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Supreme Court Pick Tough Decision for Democrats; White House Press Conference with Sean Spicer, Michael Flynn; Trump Tweets about Travel Ban. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 01, 2017 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:10] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Once again, we are standing by for the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer. He is getting ready to brief reporters over at the White House. Expected to take a lot of questions on the president's Supreme Court pick, among other very, very sensitive issues. We'll have live coverage of that. It's supposed to start momentarily.

Meantime, Democrats on Capitol Hill are facing an incredibly tough choice today over President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Do they gear up for a battle and vow to block the president's pick like Republicans did with President Obama's pick last year, or do they ignore party lines and give Judge Neil Gorsuch a chance? Some are already signaling the latter. And here's why. All of these Democratic Senators, a lot of them, a third of the Senate, is up for re-election in 2018, next year. They represent, many of them, states that went for President Trump in the 2016 election. At least five are giving the impression they at least want to hear Gorsuch out, many more are saying the same thing, as well.

Let's bring in the panel. With us, Pamela Brown, our Supreme Court correspondent; Ryan Lizza, CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker"; Dana Bash, our chief political correspondent; Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst.

There are about 10 Democrats up for re-election next year in states that Donald Trump won and they have a delicate balancing act right now. How far do they go in opposing, for example, Judge Gorsuch?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Chuck Schumer, their leader, has a delicate balancing act, as well, to decide the strategy and the question is, does he take the long view and does he say, you know what? We're not going to filibuster this time, endanger these seats because, after all, the ideological balance in the Supreme Court is not at stake right now. You're essentially subbing Scalia for somebody very much like Scalia. And that was part of the brilliance of the choice in a way. And next time, if there is a next time, when the balance of the court is really at stake, that is when you use the filibuster and that is when you force your Democrats there to really go out on the line, because he also would like, in his dreams, to gain back control of the Senate so they can't afford to lose any of these people. [13:35:35] BLITZER: Next time, if there is a next time, Dana, what

stop it is Republicans are using the so-called nuclear option and going ahead and changing the rules to require a simple majority opposed to 60?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESOPNDENT: They absolutely could but if you're a Democrat taking the long view, better to wait for that than force the Republicans to do it now. Meaning, if the Democrats somehow figure out a way to coordinate the members, to keep it under 60 votes, meaning, to block this nominee, then that will force Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican majority leader, to use the nuclear option, changing the Senate rules to give it a simple 51-vote majority. Once the rules are changed, they're changed. The means you can't go back and that means -- you know, they won't go back. And this means that for the next vacancy if there is a next vacancy it's guaranteed a simple majority and they will have absolutely no leverage whatsoever to try to moderate the kind of person that Donald Trump tries to put on the bench.

BLITZER: There are 52 Republicans, presumably, they'll all vote for Judge Gorsuch. In order to break that filibuster, he'd need eight Democrats.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

BLITZER: There are a bunch of Democrats right now already signaling they'd probably go ahead and support this nominee. You think that the filibuster would actually work?

LIZZA: It may not be an issue, right? Looks like you have enough on the record right now who said they'll support him or signaling they're not interested in a filibuster and this is moot. The filibuster long term for Supreme Court nominees goes away one way or another. So, I think you will have some Democrats argue, if they have the opportunity to do it this time, why not? One argument is, they want McConnell to own -- they want him to be the one that detonates the nuclear option.

BLITZER: Just like Harry Reid detonated the nuclear option to eliminate filibuster for cabinet appointees. That's why all of the President Trump's nominees need a simple majority and not 60 votes. Democrats did that. They're paying the price for that right now.

LIZZA: Long term, on the filibuster, as you point out, Wolf, for nominees it is gone, for Supreme Court nominees, let's be honest, it will be gone in a few years if it is not gone with this Gorsuch. The next step is it disappears for legislation. And if you're Donald Trump, in the White House, and you have already signaled you want it gone for the Supreme Court nominees, what would stop Trump from having a campaign against the filibuster for legislation? And that would be incredibly dramatic.

BLITZER: He already said this morning he said, I'm in favor. Do the nuclear option. Get rid of that filibuster for the Supreme Court.

LIZZA: It is dominos.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: He already said, it's up to Mitch McConnell, but if you ask me, I'm for it, he said.

BORGER: Kind of a slippery slope.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Pamela, listen to what the president has said about Supreme Court nominees, what he said recently over this campaign. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our beloved Justice Scalia, he was great.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We are going to get somebody as close to him as his views and philosophy as possible.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Are you saying you might try to appoint justices to overrule the decision on same-sex marriage?

TRUMP: I would strongly consider that, yes.

The justices that I'm going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent.

WALLACDE: Do you want to see the court overturn Roe v. Wade?

TRUMP: Well, if we put another two or three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. So does Judge Gorsuch fit the bill as described by President Trump during the campaign?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SUPREME COURT & JUSTICE CORRSEPONDENT: In some ways, yes. Some ways it's still unclear because he hasn't ruled on abortion or gay marriage. With Scalia, he does fit the mold in many ways. A similar writing style, shares a similar judicial philosophy, a strict constitutionalist, textualist, meaning he looks at the literal interpretation of the Constitution. In fact, the two were friends and went on fishing trips together. So, there was a relationship behind all of this.

When you look at his views on abortion, he has never ruled on it and did write a book arguing against assisted suicide, something that anti-abortion activists like. It gives them hope. Last night, they said they were thrilled with his nomination.

And when it comes to gay marriage he has not ruled on that specifically but wrote an article in 2005 saying that, in his words, the liberals were using the court system too much to push their agenda on gay marriage. So, some of this is yet to be seen -- Wolf?

[13:40:10] BLITZER: So basically, a lot of questions, though, where he stands on some of the very, very sensitive issues that President Trump spoke about, Roe v. Wade, same-sex marriage. Still unclear where he stands right now?

BROWN: On those issues, but on other issues, like religious liberty, it is clear. He sided with Hobby Lobby against the contraceptive mandate in Obamacare. He has made it clear he thinks too much deference is given to the executive branch in the separation of powers case, but in some of those other issues, he hasn't ruled on them.

BASH: Don't expect him to show his hand --

BROWN: Right.

DANA: -- in these hearings. Democrats try to get him to show the hand and maybe conservatives will, as well. But, you know, past is prologue. He is going to stick to more general answers about his judicial philosophy, his approach to the law, the bench. And certainly, not --

(CROSSTALK)

LIZZA: In a quote of Trump to say, hey, Donald Trump said he would appoint somebody to think about overturning the gay marriage decision. What do you think of that, right?

BORGER: Remember, John Roberts said it's settled law.

BROWN: Yeah.

BORGER: That's what Roberts said.

But I think, you know, in a way, he is such an intellectual, he may be a little bit less predictable than we think. You know? He wrote something, and I was reading it the other day, quoted in "The Times," I believe, that if you're a good judge, sometimes your decisions wind up in places you're not happy about. And so, we -- there are a lot of issues that remain unexplored with him.

BLITZER: Right.

BORGER: So it is a little bit of a --

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Immigration issue, I mean, I imagine that's going to come up, as well.

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: Exactly.

BLITZER: Let's not forget, the chief justice, John Roberts, saved Obamacare in his decision. BORGER: That's right.

BLITZER: A lot of people were surprised by this.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Conservatives are always sort of on edge about the idea of another Souter. Has a conservative track record but there's always that concern.

LIZZA: Even Roberts, disappointment of Roberts within a few years of Obamacare and other issues.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Another subject I'm sure to come up in the briefing -- and standing by for Sean Spicer to walk into the briefing room -- this tweet from the president this morning on the travel ban that he announced a few days ago. I'll put it up on the screen, "Everybody's arguing whether or not it is a ban. Call it what you want. It is about keeping bad people with bad intentions out of the country."

Dana, you're doing a lot of reporting on what's going on behind the scenes.

BASH: First of all, I would just say, before I answer that, way to step on your message. They had a beautiful roll-out last night. Continued this morning with the conservative groups, who are, you know, have been helping him get the nominee through, and then remind people about the sloppy roll-out on a completely different, obviously, smaller-scale situation.

Having said that, I'm told that there are changes that are happening in place inside the White House, namely, making sure that the White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, is able to do his job which is to make sure that executive orders going forward are done with the proper communication to the agencies, proper communication to Capitol Hill, and so forth, so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again. And that Kellyanne Conway, who is a counselor, will try to take a more robust roll in dealing with communications strategies. Sean Spicer's coming out in a minute. He has two jobs right now, he's the press secretary and the communications director, because the person they had for the job quit. That's a lot for one person.

BLITZER: Aides are now in the White House press briefing room. That's a sign he's about to walk out, as well. Here he comes, in fact. So let's listen in.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for coming.

Last night, the president was honored to announce Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to serve as the next justice of the Supreme Court. It was an unbelievably phenomenal evening. Immediately after being announced, Judge Gorsuch was honored to meet with Maureen and Father Scalia. As some of you reported, his first call was to Merritt Garland who has already come out to say that Judge Gorsuch deserves a fairing hearing.

Less than 24 hours, Judge Gorsuch has already received a widespread praise from across the political spectrum as an inspired choice, with sterling academic credentials, a brilliant legal mind and a steadfast commitment to constitutional principles. During his long career in public service, Judge Gorsuch has enjoyed bipartisan approval for the U.S. court of appeals for the 10th circuit. In fact, 12 current Democratic Senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Leahy, were all in office when he was first confirmed without opposition in 2006. With as many as eight Democrats like Senators Blumenthal already supporting a full hearing and vote for Judge Gorsuch, there is no question that he's a widely-respected jurist who deserves to have his nomination fairly decided upon by the United States Senate.

Officially named, I hope you all allow me to talk about how qualified he is to succeed the late, great Antonin Scalia. His academic record is impeccable, and as he said last night, the president holds education in the highest regard. Judge Gorsuch's graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia, graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and Oxford as a recipient of the Marshall scholarship.

[11:45:43] Like Justice Scalia, the cornerstone of Judge Gorsuch's judicial philosophy is fidelity to the text. He believes that judges should not base their decisions solely on the law and the Constitution -- he believes -- sorry. I screwed that up - that his decision should be based on the law and the Constitution not on their own policy preferences or personal feelings. He will be a reliable and principled voice on the bench, preserving equal justice under the law regardless of background.

And I would note, I think -- I always caveat this -- but to my understanding, the first justice to serve with a -- with the -- as someone he clerked for on the bench. So, it will be sort of a first when he is confirmed by the Senate.

Now on to the issues of the day. Today's February 1st, which means we are kicking off Black History Month. The president has events planned throughout the month, starting today with a listening session of this morning with African-American leaders in the Roosevelt Room. The meeting included some of the administration's African-American appointees.

Today, the president will issue a proclamation, the U.S. Postal service kicked off the month by issuing the Dorothy Height Forever Stamp, the 40th in their black heritage series. Dr. Height led the National Council of Negro Women for four decades and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and the Congressional Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2004 -- excuse me -- 1994 and 2004. President Obama delivered her eulogy in 2010. And President Trump is now proud that the post office is honoring her incredible legacy as a civil rights icon.

At events throughout this month, we'll celebrate the contributions of courageous African leaders, from Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass to Martin Luther King Jr and Clarence Thomas. African-American history is American history, and this month is a great reminder of that.

Continuing with today's schedule, the vice president went to the Hill with Judge Gorsuch to meet with lawmakers for the first time since being named last night. On the Hill, the vice president met with Majority Leader McConnell. And the staff spearheading the nomination will also meet with Senators Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch and Garner.

With Judge Gorsuch on Capitol Hill, I think it's a good time to talk about the confirmation process. Neither of the justices that President Obama nominated were subject to the 60-vote threshold of the Senator filibuster. They received bipartisan support because Republicans, despite political and philosophical differences, viewed them as mainstream and qualified, and Judge Gorsuch should receive the same fair treatment.

Also, this morning, the president met in the Roosevelt Room with representatives of outside groups to discuss Judge Gorsuch's nomination, including David Osteen of the National Right to Life, Paula White (ph) of the New Destiny Christian Center, Wayne LaPerriere of the National Rifle Association, Penny Nance of Concerned Women of America, Sharmaine Yost (ph) of American Values; Juanita Dougan (ph) of the National Federal of Independent Businesses; Tom Collimore (ph) of the United States Chamber of Commerce; Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform, Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, Marjorie Dancefelder (ph) of the Susan B. Anthony List (ph), and Morton Blackwell of the Leadership Institute. President Trump told the group that his decision on the Supreme Court is among the most important decisions he will ever make as president. He praised Judge Gorsuch for his academic and professional achievements and his lifelong devotion to the law. The attendees thanked the president for making such an inspired choice and delivering what was, for many of them, their number-one issue in the campaign. They're committed vocally to supporting the judge throughout the confirmation process and expressed their desire for the Senate to move swiftly for a fair hearing and vote. The meeting closed with the president inviting the group to the Oval Office for which several enjoined that honor.

The president then had lunch with Secretary of State Designee Tillerson. Mr. Tillerson's tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of the geopolitics are going to make him an outstanding chief diplomat for the United States and the president is looking forward to the full vote of the Senate on his nomination.

Later this evening, the president will participate in a standing legislative affairs strategy meeting with his team who have been working closely with Congress to enact the president's agenda. So far, between the vice president and his staff, we've had many productive conversations with members of both parties and both chambers on a variety of issues, from trade to the president's nominations for his cabinet and now the Supreme Court. Now starting this week, our legislative affairs team will also conduct excessive outreach on behalf of Judge Gorsuch's nomination. Clearly, this administration has made reaching out to Congress a top priority. But you know where I'm going with that.

[13:50:29] Democrats in the Senate continue to use every tool at their disposal to try to get away at the president's attempts to make America great again. Today, Democrats refused to participate in Senate votes who were moved out of the Finance Committee with zero Democrats present. Democrats also boycotted EPA Administrator Designee Pruitt's hearing. They are doing their constituents and our country a disservice by resorting though these childish tactics. The president's cabinet nominees will be confirmed on the floor of the Senate once Democrats actually allow them to get a fair vote.

In other cabinet news, Attorney General Designee Jeff Sessions was voted out of committee today. We look forward to his full vote as the next attorney general.

Additionally, Secretary of State Designee Rex Tillerson is expected to receive a vote by the full Senate this afternoon.

And finally, Veterans Administration Secretary Designee Dr. David Shulkin will go before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs at 2:30 this afternoon.

A few more things before I open it for questions in terms of the schedule tomorrow. The president will attend the National Prayer Breakfast tomorrow and have lunch with Harley Davidson executives here at the White House. He'll also meet with Senator Hatch, Wyden and Congressman Neal (ph) and Congressman Brady. Further guidance on all of those meeting will be coming soon.

A few personnel announcements. Today, the president sent the following nominations to the Senate: Rachel L. Brand of Iowa to be associate attorney general. Stephen Andrew Engle (ph) of D.C. to be assistant attorney general. And Raja Rosteen (ph) of Maryland to be a deputy attorney general.

On another note, yesterday, we talked about recent reporting about the president's executive order protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry. I want to draw your attention to some polls that have come out on that subject. For all the hysteria about the implementation of this order, the Americans, as a whole, are supportive. A new Rasmussen poll finds 57 percent, a clear majority of likely U.S. voters, support a temporary ban on refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, until the government can do a better job of keeping these individuals out who pose a threat. A Reuters poll found 66 percent of Americans believe the United States should limit the number of refugees into the country. And the safety of the American people and security of the homeland are the president's top priorities. And most Americans agree with the steps he's taken to keep the country the safe.

Further today, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister voiced his support for the president's decision to make our national security so seriously. He also added that he believes the restrictions are not based on the religion, but on quote, "structural problems faced by these nations."

Now there was a question on an attack on Monday about Iran firing of a missile and an attack on a Navy vessel. I would like to introduce National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn to provide a quick update -- General Flynn>

GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Good afternoon, everyone.

Recent Iranian actions involving a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran- supported Houthi militants underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran's destabilizing behavior across the entire Middle East.

The recent ballistic middle launch is also in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls upon Iran not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.

These are just the latest of series of incidents in the past six months in which Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirate and Saudi vessels and threatens the United States and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea. In these and other similar activities, Iran continues to threaten U.S. friends and allies in the region.

The Obama administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran's actions, including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of other international norms. The Trump administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and which places American lives at risk. President Trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama administration as well as the United Nations as being weak and ineffective. Instead of being thankful to the United States in these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened.

As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.

Thank you.

[13:55:15] SPICER: Thanks, General.

We are going to have a background briefing with NSA staff -- NSC staff, rather, today at 4:00 in the briefing room. Further details will be provided on that subject.

Thank you, General, with that.

As we start off, I mentioned yesterday, I'm pleased that we have expanded the briefing room at least virtually.

With that, as I begin to take your questions, I'm pleased to offer the first Skyped question in the White House briefing room to Kim Farunian (ph) from WPRI from Rhode Island.

KIM FARUNIAN (ph), REPORTER, WPRI: Thank you. Good afternoon.

Can you hear me OK? SPICER: We can.

FARUNIAN (ph): Just this week, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island began calling our capitol city a sanctuary city. As we know, President Trump's executive order says the White House will begin publicizing a weekly list of these municipalities and pledges to withdraw federal grant money from them. What I'm wondering is, how soon can we expect to see the list and how soon should cities like Providence expect to see their federal funding cut?

SPICER: Thanks, Kim.

I think the president's goal in ending sanctuary cities is pretty clear. We want to, as we mentioned with these over actions, keep America safe. The goal is to make sure on two fronts, one, we are doing everything we can to protect American citizens, institutions, and ending sanctuary cities is one way to do that. Furthermore, the president has been clear through the executive order that federal funds, paid for by hardworking taxpayers, should not be used to help fund sanctuary cities. As we continue to implement this executive order and fulfill the pledge that he made, we will have further updates on how that list will come out and when it will come out. So, I look forward to following up on that.

With that, David Jackson.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: David is not here, but I have a question.

SPICER: Go for it.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

(LAUGHTER)

The president's daily briefing has been renamed the daily intelligence briefing. Can you tell me how that differs at all from the D.B.? And how he is receiving these, in writing or orally, and who is giving them?

SPICER: He did receive an intelligence briefing today. Director Pompeo was here, General Flynn, his briefer, so he receives an intelligence briefing and the PBD every day.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there any sense we should get out of renaming it?

SPICER: I think it is a more comprehensive -- again, we went through this during the transition period, right. There's the difference between the raw intelligence and the analysis, and I think he is constantly updated by his national security team and other intelligence official. But every day, he does receive the PBD. And on top of that, he's receiving intelligence briefings from his team.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Oral briefing does not necessarily happen every single day.

SPICER: I can get back to you on that. He does get the PBD on a regular -- on a daily basis meets with his intelligence team, yes.

Hunter?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: On two quick questions, on Black History Month, is President Obama being invited to any of the Black History Month celebrations?

SPICER: Not that I'm aware of. It's day one. We just started it off. We'll have to get back to you on further details.

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: There's a lot of activities, as I mentioned, the president is going to do to celebrate and honor this month and this was just the first day of the month.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Today, he made the comments about Frederick Douglass being recognized more and more. Do you have any idea specifically what he was referring to?

SPICER: I think there's contributions -- I think he wants to highlight the contributions that he has made. And I think through a lot of the actions and statements that he's going to make, I think the contributions of Frederick Douglass will become more and more.

Kristen?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Very quickly, can you clarify what was meant by we're putting Iran on notice.

SPICER: As I mentioned, I think General Flynn and the NSC staff will have a briefing at 4:00. They can go forward on that. I'm not going to -- we want to make very clear that we felt as though their actions were both provocative and in violation, and making sure they understood we weren't going to sit by and not act on those actions.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you building the case to --

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: I'm not going to go any further than that, Kristen. No.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And the confirmation hearings, how does the president plan to get Chuck Schumer on board with his pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, when he has referred to him as a clown and accused him of fake tears?

SPICER: I think there's two things. I think we're going to -- you look at the support that has already come out. I think there's eight Senators already that have talked about the need to have a vote and his qualifications. Not just the Senate. Look at the widespread support that came out for Judge Gorsuch last night across the spectrum. No matter your philosophical view of the court, I think his qualifications for the court, his academic background, make him an unbelievably highly qualified person. So, it's not just Chuck Schumer.