| | | | "Mitch, go nuclear." -- President Donald Trump's advice for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today. | | | Is the Senate about to fundamentally change? | | President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, made the rounds on Capitol Hill today -- holding his initial meetings with senators in a confirmation process that typically lasts around 70 days. All around him, questions about the future of the Senate swirled. Democrats slow-walked as they strategized over whether to heed their base's call to block Gorsuch -- and Republicans considered whether they'd respond to a Democratic blockade by invoking the "nuclear option," eliminating the rule requiring 60 votes to break a filibuster and severely undercutting the minority party's power, now and in the future.
Meanwhile, even as Rex Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state, GOP frustration continued to mount as the party worked around Democratic delay tactics for other Trump nominees.
Here are three things we know right now:
1. Gorsuch is likely to be confirmed, barring some huge bombshell. The only question is how. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has long resisted the "nuclear option" -- lowering the threshold to break a filibuster of a Supreme Court pick from 60 to 51 -- but the GOP seems determined to go there if Democrats leave them no other options. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told CNN's Manu Raju today he wants to keep the 60-vote rule, "but I am going to tell you, he will be confirmed one way or the other."
2. The world's most deliberative body is breaking in front of our eyes. It's not just about Gorsuch. Today, Senate Finance Committee Republicans suspended the rules amid a Democratic boycott to advance two of Trump's nominees, Steve Mnuchin for treasury secretary and Tom Price for health and human services secretary. How bad is the atmosphere now? Don't take our word for it -- read Capitol Hill masters Paul Kane in The Washington Post and Carl Hulse in The New York Times on the Senate becoming so toxic that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against the confirmation of McConnell's wife. Politicians have been whining about process since Cicero's "O tempora! O mores!" but it's hard to see the Senate's way back from the ledge right now.
3. All eyes are on the Democrats -- especially the 10 in states Trump won who are up for re-election in 2018. On one end of that 10-senator set, West Virginia's Joe Manchin is meeting Gorsuch today and is an all-but-certain yes. On the other end, Ohio's Sherrod Brown is already a no. What Democrats have to decide is whether they're willing to stomach the backlash from the base -- and it will be intense -- and confirm Gorsuch, saving the filibuster for a future fight by doing so. Or, is this where they choose to make their stand?
Sign of the times: It's not just the Bernie Sanders wing that wants all-out resistance. Two huge establishment organs of the Democratic Party -- Neera Tanden's Center for American Progress and Guy Cecil's Priorities USA -- are also calling for a damn-the-torpedoes posture. Cecil blasted out an email today labeling Gorsuch "too dangerous not to resist." | | About last night...
Trump's "Apprentice"-style rollout of Gorsuch went extremely well for the White House. Live in prime time, Trump stuck to the script and Gorsuch was pitch perfect. Then there were Republican lawmakers -- all thrilled with the pick -- there to spin on national television. Because Trump picked from his pre-election list, there was a conservative machine already revved and ready to back Gorsuch, too. It was a conventional choice that bought him a long leash with the GOP, and left many Republicans wondering if Trump will learn from a rollout that combined his entertainer instincts with conservative orthodoxy.
But there's another reality here: Trump's announcement of Gorsuch was moved up from Thursday because the White House needed to change the topic. And then ... this morning, Trump tried to change it right back: | | | Ollie's short-lived freedom ends: Ollie, the bobcat who escaped her enclosure on Monday and became a fascination of the Twittersphere, was found on the property of the National Zoo in Washington by officials. Daniella captures the tale. | | Notes from the race for DNC chairman | | Vice President Joe Biden took a step back into politics today, endorsing former Labor Secretary Tom Perez to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
"Tom knows how to talk to people, not down to them. He knows how to explain why our party's core beliefs matter to the immigrant family in Arizona and the coal miner in West Virginia. That matters," Biden said in a statement.
Not to be outdone, Bernie Sanders -- who is endorsing Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, a progressive favorite, for the job -- responded to his friend Biden, saying that "the question is simple: Do we stay with a failed status-quo approach or do we go forward with a fundamental restructuring of the Democratic Party?"
Nightcap notes: Perez and Ellison are both desperate to keep the race from being viewed as a Hillary Clinton (Perez) vs. Sanders (Ellison) proxy war. But Biden -- as beloved as he is by Democrats -- is a figure of the establishment. And Sanders, with his many followers, deepened the proxy war impression with his line about "a failed status-quo approach." So next time you see the DNC chairman race portrayed as the 2016 Democratic primary redux, keep today in mind. | | | This is too good: Sen. John McCain photobombed CNN's Manu Raju's liveshot today. | | 3 things you might have missed today | | 1. GOP turns: Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they plan to vote against Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's choice for education secretary. They were the first Republicans to come out against any Trump nominee. More from CNN's Phil Mattingly, Tom LoBianco and Ted Barrett.
2. Bannon vs. Trump: White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump doesn't share the opinions of his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, when it comes to Islam. CNN's KFile reported that in 2010, Bannon criticized former President George W. Bush for calling Islam a religion of peace, saying in the interview, "Islam is not a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of submission. Islam means submission." More on that here.
3. Chaffetz to investigate -- Trump? Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Trump's possible conflicts of interest could be among the more than 40 items the House Oversight Committee investigates. | | | National Security Adviser Michael Flynn condemned Iran's recent ballistic missile test launch, calling it a "provocative" breach of a UN Security Council resolution. ... It's been 12 days since the last public sighting of first lady Melania Trump. ... Former CIA director David Petraeus urged that the controversy over the Trump administration's travel ban be resolved quickly. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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