because of his race, is that not the definition of racism . No, i dont think so at all. No . No. Hes proud of his heritage. I respect him for that. Just to be clear, the judge may have mexican heritage. He was born in indiana, the very same state that im from. I just want to make sure that one is clear. And again, of course, that was candidate trump attacking a federal judge, gonzalo curiel, who was presiding over the Trump University lawsuits at the time. Those have since settled. That very same judge is now tasked with presiding over the case of a socalled dreamer against the Trump Administration. He says the dreamer he says he was unlawfully deported to mexico, despite his protected status. Now it could put that judge and the president once again on a collision course. Lets go first to cnns rosa flores. Shes been following this case. Rosa, lay it out for us. What is this case about . You know, kate, if youre kind of shaking your head thinking, wait, what, how is this happening, because we know that judge curiel is not an immigration judge, heres why. Its because this lawsuit is a foia lawsuit. So, this dreamer, who is Juan Manuel Montes bojorquez, he is alleging that he was wrongfully deported by dhs on february 18th, and dhs is saying that that never happened. And so, this lawsuit thats going before a u. S. Circuit court is for the documents, the documentation of the processing of that deportation. So, just to give you a little background here, bojorquezs attorneys tell us he was wrongly deported on february 18th while he was hailing a cab and that he was sent over to mexico. And then heres where these two parties do agree, they do agree that he was detained by immigration again on february 19th, and on the 20th he was deported. And so, kate, thats the reason why were having this conversation, because, yes, this is a huge test for the Trump Administration and the hardline stance on immigration, but these two worlds collide because its a foia issue. These attorneys are saying we need those documents to figure out what our next step is on this immigration case. Whether or not he was deported originally, that is the crux of the information that they want to get at. That is where the attorney and the government, that is where they absolutely divide. Thats where that information lies. Rosa, thank you so much. So, as rosa laid out, those are some of the facts of the case. Lets now get to the judge that unwittingly became such a major issue in the 2016 campaign. Cnn legal analyst paul calen is here for this. A couple quick things for us, not legal scholars like you are these cases assigned at random . Yes, they are. Its called a wheel. It literally goes into a barrel and they pull it out and its assigned randomly to a judge. So, yes, they are randomly assigned. This is just a quince den. And ironic twist of fate. But when you look at the facts of the case maybe aside, when you just look on the history that we played out a little bit, the fact that this judge kind of became such a big issue in the campaign by no fault of his own. He never said anything publicly because he was presiding over a case. This all came from the candidate trump side attacking this judge. But just the fact that that happened, do you think that the government, if they wanted to, would have some sort of argument to get this case moved to another judge . Big fat zero chance of that happening. Oh, really . You have to understand, hes a federal judge, so a huge percentage of his cases involve the federal government as a litigant. Of course, right. And if he had to disqualify himself from any case in which the feds are involved, he may as well hang up his hat and go back to indiana and practice law. So, he handled himself magnificently in the attack of president ial candidate trump. He kept quiet about it. He was insulted personally. He didnt respond. He showed great judicial temperament. And you know, what happened in that case in the end, he approved a 25 million settlement, which trumps lawyers went along with in the end, so i guess he turned out to be a judge who could handle that case. Do you think judge curiel would want to recuse himself from this case . No. This is a routine case that they see in federal court all the time, trying to get freedom of information act information that the government is resisting. This is a gardenvariety case that would be handled very quickly by any federal judge. But because of what happened in the campaign, very nongarden variety right now. Absolutely. Great to see you, paul. Well talk on another topic in a few minutes. It could be the most dangerous volleyball game in the history of sports. Cant wait to see it. Satellite images from a north Korean Nuclear test site appear to show if we can zoom in there that appears to show an active volleyball game. What message are the North Koreans trying to send, if any . Plus, did a republican senator just spill the beans on one of the biggest secrets in washington . What the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Just said about a possible opening to come on the Supreme Court. 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Meantime, anger in south korea, and its aimed at President Trump. One newspaper even calling him a liar for his commens that an armada was on its way, even though, obviously, of course we now know it moved in the opposite direction before turning toward north korea. This is happening as the u. S. Conducts joint military exercises at a south korean air base. A lot going on on this front. So, lets go to cnns ivan watson. He is live in seoul, south korea. But first, let me go to ryan brown real quick at the pentagon. He has news on how china is reacting to all this. Ryan, what are you picking up . Reporter all right, were being told by a military official here that china is taking steps to ready itself in case of a possible con stijsy with regard to north korea. Specifically, theyre seeing evidence that Chinese Military aircraft, in particular some of its land attack bombers, have been placed on high alert, and they see this as an effort to kind of ready the Chinese Military in case they would have to react to a contingency in north korea. Now, china has long been concerned about instability on the Korean Peninsula, the possibility of refugees coming out of north korea, the possibility of some kind of military conflict, the presence of u. S. Military troops in south korea. So, chinas long been paying attention to this region, so this is just a step that the u. S. Military thinks is an effort to better prepare china in the case that they have to take action. Ryan brown, thank you so much. Ivan, lets get over to you. What are you hearing from your front . Reporter well, yeah, theres been this kind of question about the carrier Vinson Strike Group and when it might come to the area. Theres been some criticism and questions about u. S. Credibility, saying that this was supposed to be in the area, and its still days away. Whats really raising hackles here in korea is comments that u. S. President donald trump made to the wall street journal, where he said when he sat down with the chinese leader xi jinping, he learned that korea used to be part of china. The south Korean Foreign Ministry Spokesman came out and said it is unquestionable that korea was never part of china and that the Foreign Ministry has reached out through diplomatic channels to both the u. S. And china to try to clarify this to make sure it was not true. And you actually had cartoons in newspapers here today making fun of this statement coming out. All of this taking place at a time when south korea is in a political vacuum. It just had its president impeached. Elections are barely three weeks away, and candidates are up stumping trying to win votes, and one of the main things theyre campaigning on, believe it or not, is not north korea and threat of conflict to the north, but questions like the economy and corruption, things that resulted in the impeachment and jailing of the former president of this country just weeks ago. Kate . It is amazing all of the elements at play and how things are so complicated at this moment. Ivan watson watching it from seoul. Thank you so much. Well take a quick break and continue with this bringing news on the other side. Ugh heartburn no one burns on my watch try alka seltzer heartburn relief chews. They work fast and dont taste chalky. Mmmmm. Amazing. I have heartburn. Alka seltzer heartburn relief chews. Enjoy the relief. Ykeep you sidelined. Ng thats why you drink ensure. With 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. For the strength and energy to get back to doing. What you love. Ensure. Always be you. de p breath phone ringing theyll call back. No one knows your ford better than ford and ford service. Right now, during the big tire event, get a 140 rebate by mail, on four select tires. More on our breaking news just now. The u. S. Military is saying they see signs that china is preparing for a possible north korea event. We are told that the u. S. Has seen an extraordinary number of chinese aircraft preparing, getting ready. What does this mean . What message is this one sending right now . Joining me to discuss, michael allen. He works on the National Security council under president george w. Bush and is now managing director of beefing global strategies. And jamie worked with the National Security council under president clinton and is a senior fellow at the atlantic council. Thank you for coming in. Jamie, what do you make of this breaking news . As ryan brown was telling us from the pentagon, theyre seeing that theyre putting bombers on high alert in china. What do you think when you hear that . Yeah, well, certainly tension on the Korean Peninsula is the aiahigh level, and this is a big game of chicken. President trump has really put a lot of pressure on north korea, and north korea is responding. China is somewhere in the middle, wanting to maintain the presence of its north korean ally. Okay. But keeping the United States at bay and making sure that this doesnt get out of hand. And the problem is, china has ultimate control over north korea, but in order to exert that control, they need to cut off north koreas food and fuel in a way that will destabilize the regime, and north korea knows they have a lot of leverage over china because of that. And so, north korea is escalating and north korea is moving towards potentially another nuclear test, and thats going to put china in a very difficult position. This could be this could lead to anything from a big win for the United States to nuclear war in the Korean Peninsula, and every there is a wide range of possibilities. And thats what happens when you play chicken. On one hand, people say President Trump is being bold, but the question is whats the strategy and how are you managing the Downside Risk . So, when it comes to the risk here or kind of the messages and potential for mixed messages, michael, do you think this now new move from china, does that change, or should it change the u. S. Posture here . Well, i think its a reminder that tensions are very high. And of course, if were sending a Carrier Strike group up toward north korea, theres always going to be a reaction from those in the region, especially the chinese. So, for every action, there is going to be a reaction. But listen, i think trump is making a calculated risk that after decades of failed diplomacy, as they say, that we need to change the strategic calculus of china, get them in the ball game in a serious way to do some of the things that jamie mentioned and also maybe other wideranging iranstyled sanctions on north korea so that they might ultimately come to the negotiating table, or at least, at least stop Testing Nuclear weapons there in the bunkers. Lets talk about Nuclear Test Sites, jamie, because to me, that was quite a strange thing to wake up to this morning, seeing the new satellite images of one of the Nuclear Test Sites shows three different locations on that test site, volleyball games being under way. Have you ever seen that before . Well, i certainly have seen volleyball, and ive traveled around north korea and ive seen people playing volleyball in north korea, but obviously, playing volleyball does this mean something . It means that they are taking a step back from being on super high alert. I think eventually they will probably do another nuclear test, but they are delivering a message, certainly to the chinese, that this may not happen today or tomorrow, but you never know with the North Koreans because they are so smart and theyre so strategic, and that goes back to what michael was saying. He talked about a calculatedsrj. Its a huge risk. Whether its calculated or not is the question everybody is asking. I certainly havent seen any evidence of a real strategy. We need one and certainly the obama strategy was imperfect. I dont know if were better off, but the risk level is going through the roof. Michael, let me get you on the confusion over the Carl Vinson Strike gift. It is also true that everyone was under the impression that the carl vinson was heading to the Korean Peninsula. It didnt. If it was a miscommunication, how can that happen . Well, it shouldnt happen. It cant happen. Its another lesson of why we have got to be precise. We have got to get our messaging straight, because the whole world is watching. The region is watching. The South Koreans need to know that when the president speaks, hes being speaking absolutely accurately. So i give them the benefit of the doubt. I worked in the white house for many years. Theres always mass confusion because people are running around at a high rate of speed. At the same time when it comes to matters of National Security, weve got to get this right. And the location and the speed with which a strike group is moving also a key thing. Yeah. Give me your final take, but also with this in mind, one headline out of south korea was trumps lie over the carl vinson. Theyre not happy about it. Thats the thing. I was in the white house as well. You cant say theres an armada heading somewhere when theres not. The white house was never directly asked is it moving there at this very moment. Sean spicer was right when he said is all we said it is heading there. It is evenly heading there. Ron said it well. Its like the president went to wisconsin and they said snow is in the photograph. Yes, its in the forecast, but nine months from now. Kate, are you going to chicago . Yes. At some point in my life. The credibility of the United States is at the core of everything we do. I think over this weekend we saw two kind of military theater. We saw the pa trade in pyongyang with the fake canisters where theyre acting like they had these missiles and the president saying were sending an armada. Right now we have a major credibility problem. This administration is not putting a credible message out into the world and thats terrible credibility matters when as you said to flip it all together when youre playing a game of chicken. Gri great to see you, jamie. Coming up, could the next Supreme Court battle be months away . A republican senator may have just revealed a potential opening. What was the message he was sending . Well be right back. Arm only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. Tylenol® could President Trump have another Supreme Court seat to fill very soon . The chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee has people talking. He told an audience in iowa this. Quoted in a small newspaper saying the following i would expect a resignation this summer. He didnt name names, though. Could it be Justice Anthony kennedy, the swing vote. Hes 80 years old and rumors are he is considering retirement. Paul callan is back with me. Did senator grassley just spill the beans, do you think . Maybe he did. There have been rumors swirling about kennedy stepping down as the next person who will step down from the court for a long time. He didnt say who though. No, he didnt. If you look at the ages Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 84 years old. Hes 80 years old. Its always hard to say whos going to be next, but its definitely going to be one of those two i would say. Play this out. A swing vote or a reliable liberal vote, liberal leaning judge on the court. This changes the ball game. This changes it in a major way. Kennedy has been very important appointed byron a ronald reagan. If he leaves who will be the new swing vote . A lot of people think it might be john roberts, the current chief justice. If Bader Ginsburg leaves, youre only have three liberals and have a total domination by the conservatives. I think the most immediate question is what does Chuck Grassley mean . I would expect a resignation this summer. A lot of questions for Chuck Grassley right now. Thanks so much. And thank you all so much for joining us at this hour. Inside politics starts right now. Thank you, kate. Welcome to inside politics im im john king the the Trump White House is still short votes and an exact plan but pushing for one more obamacare try before next weeks 100 day mark. Im very confident in the days ahead woere going to see the Congress Come together and well take that important step to repeal and replace obamacare. Getting the votes is imminent . I think well see. But i will tell you, were very encouraged. Well see. More tough talk on the world stage already in a stare down with north korea. Team trump lashing out at iran. The Trump Administration has no intention of passing the buck to a future administration on iran. The evidence is clear irans provocative actions threaten the United States, the region, and the world. And coming close in another special election bears a giant democratic dilemma. Yes, the base is full of antitrump energy, but no, theres not much to show for it. The democrats went all in on this race. They spent over 8. 3 million. They said on the record their goal towas to win this race. They lost. The reaction has been what been that they almost won. No. They lost. They spent
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