mcconnell and grassley did not want hearings. even hearings which they are now saying are fair and right a few republican senators to their credit said we have to have hearings, at least let's hear this woman out. i didn't hear them calling this a smear job, thank god. theyfacts, it won't take long. it will be done quietly and in private, judiciary members on both sides, the same fact done by an objective observer. that is all the american people want. the american people see what is going on, looking at brett cavanagh, finding him less and less credible. that is why in poll after poll a plurality of american say brett kavanaugh should not be confirmed. let us get the facts. doing inn way in this chamber. i yield the floor. >> mister president, i wanted to come to the floor and talk about the unfortunate circumstances we find ourselves in as a result of the failure of the ranking member of the judiciary committee to submit a letter she got from this case. the background investigators who are bipartisan would have investigated thi

mcconnell: so now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only with no business being conducted on the following dates and times and that following each pro forma session, the senate adjourn until the next pro forma session. friday, september 7 at 9:00 a.m., tuesday, september 11 at 5:00 p.m. i further ask that when the senate adjourns on tuesday, september 11, it convene at 3:00 p.m. wednesday, september 12 and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the redig nomination. notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the cloture motion filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. wednesday, september 12. the presiding office

leader mcconnell owes an apology to dr. ford for labeling her allegations a smear job and he should apologize to her immediately. it is galling, galling for the republican leader who has done more than maybe anyone else to politicize the supreme court nomination process to make these trumped up hyperbolic charges of partisanship by democrats. it's a sad habit of republicans to accuse the other side of doing what they, in fact, are doing. it happens over and over again. that seems to be the case here. as democrats have over and over again urged the fbi to help investigate these allegations to get to the bottom of it, to get to the truth, while republicans block any investigation and plow right through with their nominee. it's simple, madam president. if leader mcconnell were truly concerned about these allegations being swept up in partisanship, he would join us in calling for a fbi background investigation which can be performed quietly, soberly, quickly, effectively, without fuss, without muss. that's the way to get it don

i ask senator mcconnell, set your plow aside for a few minutes, would you? take a look at the senate, this deliberative body a

i asked senator mcconnell, set your plow aside a few minutes, would you? take a look at the seneca this deliberative body and make sure that in fairness to both dr. ford into judge kavanaugh we don't push this through and we don't rush to judgment. let u us use our opportunity in the senate and our responsibility in the senate to

senator mcconnell continues to ignore. let me take you back in history. 27 years ago was the clarence thomas hearings. i was in the house at the time, but i read about it, followed at his most americans did. the very dead the senate judiciary committee chairman joe biden received a letter from anita hill, charging misconduct that same day, chairman biden sent the letter to the president george w. bush white house to the white house counsel the same day in the white house counsel that very day ordered the federal bureau of investigation to investigate the charges by anita hill. now there's been a lot of comment on whether or not an investigation was adequate or periphery. a lot more comment on whether the hearing is fair. but the fact is the instinctive joe biden and the instinct of the george h.w. bush white house was the same, investigated. don't assume it's true. don't assume it's false. look at this case. look at where we are today despite repeated request of the white house and republicans to the federal bureau of inve

here's the contradiction in leader mcconnell's logic. leader mcconnell keeps saying that the allegations by dr. ford and other women are uncorroborated, his words come while at the same time he is blockading the obvious avenues to corroborate them. and that would be an impartial fbi investigation calling i witnesses to testify. sender mcconnells associate is wrong on its face because sworn statements corroborate dr. ford account was submitted to the judiciary committee yesterday. he doesn't believe those statements, simple, have the fbi go in to get those who submitted the statement and then it would have to tell the truth under the penalty of perjury. so right here and now i challenge any member of the republican senate to come to the floor and get one good reason why we shouldn't allow the fbi to follow up on its background investigation, one good reason. i haven't heard one can with all the rhetoric of all the screaming, all the name-calling, all for disrespecting of womene who have come forward, something this nation knows all too we

here's the contradiction leader mcconnell's logic crib leader mcconnell keeps saying the allegations by doc or forward another women around cooperated. both the same time he's talking in the obvious avenues to collaborate them and that will be fbi investigation to testify. senator mcconnell's assertion is wrong when it faced because sworn statements collaborating doctor for the count was admitted to the judiciary committeeel yesterday. he doesn't believe the statement simple. had the fbi go interview those who submitted the statements and they would have to tell the truth under the penalty of perjury. so right here and now i challenge any member of the republican senate to come to the floor and give one good reason why we shouldn't allow the fbi to follow up on its background investigation. i haven't heard one with all the rhetoric, all the screaming, all the, name-calling, on the disrespecting of women who have come forward come something this nation knows all too well these days. we haven't heard one actual reason why there shouldn't be an fbi investigation. will it slow it down? i

people are still looking. >> i think mcconnell -- and mcconnell is somebody who was pushing this along at mock speed. >> and he can't anymore because of what lindsey graham said. >> chuck grassley, the chairman of the judiciary committee is in -- we are still waiting. it was incredible drama what happened just an hour ago in the judiciary committee. the drama continues as we wait to see what mitch mcconnell decides. >> we don't know if the fbi is brought in and does up to a one-week investigation. we don't know what the witnesses are going to say. if you lie to the fbi, that's a criminal -- that's a felony. understandably the republicans, the supporters of brett kavanaugh, some of the witnesses may wind up saying and could have a dramatic effect. that's why they didn't want the fbi involved to begin with. >> i think saying that whatever they say is necessary. >> lisa murkowski just told sunlen serfaty that she is with flake. she went into mcconnell's office and said yes if she supports flake's -- >> that's significant. >> the simple math. >> the pressure is on mitch mcconnell right now

mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the democratic leader, the senate proceed to the consideration of the house message to accompany h.r. 6, the opioids bill. i further ask consent that the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a motion to concur, that there be up to four hours of debate on the motion equally divided in the usual form, and that following the use or yielding back of time, the senate vote on the motion to concur with no further intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky, the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: for the information of all of our colleagues, there were two very significant developments today. this morning, the judiciary committee reported out judge kavanaugh favorably. all 11 republican members of the judiciary committee voted in favor of reporting him out with a

mcconnell: let me start with a quote, mr.

so did senator mcconnell. i will say at this point that we face an awesome responsibility -- a nation divided politically, a nation where people have strong, strong feelings on both sides, and an effort to find the truth. i don't know what the legal standard is for this hearing. we certainly know when it comes to criminal law the matter of probable cause which leads to investigation and prosecution and beyond a reasonable do you believe to prove the doubt of someone. we know there are different standards. no one has spelled out what our standard of proof is. but this much i know -- no one, not any single american, is entitled to a seat on the supreme court. they've got to come before the american people first and certainly the senate under the constitution and make their case for the advice and consent of the senate to that nomination. it's a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. the person who fills that seat can make decisions which swing history one way or the other, decisions which affect

. >> leader mcconnell says the presumption of innocence. do you agree with that? >> with this through the prism of a legal proceeding? >>. >> it is fact-finding we do this at every major nominee when new information comes out the fbi does a background check this is standard operating procedure so why are republicans deviating? >> with two diametrically opposed stories and two issues and if doctor ford is telling the truth then judge kavanaugh's credibility is in great question. >> what about the presumption of innocence? >> what i believe is we should get to the bottom and find the facts in the way the fbi has always done there is no presumption of innocence or guilt with a nominee before you. that rather find the facts and let the senate and the american people make their judgment not whether they are guilty or innocent but should have the office they are holding plain and simple. >> will democrats follow suit? >>. >> the respectful thing to do is have the fbi background check investigation. we are not afraid to confront this situation and deal with the truth in

my name is gary craig and the director of the mcconnell center. it's been my privilege to direct the center for the last 18 years and see a lot of familiar faces. i thank you all for coming out today. madam provost, board of trustees, members, mcconnell center board, lots of people in the audience today deserves some recognition. i'm just going to call out one small group that we have with us today because they are the future in so many ways, but particularly the future of the united states army. it's my privilege to be able to how posts today here with us the cadre of the usl rotc and a group of their cadets. folks, would you stand and be recognized, please? [applause] this is the 52nd major speaker to visit the mcconnell center in our history. i think i've introduced 40 some of them over the years. we have had colin powell first major policy address to secretary of state. we had secretary of state clinton immediately after negotiations on russian armaments. we have had clarence thomas and vice president biden and neil gorsuch in you name them. i

, cia terror haspel and your senior senator, mitchl, mcconnell. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> good morning, everybody. thank you. you get an a+ from this professor. it is an honor, truly, to host such distinguished guests today. it is deeply rewarding to know that it began right here. students, they run the university of louisville campus just as you are today. many of you heard me say that education with life and i'm so proud that at the university of louisville, we impact not just their communities, but the nation and indeed the world. many times people will say i'm about to introduce somebody who needs no introduction. a lot of times that's hyperbole. today i'm pleased i get to introduce you somebody who truly needs no introduction anywhere in the country, but especially here in louisville. i get the pleasure and the honor of introducing to you, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. he is the longest-serving senate republican leader and has her the united states. he was first elected for the senate in 1984. he's only the second kentucki

if you really believe these allegations are part of a smear job leader mcconnell , why don't you call for an fbi investigation? >> what are you afraid of? >> what are you hiding? >> what is judge kavanaugh hiding? >> nobody knows. but people who want the truth will find the truth teller people who don't want the truth will run away from it. and instead point fingers of accusations wild and untethered allegations that is what leader mcconnell is doing. i know he prides his role to expand through the justice i don't think america will see their rulings if kavanaugh gets on the court but that is not the search for i truth. that is a rush job. it should not happen. think of that. the white house is blocking and impartial investigation about the allegations chairman grassley is sending arbitrary deadlines to testify dictating the terms of her appearance to deny her to call other witnesses including the alleged eyewitness and the press reports are backing up kavanaugh. or at least he says he doesn't remember. chairman grassley wants to bring in the outside counsel to conduct a question as i

but, in the end, mitch mcconnell and it really isn't mitch mcconnell and schumer. it's mitch mcconnell as the majority leader who sets the schedule on the senate floor. >> harris: senator graham mentioned them both. >> no, no. i'm just saying mitch mcconnell is going to make this decision and he is going to look at the votes. flake sounds like, he didn't say it, but it sounds like he would not vote for the nomination unless there were an fbi investigation. now, you go to the two other republicans out there that you have mentioned murkowski and collins. if they say yeah, we would vote for it anyway. we don't need that then we will go ahead and vote on tuesday, on the other hangsd if f. they join with flake we agree there should be a week's pause. fbi investigation and no vote until, then suddenly, mitch mcconnell does not have the votes to pass this nomination and is he going to have to agree to this and democrats, you know, are going to just count their lucky stars and say who knows, given the events of the last two weeks, who knows what could come up about brett k

♪ mitch mcconnell: thank you. good morning, everyone. i'm really happy to be here this morning and to see all of you. tony was very gracious in his introduction. you are extraordinarily well that. -- led. tony perkins is an outstanding leader, is he not? [applause] i really consider an honor to be you this morning, but really it's an honor to stand with you together as we fight for the change our country needs. for almost a decade that men stand together on the defense of -- defensive side of the ball. we spent eight long years longest facing president that is diametrically opposed to the commonsense conservative principles that have made our country great. president obama and his allies thought washington bureaucrats know how to run an economy better than american workers and american small business owners. they thought the federal government would spend your hard-earned money better than you spend it yourself. they thought it was quite and old-fashioned for judges to andight -- quaint old-fashioned for judges to interpret our laws and

plow through with senator mcconnell's phrase. and it was about getting that seat. i don't think anyone with a modicum of neutrality on this would think that this would be the same conversation if this were february of 2018. crashing into october and the fear and the fear on the republican side has been this nomination falls apart, they lose the senate, somehow, the map is very difficult. schumer turns around and says to mcconnell, i'm following my friend's playbook and we're not going to fill the seat for two years. suddenly we're in yet another tribal war with the court right in the middle of it. i think that to some extent we've been given at least a brief reprieve from that level of hardball and i think michael's right the senate is supposed to be like this, deliberative. we have one who said you can always count on americans to do the right thing once we've exhausted every other possibility. we came awfully close there. >> liz holtzman, you are unusual in that you have been a member of congress and you have been a prosecutor and you have studied sex crimes and

mcconnell is going to come on thursday and mcconnell's tone changed. that was the biggest question mark. the biggest chip they had on their side. >> a remarkable 48 hours. he has little room to maneuver. an update on the bill cosby case after a quick break. you wouldn't accept an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. i couldn't catch my breath. it was the last song of the night. it felt like my heart was skipping beats. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. i needed answers. my doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your body's natural blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selec

mitch mcconnell knows the outcome. he has not heard one word from dr. ford, but he knows he is going to plow right through it. mitch mcconnell does not have a public record of lying when he says he has the votes to get something through the senate. and that's what he said today, he has the votes. so the question tonight about those republican votes in the senate is mitch mcconnell lying or is senator susan collins lying when she says that she's undecided? is senator lisa murkowski lying when she says she's undecided? is senator jeff flake lying when he says that he wants to hear the testimony of dr. ford? why would jeff flake need to hear that testimony? mitch mcconnell just said he has jeff flake's vote in his pocket right now. it's a done deal. the democrat senator's letter to chairman grassley says there's not an effort to get -- this is not an effort to get to the truth. we fear that rather than learning from the pass senate republicans and the trump administration are repeating this committee's repeated mistakes and making new ones. up to this poin

it means that mitch mcconnell doesn't have the 50 votes to confirm. they will get whatever they demand. if the white house doesn't give in then perhaps they are sinking the nomination of this man. there are a couple of interesting back stories here. one is that senator chris coons was a central player in this drama. he and jeff flake have long had a personal friendship and when coons showed up to the hearing today, he was visibly emotional. he's a very polite guy. he used some inappropriate language in a very emotional more sad than angry way. very unlike senator coons. then you saw all of them go behind closed doors and this unfolded. coons is something of an institutionalist. he cares about the body. that's not always the focus. there's a lot of people here who have higher ambitions. he loves being a senator. i think you saw in the back and forth a reflection that the two of them have on how broken this process is and it's an attempt to fix this. that one week time frame is very important. why is that? a lot of republicans who are really dug in on t

theer mcconnell delayed justiceon to fill late scalia's seat, delay that for 10 months, and now they're saying we cannot take an additional few weeks to get the truth in a very serious allegation? what a hypocrisy. turn a 180 degrees depending on who is in charge and who is making the nomination. what a shame in this senate. so let's not rush the hearings. let's not repeat the mistake that was made in the anita hill hearings. let's call all of the relevant witnesses, not just two selected by chairman grassley, who did not want to call the hearing to begin with. let's do this fair and full and right. and whatever the outcome, the american people will at least think this senate has given a fair shot at getting to the truth. one additional point, metal president, much -- madam president, much of the focus has been on the nature of the allegations himself. but there is another focus it really important, and that is judge kavanaugh's credibility. dr. ford has made an exceptionally specific allegation, one she made years ago, i think six years ago, to a family therapist, long before judge kav

. >> mitch mcconnell has suffered a tremendous loss. it was just the other day he was telling the evangelicals we're going to plow right through this. well, the plow is stopped. and everything has stopped for a wonderful reason, what i said before, democracy. jeff flake saying my goodness, i better listen. i have to also say senator koons and other democrats who today spoke in that judiciary committee magnificently i think touched senator flake's heart. so mitch mcconnell never expected it, didn't want it. they wanted to barrel through. now they have to pause. and time is a friend of justice. they do say justice delayed is justice denied. but this was a rush to justice. and we need to look at not only -- not only dr. ford and all the people around that, but we need to look at the others who have come forward with their names and said they're willing to speak to the fbi. >> congresswoman? >> you know, i think it's highly inappropriate for senator mcconnell to be on the floor continuing to talk about how great judge kavanaugh is. you know

mcconnell is carrying the water. there's an election in, what, a month, five weeks, something like that? and the gender gap keeps growing bigger and bigger. >> yeah. >> and it's just -- i think it is not a great position for the republican party to be in either. >> i think that's quite, quite true. sam stein and nina totenberg, thank you both for joining us. coming up, michael moore is here to talk about trump and the midterms, which nina just talked about. an international joke in tonight's thing one, thing two, next. >>> thing one, tonight, one of donald trump's go-to lines is how the whole world is laughing at us. all the time. the whole world is laughing at us, during the obama years he tweeted, we need a president who isn't a laughing stock to the entire world. and yet today, we have a president at the united nations where almost literally the entire world was laughing at us. >> in less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country. america's

thank you. >> senator mcconnell are you -- >> dana: mitch mcconnell finishing up media availability after weekly policy lunch he has had with his team. let's bring in mary anne marsh advisor to john kerry and coshocton holt. as mitch mcconnell was saying there he said he is not concerned about tanking the nomination. that was the question that was asked by a reporter. the question being is the nomination in trouble and especially when they have a 51-49 split in the senate. he also said she is being asked -- she has asked for an opportunity to be heard. she something granted that opportunity on monday. and it could be an open or closed setting. if she does not come, josh, what do you think mcconnell will do? >> well, look. i mean, her attorney yesterday, just as a matter of fact pattern here went out on virtually every morning show to discuss her client's allegation. and, in doing so, indicated that her client would also like to speak and would like to be heard before the senate judiciary committee and so now they have provided that option either in public or in private, whatever her prefe

it is not up to mitch mcconnell whether or not up to mitch mcconnell whether or not the fbi carry out this investigation. yes, that is also true. it is up to thejustice department, but of course that is overseen by the man who who has threatened to fire the head of the justice department, that is donald trump. we will have to see his twitter feed and see how he reacts. he won't not be happy. even if mitch mcconnell says we accept the fbi and we have to delay this, donald trump could upset everything. farfrom clarifying matters tonight, sorry, folks, we've really introduce more pieces in what is wearing to be a moving puzzle for several days. briefly. what do you think now are the chances that brett kavanaugh ever taking up his seat on the supreme court? absolutely up in the air because you are talking about a senate which is almost evenly split with a handful of senators, probably three republicans and two democrats are the key to his future. beyond that, we have got a country as you have been discussing, is not only split, but people are gambling on display. donald trump are gambling

mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the judiciary committee has begun hearings to consider judge brett kavanaugh for confirmation as associate justice of the supreme court. one of the tkweurbt professionals asked -- distinguished professionalled -- professionals asked to introduce him is lisa bl att. in a recent op-ed ms. blatt laid out the case for why democrats should support judge kavanaugh. last week she spearheaded a letter that 41 veteran appellate advocates wrote to the committee. here's what they said: based on our experience with judge kavanaugh and his work over 12 years of distinguished judicial service, we're confident that he possesses the character, temperament and intellect that will make him an asset to the nation's highest court. our colleagues on the committee also received a lett

mitch mcconnell taking questions from reporters. the brett kavanaugh hearings and what will or will not happen with the accuser, christine ford, at the top of conversations among republicans, among democrats, at the white house as well. again, we should remind you that brett kavanaugh is at the white house right now. it is the second day he's been at the white house, in something of a war room, trying to strategize on how to save his nomination. presumably he is with don mcgahn, the white house counsel, the man who has ushered him through this process. and also, guys, we have this other bit of news, the president having a bilateral news conference with the president of poland, andrzej duda. we are waiting for the president to come out there. we believe that a reporter or two will ask some questions about kavanaugh or potentially about the declassification of those documents. jill abramson and jake sherman are still with us. jake, i want to go to you. what do you make of the republicans saying the democrats are not playing fairly her

>> leader mcconnell spent five minutes pointing their fingers at democrats. that shows someone dug in a deep hole. they are part of a despicable smear job. what are you afraid of? >> what are you hiding? >> nobody knows but people who want the truth will find a truth teller and those who don't will run away with those wild and untethered allegations that is what leader mcconnell is doing. do these right wing justices two years from now there is a huge backlash if kavanaugh should get on the court. that is not the search for truth. and then to avoid the truth that should not happen. think about it. the white house is blocking the impartial allegation and chairman grassley is setting arbitrary deadlines and then to o the right to call other witnesses that always happens including the alleged eyewitness and then to back up kavanaugh. and at least he says he does not remember we hear chairman grassley wants to bring in outside counsel as if doctor ford were on trial. this is so unusual that it shows a fear on the part of our republican friends that something bad

and with those accusations untethered allegations that is what leader mcconnell is doing he prides his role that is part of his legacy when they see their rulings there will be a huge backlash and that is not the search for truth. and to avoid the truth and it should not happen. the white house is blocking anpa impartial allegations chairman grassley is setting arbitrary deadlines dictating the terms of appearance to deny the minority including the alleged eyewitness and saying that he doesn't remember. and hearing chairman grassley as if doctor ford were on trial as if they were afraid to question doctor ford it is so unusual but it is theater on the part of the republican friends and as they go down this road far from what a serious fact-finding inquiry should lookd like and given the circumstances particularly those who support judge kavanaugh. who was morere credible? >> doctor ford who wants the fbi to investigate her allegation because she is confident it will corroborate her account, or our republican friends running away from any fact-finding of truth. heat on - - he not only w

the white house before were not saying this was a smear neither was mitch mcconnell. they were saying she doesn't remember, she has no evidence to back it up, et cetera, et cetera. now they're saying this is a smear, a political strategy to get kavanaugh away from his chances of ever being confirmed to the supreme court. that's not what would he were seeing a few days ago before this allegation came out in "the new yorker" last night. we saw that not only with senate majority leader mcconnell with smear on repeat and also kellyanne conway's interview this morning saying she believed this was some left-wing conspiracy out to get brett kavanaugh. and president trump himself saying this is all political. you're right, they are pushing these two allegations together. one they're saying doesn't have simply enough sourcing, pointing to the fact that "the new york times" interviewed dozens of people and couldn't find flynn to corroborate this information but they're only focusing on this allegation. they're not focusing on the woman who's coming to washington on thursday to

mcconnell is carrying the water. there's an election in, what, a month, five weeks, something like that? and the gender gap keeps growing bigger and bigger. >> yeah. >> and it's just -- i think it is not a great position for the republican party to be in either. >> i think that's quite, quite true. sam stein and nina totenberg, thank you both for joining us. coming up, michael moore is here to talk about trump and the midterms, which nina just talked about. an international joke in tonight's thing one, thing two, next. you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. with large debris and stuck-on dust, so shark invented duoclean, replacing the front wall with a rotating soft brush. while deep cleaning carpets, two brush rolls pick up large particles with ease, make quick work of stuck-on dust, giving hard

it's up to mcconnell and up to the president as well. he tried to make it seem like, well, it's up to what the senate decides. >> let's play this forward. there's a lot of ways this could go obviously. i want to put the politics aside and hone in on the u.s. supreme court. i guess everything's political, right. so if they were to go through this week delay, do the investigation, ultimately he is confirmed to the nation's highest court, you still have essentially half of america believing that there would be this alleged sexual assailant on the nation's highest court. how will that affect the supreme court? >> that's one of the big issues this week, the hit the institutions, the senate and potentially the supreme court are taking as a result of this process. this last 24 hours and particularly the last couple of hours shows the power of a senator at one moment in time. yesterday was really unsatisfactory from a factual perspective. dr. ford presented in a very good way in term of her impression, she's a credible person but there's no othe

charles: we heard harsh words from nor mcconnell. president trump had strong words, positive word for brett kavanaugh. are you surprised how the gop is now circling the wagons around this appointment? >> the real problem is how this is handled from the beginning. dianne feinstein had this letter. she chose to bring it up at that certain moment. she had it since late july. that did a lot to discredit dr. ford's allegations. so i think the democrats did do an injustice. but i think this is a problem for the gop moving forward. you do have the mid-terms approaching. the numbers with women are not so great. when you consider the suburban women, 35% say they regret their vote. the gop will have to hone in on that demographic. charles: you are saying if kavanaugh is confirmed they will lose that vote. >> i think they have lost credibility with female voters because of the way they handled this. there should be a process in place for those who will use allegations or come out and say something as well as protect those who are accused. if it

mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 1013. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. clerk will record the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of treasury, charles p. rett. ttig of california to be commissioner of internal revenues. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate cloture: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, d

mitch mcconnell has actually been very good at driving. this i don't think he lies these delays from what i hear from people i talked to on capitol hill, he doesn't like this delay at all. i do think senator grassley, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee has been masterful, his balance, his tone, the options. i think he has done a very good job so far. >> dana: speaking of mitch mcconnell he was strategic and patient and took a lot of criticism and risk by delaying or denying merrick garland a hearing. >> he did. he took a tough, tough line. i come from the camp that says as the committee chairman you don't enter into negotiation when you invite somebody to come before your committee. that's not the start of a negotiation. but, again, i think grassley in conjunction with mitch mcconnell, they have bent over backwards. you can't just continual to let this go on in per pew throughout. >> what about the ghants that lead brett kavanaugh speak first? why would they agree to that when he hasn't even heard the actual story against him?

mcconnell has to deal with senate procedure. and he's had to explain to the president that, you know, i can't hold the vote until i actually have the votes to confirm him. and there are these senators who are on the fence and we have to go through this process. as for that interview, it was my understanding something that was being pushed, at least the setup, by the white house press team, for kavanaugh and his wife. there was a little reluctance and reticence on their part at first. but the president called judge kavanaugh before the fox interview to tell him, which him good luck and it's something that obviously the president, it's a channel the president watches very closely. and an issue he's been following very closely. >> let's watch a little bit of that. >> i never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever. i've never had any sexual or physical activity with dr. ford. i am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps dr. ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone in some place.

mcconnell is aware. mcconnell is with kavanaugh, too. let's be real. when i talked to my sources, the person that matters most is mcconnell. if mcconnell is telling the white house it's not going to happen, it's probably not going to happen. for now they're holding but it's 4:34. it could change at 4:40. >> if it changes come back. i'm going to find a blackberry on ebay and send it to you just to remember this day. thanks for spending some time with us. >>> bracing for impact. republicans worry the house and senate are in serious peril in the midterms because of the chaos at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. the new, new political reality coming up next. a of the doers, the determined, the driven? and while the bar keeps getting higher, ambition gives us the power to tackle any obstacle. opening the doors to bigger leaps, larger goals and financial freedom. sofi. we stand for ambition. sofi. to me, he's, phil micwell, dad.o golfer. so when his joint pain from psoriatic arthritis got really bad, it scared me. and what could that pain mean? joint pain could mean

mitch mcconnell complains about the process. democrats say cry me a river. don't give us this process garbage, because you didn't even give merrick garland a hearing, let alone a confirmation vote. so all of this simmering rage about the future of the supreme court, what did or didn't happen in 2016, is playing itself out. tactically, politically, and potentially if kavanaugh is confirmed, legally for the next 20 years. >> mainly, let me push back on something you said. i don't think republicans are trying to ram the process. we had a hearing. these allegations come after the hearing, at the very last minute. i mean, let's try to be a little bit objective here. i mean, it's a suspicion that the allegations come at the very last minute. they're not substantiated. >> no. >> no? >> and they could be substantialed if there was an investigation. i think the senate majority leader calling this a smear campaign is a small dog whistle to the base of the republican party. maybe even trump's base, suggesting he doesn't believe these women. suggesting that there's no t

mcconnell and republican leaders had no choice. without flake, without senator susan collins, without senator lisa murkowski he does not have the votes and he had to cede to flake's demand. the vote will be delayed until the fbi comes back with its findings, but for the time being pretty much everybody up here who thought there would be a vote as soon as tuesday will have to wait. >> good report. thank you very much. >>> now to the white house and more on the president officially ordering this new fbi investigation. let's go to our chief white house correspondent jim acosta. jim, a lot has changed over the past 24 hours, the president now launching this new investigation. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. something that the white house was not receptive to last week, they're not standing in the way of it now. an incredible turn of events over here, and the president releasing this statement a short while ago. we can put it on screen. it says, i have ordered the fbi to conduct a supplemental investigation to update judge kavanaugh's

unfortunately the tone is set at the top by senator grassley and by senator mcconnell. and so, you know, we have certainly had good relationships on a professional level with staff on the other side because we are there, when i was there all the time trying to get our jobs done. but in this case you have people who are exceedingly partisan. you had the chief counsel for senator grassley conduct his own solo interview of the nominee and then pronounce him cleared basically. and so i think all processes are broken down. they're not following the rules, they don't care about the rules and they're doing so in order to install someone on the court with the job of following the rules, someone who actually, i think, has not been honest about the facts or the law in brett kavanagh. so it's all coming together in one pattern. >> and chuck grassley in breaking news item has just officially taken rachel mitchell out of the shadows and admitted that chuck grassley and the united states senate have hired rachel mitchell -- they are putting her on the senate payroll for what might on

what i was hearing from mcconnell was concern about timing more than anything else. mcconnell was saying this is happening monday. monday. >> like no matter what. >> this is monday. he kept talking about we want a fair process, but it is happening monday. and he knows full well that the democrats don't want to happen monday, that the democrats believe there ought to be a different kind of a hearing, that there ought to be an investigation which is what i'm presuming professor ford will also want. and that grassley, chairman of the committee, has not everyone communicated with her attorney yet. so that means things are so unsettled. the committee clearly wants kavanaugh confirmed. and they are making their point about process which is, you know, you threw us -- you blindsided us. we'll give her the hearing, but you it will be on our time table, not your. but i don't see how it happens. >> and on that note we need to go to the white house. here is the president of the united states and president of poland. >> thank you very much. please, sit down. today i'm very honore

mcconnell even lie given some of these close races to a nice light. how likely are the democrats to flip those republican seats and what is with home up his sleeve to prevent that from happening i was stunned that with our panel they are chris wilson in washington d.c. he was director of research a digital strategy that ted cruz is twenty six president. and brian joyce host of the brian joyce show on talk radio w g o w have him brian joins us from chattanooga all right chris what was your reaction to mitch mcconnell's tom and so about of concern of the g.o.p. drole well i think mitch mcconnell is doing his job is job is to be the chief fundraiser to make sure that republicans have enough money to be able to defend their seats but if you look at these seats one by one as you mentioned i worked for senator cruz in the sixteen campaign working for his in his eighteen real act there are four seats on the democrat side there are more likely to go republican until you get to the first republican seat likely to get go democrat and those are in north dakota h

on friday mitch mcconnell pledged to, quote, plow right through. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is monday, september 24th and with us we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle, associate editor of commentary magazine and msnbc contributor noah roth man, former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner and nbc news capitol hill correspondent and host of kasie d.c. on msnbc kasie hunt is with us as the supreme court story unfolds this week it's important to keep tabs on a number of other big developments we will speak with "the new york times" reporter who broke the news that deputy attorney general rod rosenstein talked abou