Transcripts For FBC Cavuto Coast To Coast 20170201

Demeaning process, very demeaning on the other side and look as bad as possible. It could be very demeaning but im sure the press would be dignified in this case but that is the word. I really think hes a dignified man and i would like to see him go through a dignified process. I think he deserves that and hopefully it will go quickly. And we folks in the room give yourself, a quick name and a little introduction and wayne, i would say they know you, perhaps they know you better than they know me. I doubt that. Wayne laperriere, National Rifle association. Ceo and president of concerned women for america. Im sharmane yost, with american values. Thank you, mr. President for this nomination. Thank you very much. Im juanita dougan, National Independent Women Business association. Thank you. With the u. S. Chamber about commerce, mr. President. Congratulations on a fantastic nomination. Thank you very much. Er norquist, americans for tax reform. Thank you for the election. Youre doing a good job. Susan b anthony. Gordon plaquewell, the leadership institute. David ustine, national right to life. Thank you for a such a quick nomination. Thank you. Paula white, chairman of the evangelical thank you, paula. Thank you for the help during the campaign. So, with that i will ask youall hit the road. [inaudible] thank you. As you pointed out last night, gorsuch was confirmed unanimous voice vote in 2006. A number of democrats say they are going to oppose him. What would you say to those democrats . Would you encourage senator mcconnell to invoke the Nuclear Option if he feels he cant get 60 votes . I think there is a certain dishonesty if they go against their vote from not very long ago. He did get a unanimous endorsement. He is somebody that should get you cant bet getter from educational, from experience, from any standpoint. A great judge. He will be a great justice. No, i feel that it is very dishonest if they go about doing that. And, yes, if we end up with the same gridlock they have had in washington for the last, longer than eight years, in all fairness to president obama, a lot longer than eight years. If we end up with the gridlock, i would say, mitch, go nuclear because that would be absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. So i would say, it is up to mitch. But i would say go for it. Okay . Mr. President , thank you. Thank you. Neil you heard that if you can, mitch, quoting the president , go nuclear. That if this gets to be a filibuster case, to try to approve judge neil gorsuch, the president s joyce to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, then go nuclear. Go for simple majority and dont worry about getting 60 votes. How that has become a go Nuclear Option when a simple majority would do on so many other issues and not 60 votes is beyond me. But, but, that is the way it is seen here. With a simple majority be enough. If it comes to that, would it be enough. A number of democrats already said they dont think that, that this should become a big constitutional issue. Blake burman on the Nuclear Option at the white house. Bke . Reporter hi, there, neil, no doubt about it this is major annocement or major statement from President Trump moments ago. You heard it play out, if it gets to that point, does function and gridlock up on capitol hill, specifically the senate stays, the senate suggesting to Mitch Mcconnell, that he could quote go nuclear. To take a step back from all of this, the whole Nuclear Option, you can go back until harry reid, when he was running the senate, invoked the Nuclear Option but kept it in place, a nonNuclear Option, for the Supreme Court, meaning that, if any side wants to filibuster a nomination, they would have to get 60 votes. That would be the filibuster trigger. To get a Supreme Court justice passed, or at least confirmed, into the high court, after that, they would only need majority of 51. That 60vote threshold would be a high bar to climb to get on to the high court. What you just heard from the president there is, him telling the leader of the senate, Mitch Mcconnell, if that is what you need to do, then go for it. By the way, neil gorsuch is over on capitol hill. He has been there throughout the morning meeting with top folks, including Mitch Mcconnell as well. The dysfunction that the president has talked about, neil, you can say continued on this day as some Senate Democrats boycotted the hearing for the epa choice, scott pruitt. Steve mnuchin and tom price who are the selections for hhs, and treasury secretary, those committees were once again boycotted by democrats but republicans sidestepped that by changing the rules to get the process to go on further. Jeff sessions, who is in line to become the next attorney general, his process, his nomination, finally cleared the committee hurdle. A lot going on as far as stall tactics go. What you heard from the president was, if those stall tactics continue with the Supreme Court nominee, Mitch Mcconnell, go for the Nuclear Option. Well see how it all unfolds, neil. Neil thank you very much. Tch mcconnell was think speaking on the floor of the senate right now. If he is, lets dip into that, guys, if he might be talking about this. It would really be in his hands as the Senate Leader to explore the option whether a simple majority will do to confirm neil gorsuch as the next Supreme Court justice, or rely on the 60 votes typically been the case in the past. Lets listen in. Views of a Supreme Court nominee. What or perhaps who they are going to stand for . The problem with that approach, madam president , is that it is great if you happen to be the party in the case who the judge likes. It is not so great if youre the other guy. Justice Antonin Scalia believed this to his very core. He was an eloquent champion of the constitution, who was guided by important principles like, applying the law equally to all. Giving every litigant a fair shake. Rulings based on the actual meaning of the constitution and our laws, not what you or your preferred political constituency wish they meant. These principles help guide Justice Scalia for many years around the record of judge gorsuch indicates that he will continue this legacy of fair and impartial justice. Now of course, that doesnt much matter to some here on the far left. Despite his sterling credentials, and bipartisan support, some on the far left have decided to oppose judge gorsuch wave he was even nominated. We already know what they will say about him as well. It is same things they have been saying about every republican nominee for more than four decades. They said gerald fords nominee, john paul stevens, quote, revealed an an extraordinary lack of sensitivity to the problems women face, end quote. They said reagans nominee, antikennedy was, quote sexis end quote who would quote be a disaster for women. And they said george h. W. Bushs nominee, david souter was a threat to women, minorities, dissenters and other disadvantaged groups. So, it is not terribly surprising that they would say it again this time. What is dispointing that leading democrats in the senate would adopt the same rhetoric. The ink was not even dry on judge gore suchs nomination when the democratic leader proclaimed judge gorsuch had, you guessed it, judge gorsuch had, you guessed it, demonstrated hostility toward womens rights. I hope our colleagues will stick to the fact this is time around. We know that Justice Scalias seat on the court does not belong to any president or any political party. It belongs to the American People. When it became vacant, in the middle of a contentious president ial election we followed the rule set down by Vice President joe biden and democratic leader senator schummer, which said that Supreme Court vacancies arising in the midst of a president ial election should not be considered until the campaign ends. It is the same rule by the way that president obamas own Legal Counsel admitted she would have recommended had the shoe been on the other foot. Ive been consistent all along that the next president , democrat or republican should select the next nominee for the Supreme Court. I maintain that view even when many thought that that particular president would be hillary clinton. But now the election season is over, and we have a new president who was nominated a superbly qualified candidate to fill that ninth seat. So i would invite democrats who spend many months insisting we need nine, to join in following through on that advice giving the president s nominee fair consideration and upordown vote just as we did for past president s of both parties. Neil all right. Youre hearing from the leader of the senate, Mitch Mcconnell, saying essentially give the guy a chance. Be open to the nomination of judge neil gorsuch to be the next Supreme Court justice to replace Antonin Scalia. There has been talk about a Nuclear Option. You hear much about that. I dont know how it got to be named Nuclear Option. Nuclear option, if you tell folks in hiroshima, nagasaki, that is Nuclear Option. Whether this is even in that league, is beyond me. Thinking if you take away right of senators, margin 60, key vote on changes, legislation, ithis case, Supreme Court judges, that wrecks everything. I will leave that to you to decide whether it does or not. Comes on heels of a number of democrats who right out the gun said this was not to be a nomination accepted at face value. They didnt even know who the president would pick last night, but to a man and woman they opted not to go to the white house to hear President Trumps announcement at that it would be gorsuch to be his Supreme Court pick. So democrats on the Judiciary Committee were invited along with republicans and their spouses to go to the white house to witness this moment. Opted not to. It happens on the same day we have a number of democrats not going to Committee Meetings on some of these cabinet picks. Finally the republicans had t al have a Committee Vote with republicans who were sitting there and get these folks like tom price for hhs and Steve Mnuchin for treasury moved along in the process to be eventually confirmed they hope by the full senate. But these are the times which we live and theatrics which we stand. Republicans as i said yesterday played the same game back and forth on this. Should the games stop . Theyre getting in the way of anything done. How to stop this ridiculous ringling brothers type of circus reaction dealing with matters close to everybody. Get the read from conservative commentator. We have andrew feldman, former 2008 canvas coordinator, alex pappas, washington examiner, breaking news editor. Go to you first on this, because i just think whether it is a Nuclear Option, whether it is 50 plus votes or 60, right from the getgo, this guy was being torpedoed. I guess it would have been the same and has been the same when a democratic president makes choices as well. But now it is getting crazy and crazy seems to dominate washington. What is going on here . Well, first, neil, let me point out im an independent and porter, not a conservative commentator. I want to make that clear first. Look, i would say that democrats have learned from republicans when democrats were in power for so long, we had a democratic president , for eight years, republicans pursued a policy of intransigence. That worked for them. It brought them back to power. I think it is clear we know now democrats think that works. That might bring them back to power. However i dont think democrats have totally figured out their strategy just yet. I have seen a lot of traffic from democrats saying they have to think about new tactics and new methods and how theyre going to get a word in edgewise with the media, with republican president and with a Republicancontrolled Senate and house for that matter. So i think that is a really important point to note first. But i would point out to you this. Kirsten gillibrand, a democratic senator from new york and also cory booker, who is a democratic senator from new jersey, theyre never going to vote for neil gorsuch because theyre obviously going to look at president ial runs in the future. The person i would look to is pat leahy, ranking member, democrat on the Judiciary Committee. He is also the fifthlongest serving senator in history and a true statesman. If he comes out against neil gorsuch that would be a big problem Going Forward. This is a process that will take a couple of months. I would point out that in a Statement Last night, pat leahy said the senate owes the American Public a thorough and unsparing examination of neil gorsuch. So this will be a tough process. That is for sure. Neil no doubt. Particularly to leahy. Neil im sorry for misidentifying you. Im like anchorman, if it is in the prompter i read it. Sure. Neil andrew, among the first to come out even sight unseen on this nomination was senator jeff merkley of oregon, democrat was trying to mount a filibuster before even getting wind and word of psident trumps pick here. And he freely aitted it was payback for the way republicans handled Barack Obamas choice of Merrick Garland to replace scalia last year. He freely admitted that. Im going back to that time and hearing, all right, republicans justified it at the time saying they were just imposing the biden rule which is in the final year of a president s administration, i think the gist of it was, you wait for the new person to come in. Having said that though, the old game of titfortat, someone has to stand up say this is getting old and this is getting stupid but they dont. Im wondering if that is not only imperilling this judges process but we see good cabinet picks, if you like, dont vote them down. Dont play the games where you are not going to the Committee Hearing or playing parliamentary rules to avoid the inevitable. Neil, first to good to be with you. I get the what youre saying. Our politics are broken. In ideal world i would love democrats Work Together like tip oneill and Ronald Reagan did in the 80s. The reality that is not where we are right now, neil. I just dont think the democrats can step aside and bow down and say, sure, mcconnell, you can have your pick, not a problem. Were going to step aside, because the political context here as, erin, the political context erin just mentioned is very important, right . The republicans just a few months ago played politics to an extreme level to an unprecedented level are never seen before to stop a hearing even taking place for president obamas nominee. And you know what . They may be endangered stature and level of the neil i said so at the time at that there would be no harm voting on him. They had the vote to vote him down. Here we are, back and forth. Back and forth. Alex pappas of the washington examiner, im wondering now what is the harm with simple majority . The fear seems to be that we have the 60vote rule because it goes beyond whatever party is controlling the senate. Usually never in big numbers to the low 50s or high 40s for the other guys. I dont know where that became such a big deal where you had to have 60. Im not, i know they call it the Nuclear Option. I dont know why but, what is wrong with a simple majority . Well, because it preserves your ability to be able to filibuster and stop somebody that is truly bad. That is what republicans are thinking about. Theyre saying we can invoke the Nuclear Option and lower the threshold but what happens neil fear if republicans do they rue the day this will come back to haunt them under democratic president and he or she is thrusting a Supreme Court appointee down their throats they will lose that protection and, because to me, it is what it is. Majority rules. And call it a day. Or am i being too simplistic. That is exactly what it is. Republicans are thinking down the road. My question for democrats that may be pushing trump to invoking the Nuclear Option, what is the point . We all know just looking at numbers, republicans are probably going to get gorsuch through. You go and invoke the Nuclear Option. What happens next time strum trump gets nominee. He will not have to consider to win over any democrats or moderate republicans. He can get somebody even more conservative. I get it. Democrats have a Tea Party Problem of their own. Somebody like Chuck Schumer may want to make a deal, may want to get concession. Neil you should be very worried. Erin, end with you on this i think theyre going to avoid this debate with this particular choice because they could look at gorsuch taking the replace, place of a conservative justice so its a even swap. They might fight, with more armor for the next Supreme Court pick because that is when they dont want to see the balance tipped. Right. Neil and they might not make a big deal over the filibuster. Your thoughts real quickly on that . Neil, democrats know gorsuch is going to get through. They will figure out what is the right strategy and they will want to redefine their priorities publicly. They will take the next two months to figure out exactly how to do that. Neil i hear you. Guys, thank you all very, very much. Again, these terms, guys, like Nuclear Option, the way they were talking about, oh he is a nazi or fascist, i nazis take offense so that because nazis long dead and buried are rolling in their graves saying he is a nazi . I thought i was a nazi . This is Nuclear Option . We got to stop this type of language period, because that is the problem. After this. Achoo snap achoo snap achoo achoo snap snap achoo achoo feel a cold coming on . Zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a snap, and reduce symptom severity by 45 . Shorten your cold with a snap, with zicam. Neil all right. You know, when no one was paying attention to this story, Charlie Gasparino was alone reporting this story and it concerns Anthony Scaramucci and maybe a little bit of friction in the trump white house, what is going on. He has some new details to add here. What the heck happened . Anthony was going to get, he announced it himself, public liaison job. Key job in the Trump Administration. Neil that was not a created position. Like Valerie Jarrett . He announced he would get that. From what we understand sources inside of the Trump Administration, senior sources unlikely, all but not going to get that job. Neil why . Because in order to take that job he needed to sell skybridge, his fun fund to fund company. Neil which he did. That needs, this is what the white house is saying, that needs a lengthy ethics review. Selling to privately held company, a chinese privately held company. That will take lengthy review and take 90 days to do. They want to fill the job immediately. We should point out, there has been a lot of talk, we reported this on your show yesterday and last couple days, scaramuccis appointment was held up because of infighting within the Trump Administration. He is seen as an ally of steve bannon, the senior advisor. Neil scaramucci. Who is vying for power with lines priebus, chief of staff. I was on the phone with senior people. I wont say who they were today. They tell me this has nothing to do with that. Both Reince Priebus and bannon are essentially in agreement they need to fill that job, to deal with the Business Community immediately. That someone else probably should get it. Neil do you need Senate Approval . No you dont. You need to be sworn in. If you have a business it needs to have to pass an ethics review which is what scaramucci is caught up in. Here is what we understand. Trump could overrule what these guys will do. There is very good chance he gets ambassadorship or other job in the administration. Neil need Senate Approval for that . You probably need it for the ambassadorship, right . Neil i have no idea. I dont think so. Neil you think theyre using the company sale as an excuse . The impression i got, listen, he sold the company. It is sold to a privatelyheld chinese company. There are more hoops to jump through as an Administration Official than even the president. Like you have seen neil president doesnt have any. You see what is going on with Steve Mnuchin, treasury secretary, holding that up based on his business dealings. That is what they got here. They need to review it. Neil e does scaramucci go in the meantime . Tenreat trouble and effort to sell his company. I guess that deal still would be on. It would be on. Neil he waits presumably for some other position . He waits, yeah. I mean, i dont, to be honest with you, i will say, a lot of reporters wont say this, i dont know. Neil really . Theoretically trump would say i want him of keep him on the side for three months. Neil whatever, you think, he is brilliant guy. Want him around. Full disclosure. Friend of mine. Moan him for years. I helped him come to fox business to start wall street week. That is popular show on wall street, friday nights on fox business. A guy everyone in the Hedge Fund Business and everyone knows. Neil he is a great human being. He did great work for trump. He deserves something. The guy, when no one else believed in trump he was out there raising money for him. He went on tv and took slings and arrows like no tomorrow. He deserves something. Neil i want to ask you, without being cynical even though i know its a cynical question, do you really think that the sale and how he did it and to whom he did it of his company was issue here . You know, im not there. Neil yeah. I can only tell you what im getting from inside of the place. Im also getting from inside the place the battle between priebus and bannon is baloney. That they see eyetoeye on 90 of the issues. They deal with each other each day. Theyre myopically focused getting people through and filling roles like this one and both of them are in agreement this role needs to be filled quickly and by somebody else. Neil i didnt know the Valerie Jarrett thing is so important. That is different thing. Jarrett has special relationship with obama. Neil her own secret service. That is important because this is the liaison with business people. Neil you are a liaison with the wall Street Community which is scary enough itself. Charlie gasparino, thank you very, very much. No one better, guys, you want breakg news you wait with the other netwk and say [whistling] or catch it here right now. Fair around balanced republican senator mike lee who might be on a future short list for Supreme Court justice himself and democratic senator joe manchin, his read why democrats might be acting like babies. When it comes to some of the cabinet appointments there is someone for whom senator manchin said no, i wont go there, i can not support this candidate, after this. Hone ring] hi anne. So those financial regulations being talked about . They could affect your accounts, so lets get together and talk, and make sure everythings clear. Yeah, that would be great. Being proactive. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. Put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists. Polidents unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99. 99 of odor causing bacteria. For a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture every day. We end up with the same gridlock they have had in washington for the last, longer than eight years, in all fairness to president obama, a lot longer than eit years. But if we end up with that gridlock, i would say if you can, mitch, go nuclear, because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. So i would say, it is up to mitch but i would say go for it. Neil all right. You heard that. Go nuclear, mitch, if it comes to that. A simple majority would do the trick for getting my pick for Supreme Court. Neil gorsuch is the next pick for the United States Supreme Court. Chuck schumer is open to everything and views on this socalled travel ban, more like a travel delay for those from seven dangerous countries, at least deemed dangerous by the Trump Administration, exact same list deemed dangerous by the Obama Administration, and wants to get, as part of this process the views of the Supreme Court candidate on that, presumably, if he were against it, he might have an easier time getting accepted. To democratic senator joe manchin of West Virginia on all this. Senator, what do you feel about Chuck Schumer just said, attaching his views, the justices views on this issue the travel ban delay whatever you want to call it, to be fair game in a judicial process, nominating process . Let me just, there are so many things going on right now, and you mentioned quite a few of them, neil. The Nuclear Option was wrong when harry reid did it, reducing the Senate Simple majority of 51 as opposed to 60. I voted against it. I begged him not to do it. He didnt do it with the Supreme Court. I understand where my republican friends are coming from, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. We have to find someplace in the legislative process we have to come together on it. 60vote rule, senate way we operated both republicans and democrats with institutional knowledge, something we shouldnt have done. With that being said i dont know what is going to happen. I would like to see the 60vote rule apply to everything the way weve done it. It has to make us start working together. People will not stand for the gridlock. With that being said, you asked me about being tied on a litmus test to the other. How you would basically rule or what you would have done on the, on the ban. The history on the ban goes back to 2011 when at that time president obama, because of what happened in Bowling Green through the visa process, put a sixmonth ban on everything, as far as stopping it. Neil right. He did it for one country of iraq and saw six other countries were not only harboring but promoting terrorism. And so they put it on the seven. And then President Trump, wisely picked up those same seven. That is how they come to being. With that being said the difference was under president obama they did not go for the green card. They did not go for people who already had been vetted. They went basically i think for visas if im not mistaken. The only thing i would say, and im sure theyre going through a learning curve to the president , to President Trump, basically, talk to john kelly. Talk to mr. Mattis, the to general mattis, talk to pompeo. These people went through with overwhelming bipartisan support. We trust them. Use them. And that is the thing that i think bothered people more than anything, that they werent used. Neil do you think back to the Supreme Court fight, senator, that, a number of democrats might be reassessing this, saying all right, if you think about it, this judge, gorsuch, is kind of an even swap for scalia. Another conservative justice replacing a conservative justice and they might keep their powder dry for the next Supreme Court fight that could truly tip the balance so it would be in democrats interest not to fight this so that there has to be a Nuclear Option and save it for the next one . What do you think . Neil, that, here, let me just say this first of all, if you want, if you want a third branch, one of the three branches of government to work, the Judicial Branch you have to have nine members. It doesnt work with eight. The rule of law doesnt survive with eight. Basically a deadlock. That is not what we have and not what we should have in this great country which the rest of world looks at. The rule of law, we have different most places in the world, we have something we do believe in. With that being said, you have a situation now saying well well do the Nuclear Option now. If they do it now, it will be Nuclear Option forever. The republicans and democrats both have been around here long enough to understand, whatever you do today might not be what you want tomorrow. That is happening what harry reid did back with the Nuclear Option when he did it. Now, how do you bring them together . I, i think, we owe a vote to justice gorsuch. I think what, under Mitch Mcconnell, what they did with Merrick Garla was wrong, not en get a hearing and not talk with him. Under the 60vote rule, they should have went ahead he didnt make us. Give us somebody else. But go through the process. The man deserved that im not going to say okay, they did that to us, so i will do it to them. The people of West Virginia didnt send me to play games. They sent me to try to get something accomplished. Im anxious to meet with justice gorsuch. I want to find out a little bit more about him. I know he has a stellar record from the standpoint of his pedigree, how he came up through his education process, everything about him. I want to know more about him. I looking forward to that meeting. I will cast my vote, based what i go home to West Virginia, explain why i voted for him or why i voted against him. I will be a i will to do that. Neil senator, very good having you again. I appreciate it. Neil, always good to be with you. Thank you. Neil senator joe manchin right now. Theyre trying to keep a level of calm and decorum in a place lately that has had very little of it. Fair and balanced the view from senate Judiciary Committee member, he is always on everyones short list, Supreme Court justice himself if he were so interested, senator mike lee. Very good to have you. You probably heard senator manchin talking about look, we should honor this tradition of 60 votes. Im paraphrasing here but i heard from other republicans senators say, this is brief opportunity we could fill a number of Supreme Court appointments with young men or women who could, you know, tip the balance of the court for decades to come. Lets go the Nuclear Option. Lets drop this, you know, charade, and approve even if it is just a simple majority, appointments Going Forward by a simple majority because if we do that, weve got the court going our way for decades to come. You say what . Well, first of all, i say lets get this nominee confirmed. Were going to do precisely that. Secondly i would point out, weve got a lot of tools at our disposal to get this nominee confmed. The first is, just getim confirmed. Not have the democrats filibuster him. They dont have to do it. I think they ought to participate in confirming him. Secondly neil i understand, senator, only one wants to filibuster. One who, is given no doubt he will is senator merkley of oregon who says it will be payback for the way republicans treated Merrick Garland, president obamas Supreme Court choice to replace Antonin Scalia, but is that true . All it takes is one to filibuster and it is a filibuster . Sure. Even then, we have tools from our disposal to make sure the nominee confirmed with 51 votes. Some of those options dont even involve Going Nuclear. Rule 19 of senate rules can be invoked consistent something called the twospeech rule. Whereby the number of speeches that can be given by each senator on that topic, on that particular nomination is limited to two. As long as we remain in the same legislative day, which in the past happened for sometimes months at time, eventually exhaust the right of any senators wishing to speak on the nomination. Eventually you get to the point where there is no cloture. You get to 51vote confirmation vote. We get the person through. Neil if democrats did the same alternative ways to avoid the socalled Nuclear Option and whatever you discussed there because you know intricacies better than i, would you be okay with that . If it was democrats doing this in the majority and pushing a president ial choice, democratic president ial choice the same way . I might not like the outcome but i would acknowledge that that was something done legitimately pursuant to the senate rules. Rule 19 is a thank that twospeech rule is real. It could be invoked here. That would limit debate. Neil in other words it would limit the amount of time you could talk or delay, right . That is exactly right. That is one of the ways we get to confirmation. Neil switch gears, senator, a number of democrats, including Chuck Schumer moments ago linking thhole appointment to the candidates perspective on the travel ban and presumably they want democrats, democrats want trump travel ban to be rolled back or altered and think want it to come up with gorsuch. How do you feel about that . Well, first of all, i would love to hear their analysis on that. I would like to know more about why they think this is an appropriate litmus test or what exactly theyre expecting in demand of it. Look the fact is, that section 212f of the immigration nationality act does give authority to the president to suspend entry of, for a period of time based on some of the characteristics identified in the order. We dont yet know exactly how this order will be implemented. Potential challenges might arise with respect to this order will be as applied basis, not on a facial basis. Neil all right. So lets talk about this process where were told that in order to overcome even cabinet appointments who have been delayed in committee with democrats not showing up at the finance committee, to weigh in on Steve Mnuchin for treasury or elsewhere, Health Human Services pick, republicans only in those respective committees voted and voted for each candidate. Now it comes up to the full senate. But this has been a very divisive affair, even now. Why does this continue . Well, it continues because People Choose to let it continue. Look, the democrats dont have to make this divisive. That doesnt mean they have to vote for every Single Person nominated by President Trump. Doesnt necessarily mean they have to vote for every piece of legislation advocated by republicans. Neil isnt this harry reids making then . Shouldnt they go back to complain to harry reid . He laid this down . Absolutely. This is one of those things they should have considered at the time. The fact is they nuked what we call the executive calendar. They exercised the Nuclear Option on executive calendar. They set in motion what led to this. What led to our ability to confirm these cabinet level nominees. And at at 51vote threshold. So you know, at the time, they should have considered that. Perhaps some of them did but apparently not enough to cause them to vote against it. Neil if that whole threshold thing goes away, that you dont need 60 votes anymore in the senate, for anything with cabinet appointments to even Supreme Court justices, to any legislation, even changing marginal tax rates, which would typically require a 60vote majority, how would you feel about that . There is some real risks associated with that. The senate has been known, whether rightly or not, the worlds greatest directive, legislative body. I would like it to continue to be that. There are very strong reasons why we needed especially with respect to legislation. The cloture rule that you are describing, the 60 votes required to end debate is something that allows members the opportunity to continue to debate and offer up amendments, improvements to make legislation better before it is passed. So i think that would be a real lose if we got to that point. Neil you would urge republican colleagues time being to avoid at all costs . Yes i will and i do. Neil senator, great seeing you again. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Neil senator mike lee. We are going to probably get a little bit more clarity on how the white house feels about all of this. As you heard the president already indicated go nuclear mitch, if you have to, referring to Mitch Mcconnell. Taking socalled Nuclear Option, simple majority would approve in this case, his Supreme Court pick. It would apply to everything. Who came up with the Nuclear Option thing . I know i seem like a dog with a bone on this i would have come up with other words or terms and save nuclear for things that are nuclear and really nuclear and explode on you. This aint it. Old calls. Achoo . Answer it. Th zicam cold remedy. Ithorts colds, so you get better, faster. Colds are gonna call. Answer them with zicam zicam. Get your better back. Now in great tasting crystals. The market. Redict but through good times and bad. At t. Rowe price. Weve helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. Call us or your advisor. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. Wont replace the full value of your totaled new car. The guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. No, i picked the wrong insurance company. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, you wont have to worry about replacing your car because youll get the full value back including depreciation. And if you have more than one Liberty Mutual policy, you qualify for a multipolicy discount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Neil apple up 6 1 2 after reporting much betterthanexpected earnings news after the bell yesterday. 246 billion worth of cash on hand. Reporting selling more than 78 million iphones in the holiday quarter. Dow would be unenormous pressure. Thanks to apple, prominent component in the dow it is doing all right. Up 25 points. The lions share, apple. Four states are suing over that white house, socalled travel ban delay is more the word. Former i. C. E. Director says we cant really be more thorough in our vetting than we already are. I guess the states now, as you know, better than i, new york, massachusetts, virginia, and washington that are protesting this, do they have a case . I think certainly as it relates to the green card aspect of this. I think there are very strong arguments barring green cardholders from returning to their families sun lawful and unconstitutional and importantly, neil a statute that was passed by congress which bars immigrant, discrimination on immigrant visas based on country of origin. Neil didnt they take the green card thing out, john . They clarified that . I dont know, that is out, is this without merit . No. It is still with merit, two things, first of all the green card piece is still in place. They will grant waivers which the primary factor granting a waiver, whether or not you have a green card. So the green card piece is still in play, very much so. Secondly even if you have a nonimmigrant visa you have a much stronger argument administration there. Youre general lip not entitled to enter the United States unless you have been given a green card or a citizen. Nevertheless the manner which is done raises legal concerns evidenced by the judges who issued injunction in many of the states. Neil these four cases notwithstanding is it your understanding it was poorly communicated and that maybe at its core it is not that bad . Maybe the way it is called the muslim ban when the administration argues it is not a muslim ban, more like a delay on worrisome elements getting in here. You say what . Well, let me set aside the question whether it is muslim ban or not. The way it was implemented, i spent a lot of time at dhs, folks were aware it was coming, generally speaking however there is not that much turmoil when a new policy change is made because a lot of work is put into place sending very clear guidance out to the field who is and who is not impacted. 20,000 customs officers around the world decides who gets in the country and who doesnt. Before you make a big policy change, makes a lot of sense to give them clear guidance and prevent people boarding airplanes who wont get in and what they do when they arrive. Neil President Trump, im paraphrasing, if you overly vet this kind of stuff, the bad guys know to get around it and to jump the gun so to speak and get here or get out of here. Im not saying you broadcast this to the public in advance. What im saying get il telling 21,000 offices or ound the cntry that potentially are doing just that right . No, no. Get a small group of leadership at customs. Guys with access to highest and most classified Information Available to the United States. Guys we trust with our deepest secrets. Get them together. They prepare the guidance. Moment you go public. Launch the guidance in the field. When the field sees executive order, very legal and technically written, raises 52 different questions they need answered. I will just tell you anecdotally this was dropped at friday on 5 00. People were scrambling all weekend all hours of the night trying to get guidance to the field. Neil do you think there was purpose even in that, creating mass confusion, sending word out to guys that might wish us ill, that we are on high alert. You know, listen, certainly the fact he took this order, i dont deny the point. It certainly sends a message the United States will enhance more scrutiny. I dont dispute that in the slightest. I guess my frustration was the breadth of this order and people caught up. A lot of people lived here for a long time legally and peacefully. People who were born in iran, frankly, especially country from iran, large numbers of people fled persecution in iran and lived in this country 25 years. You happened to be outside the u. S. The day this order drops, youre not allowed back in. Youre right, that is fixed now. People with green cards will get back in. Students will not get back in. Meanwhile people who meet the criteria are in this country. I think more pinpointed, targeted approach would have been bert. I dont dispute it probably sent a message there will be even more scrutiny who get as visa and who gets into our country. Neil john, can i pick your brain on this . A number about democrats are linking their support or lack thereof to neil gorsuch the president s choice for Supreme Court, to banning this travel ban, whatever you want to call it . Do you think that should come up is an issue that should be part of a confirmation process . That is going outside of your field a little bit but they want to make it germane in his confirmation hearings . He strikes me as very smart man. I would be surprised if he gets caught giving an answer one way or the other. This is subject of federal litigation. It will work up to the court system. To the extent he ever hears the case in the Supreme Court it will be years down the road. I cant imagine he will answer that nominee for justice after nominee has been able to successfully punt, giving any firm answers about any legal issues. Neil they have, even on the right to life issue and all of this. If they say it would come up i cant comment right now. Linking it, democrats who link it find that surprising . No, of course not. Listen this is a burning issue. It is causing a lot of frustration and a lot of angst. The president sneads needs to send a message of heightened scrutiny. Democrats need to send a message that they will fight this with orders that are overbroad. Neil youre a great guest. Thank you. Neil former isis director. Can only go up when youre giving me information. Im starting from zero here. John, thank you again. The white house will get a chance to weigh in on the Supreme Court ballot and linking a number of democrats are doing to johns point here, whether that would even come up in the Supreme Court hearing or in this case gorsuch would just, as many predecessors have punt on the issue and say, well i cant comment on something that might come before the court which is probably what he would say, anyones guess, but it is the latest political broadside thrown the white houses way since the announcement ever neil gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia. More after this. Neil looking at the white house where the president is having lunch with his choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. A full senate vote should happen in 2 30 eastern time. And the hhs pics without a single democrat. And the Nuclear Option which we will get to. And the the senate changed their own rules, Steve Mnuchin and tom price, health and Human Services secretary respectively through, remember the big story yesterday the democratic boycott, didnt even show up so when changing the rules republicans were able to push those nominees through committee with only republicans voting sthey did that. Senator Jeff Sessions was able to get through the committee as attorney general nominee, party line 119 vote the democrats did show up for that one and Rex Tillerson the full senate vote. The Nuclear Option is the other story of the day on capitol hill. You have neil gorsuch on capitol hill meeting with Mitch Mcconnell, the republican leader and other members of the senate, republicans continue to praise the pick of the president but democrats do not. Chuck schumer talked earlier about the way to go would be 60 votes in the senate and that gets us to the debate about Going Nuclear which is passing the nominee through with a simple majority. Watch with the president himself had to say about it earlier. And if we end up with that gridlock i would say, go nuclear because that would be, that would be a shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. The Nuclear Option deal, republicans would push them through with 51 votes. A filibuster proof 60 vote margin. Thanks to the democrats. It is precedentsetting day one of vetting neil gorsuch. Neil only day one. Senator jeff merkley from morgan already said before he knew who Donald Trumps choice was going to be for the Supreme Court, a good amount of filibuster, republicans block Merrick Garland, a number of democrats, and rolling back and seeing neil gorsuch would be in favor of the travel ban delay, whatever you call it. Democrats when it comes to some of Donald Trumps cabinet picks including tom price, and each Committee Goes down to vote. They dont even show up to vote, hoping to get the process and tangled and delayed, and they are going to be up for the full senate, and for these parliamentary maneuvers. Democrats say tit for tat for what democrats did to them, andrew stein, new York City Council president , big democrat, it is good to have you back. It is escalating. What do you make of this. Democrats are making a big mistake. People elected donald trump because they wanted to break gridlock in washington, they wanted to drain the swamp and they wanted to get things if in six months they from states that donald trump, handily in the last election but saying that. And vengeance grows slight in time and a lot are saying republicans did this to them when they were in power and there is truth but someone has to stand up and say you have been acting like children. Lets go forward here. Where is this going. It looks like it could be a repeat of what president obama went through. This can by on the hill, is not here now. The nice thing about reagan and tip oneill had a great personal relationship and they got together and moved things forward. Donald trump means what he says and i think the democrats have emotionally not come to terms with donald trump winning the election. Get oveit, you won the election, the country wants to move forward and wants people to create jobs, keep us safe and i think the democrats are going to get a huge back lash if they continue behaving this way. Not to even go to the meetings and boycott them, the trump cabinet choices are up, i think is immature and will backfire. I hate to see that happen to democrats but that is where it is going. Neil you are democrat and the wrap against the party, the hard left calling the shots here and democrats are very aware of that and moderator accommodative democrats are feeling is that, senator mention of West Virginia is acknowledging that. That is the problem. The activist base is so freaked out over donald winning the election that they scare the more moderate democrats. Chuck schumer, some of the people like mention are not that far to the left but they are afraid of the far left and they have to show some spunk and do what is right. Donald trump won the election and the democrats have to, i think will be judged whether they work with him to create jobs, disagree with him when they do but move ahead and do what is right for the country because i think they are too intimidated by the far left, the average voter, donald trump won michigan, ohio, pennsylvania, all the countries in the rustbelt. The democrats were not listening to what they were saying and hillary never even went to wisconsin and those average people dont not as exercise, the airports demonstrating and donald did the right thing with the vetting, the President Trump did and we have to keep our country safe. Neil let me ask why you are here. As a former new York City Council president you have bill diblasio looking at a mansion tax in new york to pay for programs that benefit the poor, Governor Cuomo in new york state talking about a wider staggered millionaire tax, many more than millionaires but the push in going after the rich, a consistent theme and hard left turn on the part of people who are already considered pretty left. What do you make of that . I dont think it works. New york already has problems keeping businesses and keeping people, more rich people pay taxes or moving too far or establishing residency in other states so i think if they do that it will just lose more business and more of our tax base. It is a mistake. Neil great seeing you again. In the meantime all these battles in washington, confirmations and Supreme Court pics and all that. A lot of people start fearing is this going to delay the stuff we want to see, tax reform, regulatory reform. Not well. Gerri so interesting you have been talking about gridlock throughout your show and make people wonder can we get tax reform and break in regulations and repealing and replacing obamacare. We he seen worry in the markets, we see selloff in the past three days, it was up marginally but a big hole, the big trump boom after his inauguration, republicans forces on capitol hill saying, tax reform, still planning it, not in the first 100 days, but the first 200 days, in august with the president ial signature by the end of the year. This will take a wild. That is the end of the day. The reality is tax reform is hideously complicated even though there is a blueprint for this, a republican blueprint, the better way plan from the republicans they have lots of teas across and is 2. Blooge what has been going on is debate over executive orders and namecalling you have seen is astonishing. None of that is easy to get tax reform. The plan from the republicans, even trumps plan closer together than you might realize and they say, my sources telling me still on the table, not going away. Neil thank you very much. I have no doubt, it would mean, it would be delayed but it wouldnt be out the window altogether. Does that mean the Federal Reserve would delay rate hikes in response the pickup of activity as a result of tax cuts and regulatory relief and a more market Friendly Health care law. The Federal Reserve is not going to tip its hand, a key decision, and review of thinking over half an hour. Neil we are going to get the Federal Reserve decision, not an announcement, if there is no announcement coupled with something there is no move in Interest Rates, could be a surprise, we have had one or two of those over the last 20 years, unexpectedly the Federal Reserve does something which is a hike in rates, not expected even though we are expecting several rate hikes, but it depends on President Trump and his economic plan and whether that gets through. Lets begin with how likely it is that President Trump will have to delay a lot of this stuff which might delay a series of rate hikes. Good estion. He has frontloaded his agenda with stuff that doesnt really impact the economy directly like tax cut and things like that. What he frontloaded it with. And what scott has to say about us. The fiscal policy status quo. I dont think you have monitored policy stuff. Neil the president will be meeting with jpmorgans jamie diamond and other ceos. I assume brokerage ceos but i could be wrong about that. His treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, i could tell you there are republicans on the Banking Committee who are nervous about him. Neil he cleared that committee. Charles he had ferried to business backgrounds. Neil wouldnt vote for him in a full senate vote. Charles they are worried about him. You know he had the account, that was a problem and republicans are saying here is what that might be. It might be a t up or worstcase scenario and asked jamie diamond to do the strings, you never know. Neil sorry to go to you later but do you have a sense that the trump agenda regardless of the players and where they are going or not going to be delayed . We were hearing early from gerri willis that they are optimistic. They will get stuff done. It might come later but it is coming, regulatory reform, lower taxes, what do you make of that . Charlie is right. That may not come first, i disagree with charlie, offset, not onset, more protective, 2000 miles away, but i will tell you what is interesting, it is more the rhetoric that is important with regard to what the market expects, not so much what happens in the first hundred days of the first 200 and that is what the market will move on. The Interest Rate picture is interesting because we could argue behind the curve for so many years, hiking rate and decreasing them. This is one situation where the fed will try to be on the curve or ahead of it. Neil what does it stay if it is contingent on what donald trump is doing, the faster he moves the faster rates go up. Look at Mortgage Rates over 4 . At 21 2 it feels really high, because of where we have been. It is not nearly as either historical averages. The one that will feature jpmorgan, jamie diamond, to discuss regulation in the workforce. The fed stands pat. Trump is later. The market right now. Reflecting potential future growth based on his tax cuts and regulatory cuts which are not going to be a first 100 day thing. They are second half of the year or further out. If he doesnt do those tax cuts, down 19 plus it is overbought. Why would the fed raise money or raise rates. Neil the market get ahead of himself. Does trump allow that to happen. Does he allow primus is to fall flat. And the world to watch it. It he does have the power with all the ceos. And we come out of these meetings very positive. Very appropriately happen. It doesnt become a pressing issue. And the fed willhite rates sooner. We watch it closely down 27 points. And a personal story that added to the urgency of the development after this. I cant wait for her to have that College Experience that i had. The classes, the friends, the independence. And since we planned for it, that student debt is the one experience, im glad shell miss when you have the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. Ameriprise charles we are getting word that jamie diamond is going to be meeting with other financial ceos and President Trump friday, the ceo who met with the president yesterday, very good to have you. You had a chance to hear the president talking about trying to streamline the drug approval process, something near and dear to you and try to get cheaper drugs, something the administration had viewed, something that wasnt happening, he wantss to reassess how this process goes and what has been a given for so long. The clear intent was hire more american workers, get prices under control, what do you think . It is clear the president is laser focused on jobs, positive, productive discussion yesterday. The industry has been an engine of Public Health gains and economic growth, if you look at Life Expectancy doubling and death rates dramatically following across a range of diseases whether it is cancer, heart disease, hivaids, hepatitis c, a tremendous footprint in the United States, 41 2 million americans, directly or indirectly. Neil but not doing enough we found a lot of common ground, there are additional steps our Companies Want to do more in the us. And corporate taxes, better trade deals, protecting intellectual property, r d investments, 70 billion in the United States which is more than any other industry so we do think we can do more. Neil i always think that is when everything gets real. Did anyone say mister president , you just knocked us for no reason . I think the president is focused on two things, more jobs in the United States. Neil focused on, did any of you get mad . No. This is a very productive discussion. I found the president. Neil nose out of joint, more or less saying you are gouging. No. We take his concerns with regard to drug prices seriously, we want to engage all stakeholders. It is the collocated system. We understand there are questions. Insurers ultimately determin how much patient perhaps play outofpocket. They are demanding discounts and rebates companies provide. Are those discounts flying to patients. Neil this has been a concern personally of yours anyone outside the industry, a little over a year ago. You shared a story about showing a video that focused on a mom struggling with child who had type i diabetes, shortly thereafter i am quoting here, my wife called to tell me our son chris was suffering fatigue and weight loss and unusual thirst, has just been diagnosed with type i diabetes, the moment bordered on the surreal. It was brought to you personally. Did that experience in any way change your perspective on a, diseases, and be, how quickly drugs for those diseases come to market . Absolutely. We are not special. Our family has been touched by chronic disease which is particularly challenging for kids. All families have been touched by disease and for me, it has been a great reminder of what is at stake. I first had to start giving my son chris four or five insulin shots a day. Waking him up in the middle of the night to test his blood sugar, we lead the world in the developed of better treatments and cures. I think the president understands what is at stake. We have to be responsible with regard to pricing but we have to continue to have incentives for companies to take risks, hit home runs, find cures for deadly diseases like type i and others. Stuart one of the things you said, it takes too long and costs too much to develop a medicine, test it and get it to patients. The process is more than the us drug and Food Administration has to evaluate these medicines but the complaint people have of the fda a process which things are improved is it takes forever. That was something the president addressed and something you yourself addressed but it takes a long time and im wondering what can change that. We think the fda has the Gold Standard for regulatory approval. There are terrific people at the agency but we do have to take a look at steps we can take to enhance competition by bringing more products to market. All the Media Attention focused in the past year has been on cases like mylan, cases talking about old drugs where there is not effective competition so we think there are targeted solutions to those problems. You could have more resources dedicated to reducing the backlog with regard to generic approval. You can have manufacturing and tax incentives put in place to encourage generic entry. Lets look at targeted solutions that address the problem. Lauren we know about the case of the epipen and associated to that, offering tiered pricing especially for schools and the like but it is still an expensive process. Is your fear the balance we got to find, the money farm a pays to get a drug to market or and epipen to market has to be balanced out with humanitarian needs to provide support . Absolutely. One of the other steps we need to take it increasingly our Companies Want to engage directly with payers and put the money where their mouth is and reimburse differentially based on the outcome achieved by the patients. Instead of one price for one pill, a more granular discussion with payers about the outcomes that are achieved. There are a lot of laws and regulations with outcomebased arrangements from taking shape. We talked about those steps and other marketbased solutions we thought would move the system increasingly towards value rather than paying for volume. Lauren neil how is your son now . Thanks for asking. He is great. He is 13, spent two years since his diagnosis, he is a daily inspiration to me and our family and a daily reminder what is at stake in this discussion as we balance innovation and access and affordability. Neil stay cool on the pizza. Thank you very much, a pleasure having you. Great to be with you. Neil more after this. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. With it, i earn unlimited 2 cash back on all of my purchasing. And that unlimited 2 cash back frompark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Which adds fuel to my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . Thats why a cutting edgeworld. University counts on centurylink to keep their global campus connected. And why a Pro Football Team chose us to deliver fiberenabled broadband to more than 65,000 fans. And why a leading car brand counts on us to keep their Dealer Network streamlined and nimble. As a control enthusiast, im allbusiness when i travel. Even when i travel. For leisure. So i go national, where i can choose any available upgrade in the aisle without starting any conversations or paying any upcharges. What can i say . Control suits me. Go national. Go like a pro. Neil all right. Were waiting for this White House Briefing with sean spicer. Obviously you heard about a number of democrats, about your Supreme Court, mr. President , we just might peg that and link this to the president s travel ban delay, whatever you want to call it. So it is getting really nut at this. A number of democrat opting out of committees that end up voting for the president s cabinet appointments anyway. It is a mess. Get to my buddy, david asman, a great anchor which he is, high energy, i dont know how he states energetic. Drugs by the way. Neil wall street journal editor by training. If you read his columns i do line they castop youn your path. Normally i judge everything on the basis how does this affect me . What could happen to me as a result of this. Lo and behold david writeses a great piece on Social Security benefits out of blue for his wonderful mother and father were dramatically adjusted just out of the blue. David here to talk about that. This is underbelly of the Social Security story we dont hear a lot. Social security accounts are supposed to be sacrosanct. Even if youre not retired, you get the accounts once a year, this is how much you will get. Not necessarily. My parent found out about it couple weeks ago. I got a call from a bookkeeper that helps them out with the monthly bills because they are getting old. Do you realize your parent are getting 500 a month less than they used to get from Social Security . But that is not supposed to happen. Your Social Security account is written in stone. Youre supposed to get what you were promised to get with the government. Apparently the doc fix done in 2015, if very wealthy people were getting so much money that they were in a class where they apparently, the benefits they were getting were less than what they should be, you would be docked from your Social Security accounts in order to pay for that money that, for the doc fix. The point is, that my parents are not rich people. Just happened that one year they had to sell a lot of stock in order to pay for some medical bills, and for some help when they got home. That may seem neil onetime event. One time thing. Made it seem to the government they were rich people. Therefore because one year they had this big income because they sold their stocks to pay for their medical bills. As a result of that, they get docked 500 a month in their Social Security. That is combined neil with this being docking in perpetuity . That may change as income goes down because they didnt have to sell as much stock. Neil is there a point to this. There is 7,000 limitthat is as much they can take from a couple. 3500 for a Single Person. Neil so the most you can get from Social Security is what . I dont know, about 30,000 a year, Something Like that. Neil the most they could take out is 7,000 . If you exceed the income. A significant cut because the money they made that year didnt go into their bank account. It went to pay for their medical bills. So my point is neil this has more to do, i want to be clear because it was a fascinating thing. This is more to do what is taxable income. This is actually taking that Social Security money away . They took it out of their checks in order to pay for Medicare Part b and part d. This is part of that doc fix. Were already paying, taxpayers pay 100 billion a year. Neil your income on the side is exceeding a certain threshold. Thats right. Thats right. Neil you could be doubly zoominged here. The bottom line your Social Security checks were supposed to be sacrosanct. That is the contract between individuals and government. Goes into a lockbox. It is not a welfare program, or pay for other things, Medicare Part a or d, it is supposed to go to you when you retire. Not so. Neil one thing if you earn a certain amount of money youre taxed on benefits this is a case where they compromisedded the benefit . Thats right of the. Neil so i assume this plays out across the country . All over not everybody may be in the same position as my parents. Some people might be superrich. Even if youre superrich, youre not supposed to be means testing this is your money. Neil youre not a pauper, dave. Their bookkeeper calls to say, hey, dave, theyre getting less Social Security. You didnt think of helping them out or anything . We helped them out quite a bit. As often as we can. Neil youre a generous soul. They have been very careful with their money. Theyre careful middle class folks. They have been careful over the years. They saved money. Ey havit in stocks. One year they sold a lot of stocks in order toay the bills. Because of that the government thinks theyre rich folks that can afford a cut in Social Security checks. Neil were waiting for sean spicer. President trump already indicated when it comes to Social Security, he doesnt want to touch independent. Neil if they took 500 from the parents where is that money going . Youre always asking where is the money going. It is supposed to go to poor people in a wedge between the middle class and poor to pay for Medicare Partd, Prescription Drug programs. It is also supposed to go to kids for some reason getting paid medicaid. It goes to a lot of problems the government cant solve on their own. They need more cash. Where do they go when they need more cash to the rich people. This case it wasnt necessarily a rich people that were getting docked. Neil are your parents okay . I wont be that far. Neil switch gears. Sean spice hears relationship with the press. More that they invited other people into the media pool. Theyre fighting fire with fire. Fighting democrats on this issue of judge gorsuch. Democrats want to link their support to the president rolling back the travel ban, delay, whatever you want to call it, now were in full silly season mode. We are, what is interesting about these pressers, we havent seen anything like it since Donald Rumsfeld was press secretary. Neil he oh, yeah. He called o reporters sand said that is stupid question. Why would you ask that. We havent seen Something Like sean spicer giving us since Donald Rumsfeld. A lot of americans are saying, wow, i like this. This is a good battle. Not just information. It is interesting. Neil thank you, buddy, very, very much. Sean spicer telling how they will take democrats who are already saying gorsuch isnt going anywhere. Unbelievably phenomenal evening. Immediately after being announced judge gorsuch was meeting with maureen and father scalia. His first call after coming back behind the podium to Merrick Garland who came out to say judge gorsuch deserves a fair hearing. In less than 24 hours judge gorsuch received widespread phrase across the political speck strum as an inspired choice with sterling academic credentials, a brilliant legal mind and a stead mass commitment to constitutional principles during his long career in Public Service judge gorsuch has enjoyed bipartisan approval having been previously confirmed by voice vote to the u. S. Voice of appeal to the 10th circuit. 12 current democratic senator including minority leader Chuck Schumer, senator dianne feinstein, senator leahy were in office when he was first confirmed without opposition in 2006. With as many as eight democrat, blumenthal, durbin, mccaskill, supporting a full hearing and vote for judge gorsuch, there is no question he is widely respected jurist who deserves to have his nomination fairly decided upon by the United States senate. Now that judge gorsuch is officially named, i hope you allow me to talk how exceptionally qualified he is to succeed the late great, Antonin Scalia. Judge gorsuch academic record is impeccable. As he said last night the president holds education in the highest regard. Judge gorsuch graduatedfy kappa beta from columbia. Graduated cum laude from harvard w school and attended oxford as recipient ever the press tin just marshall scholarship. Like Justice Scalia, the cornerstone of judge gorsuchs judicial philosophy is fidelity to the text. That judges should base their he believes, sorry, i screwed that one up, his decisions should be based solely on the law and constitution, not on their own policy preferences and personal feelings. He will be reliable voice on the bench preserving equal justice under the law regardless of background. I think, i caveat, i think it he would be the first justice will serve with a, as someone he clerked for on the bench. It will be sort of a first when he is confirmed by the senate. Now on to the issues of the day. Today february 1st, which means we are kick off black history month. The president has events planned throughout the month. Starting today with listening session that occurred early this morning with africanamerican leaders in the roosevelt room. The meeting also included some of the administrations africanamerican appointees. Later today the president will issue a proclamation. The u. S. Postal service kicked off the month the Dorothy Height forever stamp be, the 40th stamp in the black heritage series. She led the National Council of negro women for four decade and was awarded the president ial medal of freedom by president bill clinton in 1994 and the congressional medal of freedom by president george w. Bush in 2004. Excuse me, 1994 and 2004. President obama delivered her eulogy in 2010. President trump is proud that the post office is honoring her incredible legacy as a civil rights icon. At events throughout this entire month well celebrate the contributions of courageous africanamerican leaders from harriet tubman, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther king, and clarence thomas. Continuing with todays schedule the Vice President went to the hill with judge gorsuch to meet with lawmakers for the First Time Since being named last night. On the hill the Vice President will, met with majority leader mcconnell and the staff spearheading judge gorsuchs nomination will also meet with senators cornyn, grassley, hatch and guard inner. With jump gore such on capitol hill it is a good time to talk about the confirmation process. Neither. They received bipartisan support, republicans despite political and philosophical differences viewed them mainstream and qualified. Judge gorsuch should research the same treatment. Also this morning the president met in the roosevelt room with representatives of outside groups to discuss judge gorsuchs nomination. David osteen, paula white, wayne laperriere after the National Rifle association, penny nance of concerned women of america, sharmane yost of american values, waa neat today dougan much the National Federation of independent businesses, tom colimore, United States chamber about commerce. Grover norquist, americans for tax reform, leonard leo, federalist society. And Morton Blackwell of the leadership institute. The President Trump told the group that his decision on the Supreme Court is among the most important decisions he will ever make as president. He praised judge gorsuch for his academic and professional achievements and his life long devotion to the law delivering what was for many of them their number one issue in the campaign. Committed he vocally to supporting judge gorsuch throughout the confirmation process and expressed their desire for the senate to move swiftly to give him a fair hearing and vote. The meeting closed with the president inviting the group into the oval office which several candidates really enjoyed that honor. The president then had lunch with secretary of state designee Rex Tillerson. Mr. Tillersons tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics will make him an outstanding chief diplomat for the United States. The president is looking forward to the full vote on the senate on his nomination. Later this evening the president will participate in standing legislative Affairs Strategy meeting with his team who have been working closely with congress to enact the president s agenda. So far between the Vice President and staff we had has many productive conversations with members of both parties in both chambers on variety of issues from trade to the president s nomination for his cabinet and now the Supreme Court. Now starting this week our legislative affairs team will also conduct excessive outreach on behalf of judge gorsuchs nomination process. This Administration Made reaching out to congress a top priority but you know where im going with that. Democrats in the Senate Continue to use every tool at their disposal to get in the way of president s attempts to make, to make the America Great again. Just today Senate Democrats refused to even participate in Committee Votes for senate designees price and mnuchin who were moved out of the finance committee with zero democrats present. Democrats boycotted epa administrator designee pruitts hearing. They are doing their constituents and our country a disservice by resorting to the these childish tactics. The president s cabinet nominees will be confirmed on the floor of the senate once democrat actually allow them to get a fair vote. In other cabinet news, attorney general designee senator Jeff Sessions was voted out of committee today. We look forward to his full vote as the next attorney general. Additionally secretary of state designee Rex Tillerson is expected to receive a vote by the full senate this afternoon. Finally Veterans Administration designee, dr. David shulkin will go before the committee on Veterans Affairs 2 30 this afternoon. A few more things before i open it up to questions, in earls it of schedule, the president will attend the National Prayer brake fast and will have lunch with harleydavidson executives here at the white house. The president will meet with senar hatch, senator widen, congressmaneil and congressman brady. Further guidance on all those meetings will come soon. A few personnel announcements. Senate sent nomination to the president. Rachel brand. Steven angle of d. C. , to be assistant attorney general and rod j. Row steen, a Deputy Attorney general. On another note yesterday we talked about recent reporting concerning the president s executive order protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry. I want to draw your attention to polls come out on that subject. For all the hysteria about the implementation around this order, the American People as a whole very supportive of action the president is taking. New rasmussen report poll find that 57 , clear majority of likely u. S. Voters favor a temporary ban on refugees from syria, iraq, iran, libya, somalia, sudan, yemen until the government can do a better job of keeping these individuals out who pose a threat. A reuters poll 66 of the americans believe United States should limit number of regeese into the country. Safety of the American Homeland are president ace top priority. Most americans agrow with the steps he is taking to keep our country safe. Further today the United Arab Emirates foreign minister voiced his support for the president s decision to take our National Security so seriously. The foreign minister believed that they are not based on religion, but quote, structural problems faced by these nations. There was question on monday iran firing a missile, attack on a navy vessel. I would like to introduce National Security advisor general Michael Flynn to provide a quick update. General flynn. Good afternoon, everyone. Recent iranian actions involving a provocative Ballistic Missile launch an attack against saudi naval vessel with iran houthi militants underscore what is clear to the International Community all along about irans destablizing behavior acrosshe middle east. The recent Ballistic Missile launch is in defiance of u. N. Security Council Resolution 2231 which calls upon iran not to undertake any activity related to Ballistic Missiles designed to be capable of delivering Nuclear Weapons including launches using such Ballistic Missile technology. These are the latest of a series of incidents in the past six month in which houthi forces that iran has trained and armed, have struck emirati and saudi vessels and threatened allied vessels transiting the red sea. In these and other similar activities iran continues to threaten use friend and allies in the region. The Obama Administration failed to respond adequately to tehrans actions including weapons transfers, support for terrorism, and other violations of international norms. The Trump Administration condemns such actions by iran that undermine security, prosperity apstability throughout and beyond the middle east which places american lives at risk. President trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between iran and the Obama Administration as well as the United Nations as being weak and ineffective. Instead of being thankful to the United States in these agreement, iran is now feeling emboldened. As of today we are officially putting iran on notice. Thank you. Thanks, general. We are going to have a background briefing with nsa staff, nsc staff rather, at 4 00 in the briefing room. Further details will be provided on that subject. So thank you, general. With that as we start off i am pleased we expanded briefing vim view allly. With that as i begin to take the questions, first ever skype question in the White House Briefing room to kim from wpri in rhode island. Kim . Thank you, good afternoon. Can you hear me okay . We can. Great. Just this week the mayor of providence, rhode island began calling our capital city a sanctuary city. The President Trumps executive order that white house will publicize weekly list of municipalities and pledges to withdraw federal grant money from them. What im wondering how soon we can expect to see this list an how soon should cities like providence expect to see their federal funding cut . Thanks, kim. I think the president s goal in ending sanctuary cities is pretty clear. We want to, as we mentioned with these other actions keep america safe. Goal to make sure two front, were doing everything we can to protect mileperhour citizens institutions, and ending sanctuary cities is one of the ways in which we continue to do that. Furthermore, the president s been very clear to his executive order that federal funds paid for by Hardworking Taxpayers should not be used to help fund sanctuary cities. As we continue to implement the executive order and fulfill the pledge he made and have further update how that list will come out and when it will come out. So i look forward to following up on that as well. With that, david jackson. David, is not here. I will ask the question. Go for it. Maybe he is on skype . The president s Daily Briefing remains a daily intelligence briefing. Can you tell me how that differs at all from the dpb . Is receiving he will against briefing in writing or orally and who is it giving to him . He receive a intelligence briefing. Director pompeo was here. General flynn, his National Security advisor his briefer. He receives an intelligence briefing and pbd every day. Is there any sense get out renaming of it . I think more comprehensive we went through this during the transition period, right . There is difference between the raw intelligence and analysis. He is constantly updated by his National Security team and other intelligence firms but every single day he does receive the pdbd. On top of that he is receiving Intelligence Briefings from his team. Oral briefings does not happinessly every day . I can get back to you on that. He does get the pbd irv day on a daily basis meets with his intelligence team, yes. Hunter. Two quick questions were not doing this again. David . Liz . If i may. Theres a lot of activities as i mentioned, that the president is going to do to celebrate and honor this month, and this was just the first day of the month. Then he made the comment about Frederick Douglas being recognized more and more. Do you have any idea what specifically he was referring to . I think he wants to highlight the contributions that hes made, and through the actions and statements hes going to make, the contributions of Frederick Douglas will become more and more. Reporter very quickly, can i clarify what was meant by were putting iran on notice . As i noticed, general flynn and the nsc staff will have a briefing at 4 00. I think we wanted to make very clear that we felt as though their actions were both provocative and in violation, and making sure they understood that we werent going to sit by and not act on those. Im not going to go any further than that, kristen. Reporter let me ask you about the confirmation hearing. How does the president plan to get Chuck Schumer on board with his pick for the Supreme Court, neil gorsuch, when he referred to him as a clown and accused him of fake news. There are two things, you look at the support thats already come out. I think theres eight senators that talked about the need to have a vote and qualifications and not just the senate, but you look at the widespread support that came out for judge gorsuch last night, its across the spectrum. No matter your philosophical view of the court, qualifications for the court, academic background, make him an unbelievably highly qualified person. Its not just Chuck Schumer, the rest of the senate goes up there. Hold on, hold on, i understand that, and i think Chuck Schumer has shown time and time again through the confirmation process with the cabinet hes more interested in politics than moving the government along, and i think that is troubling. I would ask you they think the question needs to be asked to Chuck Schumer, why are you stalling all of the nominees . Why are you insisting on new requirements you didnt assume for