WEBVTT - Democrats Force Nuclear Option on Gorsuch Nomination (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>We are going to turn to the history that is

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<v Speaker 1>happening right now in the U. S. Senate, where Republicans

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<v Speaker 1>have approved what everyone is calling the nuclear option. It

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<v Speaker 1>clears the way for Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed to

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<v Speaker 1>the Supreme Court with only a simple majority of fifty

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<v Speaker 1>one votes. That means the Senate fifty two Republicans don't

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<v Speaker 1>need any Democratic support, although they may get a handful

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<v Speaker 1>of votes uh to fill the vacancy that has been

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<v Speaker 1>on the court since Anton and Scalia died in February

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<v Speaker 1>last year. With me here in the Bloomberg studio to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about this is Bloomberg Congressional team leader Kevin Whitelaw.

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<v Speaker 1>He's also my boss. Uh, Kevin, thanks for making the

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<v Speaker 1>time to come over here. Um, can you just walk

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<v Speaker 1>us through what has happened today and then and then

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<v Speaker 1>what will happen with the vote tomorrow? Wells have been

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<v Speaker 1>pretty widely telegraphed. W We're basically looking at a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>big historic move where the where the Democrats did vote

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<v Speaker 1>as expected to try to block the nomination, and uh,

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<v Speaker 1>Mitch McConnell, a Republican leader, made a series of motions

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<v Speaker 1>that resulted in Republicans voting to change the Senate rules.

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<v Speaker 1>So this follows on a change the Democrats themselves made

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<v Speaker 1>back in to change the rules for all the nominees

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<v Speaker 1>except for Supreme Court nominations. UH. That's basically was to

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<v Speaker 1>take away the ability of of h take away the

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<v Speaker 1>need for a sixty vote threshold to to to advance

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<v Speaker 1>before you could get a formal final vote. It's called

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<v Speaker 1>the filibuster. That margin was taken down to fifty. It's

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<v Speaker 1>been now taken out of fifty for all nominees, including

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<v Speaker 1>the Supreme Court. UH. And so Senate's going to go

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<v Speaker 1>into it's likely another sort of shutdown mode in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of of things grinding to a halt, a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of partisan name calling and a fair amount

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<v Speaker 1>of fallout on that front. But it will mean that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Garcage will become another sprint sprint Court justice,

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<v Speaker 1>filling out the court to nine. Uh. And that formal

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<v Speaker 1>vote actually to confirm him, we're expecting on Friday, And

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<v Speaker 1>this is not a total party line vote. How many

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<v Speaker 1>Democrats do we expect will ultimately vote for Neil Garcage. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>there were four Democrat who voted to go ahead, and

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<v Speaker 1>advance him. So we'll see in the end how they

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<v Speaker 1>respond uh tomorrow. But there were several Democrats that did

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead with the notion to have cloture Um at

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<v Speaker 1>least one of them. We think we're we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>advance him, but then not actually support him in the end.

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<v Speaker 1>So we'll see the exact number tomorrow when it comes.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's not it will not be a party line vote.

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<v Speaker 1>There will be two or three Democrats at least we

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<v Speaker 1>expect to vote with the majority of republic With every

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<v Speaker 1>Republican pretty much everyone in the Senator is saying how

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<v Speaker 1>much they regret what is happening. Now, Democrats didn't have

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they could have pulled their punches and not

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<v Speaker 1>made this happen. Why did they feel like they needed

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<v Speaker 1>to do this even though the result was going to

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<v Speaker 1>be the same. And Neil Gors which is still in

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<v Speaker 1>the Supreme going on the Supreme Court. Well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>Democrats said they regret this, Republicans said they regret it.

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<v Speaker 1>But you're right, Democrats could have taken another path. Republicans

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<v Speaker 1>could also have taken another path. Let's be clear that

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<v Speaker 1>both sides are are full complicit players. They knew exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what was going to happen, and they went ahead and

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<v Speaker 1>did it. So, um, I think for for UH and

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<v Speaker 1>what that tells you is, frankly, both saw are playing

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<v Speaker 1>to their basis here. The Republicans absolutely we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>confirm the Neo Garca no matter what in the Republic

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<v Speaker 1>and the Democrats really felt they needed to do anything

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<v Speaker 1>they could to block it given um, particularly how President

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<v Speaker 1>Obama's UH final nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland,

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<v Speaker 1>was blocked for a year by Republicans. So you had

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<v Speaker 1>this sign where both sides are playing to their base. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, but every side that this is a really bad,

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<v Speaker 1>bad outcome. I don't think the politically though, it actually

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<v Speaker 1>does make perverse logics. Some have argued, and I think

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<v Speaker 1>I've even argued that the Democrats might have been better

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<v Speaker 1>off saving the filibuster for the next Supreme Court nomination,

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<v Speaker 1>which could really swing the court. What's what's your take

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<v Speaker 1>on that? Yeah, I think this is a really tough question.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the one of the main arguments for for

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<v Speaker 1>the Democrats and saying that they should have allowed this

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<v Speaker 1>nomination proceived is that this notion of needing sixty votes

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<v Speaker 1>did still, perhaps um sort of helped constrain the choice

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<v Speaker 1>that the president faces when when he or she is

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<v Speaker 1>trying to make a decision about who they nominate the

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<v Speaker 1>first place. Do you take someone who's a little more

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<v Speaker 1>of the mains, a little main you know, someone mainstream

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<v Speaker 1>with sort of the usual qualifications. Do you take someone

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<v Speaker 1>out of the mainstream. Do you take someone who's considered

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<v Speaker 1>even more extreme? So there is a risk that this

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<v Speaker 1>sort of unbounds the president, and in the choice for

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<v Speaker 1>the next nominee, Democrats sort of felt like, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>if they didn't, if they didn't, you know, they were

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<v Speaker 1>gonna change it. Whenever it was blocked, they were going

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<v Speaker 1>to change it, So it didn't really matter. I think

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<v Speaker 1>the problem Democrats faced with this particular move was I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think they actually ended up convincing enough Americans that

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<v Speaker 1>Neil Garca was such a sort of threat to the

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<v Speaker 1>court or a bad pick or unqualified, so that it

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<v Speaker 1>became a kind of groundswell level of fight you had

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<v Speaker 1>over sake Clarence Thomas or you know, or Robert Bourke,

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<v Speaker 1>where you really had a huge ground swell. A lot

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<v Speaker 1>of out there Democrats weren't happy they painted you know,

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<v Speaker 1>Gorcitch is being out of the mainstream. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>that really stuck in the court of public opinion. And

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<v Speaker 1>that may be in partcast of so much else going on.

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<v Speaker 1>We only have about thirty seconds, but very quickly. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>is this going to stop with the filibuster of Supreme

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<v Speaker 1>Court nominees or is it there the possibility that the

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<v Speaker 1>Republicans will go nuclear on the filibuster for legislation as well. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>And that's the thing that would really change the way

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<v Speaker 1>the Senate works, in the way this town works, is

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<v Speaker 1>if they get rid of that sixty vote threshold for legislation.

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<v Speaker 1>At this point, most Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, have said, no,

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<v Speaker 1>there's not the support to change it. They don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to do it. That's not going to do it. That

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<v Speaker 1>would just make the Senate just like the House. So

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<v Speaker 1>why have it? Um But the pressure could build, and

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<v Speaker 1>depending on what the President wants to do over the

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<v Speaker 1>next couple of years and how much the Senate frustrates

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<v Speaker 1>his ability to do that, there could be a ton

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<v Speaker 1>of pressure coming on down from the White House. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks very much, Kevin Whitelaw, Congressional team leader here for

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg News, talking about the Neil Gorcers domination and the

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<v Speaker 1>expected confirmation tomorrow, probably tomorrow after, late tomorrow afternoon or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe even the evening. Uh. Coming up, we're gonna talk

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<v Speaker 1>about some acquittals on lib orary manipulation. That's a trial

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<v Speaker 1>that went on in London. That's coming up on Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Law