So is the pentagon weighing options just hours before the president s most important meeting with a world leader yet. Then the president officials declares an obama official guilty and bill oreilly innocent. Good morning, everyone. At any moment we will hear from President Trump at a Wounded Warriors event at the white house. We will bring that to you live as you see people beginning to gather there. This at the same day he holds a big stakes meeting with chinas president. He responds to the chemical weapon attack in syria. That attack killed dozens there. President trump says he has changed after this. But wow . What does that mean . What is he willing to do about it . That is a question being asked by democrats, republicans and syrias sponsor, russia. What is the u. S. Approach . Were covering all of this. Want to begin with cnn correspondent. If President Trump does decide to do something about this with u. S. Military, what are his options . You made the key point here, john. Good morning. The first question is does the president make a political decision to proceed with military action . That is a political decision for a president to make. So if he were to decide to go ahead, will he have the options to do that . Military commanders dont wait to be asked by the white house. They are already moving to look at what potential options are to present to mr. Trump if he asks for them. So, yes, they have several ideas. It starts with this notion, what military objective will he want to achieve. Does he want to send just a signal to assad . Does he want to maybe take out a couple of targets, things assad holds in great value that would send a message, stop this or were going to take everything out. Would that be enough to change assads behavior . I think there is a fair understanding that that is not likely to change his mind, especially with the russians at his side. So the next set of options would be do you want to take out all of assads capability to deliver chemical weapons . That is a difficult proposition. You have to take out airfields, helicopters that drop barrel bombs filled with chemical agent. The manufacturing sites that make the barrel bombs and also the ground delivery systems, ar ti tillry, those shell ks be filled with chemical agents. A broader sense of targets becomes a great problem. You have to get neighbors countries to understand why youre moving through their air space, possibly to take this military action. John, poppy . Thank you, barbara for that. And so far the assad regime just continues to deny any part in this, any part in attacking its own people. This is the continued line from the assad regime instead blaming assad. Good morning. There is a bit more evidence stacked up against them this morning. Today turkey announced they conducted autopsies on three of the bodies recovered. They say the autopsies were observed by an Organization Called the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. They were the ones that disarmed syria back in 2013. Turkey says the autopsy results clearly show that chemical weapons were used in this instance in syria. But here is where the plot thickens. Cnn reached out to the World Health Organization and they said they cant verify the results of that autopsy because they werent the ones conducting it. As far as syria speaking out and again sticking to that line that they did not launch a chemical weapon attack. They say it was an attack on some sort of weapons or Ammunition Depot and there were chemical weapons in that depot and the result of that blast is what caused the chemical weapons to be released in the air. Appointed out something they warned the un about multiple times, something that has been suspected, and that is that isis is also widely believed to have access to chemical weapons as well as a group which has changed its names a couple of times but basically it still remains the alqaeda affiliates. Yeah. The delivery option is much different, though, for a regime like the Syrian Government as opposed to groups that only have ways to deliver it. Thanks so much. Want to discuss this right now. Joining us is andrew, author of in the lions den. And robin wright, contributing author for the new yorker. Obviously yesterday in the rose garden we saw President Trump claim a reversal in his opinion towards syria and assad. Let me play you one more time what he said. That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me, big impact. It was a horrible, horrible thing. And i have been watching it and seeing it and it doesnt get any worse than that. And i will tell you its already happened that my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. Now, robin, we dont know exactly how its clanged, all right . We dont know if he went from thinking assad shouldnt go to all of a sudden today thinking assad should go. But what are his options . This is the problem. There are military options to take out whether his aircraft or his chemical weapons capabilities, but the problem has always been in this grizzly atrocious civil war thats taken the lives of almost half a Million People that there are very few political options. The russians and iranian allies said over and over, okay, if you dont like this, where is the viable Opposition Leader who would represent the Syrian People and who could win some kind of election. And thats the problem that the u. S. Rebels have gotten to the point that theyre almost dysfunctional, that political opposition has never been viable. Its largely exiled. They have not had traction inside the country. So the great challenge for the west and those who oppose outside is coming up with an alternative, a Peace Process that the un has tried to run and has repeatedly stalled because of divisions among the oppositions but also even trenched in the regime. We are stuck knowing he is unacceptable, that he engages in widespread slaughter of people and not being able to find a mechanism now to replace him. Andrew, for the obama administration, it did not work to set a red line because then that red line was crossed and nothing happened. Do you think that the Trump Administration, that this president needs to say where his red line is . Well, i mean, of course in the coming hours and days were going to know what the president meant in the rose garden and a little bit about what was outlined. But, look, this is not about regime change. Hasnt been about regime change in a long time. This is about the fact that assad massively violated the much touted cw deal of 2013. He has done it on multiple occasions as verified by the un. This one is more egregious because it appeared to be sarin. It begs the question how did et get there, blaming the opposition as the regime has done so far and saying it was part of their stocks isnt with keeping with the un findings. They have only find isis once used sul far pterygoid start against other rebels. It is not really about if there is a viable alternative leader to us. Thats part of the political problem. The immediate problem is the much touted chemical weapons deal, president obamas liberation as he called it appears to have been violated and the question is how to keep him from continues to violate it and that is a tough nut to crack. Apparently he has violated. It does seem like this was an attack carried out by the ree se ra seem on his own people. We may learn in a few day what is the white house policy. I dont know if thats the case. I dont know if the white house has a policy, if what we heard yet from the president was articulated that hes not sure what he is going to do. And that matters here. It matters in particular when it comes to russia, right, because some advisors speaking out in harsh terms against russia, but you dont have the president doing the same, robin. How is that interpreted on the world stage . I think thats a really interesting question and we will see a little bit more because Rex Tillerson is due to visit moscow in a few weeks and this will rise to the top of their agenda in their talks. There had been a sense that the two countries were in sync on syria among the top burner issues, that they were prepared to see some transition staying in place until there is a process that reached fruition, kind of an indefinite process. Now the president s tough language will make that much tougher to at least sell internationally. I think the allies are somewhat relieved because i think theres been a sense particularly in europe that assad was unacceptable and the idea of seeing him remain in power was controversial to put it mildly and they didnt share mr. Trumps position on that. As you see on the side of your screen, we are waiting for the president to come in. As we gdo, i want to show our viewers why this is so important. Lets bring up the photos of all the children and the people being killed in yet another masker carmass kwer being carried out. Russia is responding and russians spokesperson said if russias approach to assad is clear, hes the legal president of an independent state, what is the u. S. Approach . Do the russians have a point on that. They say, look, you may not agree on our position, but this is our position. What is the u. S. s position . Look, i mean, it is a legal bay laeeaf. Hes not even capable of fulfilling his treaty obligations. Thats the reason why were in this mess and intervening in syria. Believe me, once a political decision is made, legal justifications can be found to pursue different parts of military action or whatever. Now i think the big problem here is liberation. This is now beyond syria. Its been beyond syria for a long time. I think thats part of the calculus for the white house, right . It is not just about syria and the middle east. It is the fact that we somehow assad is being propped up by the russians and iranians thought he was going to go to the Nuclear Option. How is that . How is it after all of these efforts at deescalation and dip employee masy by Obamas Administration and the early days of the Trump Administration that assad thought this was a smart thing to do . All right, guys. Youre looking at live pictures from inside the white house. This is an event the president is about to attend. It is important reminder of the consequences that the president makes with the u. S. Military. Important on this day. Guys, do you want to go to commercial or do you want to stay with this . All right. Were going to take a quick break and then well come back and hear from the president. Stay with us. Cnn news room brought to you by dell technologies. Magic cant make Digital Transformation happen, but we can. I love how usaa gives me the and the security just like the marines did. At one point, i did change to a Different Company with car insurance, and i was not happy with the customer service. We have switched back over and we feel like were back home now. The process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like youre a part of the family. I love that i can pass the membership to my children, and that they can be protected. Were the williams family, and were usaa members for life. Call usaa today to talk about your insurance needs. Youre looking at live pictures from the white house. The president is about to walk out, make some remarks benefitting Wounded Warriors. You see a number of those who have served the country lined up right there. Meantime this morning, history about to be made. We are minutes away from a show down that will change out the senate works potentially forever. Debate over Supreme Court pick kneel gorsuch stops at the top of the hour and is expected to end in a democratic filibuster and then the republicans are expected to deploy the Nuclear Option that will deploy the 60 vote approval count to a simple majority of 51. Once that historical move is made, it is likely that kneel gorsuch will become the next justice on the Supreme Court with that mere 51 vote majority. Live from capitol hill it is about to get very interesting there. Reporter it certainly is, john. A lot of technical gymnastics the senate will be jumping through today and the kor rog gra fee here is very important. I want to show you how this is all anticipated to go down. In the next hour the senate will convene. An hour after that, this will be the first vote to break the democrat filibuster. Republicans do not have the 60 votes they need. They wont get this. This will fail as a small but temporary victory for the democrats here. That will set off proseiceedure. And that will set up a second vote to break the gorsuch filibuster at that lower threshold, that 51 threshold rather than the 60 threshold. And i can tell you there is a lot of grumbling up here on capitol hill on both sides of the aisle about what today means for the institution of the senate, the fact they are going to at the end of the day change the rules. Senate mccain was asked about this in an interview, and he was asked specifically if the senate could run more smoothly if the Nuclear Option is invoked. Here is how he answered. I would like to meet that idiot. I would like to meet that numb skull that would say that, that after 200 years, at least 10 years of this tradition, they think it would be a good idea to blow it up. Whoever says that is a stupid idiot that has not been here and seen what i have been through and how we were able to avoid that on several occasions. And theyre stupid and dont thand they have deceived their voter because they are so stupid. After a lot of procedures today, a lot of heated moments at times, today, guys, it is likely that all sets up neil grsug gorsuch to have his final confirmation vote on friday. History is about to be made. And i wonder how big you think this moment is. Right now it is just about, you know, the Supreme Court pick. But could this branch over into the legislative side of things. That is another outstanding question. Is this a moment and day when we are going to look back in history and say this is when things change forever for the senate . Quite possibly. It reflects where the country is. In terms of being driven by bipartisan ship. People identify themselves in terms of party and attach to the ideas. All of that is reinforced by facebook and media consumption. I think the question you raise about whether or not this is a slippery slope in that this will be, you know, sort of a bridge to more partisanship because we know the senate has been a cooling house with the Lower Chamber on the house really being much more partisan. But here, i mean, you see i think the senate reflecting where the country is and the country doesnt feel so great about the way congress operates as it is. It is 12 , 13 approval rating. In some ways, i think this is, you know, sort of a funeral for a body that has been dead for a while in terms of operating in a bipartisan fashion. I think you make a good point. I think the shock over the fact that the senate is becoming partisan might be overblown. Democrats are going to lose. You know, judge kneel gorsuch is going to be on the Supreme Court unless something ridiculous that no one foresees happens. The question is did they get anything out of this week, out of their filibuster, which is about to happen, out of the way they handled this . I dont think so, on. They have given up leverage for next time. Next time a possibly polarizing and more partisan justice will come before the senate for justice. Glide through on 51 votes, and that will be the case even if the democrats take control over the senate. We will look at more controversial judges. Less measured people who meet a more moderate standard that can bring at least a few votes over from the other side. Im surprised other three democrats who are up for election in states trump won came on board to support neil gorsuch. He is obviously really as ideal a candidate that they could be voting on in those types of candidates for justice positions have been supported in the past by republicans when a democrat is in the white house, even who disagreed, you know, ie dee logically with the opinions of that judge. You can absolutely vote against kneel gorsuch without blocking the vote in there. Theyre acting very much like republicans in 2013 who didnt have the votes for obamacare and shut the government down any way. Other Important News as we wait for the president to speak. In this fascinating interview that the president gave to the New York Times yesterday, he is playing judge. It is almost like the oval office has been playing court. He says with no evidence that susan rice is guilty. Not only that of what and that she is this is going to be a very big story, the biggest story. And in the same interview, just a few moments apart, he says i know bill oreilly, hes a good guy. He did nothing wrong. Therefore, discrediting the women that were paid for harassment claims by to reilly. I think the president has bigger things on his plate and they will overshadow this element of the presidency where he riffs on news of the day, gives his opinion and does things that, you know, arent generally thought of as president ial. But the key is how he handles his meeting with the chinese president and how he deals with syria because here he has put the Syrian Regime and Vladimir Putin on notice he is not happy with what is happening in syria, that he has serious concerns about whats going on in that country. And, so, the question and leaders around the world will be watching this. What do you plan to do about it. The president was talking tough but not following throw. Not putting any teeth behind it in terms of action. And for a president that campaigned on keeping the u. S. Out of the world and reducing its footprint, i think the question is here if the president is outraged about what is going on in syria and finds it unacceptable, what does he plan to do about it . So far he hasnt actually said that. All he has said is he is flexible, but there is no Foreign Policy behind his displeasure and there