i think he's baiting mitch mcconnell. i think what you are seeing right now is a fight between mitch mcconnell and donald trump. the president is baiting mitch mcconnell to get the vote done his way. mcconnell is publically splitting from him on the mattis thing, using language -- he put on a statement yesterday. mitch mcconnell didn't have to put out a statement. he chose to put out a statement where he said he's particularly distressed that mattis is resigning due to chasharp differences with the president. >> john, you're right. part of the story of the last two years has been mitch mcconnell and paul ryan's belief that, you know, i'm just not going to take the president on when he causes chaos or this tweet or he's mean to that person and just going to try to push passed that and push the aga agaenda forward. i know to many people it may read as just more washington ease, but that's not the case. you are right. that was a holy cow moment. >> he said holy cow. he cleaned it up. >> he is more awake than i am. that's nev

i want to read mitch mcconnell's statement on this or mitch mcconnell's spokesperson's statement on this. the statement from mcconnell's spokesperson said the leader has said for years the votes are not there in the conference to use the nuclear option. just this morning several senators put out statements confirming their opposition, and confirming that there is not a majority in the conference to go down this road. two of those senators, the only two affirmative statements have been from orrin hatch and lamar alexander. what those two men have in common other than long time shfs in t service in the senate is they're leaving. lamar alexander announced this week he's hanging it up in 2020. that's a christmas gift to mitch mcconnell. that makes this meeting a little bit easier for mitch mcconnell. he doesn't have to go into the white house and say i don't want to do this, or i don't have the votes to do it without having this backup. he's got two other republican senators who are immune from the blowback they would get otherwise from president trump and his supporters saying this can't be

mcconnell is already upset at the president, and mitch mcconnell is angry at the president for how he handled the shut down. >> how could you blame him? he was blind-sided because of the lack of clarity he thought he was doing, i think, what the president wanted, based on his tweets. then the president reversed course. >> now he is doubly upset because of the mattis thing. you have an angry majority leader right now that you need to be the guy to force it through. >> because i am on a roll i will make another prediction. the president will go to mar-a-lago even if the government is shut down. i know you can talk about how watching the sausage be made has always been not pretty, however, the lack of clarity from the president did trip up mitch mcconnell. do you agree? >> alisyn, i think the process has been broke all the way around and i think the administration deserves some of the blame for that, too. when you say the president flipped on this he has been an advocate for the border for sometime -- >> well, his tweet suggested he was going along with what had happened with what mitch

and mitch mcconnell said no. he insisted they would not move forward, and republican senators today have reiterated, backed up mcconnell. so there is a dispute on that point. a dispute on the strategy. a dispute on the policy. but we'll see if there is any resolution here just in a matter of moments after days and days of gridlock over keeping the government open, wolf. >> right now 51 republicans, 49 democrats, three independent. but one of those republican senators won't be able to vote, because of a medical condition. stand by, manu. i want to bring in republican congressman, will hurd, of texas. a member of both the intelligence and homeland security committees. thanks so much for joining us. if i interrupt you, you'll totally understand if we have to go listen to mitch mcconnell make this announcement. we're standing by for that. but big picture right now. the defense secretary, as you know, james mattis, he's resigned in protest of the president's policies. all of a sudden this is the worst week for the mar

it does go at mitch mcconnell this hard on twitter. this laser focussed. >> reporter: we saw during the he health care fight. it's not a totally new level of frustration. mitch mcconnell doesn't want to do this and his colleagues don't want to do it. you have orrin hatch who is as good as of an ally of the president saying this is a bad idea. republicans are taking a long enough view to say some day democrat will be in control of washington, d.c. and do they want medicare for all to pass with 51 votes. folks who have been here a long time know it swings both ways. i expect you'll hear from republican senators that they do not have the votes to pass the $5 billion wall package and that push back on the idea they will not change the rules to do so. what comes after that is still anybody's guess. there's never been a big picture strategy by republicans as to how to keep the government open. we heard a bit last night from republican house leader after their passed their bill saying we have done something here now. the idea that's an openin

let's talk about mitch mcconnell. he is not likely to go ahead and pull the trigger on this nuclear option. that's not happening. so the question now is what are the negotiations being made now as lawmakers meet before this looming midnight deadline? >> this is an interesting one, julie. i think that chris wallace interviewed a few minutes ago had it exactly right. it's a question of the endgame. how do you play it out? how does the president get out of this box? he has got to offer something not just to democrats but a negotiation with fellow republicans because he has really surprised them. i think in some ways undercut them. they had voted to get out of town and here is the deal. we'll put this off to february. we don't see any way to get it done in the short term. so what could it possibly be the president is saying? not only to mitch mcconnell but to all of the leaders and the people in the republican caucus in the senate. the pressure has come from the freedom caucus in the house. people like mark meadows and ji

earlier today i met with top senate upper graders and mitch mcconnell. leader mitch mcconnell proposed the bipartisan senate dhs bill which has $1.6 billion for border security, plus a $1 billion slush fund for the president to use for his radical immigration agenda. after the meeting, i spoke with a leader pelosi and i called leader mitch mcconnell and told him we would not accept the $1 billion slush fund, and that our offer is to fund the government. let me be clear, the republican offer today would not pass either chamber. we democrats have made two reasonable offers that could earn overwhelming bipartisan support in the house and senate. the six bipartisan appropriations bills and a one-year cr for the homeland security bill, or alternatively a one-year cr for the remaining seven appropriations bills. the president said last week, he would be proud to shut down the government. we democrats do not want to shut down the government. and as for the idea of what sarah sanders huckabee says, that they could get wall money from nafta or some other part of

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says the senate is on pause until it

liz: mitch mcconnell made the same point, too. we started out the year with an immigration shutdown, and we are ending the year with an immigration shutdown. the president just signed a reform bill, moody's credit rating agency saying this will have limited impact on the economy. because it's about a third of the government will be shut down. social security checked and unemployment checks go out. so, you know, that's how you frame it. this is just -- i don't want to say histrionics. but there is a lot of grandstanding going on. you guys made the point on brexit that the labour party spent a lot of time talking in front of the cameras and not doing nuts and bolts legislation. and that's happening here. >> i'm hoping republicans hold firm. it will be a big victory for one or the other. president trump says he wants $5 billion. you go through this for that amount. but if he got $3.5, $4 billion. that's a pretty big concession. i think he's that kind of deal maker saying i will take this then come back. liz: i don't want to get into

and mitch mcconnell actually reacted to that letter, bill. he reacted with a letter to the president of the united states saying he was deeply disturbed that james mattis was retiring, resigning, disturbed why he was resigning and told donald trump that he strongly recommend ed that mattis' replacement be somebody who shares mattis' views. he said i believe it's essential that the united states maintains and strengthens the post world war ii alliances that have been carefully built by leaders in both parties. it's almost as if that the republican party have awakened. >> yeah, is it too late though? i don't think it's necessarily too late, but the mattis resignation is such a big deal. i spoke with a retired general a couple days ago who is close to mattis and discreet, but has been in touch with mattis. he said he's going to hang in there. he thinks it's important for the country and thinks he's there, he's doing good. he will take a lot of blows and hang this there to prevent worse things from happening. for me the resignation is so importan

mcconnell has -- senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has gaveled out until the 27th. even if there is some type of agreement on government spending it looks like the senate will not be voting on that for a few days. >> a couple other things, this is a tweet from a white house reporter, in a conference call with reporters to check in to make clear what the president still wants, $5 billion, and he believes money for physical barriers must be included in any deal. clearly the white house is digging in. the president is saying i want that wall. >> this is a complicated process. this has been working itself out through the appropriations process since february when they ask congress for that $1.6 billion for barriers and then to re-up the request in july, asking for $5 billion instead. this is the stalemate that has been happening between democrats, republicans and the white house about how to address border security and whether a physical barrier is the best use of money. >> another report from the "washington post" saying i don't think it is imminent that we will reach

mitch mcconnell made clear it's not an option. again he has spoken. >> republican members of the senate you see leaving the white house. the incoming chief of staff. the budget director. mitch mcconnell is way back. other senior republicans as well. the train is running late at the moment. if you are having negotiations and making progress, it's a good thing. by all accounts, leader mcconnell would listen to the president. i do not have the votes for your wall. it's not just because of the democrats, i am going to lose enough republicans that you don't have your wall. let's gain this out. a normal responsible government if the president wanted this vote and he has every right to get everybody on the record, could have had it monday and tuesday. then you negotiate. the deadline is less dhan 12 hours away. it fails. the president is tweeting this will be a long shut down. is that a bluff? is there a plan b? is there a way out or any chance the democrats would give him half or a third of the money? everything tells me no. >> we're do

nancy pelosi can pass that bill over to mitch mcconnell and over to mitch mcconnell. but here's why i think democrats have a disadvantage and tell me why i'm wrong if i am. democrats do seem to care that the government is closed down whereas republicans don't. gohmert's position is till hell freezes over. the more substantive concerns you have and it will make it harder to sustain. >> absolutely. we do care that it's going to hurt people in our districts across the country. they're working class people. the 1% will not be severely hurt. even very rich people that are not part of the 1% will not be hurt by that but middle class folks will be hurt and we're concerned about that. >> if that's the case at a certain point do you worry the logic well, throw them a $1.5 billion, let them call it whatever he wants and get the government back open. >> throughout the year the senate and both the house worked on comprehensive immigration provisions that included border protection. the senate worked on i thought a very good plan that presented some border security moneys but time

mitch mcconnell is leery to break that. one of the things come up, mcconnell fierce that democrats are in charge of the senate, they rue the day they were granted in power. others say in the party, wait a minute they will do it any way, the day they come back and running that show and it worries them. >> just not that. two things would have to happen. first of all if you are going to do "the nuclear option, lower the filibuster threshold from 60 votes to simple majority for legislation, you would have to do two things. you would have to be backed into parliamentarian certain cul-de-sac. something non-debatable. i will not get much into the weed. they're nowhere near that particular parliamentary posture. number two, this would be subject to budget point of order. you have to get 60 votes to waive the budget act. it wouldn't work there. you don't have a simple majority to establish a new precedent this is not a rules change. the senate has a very small rule book. the book of precedents is about like that. they do a lot on pr

what do you make of the arguments being made by schumer and mitch mcconnell? >> good afternoon, fred, thanks for having me. one of the things that's really outrageous here is how patently obvious and absurd this situation is. republican leader mcconnell trying to disassociate himself from the entire situation just shows their embarrassment. they say the president promised this in the campaign, and he wants to deliver on a campaign promise. this is not a campaign season. this is governing now, and you're supposed to be intelligent and rational about governance, and the wall may have been a great line in a campaign, but it's unintelligent as border security. plus -- >> are you concerned, then, that the president seems to dig in his heels, backing away from a bipartisan plan a couple of days ago and now saying, no, there's got to be funding for a border wall? how concerned are you about the longevity of this shutdown? >> look, with this white house, you would assume that at one point rational and logical thinking would kick in with most white houses. with this wh

should mitch mcconnell have sent them home? >> i don't think we are going to do anything between now and christmas. judge jeanine: why not. >> it takes two to tango. schumer said, schumer demands trump aban don't wall. senator schumer, we are not going to abandon the wall, we are going to build the wall until all those americans who want us to abandon the wall and open up the border, that's what there is fight is about, we don't agree with you. mark andor jim and matt deserve the credit for getting the president in a good good spot. we need more money for the wall along the border. schumer wants to abandon the wall, we want to build it. that's what this fight is all about it's a silly, petty fight on behalf of democrats. they voted for $25 billion for the wall in border security in february. judge jeanine: but they won't allow for the building of a concrete wall. there was an 8-month pregnant woman who scaled that fence so she could get over here. are you going to have to compromise in the senate to get the wall? i can't believ

you mentioned mitch mcconnell. he's back on the floor right now. let's listen in. >> 32 if the nomination is considered and laid upon the table with no intervening action to date that no further motions be in order and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. >> without objection. >> i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged for further consideration, consideration of pn 2507, 2626, 2638, 2679, 2671, the nominations be confirmed. >> the senate majority leader back on the floor at 3:04 p.m. eastern time there in the capitol. it appears he's going through business of the senate. we were looking for details that might give us an indication of potential discussions or progress in the shutdown and ending it. mike, i'm sorry was interrupting you there but we wanted to listen in to see what he might be saying. my -- am i misunderstanding what the majority leader is saying? >> no, the clock is always taking on one piece of legislation or another here in the senate. he said he would not be calling senators back,

should mitch mcconnell have sent them home? >> i don't think we'll do anything between now and christmas? judge jeanine: why not? >> it takes two to tanning oh. schumer demands trump abandon the wall. so senator schumer, we are not going to aban don't wall, we are going to build the wall until all those americans who want us to abandon the wall and open up the border, that's what this fight is about. we don't agree with you. so mark and jim and matt deserve a lot of credit for getting the president in a good spot. i had lunch with the president today. and i can promise you we need more money for the wall along the border. human were wants to abandon the wall. we want to build it. that's what this fight is all about it's a silly, petty fight on behalf of democrats. they voted for $25 billion for the wall and border security. judge jeanine: but they won't vote fear concrete wall. -- for arkon crete wall. ' -- for a concrete wall. >> we need the wall. and after the caravan, the president asked for $1.6 billion for wall funding ear

trump gave majority leader mitch mcconnell a shoutout sunday saying, mitch mcconnell just told a group of people and me that he has been in the u.s. senate for 32 years and the last two have been by far the best and most productive of his career. tax and regulation cuts, va choice, farm bill, criminal justice reform, judgeships and much more. great. it's not entirely clear what meeting this was. there's clearly some factual inaccuracies with that. i do want to point out, he was responding to corker's comments yesterday on the "state of the union." corker said the next three months of this presidency could be integral in determining the future of president trump. >> this next three months is going to be a very important three months for our country. i'm cheering the guys on that are there. but i think these next three months could well determine whether he decides to run again or not. >> i mean, do you guys who cover the white house, do you think that the white house views it this way, the next three months are that important, or not? >> look, one of the things that's characterized this

right now, mike pence and mitch mcconnell. let's lip in. >> reached a procedural agreement to create space for ongoing negotiations over government funding. to provide flexibility as the white house and senate democrats continue their discussions, the senate will officially proceed to the house passed it, officially proceeded to the house-passed funding legislation. so that's pending. but we did so with an understanding that no further votes will occur until the president and senate democrats have reached an agreement to resolve this. let me say that again. we pushed the pause button until the president from whom we will need a signature and senate democrats, from whom we will need votes, reach an agreement. no procedural votes, no test votes, just a meaningful vote on a diplomat agreement whenever that is reached. and, et cetera my hope that it is reached sooner rather than later. it is no mystery why securing our nation's borders is such a major priority for republicans here in the senate. and republicans over in the house.

so far mitch mcconnell is not ok with that option. >> it's all up to mitch mcconnell, he has tweeted to mitch mcconnell to get on board, he wants to use the nuclear option. if they did that they give -- they do away with the filibuster, it is already nonexistent with respect to confirmation of judicial positions. >> and her are some instances where you would still need 50 votes, and some senators have pointed out this is one of those cases, you need 60 votes to override a point of order on a budget, according to a budget act, which is a law, not a senate rule. this is going to be a process driven day because there are a lot of different ways the senate can use rules in its favor or to hold up votes they do not want to take. david: the president also tweeted that if they do not come up with a bill it could be a long shutdown. does he have the luxury of doing that? it's not really a complete shutdown, just 25% of the government. >> that makes it easier to shut down the government for a. , --ime -- ripe for of time we a period of time, but should also watch the market reaction. the mark

this is going to be something that mitch mcconnell and others are going to keep in mind. i've always felt that when he becomes -- it's a process, it's an ongoing thing. when he becomes too expensive for the party and too dangerous, and i think both are happening, anything can happen. >> what dynamic did you learn? you covered watergate, i think you were at the new yorker for starting in 1972 and sort of chronicling it there in realtime. what was your -- what did you learn about the political dynamics, how quickly they can change many that context? >> well, i started actually in 1973. and on the labor day weekend of 1973, i said to the fabled william shawn, the magnificent editor of ""the new yorker," he said what are you thinking of writing about. i said i think we're going change vice presidents, as rachel has reminded us. spiro agnew was in deep legal trouble already. but i said we're going change presidents and vice presidents within a year. this was a wild thought, but it was my instincts of what i was picking up and smelling and seeing. and that's what's going on now

and crime and in reference to mitch mcconnell the senate majority leader has expressed concern about why james back to the masses resigned he said mitch use the nuclear option and get it done our country is counting on you well an official is live for us in washington so allan the president clearly not not giving up on on pushing for this border war and taking to his favorite media platform once again one of those tweets there mitch use the nuclear option what's he trying to do there . well this is all about changing the procedures in the senate at the moment if you want to get something through the senate you've got to get sixty votes hundred seat senate sixty votes at the moment the republicans don't have sixty seats so they need support from the democrats democrats i mean absolutely clear that they're not going to fund any part of this border wall therefore any spending bill that goes to the senate which has the border wall inside it will not pass don't trump has been that mitch mcconnell on several occasions over the course of the last two years saying please change the rules of

guest: it is an mitch mcconnell's hands. he has been reluctant to bring it to the floor. -- as been he is said last week that he had 77 votes for the bill. including most republicans. whipcornyn, the republican was not necessarily as convinced about that number. ted cruz came on board. that was a big get. previouswas opposed to versions. so, the fact that ted cruz was convinced that probably, maybe, that pushes them over the finish line in the senate. it takes a week an mitch mcconnell does not want them to take a week on it. host: is mitch mcconnell onboard ?eck guest: so is chuck grassley. the chairman of the judiciary that hee is not happy thought he had a promise. the votes and now they come to the floor and he is not a happy man. chuck grassley often gets what he wants. the incoming senate finance chairman is go to be a popular guy. when the president of united states want something and ted cruz want something, these kinds of things don't want -- don't happen very often. it would be a rare bipartisan capstone in the job

i think mitch mcconnell is on borrowed time with president trump. he left and mitch mcconnell was very upset to the president and he said it's up to you, mr. president, to negotiate with the democrats. now he's going to come back and it's going to away different story when the president realizes that he's not going to get what he wants and he wants someone to blame. it won't just be nancy pelosi. mitch mcconnell is up for re-election. i think donald trump is really going the bring it to him. and now is the time -- i say this every time -- is that republicans, we need leadership. we need people to step up and say no. we can't wait this out. it was the theory that we can wait it out, our institutions are strong enough. i remember when the country was on edge when it was -- when we were worried about north yeah and the rocket man tweets. it's so much worse now than that day when you look at where we are as a country today and where the world is. and we just need to see that leadership step up and i hope we do. >> well, you know, rick tyler, susan is ta

not only does mitch mcconnell oppose it, a number of republicans oppose it. they don't have the votes to change the rules. all that means, the one option on the table, short-term funding bill to keep the government open. the president has rejected it. who's going to blink at the end of the day? we don't know. >> why you would ask your republican leadership to change the rules on something you said you would proudly own, mr. president, is a really important question this morning. thank you very much. let us know what you hear. in half an hour, the republican senators will be at the white house. let's go there. abby phillip is following all this. the rules aren't going to change. they're going to need 60 votes. you're not going to get 60 votes for a $5 billion set of funding for the border wall. is the president going to blink in this meeting? >> it seems like this meeting at 10:30 where republicans will be meeting with president trump about the border wall and also about this funding bill is an effort for president trump to really get his soldiers in line. as

you had a chance to listen to mitch mcconnell. take away from his remarks. we heard a door open and close, i don't know if the congressman can still hear me. are you still with us, sir? all right, i guess the door opening and closing was the door opening and closing on the satellite window for the congressman. we'll try to get his signal back up. in the meantime, molly, you have to wonder because we keep hearing that it's chuck schumer in negotiations with president trump. and then you wonder, how much of this is really chuck schumer talking to president trump and then nancy pelosi the incoming speaker pulling the strings. because up until january 3rd, this is paul ryan's congress. after that it is nancy pelosi's congress. ralph norman is back with us. has the door reopened, sir, on your satellite window? you can hear us now? >> i can. leland: all right, your thoughts. mitch mcconnell said, basically, us working on this in the senate was useless. we're hitting the pause button. your thoughts. >> well, two things, leyland, it's not about money. the $5 billion

>> chris: mitch mcconnell is, actually, more in line with president trump. he would be okay with funding the wall. he feels like he can get it through. the senate, to the nuclear option, the senate has been degrading as an institution for years and years and years in the u.s. it needs to be a place where the states were represented, tempers were able to cool down. we got rid of that in an amendment, and now we are -- harry reid broke the rules, and i'm cynical about it. i don't think the democratic majority coming and eventually won't break those rules. to your point. they should hold that, because the senate should be a majority majority-run mob-run institution. we're getting closer to that every year. the >> morgan: can i make one plea about what liz said? it's crucial here. to become of the sergeant is not about the ball. the wall as a metaphor for how these two parties feel about border security in general. we have seen the clinton party, even the obama party -- the democrat party -- change dramatically their position on navigation. "i should be abolishi

we saw mitch mcconnell coming in around 10:30. but we did hear reports, according to our ted barrett on capitol hill, that some senators and their staff were having trouble getting into the compound because they didn't have enough time for the secret service to clear them into the building. that just goes to show just how quickly all of this is unfolding. president trump is trying to get republican senators on the same page as him about the plan to move forward. they passed a bill earlier this week that did not have border funding in it. and now president trump is demanding that any bill that comes to his desk has that money. the problem is, he may not have enough votes to pass it. not only will he need 60 votes, which includes some democrats, to pass it by the end of the day, but he would also need republicans to be onboard. this could be an effort for president trump to really convince his own soldiers to get onboard with this plan. meanwhile, president trump is also pressuring mitch mcconnell to end the filibuster. he's saying

of faith in mitch mcconnell. it's true, though! >> if you look at president trump's successes, especially on judges. i think this is a way to get back at fighting the establishment because he is not good enough. they were actually able to win back seats. president trump and mcconnell are a very good team. this thing about the money should have been a long time ag ago. they had a $25 billion thing last february and the president decided not to sign it. >> i believe you. >> i feel like mitch mcconnell, he is like the punching bag for everybody. he's actually working his tail off her president trump and giving up a lot of wins. president trump -- look what i was able to do. >> somebody has to be the punching bag. >> juan knows. >> this is rock and sock them robots. you are stalking me. to me, when you think about conservative talk radio which is what made the president switch over and he's got to have this president shutdown, i'm not sure they are going to buy make it. i was watching jesse when he was listening to j

mitch mcconnell urged approval of the bill that approves $5 billion the president wants. >> in my view, this legislation would be quite uncontroversial. and a more normal political moment. in a moment when both parties put the obvious national interest ahead of any personal spite for the president. >> leader mcconnell met with the president at the white house. after the meeting, the mr. trump "totallys quote, prepared for a very long the government shutdown." hadice ruth bader ginsburg two malignant nodules removed from her lung. no further treatment is planned. and85-year-old is resting is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days. more headaches for british holiday travelers. flights were suspended at again after unconfirmed reports that another drone had been spotted. all dayhut down thursday and part of wednesday night when authorities say drones repeatedly violated the airport perimeter. services are being held in scotland and the united states to remember the 270 panam killed when a passenger plane exploded 30 years ago today. an intelligence officer was convicted of the

and mitch mcconnell in wonderment said, he held them all. he did, and he did a good job at all of them as anyone will tell you. but you know i talked about the first gulf war and the way that was prosecuted in such a way that it resulted in an overwhelming victory for american forces very swiftly. that is a defining moment for president bush. but i think the defining moment is the way he picked up the torch from ronald reagan, in 1989, and working together with mikhail gorbachev on a project that could have gone south very quickly and very badly oversaw the end of the cold war. and again, angela merkel over the weekend is saying that george bush in germany was considered to be one of the fathers of reunification. that in and of itself was a stunning achievement but it's only one of many achievements that he engaged in. >> stayed with us if you would. if there is something of note, i would like to listen in. >> present arms! ♪ ♪ [ ♪ [my country tis of the the] ♪ ♪ [my country, 'tis of thee] ♪ >> shoulder arms! >> forward march! >>

a short time ago, majority leader mitch mcconnell adjourned the senate until thursday. however, he said he would call the senate back if a deal is struck. democratic leader, chuck schumer said the president should not expect any bill to pass that includes $5 billion for a wall. earlier president trump tweeted that he's in the white house working hard, negotiating with democrats but he convened a small group of only republican lawmakers to discuss border security. about 800,000 government workers, though, are affected by this shut down as we hit hour 17. roughly 420,000 considered essential are working with no pay and another 380,000 are on unpaid leave. joining me now, "wall street journal" white house reporter vivian solama, political report for the "washington post," eugene scott and nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. a lot of boxes and expertise. krist kristen welker in new york, what has happened since you and i spoke about an hour ago. >> it's striking that leader mcconnell has said this is not going to be resolved until thursday, after christmas. w

erik wasson: the big question is mitch mcconnell. he has stood in the way of it moving forward. president trump has not used his bully pulpit. different presidents might be able to browbeat the senate majority leader on the floor. there is some talk of providing for it in the spending bill. i don't see a big change making it onto the bill. it is looking dicey for it. host: read more about all of the issues we have talked about. erik wasson at bloomberg.com. that is where you can find his articles. to --thank you so much. >> since that interview on friday, the president waited -- hopefully, mitch mcconnell will ask for a vote on criminal justice reform. it is extremely popular and has strong bipartisan support. it will help a lot of people, save taxpayer dollars, and keep our communities safe. go for it mitch. incoming senate judiciary committee chair lindsey graham spoke with president trump earlier and tweeted -- just talked with president trump and he strongly believes criminal justice reform bill must pass now. he also indicated he supports put in criminal justice reform on y

mitch mcconnell is saying this isn't going to happen. smg right no i think this is going to to be issue that's perk lating and it has been, and for the president to -- throw a everyone iter tantrum say to lock down borders is -- wrong is not going to be good for economy, there's 41 billion dollars worth of trade that goes between the u.s. and mexico. and it's not going to be good for those especially in manufacturing. so those will hurt at the end of the day hurt american workers. i think yeah. >> go ahead. i mean go ahead respond to that. >> i think that presidents call shutdown borders, didn't mean legal entries i think he meant shutting down all-access except for legal industries but i think here's the challenge. president had two fundamental campaign promises that brought him into office. first, was grow the economy. which he's doing in states and second, it is to build that wall. he has to deliver on this, and honestly, these next couple of weeks before the next congress is sworn in is his best opportunity to do it. >> i don't know.

the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell wasn't. there instead some of the most far right members of the party, jim jordan and matt gates, is this productive? >> the short answer is no. and we know that mitch mcconnell now feels that he can't negotiate on behalf of this president, and know that the president is going to be where he was an hour ago, or even a day ago, which is part of why we're here. and ultimately this will have to be sorted out with senate democrats coming to some kind of an agreement that everybody can live with and it is clear that this is not going to happen any time soon. >> let me stop you there for a second though. why is it on the democrats kw78 we heard mcconnell says it is up to the democrats and trump to make this deal. but why aren't republicans stepping up? there were plenty in the senate, willing to pass a clean, to avoid a shutdown, given all of the other hits the president has taken this week, wouldn't it be a good time for those gop lawmakers to have a little bit of leverage if they wanted to push b

and mitch mcconnell clearly made a political speech aimed at the white house. he is is doing the duty as a good soldier. they had been told, and agreed by unanimous consent and you know better than anyone up there what it means voting on unanimous consent, and unanimous vote on that bill with the assurance of the vice president that this is going to be signed by the president. that is the only reason why they went ahead with it. so now they are going through the motions, and they will have this vote on the house measure with the $5 billion, and it is nott going to pass. >> no, it is not. and so what we will see here is two votes. the motion to proceed which needs a simple majority to get to, and later today, the vote on the wall money itself, and this is going to be 60, and it won't get it. so what you saw here from mitch mcconnell and richard shelby who we did not have on camera, but talking to reporters off camera is the posture of being dug in. they stand with the president and support his call for this bill, and they will be blaming the democrats if the gov

poignant comments from the senate majority mitch mcconnell and then house speaker paul ryan. i have covered mike pence a long time, as congressman, as indiana governor and as vice president and i think that may have been the best speech he's delivered in a poignant eulogy to the 41st president. getting emotional at times talking about his son, first lieutenant mike pence who -- a marine aviator as you look at the 43rd president happy that this is the next moment but vice president pence saying that his son landed on the aircraft carrier the u.s.s. george bush and sent a picture to autograph, they were told he didn't do that, he got a letter back saying though we have not met i share the pride your father has for you on this momentous occasion saying "cavu," ceiling and visibility unlimited" which describes this night, describes this moment and poignant memories inside the capitol rotunda. >> martha: indeed it does, when you look at this scene of the family as the sun was setting and indeed it was clear and visibility was unlimited as you say, bret, as everybody looked forward

he said mitch mcconnell needs to fight harder. does the president have a problem with mitch mcconnell's willingness to fight on this issue? sanders: he wants them to be aggressive on this front. he would love to see him use a 51 filibuster. that is something he's pushed senator mcconnell on in the past if necessary. the president wants border security, and he's not going to back down on this fight. host: that is from the white house press secretary a short while ago. joining us once again this morning is new this was key -- is neil. since we last spoke a couple of hours ago, we've had those developments commanded president now really pushing mitch mcconnell to effectively change the role -- the rules of the senate using a simple majority vote to set a new president -- a new president that you would only need a 50 plus one vote to limit debate and break off potential filibusters. for frequent c-span viewers come of the cloture votes that are currently 60 votes on the legislative calendar, this isn't exactly surprising. trump has be

. >> if mitch mcconnell suggested this, how much control did he have over the control of the content ? >> zero. we had a couple of conditions. you have to talk to the democrats and you do not have any editorial control. they said, that's fine but we don't want you to focus on the acrimony. to dod you can't ask us that. we're not going to concentrate on it but we cannot shy away from it. we have to come out with a product we feel people on the journalism side and those who what's the senate can say, they did not give a big wet kiss, but also we did not do a hatchet job. >> mark farkas, executive producer on c-span's original production "the senate."

mitch mcconnell has a bigger majority this year, this next congress. republicans, and he has a bit more of a cushion. those swing see roles as important anymore. ben: i've -- kate: i think that makes sense. i was talking about mark meadows being on the oversight community. to be jim going jordan, i do not mean to get the freedom caucusers confused. you could see them making deals and things coming out. everyone seems to be talking about's climate -- about climate change and global warming. inad a quick chat with amy the senate before the election. she was saying that one of the things she noticed was that it was not an area where democrats were getting hammered. republicans were not attacking democrats over climate change issues. thought, i am sure that there were certain reasons where that was in it -- was an talking poi. theink it shows a shift in public so maybe there will be some room for even minor compromises. >> i think we have time for one more question. the young lady right there in the middle. frombrina rodriguez politico. my question is to c

mitch mcconnell, chuck schumer, nancy xwlois and paul ryan. and they had an indication from the president that the budget agreement that was going to take us well into next year was agreeable to him. and then what happened of course is the president saw rush limbaugh and he got hammered by some of the conservative commentators and he changed his mind. he had an agreement. and this was such progress where finally we were going to have a bipartisan approach to going forward, keep the lights on in government and then return next year and take up issues that are really important. the president pulled the rug out from underneath it. and now i think what pelosi's really saying is mr. president, you've got to let us know what you say is an acceptable position because no one has any confidence that what you say today is what you mean tomorrow. >> the news just in and you were also listening to what vic was saying, mike viqueira, and that is the first lady will be coming back to the white house. it appears we're looking at thursday the 27th. as the pot

mcconnell is not totally on his side here or -- mitch mcconnell is really upset with the president. >> yeah, he is. >> the president is leaning on mitch mcconnell in a tweet just moments ago -- >> and rebranding. a rebranding alert, listen to this. >> dramatic reading? >> senator mitch mcconnell should fight for the wall and border security as hard as he fought with anything. house republicans were great yesterday. >> remember when it was going to be the trump shut down. >> yeah, he said during an oval office meeting that he would gladly own a shutdown, and i think his supporters took him at his word which is why he had a problem earlier this week. mcdonnell is frustrated with the president and he is unhappy about mattis' resignation, and mcconnell has been unhappy before and it has not necessarily moved the needle, so let's see what happens. >> maggie, thank you. >> binkie. james mattis is their binkie. >> i find that analogy really disturbing and telling. >> dead on. >>> ethics advisers told matt whitaker to step away from the russia probe, but whitaker is not recusing himself. do

so far mitch mcconnell is not ok with that option. >> it's all up to mitch mcconnell, he has tweeted to mitch mcconnell to get on board, he wants to use the nuclear option. if they did

mitch mcconnell huddling at the white house, then back to the capit capitol. so far, the votes are not there. last week, the president said he would gladly take the mannedle of a government shutdown for that wall. tonight, he's blaming democrats the saying it could last a very long time. without a deal, parts of the government shutdown down at midnight. mary bruce starts us off. >> reporter: tonight president trump is digging in on a last ditch effort to get his border wall. >> we are totally prepared for a very long shutdown. this is our only chance we'll ever have. >> reporter: he's demanding $5 billion, summoning republican leader mitch mcconnell to the white house. mr. leader, are we heading for a shutdown? >> senator shelby and i, and some others who were invited down to the white house, had some good conversation about the way forward. >> reporter: but democrats are holding firm. >> you are not getting the wall today, next week, or on january 3rd when democrats take control of the house. >> reporter: just two days ago, the president seemed ready to fund

mitch mcconnell urged approval of the bill that approves $5 billion the president wants. >> in my view, this legislation would be quite uncontroversial. and a more normal political moment. in a moment when both parties put the obvious national interest ahead of any personal spite for the president. >> leader mcconnell met with the president at the white house. after the meeting, the mr. trump "totallys quote, prepared for a very long the government shutdown." hadice ruth bader ginsburg two malignant nodules removed from her lung. no further treatment is planned. and85-year-old is resting is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days. more headaches for british holiday travelers. flights were