she also sent this message to progressives inside her caucus. no bill is everything. we cannot miss this opportunity. jessica dean is on capitol hill for us, so jessica, where do things stand at this hour? reporter: well, right now, victor and alisyn, we are waiting for senate democrats to come out of their weekly policy luncheon. this is where they gather and talk over various policies. you can imagine they have a lot to discuss today so we re hoping to get some readouts from that as to if they have made any progress on these various sticking points that remain, among them it really varies from how to pay for this, because remember, senator kyrsten sinema has opposed raising individual and corporate tax rates, which was how they were going to pay for a lot of this. will they now put in a billionaire tax so they re talking about the details surrounding that to also what is actually going to be in this bill. there s a number of issues that continue to be sticking points, chief among
make some big decisions, victor and alisyn, really today, maybe a little bit tomorrow, but they want to get a vote on the infrastructure bill through the house as early as tomorrow and then that would allow them to move forward with the build back better act. we will see if they can get that done, again, waiting to hear now what comes out of this policy luncheon that is just wrapping up as we speak. all right, jessica dean, thank you. well, cnn is now learning that at least five former trump administration staffers are speaking with the committee investigating the insurrection. what this could tell us about where the investigation goes next. so, first, facebook under pressure. now, lawmakers turning the spotlight on other platforms like snapchat, tiktok, and youtube, all of social media s impact on kids.
McConnell plans final push on Trump judges
Sahil Kapur
December 14, 2020, 1:30 AM
WASHINGTON While President Donald Trump continues to make noise about the election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is quietly using the final days of Trump s administration to make one last push to transform the judiciary and seal the president’s legacy.
In just four years, Trump has outpaced previous presidents and selected more than 1 in every 4 federal judges, including one-third of the Supreme Court. And these judges are unlike jurists selected by his predecessors. They were picked with a unique formula: young and ideologically conservative.
“These appointees to the bench serve life tenure and, as a result, they will be shaping jurisprudence in our country for the next two generations,” said Leonard Leo, a conservative legal advocate and top adviser to the Trump administration on selecting judges.
believed it is unprecedented expansion of executive power not just from this president but past presidents suggesting they re against it, again, not wanting to go against president trump on this. secretary neilson was at the policy luncheon for republicans trying to persuade their vote. vice president mike pence went last week to talk to them. we expect more senior officials to be working with republicans as we move to the vote. what they care about on the optics, not as much on substance as peter pointed out. thanks to you both. up ahead, michael cohen back on the hill whether trump likes it or not. he revealed through his lawyer new trump hush money check live on the show. that new reporting is next. $70,000 check which i have with me today. the president said to michael at that time you will be getting the two checks soon. e getting the two checks soon. you wouldn t accept an incomplete job
doors. it has increased a lot. he is at his whit s end. i think mcconnell was tired of telling him that and decided to show him that it was the wrong approach by putting these bills on the floor that couldn t get 60 votes. that increased a lot of the pressure. you can see the policy luncheon that the senators on the republican side had this week, there was a lot of raised voices. blaming vice president pence and trying to send the message about how it was a failed strategy. if i were a vulnerable republican i would be questioning if mcconnell is the right person to be leading the caucus. she up in 2020. it is kentucky. he wants to be aligned with donald trump. is he thinking about the entire caucus? he disappeared far month.