mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 695 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 695, an act to amend the national protection act of 1993 and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the hatch substitute amendment at the desk be considered agreed to, the title amendment be aid greed to -- agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., tuesday october 17, further, following the pledge -- prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be app

mcconnell: i have a second degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell, proposes an amendment numbered 1569 to amendment number 1568. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to refer the house message on h.r. 2266 to the committee on appropriations with instructions to report back forth with an amendment numbered 1570. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations. executive calendar 327, 332, 333, and 337. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state, stephen b. king of wisconsin to be ambassador to the czech republic. barbara lee of california to be representative of the united states of america to the 72nd session of the general sellly of the united nations. christopher smith of new jersey to be representative of the united states of america to the 72nd session of the general assembly of the united nations. african development bank, j. steven dowd of florida to be united states director. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, that no further motions be in order, and that any statements

blame mitch mcconnell. he bears some of the credit here and the failing and the appointing of people on the staff who weren't able to execute this or come up with a compromise that was going to get the votes necessary, you know, that is laid at his feet so what's this president do? what is he good at? whenever occupying the stage by himself, lawrence, he has a problem. he needs an enemy. he needs an opponent and mitch mcconnell, the man smiling next to him uncomfortably at the rose guard season the target. >> you mention the shift of paul ryan. it's fascinating one to watch. let's watch what paul ryan said today when he was asked about what his biggest obstacle is these days. let's listen to this. >> what is your biggest obstacle to getting tax reform passed? >> well, you ever heard of the united states senate before? >> david jolly, mitch mcconnell can't be happy with that. >> no. look. there's always been a divide at least in recent history of the chambers but to glenn's point and yours, lawrence, listen.

blame mitch mcconnell. he bears some of the credit here and the failing and the appointing of people on the staff who weren't able to execute this or come up with a compromise that was going to get the votes necessary, you know, that is laid at his feet so what's this president do? what is he good at? whenever occupying the stage by himself, lawrence, he has a problem. he needs an enemy. he needs an opponent and mitch mcconnell, the man smiling next to him uncomfortably at the rose guard season the target. and knowledge in the topic. blame mitch mcconnell. he bears some of the credit here and the failing and the appointing of people on the staff who weren't able to execute this or come up with a compromise that was going to get the votes necessary, you know, that is laid at his feet so what's this president do? what is he good at? whenever occupying the stage by himself, lawrence, he has a problem. he needs an enemy. he needs an opponent and mitch mcconnell, the man smiling next whenever occupying the stage

which is mitch mcconnell. but he take as shot at him by saying he gets where steve bannon is coming from. so do we have some sort soft expectation they're going to come out of the that meeting and say hey, everything's cool and we have a legislative agenda and we know how we're going to get there? >> i don't think we'll have that, but i think we'll be mcconnell's part at least sort of bringing this down so they can figure out what this is. what mcconnell and ryan are not used to is a white house that has no clear directional point to go to. typically, in this situation, you get some keys to the white house, you could roll some things by them. they're shop and the hill are on the aim page. that's not the case here. the president is on again, off again on health care. he's on again, off again on a number of foreign policy issues. the only thing he's on about is taxes. that may be the one piece of ground in which these two gentlemen can begin to carve out a legislative space to get something done. >> he has as ma

trump and senator mcconnell speaking after they had lunch. republicans are still looking for their first legislative win. president trump has blamed leader mcconnell for failing to deliver on healthcare saying he's very disappointed in mitch. the president has also worked with democrats to cut a deal on raising the u.s. borrowing limit. leader mcconnell has accused the president of having excessive expectations. he pointed to the democratic process saying that's the way it is in our country. today both the president and leader mcconnell insists they have the same agenda. before their lunch meeting, the president said he understands fully why his former chief strategist steve bannon says he's campaigning against leader mcconnell and other leaders. >> i know how he feels. there's some republicans frankly that should be ashamed of themselves. but most of them -- i know the republican senators. most of them are really great people that want to work hard and they want to do a great thing for the american public. but you have a few people that disa

mcconnell: no. >> [inaudible] sen. mcconnell: if there is anything, all republicans think are important to the country and to our party, it is copperheads of tax reform. the issue -- it is comprehensive tax reform. the issue itself brings great unity among our members. we are concentrating on the agenda we have for the american people. the president shares that agenda , is going to do a good job i think promoting that agenda, and we intend to achieve what we set out to achieve before the end of the year. bush, atrker, george what point do you have a competition as a leader of this party to weigh in on these criticisms of the president was mark -- president? sen. mcconnell: what i have an obligation to do is to achieve as much cohesion as i can among 52 republicans to try to achieve these goals for the american people that we set out to achieve, and tax reform is what we are about. if there is anything that unifies republicans, it is tax reform. we have been looking for the opportunity to do this literally for years. we

mitch mcconnell and paul ryan, particularly mcconnell has been around a long time. he's put up with different personalities. obviously the president is a unique one. no doubt about that. but he's going to be focused as the speaker on trying to get the agenda passed. look, i agree with amanda. i think the president is in a great position right now. i think he is trying to stress to the leader that there is -- you better feel a sense of urgency in getting these things done. you know, i've got my attack dog out here, and he's going to destroy your leadership if you don't deliver for me. i know that -- i'm sure mitch mcconnell doesn't want to hear that, but the reality is it's going to happen whether donald trump has steve bannon as an attack dog or not. the republican leadership better start delivering on these two big things, both tax reform and repeal and replace obamacare or this leadership team and certainly in the senate and probably in the house are going to be in big trouble come next election. >> amanda, does any of this blow back, if nothing gets done, does no

mcconnell has promised to do it in this congress. mcconnell walked the timetable forward. >> mr. president, would you be okay if tax reform did not pass until next year? >> i would like to see if this year. i would like very much to see it this year. >> the goal is this calendar year but it's important to remember obama signed obamacare in march of year two. obama signed dodd-frank in july of year two. >> the president fielded questions for some 45 minutes. making no apology for cutting obamacare subsidies. >> the insurance companies have made a fortune with obamacare, an absolute fortune. as you know what i did with the cuts at the end which were -- you're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars a month going into the pockets of the insurance companies and i'm very happy with what i did. >> any flurry of questions and answers, the president said he will consider whether it's appropriate to travel to the demilitarized zone in his visit to south korea. he will meet with roy moore next week to talk about more's views. the sonic attacks on u.s. diplomats in that hillary clinto

it will be the end of mitch mcconnell as we know it. >> it will be the end of mitch mcconnell as we know it. >> true. republicans came in, we had both chambers of congress and the presidency. we had unprecedented ways to get everything done. what do we have to show for it that we can hang our hats on as a party. we have neil gorsuch. >> that's a huge win, though. >> it is a huge win and it's going to be the lasting legacy. but how does it impact somebody on main street? how do they have extra money into their pockets? how do they have health care lower for the cost? >> that's a beautiful point because true conservatives love the neil gorsuch appointment but all of those forgotten americans who hadn't necessarily voted for a republican before, voted for president trump because they wanted something different. phillip, we have seen trump attack mitch over and over again specifically on health care. what do we think is going to happen here? the two of them need a win or does trump really need a win and just keep going after mcconnell? >> you're right that there's been so much public animosi

bannon declares war on mitch mcconnell. does have the president stand? and can anyone win this civil war? plus -- the blame game. >> when we get things approved we have to go through hell, because we have no democrat support. >> president trump calls on democrats to come to the table on health care. democratic senator chris coons joins us with his reaction. >>> and a plea for puerto rico. >> water's important. it's really important, and -- people are desperate. >> what will it take to turn the tide of this growing humanitarian crisis on u.s. soil? this is "mtp daily," and it starts right now. >>> good evening. i'm katy tur in new york in for chuck todd. welcome to "mtp daily." right now it looks increasingly as if the republican party as we flow it risks unraveling in large part because of the president's stalled agenda, which now looks less like an agenda and more like a wrecking ball. steve bannon this weekend declared open war on the republican establishment over its disloyalty and today while talking with reporters at c

now we have mitch mcconnell sent out. a lot of this is about what's going on behind the scenes which as there is a civil war raging. steve bannon, the president's former top political advisor, said he's got a war on the g.o.p. establishment. what does he mean by that? talking about congress, saying congress is made up of established republicans who are not backing this president, and he wants their support. and therefore bannon is going about trying to throw out republicans he considers insufficiently trump backers. you got that and you've got the president at war with a leading member of the senate, bob corke corker. that hasn't stopped. that went out over the weekend, dana. you have the president saying don't pay any attention to these people. it's not true what bob corker says is crazy. not one member of the senate, including mitch mcconnell, say anything different. >> dana: kimberly, bob corker is working with tom cotton on the iran deal. perhaps there's a lot, i don't know, the relationship intrigue is masking some a

>> look, you know, donald trump needs mitch mcconnell to be an effective leader and mitch mcconnell needs donald trump to keep people energized and engaged in the public for what he wants to do. whether they like it or not they need each other to get things done. right now you got tax reform. mitch mcconnell and paul ryan has to put together a good package, because donald trump's not doing it. that's really the missing thing here that nobody talks about. donald trump's right, republicans ran for seven years on repeal and replace, be honest, donald trump didn't come with a package. congress is not really used to being in the role of about nichator of the ideas. they try to take with the president sends them and work with things. it's a very odd relationship, things are up side down. it hasn't worked very well. the republican leadership i agree with donald trump has not done a good job in this new area on trying to be the new leader on policy. we'll see whether this go around with tax reform will change. >> amy how do you see this? >> i watched the rose garden conference and i just had to l

mcconnell is the ultimate establishment man, as mark pointed out, he needs mcconnell to some degree. but he loves having steve bannon out there strutting around in his johnny cash outfit threatening to gun everyone down and calling mcconnell cesar and calling for brutases to step up and do away with him and so on. he knows that he's got a gun cocked at mcconnell, figuratively speaking. in this day and age i shouldn't use that language. but he's got this implicit threat that bannon represents. so if i'm mcconnell i'm standing up there feeling deeply uncomfortable with trump says bannon is a friend of mine and he's doing what he thinks is right because there's a game being run here and mitch mcconnell is caught in the vice. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> don -- >> i've got to go. i'm sorry. next time, april. we'll see you soon. when we come back, an emotional john mccain choking up tonight as he blasts those who would abandon america's leadership in the world for the sake of what he calls half baked spurious nationalism. there's more and it's very powerful. you'll see it nex

and at his side, mitch mcconnell. the two at lunch and wanted everyone to know they're on the same page. >> we've been friends for a long time. we have probably now, despite what we read, we're probably now, at least as far as i'm concerned closer than ever before, and the relationship is very good. >> i want to undercore what the president said. we have the same agenda. we've been friends and acquaintances for a long time. we talk frequently. >> all right. but trump's former chief strategist steve bannon is waging a war on the gop establishment and his biggest target seems to be mitch mcconnell. just an hour before standing shoulder-to-shoulder with mcconnell the president appeared to sympathize with bannon. >> we're not getting the job done. and i'm not going to blame myself. i'll be honest. they are not getting the job done. i can understand where steve bannon is coming from and i can understand, to be honest with you, john, where a lot of people are coming from. i'm not happy about it and a lot of people aren't ha

right there. >> huge show of support for mitch mcconnell. i'm curious in mitch mcconnell sort of asked to that before they went into the rose garden. after being pummeled by bannon over the weekend, did he actually say, mr. president, standing next to you would be a good idea in the rose garden. we'll find out. >> you know, it's interesting because all of this is playing out after the president's candidate in alabama lost, steve bannon's candidate in alabama won. how is that impacting the current situation? >> you know, think it was overplayed, you know, very much. kaitlan, who is from alabama, i went to school in alabama, was a reporter in alabama, certainly when she was down there in college, i think steve bannon came in very late to that. there were other factors at play. luther strange, the incumbent, was going to lose anyway to roy moore, but i do think, as david's saying, that donald trump needs to be very careful about how he tip toes with steve bannon. he can not alienate sbteve bannon, but at the same time he cannot alienate mitch m

mcconnell also ms. president trump to speak to steve bayonet and rein in the incumbent challenger rhetoric and language. but they are working together and i don't want to undermine our underestimate how important it is that they work together. if they had disagreements they should do that behind the scenes. cheryl: that really hasn't been a characteristic of this administration and now it's interesting because you've got this letter that was written to mcconnell with a lot of conservative groups anywhere this want. you have shown us that their failure to do anything when it comes to health care. that tax refund this may be pushing off until next year if you look at language mcconnell is using. he's trying to temper expectations. that could be a problem for mcconnell and mcconnell backed candidates. and what they did with roy moore. >> i do think so. when we look at 2018, there's a pretty tight timeline for scheduled to be able to get anything done. when we consider with the past nine months now going in

mcconnell any advice. you tell the president, mr. mr. president, if you stand by mitch mcconnell's side, you can't stand by my side. if you support a man and say you understand what he is doing a guy who is your friend and says his life's work is destroying me and everybody around me, i'm not coming over. i'm not working with you. i'm going to do my own again do you and, yet, he's in there sitting there talking. there is really no excuse for it. you can have people say all they want. well, he's a majority leader. yeah, he is a majority leader. but the president is trying to destroy him and destroy people who work for him. so don't stand by him and smile anding a like nothing's happened. >> at the same time the president says he wants to get deals done, he goes out and says the things he says publicly about mitch mcconnell, mitch mcconnell isn't fooled by the niceties president trump dropped on him in the rose garden. as mika just showed a couple hours earlier, he was on board with the bannon plan, steve ba

how long does he stay with mcconnell and keep this? i don't think it will be long either, so you know. >> we'll see what happens, but there were some other major news, i thought that the president made on foreign policy issues. he said yes, i do believe cuba is responsible for those american diplomats losing their hearing and those attacks that were going on. he flatly said cuba, referring to the government of cuba is responsible for that and as far as the clashes going on with the iraqi kurds and the iraqi military. he said the united states is not taking sides. the u.s. is not taking sides and the u.s. has thousands of military personnel in iraq working with the iraqi military and they're close with the pe peshmerga and the u.s. not taking sides on that. i also thought it was very interesting that he'll look at south korea when he visit the demilitarized zone. all of the presidents have made an appearance at the dmz. i was the white house correspondent during the clinton administration and i traveled with him to the demilitarized zon

mitch mcconnell was asked about this. i thought it was kind of a bad look for mitch mcconnell. he said it's my job to keep the majority. i don't think that technically is his job. i think connell's job is to get the legislation through the senate to lead his party and yeah, the bannon approach has not been successful for republicans and the right wing, but the one thing the bannon approach has shown success for almost every cycle is fund-raising. and the party's fund-raising was down over the summer. it's come back a little bit, but these dynamics are going to keep and be promised over the next few weeks. any -- no consistence fre trump is going to contribute. >> number one, did he mean it? does he like mitch mcconnell or have a working partnership. you don't have to like each other have have a working partner. will he send a signal and say let's go easier on mitch. listen to him saying sorry, mr. president. that guy you were with in the rose garden? gotta go. >> but for the conservative and tea party movements, there wouldn't be a majority in the senate today. he opposed rubio

but the president today embracing mitch mcconnell. he embraced him today in the rose garden, but it was something that was clear that was good for both men in the moment, but it makes you wonder how long this will last. i mean, they sort of -- they cleared the ice. i'm not sure they buried the hatchet, but the reality is passing tax cuts, tax reform, is key to republicans keeping their majorities in the house and senate. both the president and the majority leader know that. >> steve bannon said he's at war with senator mcconnell and the gop establishment. how might that play out in the coming elections? >> anderson, that's what made it so interesting. steve bannon has spent so much time since leaving the west wing several weeks ago going after senator mcconnell. again over the weekend, at a conservative forum, he went directly after mitch mcconnell. let's listen to what he said this weekend. and it really -- the president, of course, speaking today, let's listen to what he said about steve bannon. so striking how all this relationship

but i do want to go back to one thing, don, which is mcconnell. and, you know, trump ran as an anti-establishment candidate. mccanal is the ultimate establishment man, as mark pointed out, he needs mcconnell to some degree. but he loves having steve bannon out there strutting around in his johnny cash outfit threatening to gun everyone down and calling mcconnell sees ar and calling for brute i says to step up and do away with him and so on. he knows that he's got a gun cocked at mcconnell, figure ra actively speaking. in this day and age i shouldn't use that language. but he's got this implicit threat that bannon represents. so if i'm mcconnell i'm standing up there feeling deeply uncomfortable with trump says bannon is a friend of mine and he's doing what he thinks is right because there's a game being run here and mitch mcconnell is caught in the vice. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> don -- >> i've got to go. i'm sorry. next time, april. we'll see you soon. when we come back, an emotional john mccain joking up tonight as he blasts who

mcconnell. following up on the budget. one of the issues is whether the senate judiciary committee will -- [ inautomobiled ] [ inaudible ] >> i can give you my position. the blue slip for those who are not familiar with it, is a custom determined by the chairman of the judiciary committee. and senator grassley can give you his view of how he views that. i'll give you my view. my view is that, a blue slip on a circuit judge is simply a notification of how you're going to vote. to conclude otherwise would have left us in the following position at the beginning of this senate. 48 democratic senators would have been able to black ball 62% of the circuit judge nominees. that's simply not atenable place to land in a senate that now deals with judges with a simple majority. so my own personal view is that a blue slip on a circuit judge should simply be a notification of how you intend to vote. >> we can talk blue slips, but my attitude is i want really capable people going to the courts. peter? >> in 2012 you tweeted that obama's

mcconnell understands. when you get to sort of this kind of a point when it's a life or death -- political life or death, people tend to find a way to move forward. >> sandra: a lot at stake here and timing is going to be everything. we're talking about the if here, karl. if it gets done. when does it get done? we sat down with senator ted cruz on this program on friday who said if it doesn't get done by tend of the year it will get done in the beginning of the year. paul ryan saying we'll stick around if it's not done by the end of the year and we'll work every christmas. timing is everything with this? >> i think these revenue bills have to -- tax cuts have to originate in the house in the house ways and means committee. it is likely the house does finish its work by the end of the year. it may be the senate begins consideration mark-up of a bill but i think senator cruz was right. i think it's more likely we see the house move this year in november or december and the senate works in january and the ques

is donald trump. >> if mcconnell who? >> that's the perfect question because there is not an answer to that right now. i think if you look at bannon and his allies, what they believe about mitch mcconnell is that he is protecting this establishment status quo, that he does things, cuts deals that are at odds to trumpism, with the nationalist populous that steve bannon talks about. i think for them getting rid of somebody who does that is the goal almost no matter who comes next. because i think they believe whoever comes next will show more guilty to what they want. >> i want you guys to listen to some voters. gaudy schwartz and his crew were in arizona today. let's listen. >> what do you think about president trump and his relationship with republican senators when they cross him? >> it's not good. i blame the senate. >> you blame the senate? >> absolutely. they're trying to keep the same old good boys network together, and he's trying to bring in the constitution and set us all, you know, the way the founders wanted us

we are told senator mcconnell will be there as well. meanwhile, president trump renewing threats to kill the iran nuclear deal after he announced on friday he would stay in the agreement but no longer continue to recertify at every 90 days and will leave it up to congress to fix the deals flaws in two months. here's the president again for moments ago. >> the iran deal was something i felt had to be done and we will see what phase two's, faced you might be positive and it might be very negative, it might be a total termination, that is a very real possibility. it could turn out to be very positive, we will see what happens. >> harris: iran's foreign minister says the presidents move has already damaged u.s. credibility internationally. >> nobody else will trust any u.s. administration to engage in any long-term negotiation. because the length of any commitment, the duration of any commitment from now on with any u.s. administration would be the remainder of the term of that president. >> harris: let's bring in my next guest, former unit

but the president today embracing mitch mcconnell. he embraced him today in the rose garden, but it was something that was clear that was good for both men in the moment, but it makes you wonder how long this will last. i mean, they sort of -- they cleared the ice. i'm not sure they buried the hatchet, but the reality is passing tax cuts, tax reform, is key to republicans keeping their majorities in the house and senate. both the president and the majority leader know that. >> steve bannon said he's at war with senator mcconnell and the gop establishment. how might that play out in the coming elections? >> anderson, that's what made it so interesting. steve bannon spent so much time since leaving the west wing several weeks ago going after senator mcconnell. over the weekend at a conservative forum, he went directly after mitch mcconnell. let's listen to what he said this weekend. the president speaking today, thereon what he said about steve bannon, so striking this relationship will work. >> there's republicans, frankly, that should

and at his side, mitch mcconnell. the two at lunch and wanted everyone to know they're on the same page. >> we've been friends for a long time. we have probably now, despite what we read, we're probably now, at least as far as i'm concerned closer than ever before, and the relationship is very good. >> i want to undercore what the president said. we have the same agenda. we've been friends and acquaintances for a long time. we talk frequently. >> all right. but trump's former chief strategist steve bannon is

mitch mcconnell also -- donald trump also still realizes that mitch mcconnell is a relatively strong and plugged in leader for the senate republicans. he has been at this for a long time. that works for good or ill. there are some factions of the republican electorate that think term limits are too long. he's too much in the main stream. too much of an establishment guy it rings in my ears the way mitch mcconnell got booed at the cleveland convention like no other lawmaker. but he has brought results for the republican party. those who are anti-establishment might want to remember mitch mcconnell did one of the most of anti-establishment against political norm things any majority leader has done when he held antoni antonin scalia's sue court seat open. it turned out great. for republicans it's's been donald trump's biggest victory so far. the two of them, mr. trump and mr. mcconnell still have the potential to be more symbiotic than not. arthel: the majority leader was out today talking about that victory. let's hear the interview with chris wallace on "fox news sunday." >> i don't b

he had lunch with mitch mcconnell. he has to make good and make nice with some of those republican senators. he said he is friends with most of them. i think he feuded with 1/5 of the republican senators. we will see if he is able to kiss and make up with mitch mcconnell at the lunch today. >> as an interim event, he would like to work out a temporary fix to obamacare with democrats. he said he will have the votes to repeal and replace in march or april. in the meantime he is waiting for the democrats to see if he can get a attempterary solution. >> he is attacking the democrats and saying they don't want to work on tax cuts. the president said he wants to work with democrats on a host of issues. he does a little flirting with them and has them over to the white house for chinese food with chuck and nancy. then he blasts them on twitter. he is wanting to work with republicans and siding with bannon and wants to work with democrats and ataxes them. there is not a coherent strategy here. it's unclear what he is doing. a

so this is very, very personal to mcconnell himself. i think idealogically, bannon and some of his allies don't care who the candidates are they back, they want them to be more conservative, more trump like in their views, but the real enemy is for whatever reason, is mcconnell personally. and trump is sort of caught in between these two. he has sometimes, not to pick on bannon too much, but this sort of devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other shoulder, and trump now finds himself in the middle, trying to be the leader of these, this party with these two forces. >> bannon basically wants every republican incumbent senator except ted cruz to be challenged in a republican primary going forward. the president, he emphasized the need, david, for the republicans to deliver this year on tax reform. but earlier, he made it clear what he had -- what his views are on previous legislative failures. >> despite what the press writes, i have great relationships with actually many senators, but in particular, with most republican senators. b

declares war on the establishment that mcconnell represents. president trump not only doesn't criticize bannon, he says he understands where he's coming from. >>> no talk. north korea rejecting diplomacy with the united states for now as secretary of state rex tillerson tells me that the u.s. is ready to talk, quote, until the first bomb drops. >>>

and then he sort of has mcconnell to the white house and in a way forces mcconnell to say these nice things, theep bends for a long time. it's humiliating for the senate majority leader, i think. >> i want to talk to you because i saw your reaction today about what the president said about kaug gold star families. when he talked about the times when he has to call multiple families, quote, for me that's by far the toughest. >> yeah. it was all about him. i think he used the wordy 18 times in the ten sentences or said he said about that. look, i'm sure it is tough for him. that was so undignified and drive by slap to president obama totally unjustified. when peter alexander comes back and asks him the follow-up, how do you know that? he says i don't really know it, but i kind of heard something about that and you have to ask the generals. i'd love to ask the generals here donald trump whether he ever asked them about what his predecessors did. i don't believe he would have told them -- i know what president bush and president obama. they were very conscientious and performing this dut

i actually don't blame mitch mcconnell. i think they can't do much if they have such loose cannons in the administration. >> well, that leaves me to wonder, when's the president -- who has the president's ear right now most, david? meeting with mitch mcconnell, according to "wall street journal" swapping phone calls with steve bannon encouraging him -- encouraging the moves from the outside. steve bannon calls this a season of war. directly targets mitch mcconnell saying we have taken your oxygen and donors. can the president work with both men here? >> right. i think maybe the president shows up with an oxygen tank today. i do think what trump is doing here, kate, playing both the outside and the inside game. right? he is giving his tacet blessing to bannon to get out there and fight the establishment and in the way that donald trump has been a torch bearer for that against the establishment for much of this year. and yet, he is also trying to sit down and play the inside game with mcconnell to actually get a bill to his d

can't repeal and replace the affordable care act without mcconnell's help and all roads through mcconnell. coupled that with the fact that the two men have what appears to be an increasingly fraught relationship, there's pressure going into the lunch. i think it's complicated by the fact that trump seems to have a much more easy, open and friendly relationship with mcconnell's kentucky colleague senator rand paul. trump and rand paul went golfing over the weekend, appearing to have a friendly, ammicible, open, candid relationship but rand paul is uncooperative for trump's agenda and another layer of the weirdness to the way that they interact with each other. >> rand paul noting that the president always wins at golf. maybe because he's a good golfer. maybe because he's president. brian, we've spoken in the past. you thought at times that the tension between the senator and the senate majority leader and the president might be overblown or the fury over it. what should he make of steve bannon all but declaring war on the republican establishment which mitch mcconnell represents? >> i thin

the all caps has been a needling mitch mcconnell -- donald trump has been needling mitch mcconnell, he failed to get obamacare debt and having slow start on tax reform. he has made him one of his favorite twitter target. donald trump may realize he could end the year with no major legislative achievements. the last one on tap is tax reform and that is not looking good for 2017. it was an attempt by donald trump to bring down the talk about donald trump started that he and ms. mcconnell do not get along and show they are marking to the same grammar when it comes to cutting taxes and repealing obamacare. julia: he is realizing he needs mitch mcconnell to get things passed, who is he sending the message of unity to? >> other members of the republican congress. he has criticized mitch mcconnell that he has not kept the caucus in line and only got a two vote margin on anything important. they could not get the two votes for obamacare and they're having trouble on tax reform. mitch mcconnell, who has been known as a wily legislative tactician and a tough arm twister when it comes to the toug

mitch mcconnell and donald trump eating lunch. going out hand in hand essentially for a news conference where they announced plans for tax reform, vowing to get it done this year, you heard president talking about health care and all that he has done to try an improve our health care situation in the united states of america. i'm trish regan. welcome, everyone, to "the intelligence report." we're watching all this as markets again hit another high. we're nearing 23,000, folks. just 70 points away on the dow. that would be 49th record close of the year. we're just shy of 23,000. by the way you heard it here on this show first, predictions of 23,000. looks like it could happen. joining me with his reaction what we just heard from the president and mitch mcconnell, we have congressman from florida, ron desantis. good to see you. >> hi, how are you? trish: i'm good. so what do you think of this? are the republicans going to finally get it together and work together, come up with meaningful policy? >> i think we need to. specifically t

i want to get your take on one particular thing that mcconnell said. that frankly, really angered me. when he was talking about steve bannon's efforts to recruit republicans to against the incumbent in the senate, mitch mcconnell said the most important thing is winning and the way you would make is choosing the right candidate. what he didn't say was the way you win it's by actually doing things that help people in the real world. it felt to me that he's not even interested in the actual substance of getting things done for people. >> obviously there's a big problem with on capitol hill. it's a big problem. from president trump's point of view, there is basically avenues. you can either trash republicans and say this action is not right, it's wrong. these people are signed on the process. we need to get rid of them or the people that have power in place right now and we need to work with them to try to get something done. doesn't fail, who knows what happens in 2018? that's what he's doing. that's every decision rather than going to war hoping that th

it's clear mcconnell will not go to the 51-vote rule. it means their entire republican agenda, the president's agenda, will not come to pass. >> that is certainly the plan. just today you had mitch mcconnell trying to appease conservatives like myself over our fury of the republican senate not confirming more of the president's judicious appointments. i talked to the president about the fact they are slow walking these confirmations because of arcane senate rules. i believe if mitch mcconnell and bob cork errant rest of this republican establishment fails to pass the president's tax plan, there will be hell to pay for that. lou: steve bannon is talking about challenging every vulnerable senator running. but i would hate to see you have to wait that long. if the man thanked any dignity or self-respect he would get out of the way. he has his wife working in the administration. i mean, it's stunning -- it's sickening, really. >> i don't think any republican will be safe from the wrath of president obama or the american voters if they contin

mitch mcconnell is not our problem. our problem is repromised to repeal or replace obamacare and we failed. we promised to cut taxes and we've yet to do it. if we're successful, mitch mcconnell is fine. if we're not. we're all in trouble. >> now despite the outreach to mcconnell, two unnamed sources. bannon appeared on fox news. sitting republicans who don't actively support the president's agenda. >> president trump is also congress on the next steps of the iran deal after he decertified the deal on friday and the treasury department introduced new sanctions on the guard core. friday bashed the international agreement. refrained from pulling out completely. >> iranian nuclear deal, why not just scrap it all together now. you threatened to do so, why not just end it now. >> see what happens othver the next short period of time. i like a two step process better. >> you're going rip the iran deal off. >> i may do that. i may do that. the deal is terrible. so what we've done is through the certification process we'll have

it would be mcconnell and trump. and mcconnell would say, prepared, you have to understanden this. i need you to have your guy bannon call off the dogs. that's going to -- you, sir, could be impeached in the worst case scenario. how are we, do you think, jeremy from aaron sorkin's treatment. >> about as far as i can imagine. they do not care for one another personally. i know for a fact that trump has disparaged mcconnell in private to other senators and conservative movement leaders as we can. and the second heart of your question there assumes that donald trump wants to stop some of these races. i mean, let's not forget had jeff flake not come out and said i'm not running again donald trump would have -- i do think that we can't forget that there are some but not all, certainly, republican centers, donald trump is perfectly fine with having no longer there. >> three risk journalists to start us off on a wednesday night. our thanks to all of you. coming up, we'll go to a break and has diplomacy between washington and pyongyang completely broken and what can that mean? the details

daniel, wanted to get your take on one particular thing that mcconnell said. when he was talking about steve bannon's efforts to recruit republicans to run against the incumbents, mitch mcconnell said, the most important thing is winning and the way you win is choosing the right candidates. it just felt to me that he is not even interested in the substance of getting things done for people. >> there's a big problem with leadership on capitol hill and the results speak for themselves. from president trump's point of view, there are two avenues. you can trash republicans and republican leadership and say, this inaction is not right. it's wrong. these people are slowing down the process. we need to get rid of them. or you can say, these are the people in power in place right now and try to get something done. if that doesn't fail, who knows what will happen in 2018 or 2019. that's the right decision. rather than going to war hoping that the next election will prove, you know, something that the last few elections, despite it going republicans' way haven't been ab

mcconnell: i yield the floor.

can mcconnell be trusted? we take that and more up, also, members of president's cabinet have gone rogue, or have they? u.n. ambassador nikki haley and secretary of state rex tillerson spent part of weekend insisting that u.s. will stay in the -- iran deal. what is going on? we'll take up those mixed messages with ambassador john jn bolton. california firefighters are gaining the upper hand in their battle again the worst wildfires in that state a history, we have a full report on the devastation that has claimed live was over 40 people, and forces thousands from their homes. >> our top story tonight, president trump today defending his decision to not certify the iran nuclear deal. stressing possibility that the agreement could soon be terminated, however. >> i feel strongly about what i did, i'm tired of being taken advantage of as a nation. this nation as been taken advantage up for decades, i'm tired of watching it. the iran deal was something that i fell had to be done. and we'll see what phase two is, it

then he sort of has mcconnell at the white house? a way forces mcconnell to say these nice things. they've been friends for a long time. it's humiliating for the senate majority leader i think. >> i want to talk to you because i saw your reaction earlier today about what the president said about calling gold-star families. especially comparing his behavior to his predecessor. i wrote down a note when he said, talked about the times when he has to call multiple families. "for me, that's by far the toughest." >> yeah, it was all about him. i think he used the word "i" 18 times, i counted it up, in the ten sentences or so he said about that. it was all -- look, i'm sure it is tough for him, but it was so undignified and to drive by, a slap to president obama, totally unje unjustified apparently. all the predecessors. peter alexander comes back and asks him the follow-up, how do you know now it? i don't know it, i heard something about that, ask the generals. i'd love to ask the generals, donald trump, whether he ever asked them about what his predecessors did. i don't believe any of t

mcconnell: 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 october 6 at 10:30 a.m., tuesday october 10 at 9:15 a.m., friday october 13 at 8:30 a.m. i further ask that when the senate adjourns on friday, october 13, it next convene at 4:00 p.m. monday, october 16. 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. finally, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the gingrich nomination, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided between two leaders or their designees. the presiding officer: is there objection? witho

if we are successful, mitch mcconnell is fine. if we are not, we are all in trouble. >> successful, we are all fine. but speaker paul ryan ceded to the president's left wants to get tax reform done by the end of the year. said that he will keep the house in through christmas break if it is necessary to get it passed. mitch mcconnell has said, we will get tax reform done this congress which means january 2019. to the president has promoted getting it done by the end of this year, melissa. but i am told that the president is not exactly crucial credit is not a matter of one tax reform gets done, it is a matter of if it gets done. that is why the president is pushing so hard. he needs to get tax of harm done at some point. >> melissa: add to the economy at the stock markets, ask the business owners, they need to get it done. the faster, the sooner. they think. it will be a showdown for sure, thank you. >> jon: more on that ahead. the senate back in session this afternoon after the senators took their columbus day recess. majority lea