mcconnell and mitch mcconnell expedited it, put it on the top of the list, and now she is a federal judge. for life. must be nice. we contacted david vitter's very fancy lobbying firm today. they dop not dispute that david vitter is the one who gave mcconnell that heads-up about rusal putting the plant in kentucky after mitch mcconnell did what he did for rusal and oleg deripaska. when we asked david vitter tonight whether there was any connection between that and his wife's subsequent surprise confirmation to a lifetime federal judgeship, he told us through a spokesman, "absolutely not." we put the same question to mitch mcconnell's office tonight but we got no answer. mcconnell's office says lifting the sanctions of course had nothing to do with the investment in kentucky by the firm that he lifted the sanctions on. but as for the lobbyist's wife who's now a federal judge, no response from mcconnell. i will tell you we are not the only ones asking questions about this sequence of events. hold that thought. the russells travel to swim meets every saturday. but now... it's thursday.

mcconnell, and mitch mcconnell expedited it, put it at the top of the list and now she is a federal judge for life. must be nice. we contacted david vitter's fancy lobbying firm today. they do not dispute mitch mcconnell mcconnell the one -- when we asked david vitter tonight whether there was any connection between that and his wife''s subsequent surprise confirmation he said, quote, absolutely not. we put the same question to mitch mcconnell's office tonight but we got no answer. mcconnell's office says lifting sanctions had nothing to do with the investment in kentucky by the firm that he lifted the sanctions on. but as for the lobbyist's wife who's now a federal judge, no response from mcconnell. i will tell you we are not the only ones asking questions about this sequence of events. hold that thought. e of events. hold that thought. of all time. lease the 2019 rx 350 for $399 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. this is a commercial and i know you're thinking. i don't want to hear about insurance. 'cause let's be honest... nobody likes dealing with in

the grim reaper, mitch mcconnell, will kill it. if you are caring about reducing the reducing role of money in politics and voter suppression and expanding the voice of the american people, mitch mcconnell will kill it, because he said the problem is not too much money in politics. he said there is not enough money in politics. our h.r. 1 is about expanding the voice of the people. h.r. 1 was giving 83% of the tax benefit to the top 1%. this is about policy and also about gun safety. gun safety, we sent over h.r. 8 and h.r. 1112 for responsible background checks. hand maidens to the national rifle association, connect the dots. when you see barr sitting there, what's his motivation? his motivation, his loyalty is not to his oath of office, but it is to donald trump. but all of that and the republicans in congress is to the special interests. whether h.r. 1, gun safety, paycheck fairness, violence against women, save the internet, climate action now, the list goes on. and we will be sending more information. but apparently i have ne

mitch mcconnell, donald trump, attorney general barr, there is a connection. there is annize logical antigovernan antigovernance, antiscience, antimeeting the needs of the american people. so when he was testifying and being so cavalier about special counsel mueller, the mueller report, and so lis krdisrespect congress, i thought this is about a right-wing ideological hand maiden for the special interest of the company. if you're a young person you care about the climate crisis we're bassing that bill right now on the floor, it is if you're young person, if you care about net neutrality, freedom on the internet, the grim reaper is going to kill dit in the senate. if you're a woman, the violence against women act. the equal pay equal work act. if you care about reducing the role of money in politics like hr 1 legislation. stopping the voter suppression and the voice of the people in our political process, mitch mcconnell will kill it because he said the problem is not too much money in politics, he says there is not enough money in politics. our hr one is about

. >> mitch mcconnell is a tactical genius. >> ...not giving a lifetime appointment, to this president, on the way out the door... >> unprecedented. >> democrats are outraged... >> narrator: tonight on frontline... >> we're living in the era of the mcconnell court. >> narrator: "supreme revenge." >> frontline is made possie by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by th john d. and cather macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the efrontlines of social cha worldwide. at fordfoundation.org.ti adal support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. the park fouation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues.e hn and helen glessner family trust. supporting trustworthy journalism that informs an inspires. and by the frontline journalism fund,rt with major suprom jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support

to him and mitch mcconnell was holding that through. now, mitch mcconnell's argument and they've already issued statements, his spokes people, is that back then with merrick garland you had a divided congress, here you have republicans holding both so therein lies the difference. we all, of course, no he that this is something that he ultimately would have done anyway and you could tell that through that little rye smile of his. >> the smile said more than the actual words there. >> the gulp of the iced tea. >> senator lindsey graham felt differently about all of this when he was asked about this october of 2018. here is what he promised. >> if an opening comes in the last year of president trump's term and the primary process has started, we will wait until the next election. and i've got a pretty good chance being -- >> you are on the record. >> yeah. >> all right. >> hold the tape. >> we did hold the tape. >> good for you. >> and there it is. >> good for you. >> i'm not sure that he holds any sway with mitch mcconnell, but that's how

the grim reaper, mitch mcconnell, will kill it. if you care about reducing the reducing role of money in politics and stopping voter suppression and expanding the voice of the american people, mitch mcconnell will kill it, because he said the problem is not too much money in politics. he said there is not enough money in politics. our h.r.-1 is about expanding the voice of the people. h.r- 1 was giving 83% of the tax benefit to the top 1%. this is about policy and also about gun safety. gun safety, we sent over h.r.-8 and h.r.-1112 for responsible background checks. hand maidens to the national rifle association end this -- and special-interest. connect the dots. when you see barr sitting there, what's his motivation? his motivation, his loyalty is not to his oath of office, but it is to donald trump. but all of it and the republicans in congress is to the special interests. whether it's h.r.-1, gun safety, paycheck fairness, violence against women, save the internet, climate action now, the list goes on. we will be sending more le

the grim reaper, mitch mcconnell, will kill it. if you are caring about reducing the reducing role of money in politics and voter suppression and expanding the voice of the american people, mitch mcconnell will kill it, because he said the problem is not too much money in politics. he said there is not enough money in politics. our h.r. 1 is about expanding the voice of the people. h.r. 1 was giving 83% of the tax benefit to the top 1%. this is about policy and also about gun safety. gun safety, we sent over h.r. 8 and h.r. 1112 for responsible background checks. hand madens to the national rifle association, connect the dots. when you see barr sitting there, what's his motivation? his motivation, his loyalty is not to his oath of office, but it is to donald trump. but all of that and the republicans in congress is to the special interests. whether h.r. 1, gun safety, paycheck fairness, violence against women, save the internet, climate action now, the list goes on. and we will be sending more information. but apparently i have new

. >> narrator: and behind the scenes, one powerful republican senator, majity leader mitch mcconnell. >> mcconnell knows the game plan. one of theeasons he's as good at his job as it is is because he can play his own hand at cards and he can alsplay his opponent's hand at cards. he knows exactly what they're trying to do. >> narrator: out-maneuvering democrats, confirmin conservative judges were brett kavanaugh would be his crowning achvement. (camera clicks) >> it's moving the court to a tireally very, very conser court. that's mcconnell's dream from the time he was first in the senate, and maybe his dream when he went into politics. >> this is going to be a rough battle on capitol hill...c >> narrator: mitchnell's determination to transform the supreme court had been his life's work. >> ...the dismay of several senators, u.s. supreme courtho nominee clarences managed to... >> potentially ensuring a conservative majority for decades... >> narrator: through bruising nfirmation battles... >> ...democrats to keep an open mind about kavanaugh... >> narrator: a struggle over ideology and

he has decided not to engage the congress, mitch mcconnell is complicit in this and we are wasting our time. >> what about on the house side? another one of the things that sarah said since the democrats took over there and since nancy pelosi has been house speaker she said they've passed no significant legislation. >> ms. sanders should take a look at the actual record. what nancy pelosi has done with her democratic majority is to address the very issues i mentioned. when you ask the american people about their opinion of politicians they think that we need to be really huing to a different standard, making certain that we have reform in mind. hr-1 the number one bill passed by nancy pelosi and the house democrats addresses this issue of restoring the integrity to campaigns and to our congressional process. the president and ms. sanders think that's worth nothing. mitch mcconnell won't even call the bill and yet the american people think it's a high priority. >> you said this moment yesterday, this three or four minute speech the president fave to you behind closed doors and walking o

mitch mcconnell needs to stand up for president trump. lou: come tillis, one of those milquetoast rino republicans i'm talking about, today stood up against mcconnell and burr. i'd like to share with the audience, if we can have the full screen, of what he said. he said, i agree with leader mcconnell. this case is closed. the mueller report cleared donald trump jr. and he's already spent 27 hours testifying before congress. dips havdimszdimms have made its all about politics. time to move on and focus on issues that mat tore american. meanwhile the majority leader had to agree to do that and shame on mitch mcconnell. >> we have some people in the house of representatives, the freedom caucus who support the president, who represent their constituencies. pretty much everybody else is a member of the cowards caucus. the idea that the democratic party, speaker of the house and others are talking about jailing the attorney general, jailing the secretary of the treasury simply because he works for donald trump and then the republicans -- lou: a

she's been on the floor much of the morning says mitch mcconnell says case closed. i think i'll do a little reading. >> since the majority leader has pronounced his judgment here on the senate floor, i would like to spend some time reminding him of exactly what this report said. trump directed mcgahn on multiple occasions to fire mueller or to gin up false conflicts of interest as a pr pretext of getting rid of the special counsel. >> connects the dots in several ways to what we were talking about in the previous segment in that don mcgahn, the white house is saying no, he can't testify because the democrats want to ask him did the president of the united states tell you to get rod rosenstein to fire the special counsel? what else did the president do to try to interfere with the special counsel? republicans don't want any of that. they want to say let's just move on. >> don't forget also that the mueller report has a lot of information about russian interference. not case closed. we have an election around the corner and the president is not bringing up meddling ta

case closed, that is the word from mitch mcconnell. speaking out on the senate floor just moments ago, talking about the mueller report. but as congress gets closer to holding the attorney general in contempt, democrats say it is far from a done deal. >>> and multiple 2020 candidates making their pitches to wochbtd count one of the biggest labor unions. why its endorsement, why that labor endorsement still matters even in a year dominated by grass roots donors. and we're also keeping a very close eye on the white house. that is the rose garden where at any moment we'll see the first dy

mitch mcconnell, who i get on with well and is a smart guy, mitch mcconnell wanted no part of having a bipartisan commitment that we would say, essentially, russia's doing this, stop. bipartisan. >> so democrats have been talking a lot today about why is mitch mcconnell doing this now, when he was no help to them, at least according to joe biden and barack obama. >> right. and of course, mcconnell has said they did sign on to a letter, but the letter didn't reference anything about russia. can i just say, because i've been really hard on joe biden, this is joe biden's element where he flourishes. he's making foreign policy very clear, very attainable, very touchable to the layman. and i think it's super important -- or layperson. and it's super important for us to understand how tragic this was. if, in fact, the obama administration, as has been reported now for i think at least two years, tried to have a bipartisan agreement that all of congressional leaders should come together and say, this is a serious flag and we need to pay attention to this. and if mcconnell was, i'm not going

the issue is that mitch mcconnell will do what he can. the strong do as they will. the weak suffer as they must. he's going to get it done. >> obviously. proudly. he's boldly saying that. how can people not see it as hypocrisy when they are changing their own equation midstream. >> there is every reason to expect that if for some reason a democrat takes the white house and republicans maintain control of the senate if a democrat nominates a justice there is no way to think mcconnell will confirm in year one. >> justin amash hosting his first town hall since becoming the sole republican in congress to say the president committed impeachable offenses. last night he got a standing ovation. >> thank you. >> he said many of his fellow republicans believe he's right but won't say it publicly. he told the audience congress cannot be passive observers. he also heard from critics. >> robert mueller clearly identifies and analyzes a number of instances, several instances of obstruction of justice. he really left it to congress to come to a determination on these issues. i thi

mcconnell and mitch mcconnell. joining me democratic strategist and former white house deputy assistant under president clinton, matt fennig. matt, bianco is trump's 38th confirmed circumstance court judge. that means one in sever six seat on the sishlcircuit court is fi by a trump nominee. if you compare that to the past two administrations, this is a clear success for his supporters. how do democrats handle this on the trail? >> it shows how important this election is. in addition to replacing democrats, regardless, the worst president in american history, the future of the courts for decades, for my kids' life times, is being determined now. one of the supreme court vacancies trump was able to fill is filled because mitch mcconnell pulled all of the shenanigans he did after the death of justice scalia. legally but in a unpress departmentsed way like you were just saying about what he's doing now. so what we are seeing is continued erosion of norms in congress that has been driven by the erosion of norms in the w

democrats pouncing on mitch mcconnell's words that the mueller report is a closed case. and where in the world is mike pompeo after cancelling a trip to go on a mysterious trip after tensions in iran election and the attorney general said the trump campaign was spied on and the head of the fbi knocking down that they're. we're freaked that the words of the american business owners startled by the president's threats against china as the tone suddenly changes in trade talks. >>> up first, deadlines and defiance. president trump ignoring demands by congressional democrats for access to wednesday and to documents. house speaker nancy please says the president is the trying to provoke democrats. don't tell anybody i told you this. trump. i'll use his name, okay. trump is goegt us to impeach him. that's what he's doing. every single day he's just like taunting, taunting, taunting, pause he knows that it would be very divisive in the country but he doesn't really care. he just wants to solidify his base. we can't impeach him for political reasons and we can't not impeach him f

as far as mcconnell is concer d ed, case closed. phil, what did mitch mcconnell have to say? >> look, it was a lengthy speech. it's one i'm told he had been working on, he and his team had been working on for more than a week, and it was basically a rundown, a litany of complaints, concerns, attacks on democrats, on the media for how they covered the investigation going into details about one thing that he noted, and i think kind of his conclusion from what he's read in the report, is as it relates to any conspiracy between the trump campaign and the russian government. here is what he said about that. >> on this central question, the special counsel's finding is clear. case closed. case closed. this ought to be good news for everyone. but my democratic colleagues seem to be publicly working through the five stages of grief. our colleagues across the aisle want to shoot the messenger. and keep the perpetual outrage machine right on going. even undermining the institution of the attorney general itself in the process. >> so that's where the majority leader stands. to be honest

everything you need to go. >>> in our politics lead today, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky making it crystal clear that he would treat a supreme court nominee from a fellow republican president differently than how he treated president obama's 2016 pick. judge merrick garland, for who mcconnell refused to even hear him. cnn's sunlen serfaty now reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell doing an abrupt about-face about a potential vacancy on the supreme court. >> the supreme court justice was to die next year, what would you do? >> we'd fill it. >> reporter: speaking at an event in his home state, the senate majority leader saying republicans would now fill a vacancy on the supreme court, even in the middle of a presidential election year. >> good morning! >> reporter: a striking difference from 2016 when he blocked president obama's supreme court nominee merrick garland after the sudden death of antonin scalia. >> it's the president's right to nominate a justice and it's the senate's right to act as a check and withhold its consent. >> reporter: mccon

and jake, we heard from senate majority leader mitch mcconnell today. we're going to be chewing on his remarks throughout the hour, he essentially said it's time to move on. we have the mueller report, the attorney general has made his assessment, and now democrats are overplaying their hands. a political tactic in its own right, to what extent are democrats or democratic leadership concerned that they might be overplaying their hand here. >> it's a big dynamic, and phil just eluded to it, and he's absolutely right. pelosi understands the politics of it, which is if the house impeaches the president, the senate is not going to impeach the president, and it will look like democrats run the risk -- we don't know what's going to happen, it runs the risk of looking like democrats have overreached. i will say there are more a more democrats. pelosi says, we didn't get the majority promising to impeach the president, we got the majority promising to deal with pocketbook issues and help people deal with problems they feel at home. a lot of democrats have told

20th century mitch mcconnell. we have the video. nutrition can seem overwhelmin. even if you try to eat well, you might fall short in key nutrients. get more by adding one a day. it's the #1 multivitamin uniquely designed for men and women. one serving, once a day. one a day. and done. openturning 50 opens theuard. door to a lot of new things... like now your doctor may be talking to you about screening for colon cancer. luckily there's me, cologuard. the noninvasive test you use at home. it all starts when your doctor orders me. then it's as easy as get, go, gone. you get me when i'm delivered... right to your front door and in the privacy of your own home. there's no prep or special diet needed. you just go to the bathroom, to collect your sample. after that, i'm gone, shipped to the lab for dna testing that finds colon cancer and precancer. cologuard is not right for everyone. it is not for high risk individuals, including those with a history of colon cancer or precancer. ibd, certain hereditary cancer syndrom

mitch mcconnell says case closed

that phrase, case closed, is the phrase mitch mcconnell has been using in front of the congress. when it was brought up that bill barr mislead the congress and the american people, the president said, oh my god, the mask has been ripped off. we have no game here. get that guy away from the hill, away from the cameras. i don't want anything to do with congressional oversight ever again. >> where do we go again? >> the house has to force its will, they have to hold the attorney general in contempt, which is sad. but they have to have stand up for article one branch of our government, the congress. if they don't, the system of checks and balances collapses nicole. >> it may happen in our hour that for the second time in this country's history a sitting attorney general. there was a vote for a resolution to then take this step to the full -- to the floor of congress. we are -- and sometimes we overdo this language, not you, but i do, we are in uncharted

senator chuck schumer told chris hayes tonight that mitch mcconnell said that because mitch mcconnell and the president are afraid of robert mueller. >> we know one thing, both he and leader mcconnell fear the full results of the report being made clear to the public. the fact that he so often obstructed justice, the fact that the russians did interfere repeatedly and strenuously in our elections, all of which prove donald trump being wrong, and what leader mcconnell today on the floor was nothing short of despicable. >> today senator elizabeth warren took to the senate floor where she read passages from the mueller report for nearly 40 minutes. at the beginning of her remarks, senator warren said this -- >> what's at stake here is the constitution of the united states of america. will congress do its job and fulfill its constitutional duty to serve as a check on the president? the answer from the majority leader and his republican colleagues is no. case closed. case closed they cry. instead of reading the words of the special counsel's report, they just want to circle the wagons arou

>> what does mitch mcconnell say? i mean, the democrats will say mitch mcconnell doesn't want to give house democrats bills, they're due and all this. what does leadership say to you? >> he's not chairman of every committee. and i'm not, i didn't come on here to be personal and call him out names. i'm just saying -- >> he's in charge. >> i was sent up here and i think most senators were, to deliberate, not to participate and delay and see, here's what some of my colleagues say to me. kennedy, we're in an election cycle. this isn't the way it's done. well, first, we're always in an election cycle. number two, maybe what i'm suggesting is not the way it's been done, but frankly, for the last 10 years, what we've been doing, it sucks. secondly, they say, you're taking a pretty big risk there. maybe we are. maybe we'll win. what's the problem with putting a prescription drug bill, we don't need the president of the united states' permission or the house's permission. on the floor of the united states senate and see if we

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. >>> one member of congress is not chimie ining in on mueller majority leader mitch mcconnell, but his new position on one of his most controversial decisions ever has some calling him a hypocrite. stay with us. ♪ ♪ no matter when you retire, your income doesn't have to. see how lincoln can help ensure you still have income every month of your retirement, guaranteed, at lincolnfinancial.com. they feel like they have to drink a lot of water. patients that i see that complain about dry mouth,

easy answer everybody thinks of but chuck schumer says mitch mcconnell has made the senate, quote, the graveyard, blaming it on republicans. >> chuck schumer says a lot of things for political consumption but in reality donald trump has brought and senate republicans have brought the policy the democrats for decades have said they want but they want no part of it and sometimes they say it is immoral. the border policy the president has espouses line with what they said they want and now it is immoral as though it is a crime. jillian: some are on tape and we played that. rob: it will make great ads for the president's reelection showing all those old soundbites. >> it is a problem. jillian: let's look at the number of laws passed through

that moment had a big impact on senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. i want to play a part of your documentary to illustrate that point. >> senator from kentucky -- >> it was a searing experience for first time senator mitch mcconnell. enraged he took to the senate floor. >> to robert bjork, you happen to be the one who set the new senate standard that will be applied in my judgment by a majority of the senate prospectively. unfortunately it got set over your dead body, so to speak, politically. >> mcconnell threatened he and his republican colleagues would use the same tactics when it mattered. >> we're going to do it when we want to. when we want to is going to be when the president, whoever he may be, sends up somebody we don't like. >> he'll be darned if he's going to allow them to just get away with taking somebody out without paying a price for it later on down the road. >> if we don't like the philosophical meaning of the nominee -- >> it was a promise of revenge, a warning of what could happen if republicans took control. >> michael, that may h

. >>> one member of congress is not chimie ining in on mueller majority leader mitch mcconnell, but his new position on one of his most controversial decisions ever has some calling him a hypocrite. stay with us. ♪ ♪ no matter when you retire, your income doesn't have to. see how lincoln can help ensure you still have income every month of your retirement, guaranteed, at lincolnfinancial.com. they feel like they have to drink a lot of water. patients that i see that complain about dry mouth, medications seem to be the number one cause for dry mouth. dry mouth can cause increased cavities, bad breath, oral irritation. i like to recommend biotene. biotene has a full array of products that replenishes the moisture in your mouth.

. >> we feel like -- >>> a total 180 for mitch mcconnell who now says he would fill a supreme court vacancy during an lection year. >>> an embattled chinese firm wants back in after being black listed. huawei claims it's no security threat despite accusations it stole trade secrets. thrjtsz first attack of its kind in more than 20 years. >> it is wednesday, may twineth. 4:00 a.m. in the east. and it was another night of tornado terror. stretch flumg southern plains to the northeast. eastern kansas hit especially hard. suffering extensive damage there. they're located just across the border from ks ksz. lin wood's mayor says dozens off home in the city are gone. >> it startedry raining really hard and i could feel air coming from above and moving the walls and all the sudden i heard stuff flying round up above me. >> storm clouds stretching for miles across the region. homes in the area flattened. warning residents of downed trees and power lines. at least 12 paschabouts are being treated for injure as. some forced to take cover in a safe room at a local gas station. >> lightening hitting th

one of them was mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader. kind of the first time he's weighed in on this. take a listen, i'll get your thoughts. >> russia set out to sow discord, to create chaos in america politics and under mind confidence in our democracy. but on that front, given the left's total fixation on delegitimatizing the president, i'm afraid the russians hardly need to look to favor. >> dana: if you can listen to speaker pelosi talking about how trump's people want us to impeach. watch. >> trump is goading us to impeach him. every single day, he's taunting, taunting. he knows it would be divisive, but he doesn't care.

mostly by mitch mcconnell. and reality at last night, last time i read my constitution, president is not given a lot of earlier today, actually, president -- >> whole thing. >> not whole thing. kennedy: what do you think of the -- the -- a lot of people talk about that, my favorite amendment. >> on basis of this point. kennedy: can you name third amendment. >> i cannot. kennedy: how dare you, don't throw the constitution out here, and not be able to quote from the bill of rights. >> but i reviewed it, if you are allowed to appoint supreme court justices, president should be allowed to appoint supreme court justices. >> they are not stopping the appointment they are stopping the confirmation. >> but there nothing about only an elect year. kennedy: i will say -- >> that. kennedy: you would agree senate race in 2016 was closed. people were so upset they would have given democrats control. >> i would not necessarily say that, i think it is really difficult, i am critical of this, democrat and republican do it, to i

this is mitch mcconnell when he infuriated democrats. he said he would pick a supreme court justice if he died. >> should a supreme court justice die next year, what would you do? >> we would fill it. >> he would block measublocked n 2016. listen to what he said in 2016 and then we can talk about it. >> the next justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the supreme court and have a profound impact on our country. so, of course, of course, the american people should have a say in the court's direction. it is the president's constitutional right to nominate a supreme court justice, and it is the senate's constitutional right to act as a check on a president and withhold its consent. >> he believed that when it was advantageous to republicans, and he won't believe it when that's advantageous. this is rank partisanship of the most bald kind. >> it doesn't matter, the sound bite is there. he said it, but they just say different stuff. go on, dana, sorry. >> yeah, it doesn't matter anymore, but particularly on this issue, particularly

but apparently, i have news for mitch mcconnell. he may consider them dead on arrival and the grim reaper for all of these actions taken by the house of representatives. but they're alive and well among the american people. and there's a direct connection and really the saddest of all is while the attorney general was sitting there withholding the truth from congress, misrepresenting, being inconsistent in his statements, the shame, how could he do such a thing, but again, having the support of the republicans in congress and the senators behaving in a way that is said to them we don't care about the branch of government in which we serve. we're not even loyal to strengthening the institution of which we are a part. sitting there once again, his justice department was intensifying its assault on the affordable care act. and they did their

the best and surest path to addressing mitch mcconnell is to ensure that he is the minority leader of the senate in 2020. and we all have an opportunity to do that. >> mitch mcconnell is running for reelection in kentucky, which should be easy for a republican senator, but mitch mcconnell's polling in kentucky could not be worse. the latest poll shows his approval rating is only 33%, which is unbelievably bad for a republican senator in kentucky. no democrat has yet announced a challenge to mcconnell in kentucky. >>> up next, the national rifle association, the leadership of the national rifle association is a cesspool of corruption according to the leadership of the national rifle association. that's next. " with a barbershop quartet? [quartet singing] bum bum bum bum... pass the ball... pass the rock.. ...we're open just pass the ball! no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. yea. [quartet singing] shoot the j! shoot, shoot, shoot the jaaaaaay... believe it! geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. thanks f

mitch mcconnell comes on the part of the president. it seems it's partisan versus congressional authority. >> structurally, it's consecutive. there is nothing new about the president's co-partisans in congress acting as defence for their president as a posed to defending their interests. i'm sure if it was the obama administration, mitch mcconnell would be on the ramp as he was back in that day. >> let's talk about the history of this. you have written about how this has been something going on for decades under different presidents, where, presidents like to assert more authority than some would interpret that they have. for whatever reason, we the public let that happen, have let it happen, to the extent it may not be clear as you said where these lines r. is this a product of president's asserting authority and people not liking congress that much and letting it happen? >> certainly, no matter what you think has a lot to do with whether your guy or woman in the white house or the other party's. so everyone on both sides is a hypocri

that's why mitch mcconnell is able to play the game, because he is kept a player in it. thank you for watching. "cnn tonight" with the one and only d. lemon starts now. >> only what you're allowing them to be. you're so right, but you know what, the folks who are sitting at home and just allowing it to happen, who say it's okay and people have trump derangement syndrome if they actually call out things that the president does or things in the congress, people in the congress do or in the senate, you're going to get your comeuppance when there is a

let's listen to what mitch mcconnell said today about that question. >> if a supreme court was open before next year, what would you do? >> we'll fill it. >> he'd do what? >> he said i'd be filling the seat, if a supreme court justice were to die in the last year of the trump presidency, what would he do? he would go against what he said was the principle he was using in the last year of the obama presidency. >> well, he also said he will fill it, but that actually is the job of the president of the united states, not mitch mcconnell, so we also have to do a little history about the division of responsibilities between the united states congress and the executive branch. [ applause ] >> but that being said, lawrence, speaking of the executive branch, on the issue of choice, look, the current president of the united states ran on a campaign that said women should be punished, punished if they have an abortion. we have a president -- >> well, he took that back just about as soon as he said it. he said that to chris matthews in the middle of one of these. >> it came out of his mouth and i thi

>> what did mitch mcconnell do? what did he choose? did he choose the protection and security of the united states of america? >> nope. >> or the republican party's candidate? well, i think we know. >> he chose trump. >> and jake sherman, he's doing exactly what he hoped the president would do. the president tweeting, case closed, exclamation point with a link to the video of him making the speech yesterday. in the republican party, it has exactly what he needs up there on the hill. he has people who will protect him ultimately from impeachment but also from things like getting the tax returns, from things like william barr being held in contempt. on and on and on or perhaps being impeached even. the president must be thrilled by what he sees out of republicans. >> mitch mcconnell is definitely the tip of the spear here. i think we can say without a douc doubt that he's representing almost every single senate republican and house republican. he's not taking a position, mitch mcconnell is not, that's not supported by the vast number, th

mitch mcconnell, i know people are outraged by what he said. hey, that's what you allow the game to be. >> well, that's what happens. as you said, elections have consequences. >> don't hate the player, hate the game. >> but i actually think trump derangement syndrome is on the other side. >> you've got rationalization. how many people in your life do you have that are real conservatives? >> they can't stand what's happening. i have people that are like real conservatives, real catholics. he represents things that they hate. but they're owning him right now why? because of the alternative. that's what they say all the time, yeah, but it's better than. it's moral relativism for people who are supposed to be better than that. i hope it happens and we'll swing at them like a pinata. you got to police both sides. >> i wish it didn't have to happen. but i'm going to sit here and say, well, you let it happen. >> if this president doesn't win, or if after his administration, you have a democrat in there who will say, i'll tell you what i'm declaring in

the best and surest path to addressing mitch mcconnell is to ensure that he is the minority leader of the senate in 2020. and we all have an opportunity to do that. >> mitch mcconnell is running for reelection in kentucky, which should be easy for a republican senator, but mitch mcconnell's polling in kentucky could not be worse. the latest poll shows his approval rating is only 33%, which is unbelievably bad for a republican senator in kentucky. no democrat has yet announced a challenge to mcconnell in kentucky. >>> up next, the national rifle association, the leadership of the national rifle association is a cesspool of corruption according to the leadership of the national rifle association. that's next. ♪ limu emu & doug mmm, exactly! liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. nice! but uh, what's up with your partner? oh! we just spend all day telling everyone how we customize car insurance because no two people are alike, so... limu gets a little confused when he sees another bird that looks exactly like him. ya... he'll figure it out. onl

robert: take me through majority leader mitch mcconnell's thinking here. he goes to the floor and says case closed but on tuesday at the senate lunch privately, he doesn't go after senator burr, he says let the process play out. wter: this a reminder of the old days on capitol hill where yo had the independent committee chairman who was able to do whate wants. this is the case where the overt message from leadership is, this is over, it's done, move on, and one chairman out there saying i stil qhave a fewstions and i want them answered. abby: and he's not running for re-election which gives him power. robert: but senator tillis is up in 2020 and he's not echoing burr but is rallying behind president trump and donald trump jr. abby: if you're running for re-election in dona party, you have to be clear of where you stand on this issue of donald trump jr.'s subpoena. it is not one of tho where the president and his allies will look the other way if people are suddenly saying it's ok for this to happen. perhaps theep only eon to that might be mitch mcconnell,

you know, i'm tired of losing to mitch mcconnell. i'm tired of losing to a guy like donald trump who never should have won the presidency to begin with. so i'm not saying we shouldn't follow this evidence where it leads, but i am saying we should bring the american people along for the journey so that they can also help us make a judgment about what the right thing to do is. >> okay, senator. let's get back to the audience. christina leplant is a phd student stud yg political science at georgia state university. >> thank you, senator. recently the governor of our state signed house bill 481 into law which severely restricts womens access to abortion. in a world that becomes more tech logically advanced with each day's passing state governments across the country are respond boog y restricting womens rights and not expanding them. what would you do? >> that's a short answer for me. everything i possibly can do to make sure roe v. wade is the law of the land and make sure women make these decisions, not the government. and that's the w