Tillis: Amy Coney Barrett will be a complement to the Supreme Court
Senate Judiciary Committee member joins 'The Story' ahead of Senate confirmation vote
This is a rush transcript from “The Story Martha MacCallum" October 26, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Hey there Bret. Good to see you tonight.
Good evening everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum and this is THE STORY on
October 26. We have 8 days until the election. Voting is well under way,
across this country, 62 million people have already voted and tonight
President Trump's support is just about within four points of Joe Biden and
that is according to the battleground states average at Real Clear
Politics.
You've got 55.5 to 49.5 and that's a collection of the six states that are
most likely to swing this election; Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin,
Florida along with North Carolina and Michigan so today the incumbent
worked Pennsylvania very hard, barnstorming all day long from Allentown
this morning, mid-day rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania and then this afternoon
a third rally of the day around 4:30 this afternoon, that one in
Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.
The president with his packed schedule went after Joe Biden's schedule.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sleepy Joe is down there
and they said you got to get out of this basement so he traveled from
Delaware to a little tiny corner in Pennsylvania like right next to
Delaware and he made a speech and he said that he doesn't do these kind of
rallies because of COVID, you know.
No, he doesn't do that because nobody shows up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So very different, right? So the Biden camp which was expected
to be quiet today did as the president mentioned, changed their tune. Late
in the day Joe Biden came out, he went up to that corner of Pennsylvania
from Delaware, he spoke in Chester, disputing that whole basement
narrative, watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm going to be going to Iowa, I'm
going to Wisconsin, I'm going to Georgia, I'm going to Florida and maybe
other places as well. There's a lot we've been doing today. I've met today
with group of leaders in the Democratic Party laying out where we're going
to go, getting our input and so we're constantly - there has not been a day
that hasn't been a12 hour day yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Also tonight it's very big night. Half past the hour, we will
take you to the Senate floor where the full floor will vote on Judge Amy
Coney Barrett. That expected confirmation will put conservatives at a 6-3
margin on the Supreme Court, haven't seen that since the 1930 so big big
changes afoot.
Judge Barrett is an originalist in the tradition of Justice Scalia, doesn't
believe on legislating from the bench. She would replace Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg. I'm going to take you live there as that gets under way because
it is a historic vote this evening that we will watch together as it
unfolds.
We also expect a ceremony will follow at the White House and controversy
over that. We're going to get to new details on how that's going to look
and feel at around. That'll be around 9:00 this evening but we begin
tonight with Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W.
Bush and a Fox News Contributor.
Karl, great to see you tonight. Thanks for being here.
KARL ROVE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: You bet Martha.
MACCALLUM: So let's start with that Real Clear Politics average poll that
shows the tightening of the race about 4.5 points between the two, the
incumbent and former Vice President Joe Biden in those really important
states. How indicative is that do you think?
ROVE: Well, I think it's important but probably natural thing what is
happening here and particularly after the first debate performance for
President Trump, there was a little bit of softening among his base but now
it's firming up and as we get to the end of the campaign, people tend to
return to their corners. Republicans becoming Republicans, Democrats go
into the Democratic corner but you're right, I mean think about it.
These are the six states that were in the Real Clear Politics study. I know
from polls that I'm looking at in Arizona, private polls in Arizona, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin that the numbers are tightening. In fact
I just was briefed on a poll in Wisconsin that had a 5000 person sample
that showed significant close into low single digits dividing the two
candidates.
So if that happens, think about it this way, if the president wins every
state, let's take the three Great Lake states; Pennsylvania, Michigan,
Wisconsin, put them to the side for a second. If the president wins every
one of the rest of the states he won in 2016 and carry's Pennsylvania, he's
got 280 electoral votes, 10 more than needed.
If he carries Wisconsin out of those three states, only Wisconsin he's got
270. If he carries Michigan out of those three states and loses
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin; he's got 276.
So the path to victory lies in these states that the president carries all
of these, carries Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and then he just needs
one more of these states and the most dangerous one is Wisconsin though
because if he's at 270, if he loses either Maine two or Nebraska two then
we've either got a tie in the electoral college if he loses one or he's
down by two if he loses both of them.
MACCALLUM: Yes gosh, I mean it's going to be a very interesting night.
Here's Joe Biden. He's obviously concerned, he's going out on the trail,
you heard him. Now he's going to visit a number of states including
Wisconsin and he's trying really hard to correct what I think was probably
the most significant take away from the final debate. Here's what he said
today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I'm not shutting down oil fields. I'm not eliminating fracking. I'm
investing in clean energy, we're going to make sure that we don't continue
to subsidize the oil companies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: What do you think Karl?
ROVE: Look, first of all, he has said on a number of times that he wants to
get rid of fracking, no ifs or buts about it and now he's saying I don't
want to get rid of the oil industry but he said that again on the record
several times and his policies would be devastating.
Kamala Harris, Senator Harris is coming to Houston on Friday apparently.
Think about this. They have both said on the record and not step back from
saying that on the first day in office, the Biden-Harris administration
will ban fracking on federal lands and in federal waters and they will -
they will stop leasing - oil leasing on federal lands and in federal
waters.
Houston is the capital city if you will of the Gulf of Mexico exploration
and production and you go in and say we're having no more leases in the
Gulf of Mexico and we're not going to have fracking in federal lands and
federal waters. Well, the Gulf of Mexico is federal waters so you're going
to end fracking and a major basin for oil and gas production and devastate
the Houston economy.
It won't just simply be the people in oil production, it's going to be the
people working in the refineries and the people who are working in the
chemical plants who depend upon the raw material coming out of the Gulf of
Mexico and elsewhere.
Second of all let me just make a quick point on this, it's amazing to be.
In their plan and they've never get stepped away from it, they're going to
end the electricity production that comes from fossil fuels by 2035.
70 percent of our electricity comes from fossil fuels, primarily natural
gas so if you're going to take all these brand new natural gas plants that
are helping keep the utility prices low and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and literally say within 15 years, we don't care whether those plants are
still capable of running for decades more, you're out of business.
And incidentally, we're also going to force people to buy electric cars,
you're driving up demand for electricity and removing a substantial part of
the capacity to generate electricity. That's a recipe for disaster and
again natural gas is big in Texas whether it's in the Gulf of Mexico or are
in Texas and Texas - land in Texas and--
MACCALLUM: Karl, I want to play this other soundbite from Kamala Harris on
60 minutes last night and get your thoughts on it but before I do that,
she's going to be in Texas as you pointed out. That's a pretty bold move to
send the vice presidential candidate to Texas. I don't think it's happened
since Lloyd Bentsen went there and he was from Texas.
So does it - isn't that a sign of confidence on their side.
ROVE: I think - I think it's cuborous because what it means is she comes
here on Friday, she's going to be met by every Republican candidate in the
Houston area, pointing out how this is going to hurt the Texas economy and
she's going to dismean (ph) the closing note in Texas who is going to be.
All the Biden-Harris team says that they're going to do to hurt oil and gas
in Texas.
Our principal source of revenue for our universities and for our public
schools, one of the biggest if not the biggest source of energy - of
revenue for schools and universities is oil and gas revenues from royalty
payments on state land.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
ROVE: I mean, this is a disaster for Texas.
MACCALLUM: All right, this was what her response was when she was asked
about being progressive and even socialist as a label. Interesting moment I
thought and questioning by Norah O'Donnell at CBS. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS HOST: And is that a socialist or progressive
perspective?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No. It is the
perspective of a woman who grew up a black child in America, who was also a
prosecutor, who also has a mother who arrived here at the age of 19 from
India. Who also you know likes hip hop. What do you want to know?
O'DONNELL: I want to give you - I want to give you the--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Hmm. It went on after that. What do you think about that
exchange?
ROVE: I think a weird answer and clearly she didn't like the question.
Remember, the National Journal, a respected nonpartisan publication, ranks
her, looked at all of her votes in the Senate and ranked her as the most
liberal member of the United States Senate.
Look at what you said during her fledgling campaign for president in 2019.
This woman is on the far left of American politics and supported for
example one of the - one of the co-sponsors of the Green New Deal, endorsed
Medicare for all. I mean this woman is on the left of American politics.
She doesn't like being asked that question so she dodges best as she could,
was one of the weirdest laughs I think I've ever heard of any politician
that I've seen in decades.
MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean it seems like the answer is pretty easy and it's
when she said before which is you know I would be the vice president so I'm
going to you know carry out the policies of the president but you're right,
it appears she didn't like the question at all and it was an interesting,
interesting answer. Karl, thank you very much. Great to have you with us
tonight. We'll see you soon.
ROVE: Thanks Martha. You bet.
MACCALLUM: You bet. So as we mentioned, record shattering 62.6 million
votes have already been cast in the 2020 presidential election, although
all of the pundits say that we shouldn't take away too much from that in
terms of the outcome. 40 million of them have been sent through the mail.
Correspondent David Spunt is live in Washington tonight tracking those
numbers and some of the irregularities that have happened as well. Hi
David.
DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Martha good evening, that 62
million number you mentioned is interesting and significant because it
surpasses the number of total early voting in 2016 just four years ago.
So clearly a lot of people out voting, a lot of energy for this election
but still, there are some problems and some irregularities. Let's go to
Boston, Massachusetts where authorities announced the arrest of a man they
say, set a ballot box on fire.
This was in coordination with local authorities and the FBI, early Sunday
morning just after 4:00 AM, Eastern Time. Boston firefighters were called
to a scene with smoke coming from that ballot box. To stop the fire, crews
had to literally fill up the burning box with water. The ballots inside
were charred and wet but 87 of the approximately 122 ballots inside can be
processed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a really scary time in democracy right
now. I hope that there's a way to count the ballots that were lost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're going to be beefing up security in and
around ballot boxes. It's also a way so intimidate people not to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SPUNT: The suspect 39 year old Worldy Armand, he's in custody right now.
The local district attorney said she believes the man is emotionally
disturbed and not part of a larger effort to disrupt voting, still chilling
to see Martha. Now this comes as early voting number showed Democrats ahead
in several key states.
In Florida 2.5 million Democrats to 2.2 million Republicans have already
voted. Let's take a look at North Carolina where the Vice President is
spending quite a bit of time this week. Almost 1.3 million Americans have
voted - Democrats I should say have voted to 952,000 Republicans but look
not far behind Martha, 924,000 independents.
And finally in Pennsylvania where President Trump made three stops today,
former vice president Joe Biden also stopped as well, 1.2 million Democrats
have voted early while only 350,000 Republicans have voted early.
Of course we still have a week, there is still time. Speaking of
Pennsylvania, President Trump is talking about having poll watchers in the
city of Philadelphia. Meanwhile state officials have said no, city
officials have said no and a state judge said that's not going to happen.
The Trump campaign continuing to fight that battle in court, Martha.
MACCALLUM: David Spunt, thank you very much.
SPUNT: You bet.
MACCALLUM: So tonight Judge Amy Coney Barrett is about to become an
associate justice of the Supreme Court. Her process could not have been
more different really than the beleaguered path that we watched last time
around with Brett Kavanaugh.
The criticism from Democrats were more on process than character and in the
end, the process while rushed and some would say impolitic was
legislatively and constitutionally sound. We're told the Vice President
will not attend having been exposed to staffers with COVID-19, he was asked
not to attend by Senator Schumer.
It appears that no tie breaking vote will be needed. We do expect the
swearing in ceremony to follow tonight at the White House. A senior White
House official telling Fox that Justice Clarence Thomas will administer the
constitutional oath to Judge Barrett.
In moments Republican Senator Thom Tillis joins me but we begin with
Democrat Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, both members of the Judiciary
Committee. Senator, good to have you with us tonight. Your thoughts as we
prepare for the final vote tonight on the Senate floor, Sir.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well Martha, I'm glad to hear that Vice President
Pence will not be joining us, given that five members of his senior team
are infected with COVID-19 and I'm frankly still concerned and upset that
we are having this process where the Republican majority is rushing through
Judge Barrett.
Never in American history has there been a confirmation vote for a Supreme
Court justice just eight days before presidential elections where a
majority of states are already voting. And I'll remind you and your viewers
that four years ago, the Republican majority insisted on not holding a
hearing or a vote on a highly qualified nominee by President Obama for 10
months.
I don't think we should be having this vote. I think we should be
delivering relief to American people.
MACCALLUM: There was a difference. He didn't hold the Senate majority at
the time and that's what the Republicans have said is the major reason for
the different situation. Obviously, there's a lot of bad feeling over the
way that this was carried out but none the less as I mentioned, it is a
constitutionally and legislatively sound process in terms of moving
forward.
The President has the right to nominate and tonight she will ultimately be
sworn in if the vote goes as expected. I know that you have a lot of
concerns about ACA and you know it struck me that all of the pictures of
the faces that we have seen on those photos during this process of people
who are taking advantage of the pre-existing condition clause in the ACA,
really proves that without disapproves - there's a question for you - does
it prove that without the - without the mandatory buy-in that it does still
stand.
The fact that people are using the program, they're using ACA and there's
no mandatory commitment to buy ACA proves that without that, which has been
eliminated from the - from the program, it does stand and it does work,
correct?
COONS: Well Martha, if I can be clear. First, just earlier today at
Westside Health in Wilmington, Delaware, I did a press conference with
Kerry for Middle town who's been a part of my argument about the thousands
of Delawareans, the majority of Delawareans who rely on the Affordable Care
Act to protect them from either pre-existing condition discrimination by
insurance companies or discrimination based on being women.
She's a small business owner, she has three pre-existing conditions and she
has been able to access more affordable health care because of these
protections of the ACA.
MACCALLUM: That's exactly my point.
COONS: The second and most importantly as you well know Martha, the Supreme
Court will be hearing a constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care
Act, a week from the election, just two weeks from tomorrow and President
Trump himself last night on 60 Minutes said he hopes the Affordable Care
Act will be overturned and done away with and he still has no plan for how
to replace it in the middle of a pandemic.
MACCALLUM: But whatever he hopes is regardless - I'm only making the point
that when she talked about the Jenga Tower, right? The individual mandate's
already been pulled out and the ACA is still standing because people are
still using it. All those photographs that were shown so that would - that
would substantiate the perspective that she has based on what she told us
during the hearing that she would say that it could be severed and
(inaudible)
So I think it's going to be very interesting.
COONS: That's profoundly misleading Martha. That's not what she said.
MACCALLUM: How so?
COONS: She did not reach the question of severability so Judge Barrett did
not say--
MACCALLUM: No, she said - she said--
COONS: --in front of the judiciary hearing that she committed to upholding
the Affordable Care Act.
MACCALLUM: No, of course not.
COONS: --even if the mandate is unconstitutional.
MACCALLUM: She would never do that. That wouldn't be part of the process.
COONS: Right.
MACCALLUM: However the example that she gave was that if for any law, if
you pull a piece out and it still stands then it can be severed out and the
laws can still stand, which is what we just demonstrated is right now
happening with the ACA. I'm not saying that she said she would uphold it.
I'm saying that the example that she gave is exactly what we see playing
out right now with the ACA so we'll all watch together--
COONS: I agree with you Martha.
MACCALLUM: --as she makes that decision on November 10.
COONS: Today the Affordable Care Act is working--
MACCALLUM: We'll see what happens.
COONS: --but two weeks from now it is at risk for a majority of Americans.
That's exactly why.
MACCALLUM: But it would have to be proved and the severability cause will
fall apart. Let me ask you one more question before I let you go because
you're getting a lot of attention as someone who could become the next
Secretary of State if Joe Biden becomes the next president and you've made
it pretty clear that that is the job that you would want.
Have you had discussions with him about that?
COONS: Joe Biden's been clear that he is focused on winning this next
election on making his case to the American people about how he can bring
us together, get us through this pandemic and help us build back better.
Conversations about positions like that will begin if relevant more than
eight days from now.
So we have not had a conversation about that position and who he would or
wouldn't choose, he has some very talented people to choose from. I'd be
honored to be considered but we can't get ahead of ourselves. There's still
a lot of campaigning to do in the remaining eight days Martha.
MACCALLUM: There sure is. OK, thank you very much Senator. Good to have you
here.
COONS: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: Thank you. So now joined by Republican Senator Thom Tillis of
North Carolina. He is also on the Judiciary Committee. Senator, good to
have you with us this evening. Your thoughts as we prepare for this vote
tonight.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Well, I'm going to be taking a walk over to the
chamber here as soon as we finish this interview. I'm going to proudly cast
my vote for an incredible nominee for the Supreme Court. Brilliant,
successful jurist, successful mom of seven children.
It was very interesting in the hearings that we sat through, just how her
credentials and her capabilities came across. That's why they started - my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle started this whole false
narrative that you just heard Chris lay out. Now Chris is a good friend of
mine but I completely disagree with him.
I think that Judge Barrett's going to do a great job. The Supreme Court is
going to benefit greatly by having her on it.
MACCALLUM: When you take a look at the things that will come before her, we
were just talking about the ACA on November 10. There are a lot of people
who think that she might be more open to overturning at least some of the
building blocks that are included in Roe V. Wade, what do you think the
court is going to look like in the future as a 6-3 conservative majority?
TILLIS: Martha, the first thing people need to understand is the ACA is not
going to go away in a matter of a couple of weeks. They are taking a look
at some of the elements of the act that are arguably unconstitutional and
what they're really going to tell us if Congress wants to pass a law that
stands constitutional muster, that's our job, it's not the Supreme Court.
So I think that we'll see the hearings as after Judge Barrett gets seated
on the Supreme Court but I think the American people need to understand
that Republicans have voted five times to protect pre-existing conditions.
There is a super majority of members who are going to protect them
regardless of what the court does and they need to stop the scare tactics
to try and win an election.
MACCALLUM: I want to play what the Mayor of Washington DC, Mayor Bowser
said about the possibility that there might be another ceremony this
evening at the White House for Amy Coney Barrett and we all remember that
you and others became ill with COVID-19 after attending that. Here's what
she said.
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D) WASHINGTON DC: For all you know you could be packed
in a Rose Garden event with somebody sitting next to you hacking. Now ask
yourself, if that's happening are you going to get up and leave in the
middle of the president's remarks? If you're not, you shouldn't go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: What do you think about the fact that they are discussing a
ceremony. Do you know what it's going to look like and where it's going to
be and how many people will be there?
TILLIS: I don't have all the details, I'm not going to be attending
tonight. I have other commitments and I'm looking forward to the formal
investiture when Judge Barrett moves into session but the reality is
everything that the Democrats are saying now are shifting attention away
from policies that they know would be difficult for them to get elected if
you have informed ballot.
I heard Karl Rove talk about destroying the energy industry. We all want
renewable energy but in Pennsylvania and Texas, Ohio, that's a serious
issue and it's a real threat. You got Senator Harris laughing at the idea
of being a socialist but she's more liberal in this Congress than Bernie
Sanders who is a self-avowed Democrats socialist.
So I think that they'll do anything to shift their attention away from what
they really stand for. It's higher taxes more regulations and a lot of jobs
lost.
MACCALLUM: So we had a piece by reporter David Spunt a few minutes ago
about the voting process thus far and some irregularities that have been
seen so there's a court decision with regard to North Carolina and I want
you to tell us where it is in the process right now because the discussion
is to extend the counting until November 12.
As I understand it, all the ballots would have to be postmarked by the
third but could potentially be counted all the way out to the 12th. Where
does that stand?
TILLIS: Well, there were elements of what the board of elections voted on
that the court have prevented from going into place but we've already
allowed those to be counted three days after the election so this is adding
six additional days.
I still feel confident in absentee ballot voting. I've got my absentee
ballot. I'm actually going to hand deliver it because I've been up here
unexpectedly and I decided that I'll hand deliver when my wife and I vote
but it's a process that I think works. The fact that it's going to be nine
days after the election before we get the total vote as close as this
election's going to be, it probably won't be called on Tuesday night.
MACCALLUM: Incredible. We'll be there. Thank you very much Senator Tillis.
Good to speak with you tonight. We'll be watching your race of course in
North Carolina, such an important state in the presidential race as well.
Thank you Sir.
TILLIS: Thank you Martha.
MACCALLUM: Bret Baier and Shannon Bream are here as we await the historic
Senate vote on the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
of the United States, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: Exactly one month since President Trump announced Judge Amy
Coney Barett as his pick for the Supreme Court. The Senate is now just
moments away from a vote. A very, very quick process that we have watched
play out and that vote is expected to solidify her place on the High Court
and to fill the vacancy of the late liberal icon, Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg.
Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram. Chad Pergram is live on Capitol
Hill tonight watching all of this is we anticipate this big moment. Hi
Chad, good evening.
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there. Good
evening. Well, this is the last speech before they actually go to the
formal confirmation process. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader is
talking on the floor right now. You know yesterday we kept saying that we
thought that this vote would start sometime around 7:26.
Now that's kind of an odd time. The reason is the end of the procedural
vote to end the filibuster yesterday afternoon at 1.26 p.m. Eastern Time.
By rule on a culture vote as it's called here on Capitol Hill, that's what
you vote on to actually end a filibuster, opponents of an issue get 30
extra hours so they closed the vote yesterday at 1.26, that's why we are
about to go to this confirmation vote now.
Now timing in the United States Senate is not exactly swift and that's why
things are drifting a little bit later here and they always give deference
to the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell and also the Minority
Leader, Chuck Schumer.
We might have a procedural vote here first just to take attendance. So,
they'll roll through that pretty quickly. Usually on a vote of this
magnitude senators would vote from their desks. That might not be the case
this time due to the pandemic.
Now, Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said on the day that Ruth
Bader Ginsburg died that she opposed forging ahead with the nomination so
close to an election. Ginsburg died a few hours later. Murkowski is
splitting the atom here. She voted twice in recent days against ending a
filibuster on the nomination but Murkowski says the Senate should confirm
Barrett on the merits she is a "yes." One Republican told Fox that
Murkowski's maneuvers were, quote, "too cute by half." Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI, (R-AK): At the end of the process is the substantive
question of whether Judge Barrett should be categorically rejected as an
associate justice in order to underscore my procedural objection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Now we are expecting 52 Republican ayes, the only no likely to be
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, she faces a difficult reelection
bid in Maine this fall.
Now this is the latest that they have ever considered a Supreme Court
nominee this close to a presidential election. You have to go back to Frank
Murphy, Justice Frank Murphy, who was confirmed in January of 1940, that
was a presidential election year. Benjamin Cardozo in February of 1932 also
a presidential election year and as for a lame duck congress, you had
William Woods confirmed December 21st, 1880. He was nominated by Rutherford
B. Hayes. Back to you.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I want to be your partner in jeopardy,
Chad. Thank you very much. Chad Pergram, always has all of the history for
us from Capitol Hill. Thank you very much, Chad.
PERGRAM: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: Bret Baier joins me now, chief political anchor and host of
Special Report with Bret Baier. Bret, good evening to you. Great to have
you with us tonight.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening. What is a great jeopardy
partner?
MACCALLUM: You know -- exactly. Chad Pergram. Ding, ding for all the
money.
So, I'm watching Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell here on the floor
and I'm thinking about what he must be feeling tonight because he has
secured a legacy for himself in a huge number, over 200 federal court --
federal judges, three Supreme Court justices after tonight. So, this has
been really one of the most important parts I think of his legacy and it's
a big moment for him tonight.
BAIER: A big moment and a big victory for the Republican majority in the
Senate. Remember that it's not just the three Supreme Court justices. It's
really the dozens and dozens of other federal judges --
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BAIER: -- that will affect the courts for decades to come and he talked
about that just the other day. But just to point out how partisan and how
upset Democrats are, Chuck Schumer just a few moments ago said this will be
one of the darkest days in the history of the 231-year history of the
United States Senate. He said Republicans are thwarting the will of the
people, the American people and he went on to say that you will no longer -
- when Democrats control this chamber, you will have forfeited your right
to tell us how to run that majority.
And that obviously, Martha, is a hat tip to what may come if Democrats do
control the Senate and that is all of the talk about doing something --
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BAIER: -- to change the court system and possibly court pack the U.S.
Supreme Court.
MACCALLUM: Absolutely. You know, that is a huge question here because
Democrats will have to decide what levers are at their disposal and whether
or not they think that that is a move too far or whether they could be
justified, it's a six-three conservative majority and it is a young group
of justices who would likely be there for very long time.
Let's take a look at this poll, New York Times/Siena poll. Fifty-eight
percent say they are opposed to the idea of packing the court. Thirty-one
percent in favor of that. Do you think that politically Democrats will
ultimately decide that that's a good way to go, Bret?
BAIER: If they control the chamber there's going to be a lot of pressure
from the progressive side not only on --
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BAIER: -- Joe Biden if he wins the presidency, but on Chuck Schumer as the
head of the Democratic Senate, if all of that happens. That's a big if
eight days from election but if it did, I think there would be a lot of
pressure to change something, but they'll be institutionalist on the
Democratic side as well who fight this, just like they did when FDR
proposed it years and years and years ago.
Speaking about polls, Martha, quickly, when Chuck Schumer says thwart the
will of the American people, there are some polls in recent days that have
said do you approve of the confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
This is Huffington Post/YouGov. Not exactly a right leaning poll.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BAIER: Nine points, yes. twenty-three points in Morning Consul poll, yes,
we support that. That's a -- shows how well she did in that confirmation
hearing. And you know, it's a couple of polls, but it's interesting.
MACCALLUM: Yes. I think it's very interesting. She definitely went a long
way to winning over people who may have not been inclined to support her
during the course of those hearings as we all watched the lessons play out
in those discussions.
ACA, you probably heard my conversation with Senators Tillis and Coons a
moment ago. This is a big issue that is before the court November 10th and
it's also a huge issue in the election of course, Bret.
BAIER: Obviously, and you know, Democrats say that this is all about
tearing down Obamacare. I think the president said that in the 60 Minutes
interview --
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BAIER: -- pretty clearly, he'd like to see that done, but how it happens -
-
MACCALLUM: That's right.
BAIER: -- whether it would happen is a long shot with, as you know, how
the course -- court, the case is structured.
MACCALLUM: Absolutely. Let's bring in Shannon. Bret is going to stay with
us as we see the live shot here on the Senate floor. Mitch McConnell giving
opening comments and some procedural issues as we get started here tonight.
Shannon, so great to have you with us to watch all of this play out.
Shannon Bream is the anchor of Fox News at Night and our chief legal
correspondent of course. Give me your big picture look as we prepare for
this, Shannon.
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: Listen, she's going to be
able to get to work right away, Martha. There are two oaths that a new
justice takes. One of those we would see we expect tonight was Justice
Clarence Thomas. And remember she clerked for Justice Scalia. Years ago,
Justice Thomas was already on the bench than so they certainly have a
relationship and know each other so a former clerk now joining the bench,
as often happens in recent years. And so, he is the one chosen to swear her
in tonight.
There's a second oath, though. So once those are both taken by her, she
literally will be an official justice and working. They are getting
emergency appeals every day now and many of them have to deal with voting
procedures in the states.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BREAM: They will have a conference then on Friday where they vote on the
cases that they'll eventually take up and that she has to go big cases, one
right out of the gate next week and then that ACA case on the tenth. I
watched your fabulous interview with Senator coons and I thought it was a
bit disingenuous that he continues to try to represent that she hadn't
talked about severability.
You and I remember, all of us who watched, she talked about that Jenga game
and how you pull out that piece and try to keep the rest of the law
together. So, to say she didn't talk about it, anybody who watched her
confirmation hearings knows that she did, Martha.
MACCALLUM: Yes. And obviously we'll all be watching to see how she might
make that decision and whether her Jenga tower falls down on November 10th
when those conversations begin.
I want to just stay with you for a moment here, Shannon. It's interesting
to look at the composition of the court with Justice Barrett as the ninth
justice and from everything that I'm looking at, they place her sort of
with Thomas and Alito to the right of her and then her and then Gorsuch and
Kavanaugh, making him sort of the central person in that nine. Explain to
everybody what that means. What's the significance of that?
BREAM: I think it can mean a couple of big things. There are whispers that
this now become the Thomas court, that Justice Clarence Thomas who has been
there for some 29 years would be the one who would be sort of the thought
leader on the conservative side. He is a prolific writer, whether he's in
the majority or the dissent or concurrence. He has a lot to say. Maybe not
verbally, people will know that he doesn't say a lot from the bench but
he's had a lot to say on paper recently about things like the second
amendment, religious liberty and where that clashes with LGBTQ rights.
I mean, he's very vociferous in the things he thinks the court needs to be
taking on. And with her vote they are probably going many times going to
align with him and Justice Alito that he may become more of the leader of
that conservative wing. It seems like it would make sense.
Also, her adding to the court will probably take away this idea that the
chief justice has been the swing vote. In many key cases recently it much
more will be interesting to watch how he decides what to do with his vote.
He's not going to want to go with the liberal minority if they are often
the minority, those three, he's not going to want to be the fourth. It
takes away his ability to write the majority opinion or to really be a
swing vote.
I would think it's going to mean that he more often will probably line up
with five or six on the other side then he will in the minority. So, a lot
of potential changes with her joining the court and we could see that
influence very quickly because of these prominent cases.
MACCALLUM: Yes. Bret, when you look at this from a political perspective,
it's obviously a win for President Trump. He claims that his promise to
appoint conservative justices and judges was a big winning point for him
back in 2016. How much weight may it or may it not hold this time around,
though?
BAIER: Well, I think it's a big win for Republicans, conservatives are
very happy about it. However, I don't see them talking about it a lot on
the trail. In part because I think it really fires up the left and it gets
the left really fired up to get out the vote and to possibly influence what
could be court packing to come. So, I don't think it's a political issue.
It's a great thing, but as far as a victory that the president can list,
he's delivering on the promises that he started with.
MACCALLUM: Standby, both of you. Bret and Shannon, great to have you with
us tonight. It seems that the majority leader is sort of soaking up the
moment here and he is holding court on the floor of the Senate so we are
waiting for the vote to get underway.
And I want to bring in Jonathan Turley, George Washington law professor and
Fox News contributor. Always great to have you with us, Jonathan. Thanks
for being here tonight.
What are you thinking?
JONATHAN TURLEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: You know, she will be the 115th Supreme Court justice on the
court. That's not a lot of people when you look at the size of our country.
It's an incredibly special moment for the country. So, talk to me about
what you see unfolding tonight before you.
TURLEY: What you're about to see is perhaps the most important moment in
the modern court's history. Her addition to the court promises to be
transformative for the court. She's the ultimate deliverable for President
Trump. You know, Republican presidents have insisted that they would put on
the court conservatives and also pro-life nominees. She is the ultimate
deliverable for that constituency.
She is -- she is incredibly smart, a very good writer, and she is also
thought deeply about these issues. In many ways, the person she looks most
like is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I mean, their resumes are very similar. You
know, they both started in law school, graduate top of their class, then
went into teaching. Then wrote a lot about procreational rights. They just
reach different conclusions.
But they are both coming to the court -- that is Ruth Bader Ginsburg came
to the court and she will come to the court as fully formed intellects when
it comes to jurisprudence. They are not a work in progress in that sense.
MACCALLUM: I think that's fascinating. I think the comparisons between
these two women and I think the way that we have all watched Ruth Bader
Ginsburg over the years, I think that attention will go to Amy Coney
Barrett because she is just an interesting person to listen to and to
watch, especially for women across the country, so I think you make a great
point.
Standby for a moment, we are going to go back to Chad Pergram, who is
standing by, who is going to bring us the latest on how everything is
expected to play out here tonight. They are a little bit behind schedule,
Chad.
PERGRAM: That's right. It's typical that they give both the minority
leader and the majority leader a little bit of time before a confirmation
vote. Certainly, something of this magnitude. You know a lot of times they
allocate time in the Senate by 10-minute blocks, half hour blocks and
things like that. Technically they have overrun the time period as to when
they were to start here, but because it's the Senate majority leader and
out of deference to him, Mitch McConnell, they're going to give him more
time.
Now again, just to reset what we are expecting here, once Mitch McConnell
concludes his remarks, is we expect to have a procedural vote, probably, we
don't know that 100 percent but probably have a procedural vote, take
attendance, a quorum call, this is where they actually make sure they
actually have a quorum to do business here. That will take probably 10
minutes at the most and then they will go to the actual confirmation vote
itself.
And again, that would probably take less time because you have most
senators in the chamber. Now under conventional circumstances, two things
would happen. You would usually have senators vote from their desks. They
don't want people milling around the Senate chamber, coming in and out of
the cloakroom. They want everybody there because of the solemnity and
importance of the moment.
The other thing that we are not going to have tonight is Mike Pence, the
vice president, and the Constitution as president of the Senate, presiding
over the vote. You know, it was thought a few days ago that maybe if they
had issues with health or if you had other senators who were going to vote
no on the Republican side, you know, they were right down to the margin of
error here in terms of confirming the Supreme Court nominee and you might
have need Mike Pence to cast a vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett.
You know, there had never been a vote to confirm any executive branch
nomination. That was broken by the vice president until Betsy DeVos in
early 2017. Mike Pence has broken several other ties regarding executive
branch nominees since it had never happened with the Supreme Court nominee,
but he is not even going to come just to preside over the vote. His vote
was not needed two years ago when they confirmed Brett Kavanaugh.
They did bring him in and he sat there over the vote and announced the vote
total, but don't forget that he has had several aides test positive for
coronavirus and there has been concern expressed certainly by Democrats
about the safety protocols.
They wrote a letter, Democratic leaders in the Senate, to Mike Pence,
discouraging him from coming. Saying look, we are worried about doing this
with safety and health protocols anyway and we are really concerned if you
are going to come up here so he's not going to come to Capitol Hill. They
will vote here soon.
So again, we are waiting for Mitch McConnell to wrap up and as I said last
time, you know, timing and the Senate, it never works out just the way you
think. So, we are thinking now, you know, we are pushing 8 o'clock. They
might not actually start this confirmation vote until sometime after 9
o'clock, at 8 o'clock, and at the latest they would probably close to vote
before 9.
Now keep in mind that we are only expecting one Republican no, Susan
Collins of Maine, so probably 52 Republican yes' and when they get across
that vote threshold, 51 votes, when they are at 51 ayes, we can say that
they have basically -- they have the votes to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as
the 115th justice of the Supreme Court, but the vote is never final until
they actually close the vote.
Also, on hand today, she was not here yesterday, you have Senator Kamala
Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. She was not here for the
procedural vote yesterday. She is here and she will cast a vote against Amy
Coney Barrett -- Amy Coney Barrett later tonight, Martha.
MACCALLUM: Chad, thank you very much. We know that Kamala Harris has said
many times that she thinks this process is illegitimate and I'm sure she
wants to be there to cast her no vote. I also would venture a guess that if
this was coming down to the wire that the Vice President Mike Pence would
find some way to get in there to place that vote.
Ron Johnson said he would go in in a moon suit if needed be -- if need be
when he had the virus a week or so ago. I don't know, time is -- time just
seems to be going so fast.
Bret Baier and Shannon Bream back with us now. Bret, you heard Chad
speaking by the fact that Susan Collins is expected to be the only no vote
on the Republican side. She has distinguished herself in that way
throughout these Supreme Court procedures with Brett Kavanaugh, she was the
one on the fence. She's in a tough Senate race right now.
BAIER: Very tough. Trying to hang on to her political life in Maine --
MACCALLUM: Yes.
BAIER: -- and trailing in the latest polls there. This is a tough spot for
her, but she is doing what was expected that she would do. It's interesting
that, you know, the Democrats are there in person. Obviously, they
boycotted the Senate judiciary committee hearing with no votes against
Judge Barrett, but because there's only one Republican vote against her
suggests how well she did in that confirmation hearing.
Her, you know, credentials, her ability to answer questions
straightforwardly, to talk about what originalism is, to be a qualified
judge or justice seemed to convince even those that were on the fence. Mitt
Romney talked a lot in his speech today about how qualified she was, as did
Lisa Murkowski.
MACCALLUM: Yes. Mitt Romney obviously was one of those the people on the
Republican side of the fence were concerned about. He's a yes. Lisa
Murkowski also a yes against the process, but for the person essentially.
Shannon, Justice Thomas is going to swear her in. Tell us a little bit
about the significance of that moment and who is chosen for that moment and
also, if I could ask two questions at once here, a little bit about the
clerks and how that gets set up during that process for her.
BREAM: Yes. Certainly, there are, as I mentioned earlier, there are two
different swearing ins. There is a constitutional oath, a judicial oath, so
very meaningful for her I'm sure that she has Justice Thomas there. As I
mentioned earlier, she clerked for Justice Scalia. They were very close
friends. Often in alignment on judicial philosophy and on critical
decisions, so it's very plausible that she would have had a relationship
with Justice Thomas while she was clerking for Justice Scalia.
So, for him to be there tonight for her big moment is certainly a statement
and a welcome to her from somebody who was exceptionally close to the man
she calls a mentor and a guiding force in her judicial philosophy, which
was Justice Scalia.
So, you look forward to where they will go next. Many of these judges, when
they're getting prepared to go to the circuit level or here now to the
Supreme Court will have some clerks in place. Usually they dip back into
the clerk pool of people that have served with them before as clerks. She's
had, you know, two or three years now on the seventh circuit. It's very
likely that she has talked with some of those clerks about, listen, if I am
confirmed to the court tonight, we are going to have to hit the ground
running.
So, she probably -- you can have up to four clerks there on the Supreme
Court. She probably has made some arrangements, had some conversations, you
know, you don't want to get ahead of yourself but she is going to jump
right into the workload the minute that she is confirmed and sworn in, so
it is very smart. It's not really like measuring the drapes ahead of time.
You do have to have your clerks ready because she will jump into a term
that started a month ago and there's a lot of work to do. And as I said
earlier, a lot of these emergency appeals that are coming in on ballot
measures and mail-in ballots and all kinds of things, so they are merely
every day for the last few weeks we'd seen some type of emergency filing,
so she's going to have that to jump into as well as the cases that they're
going to start hearing in their next round of arguments on Monday.
MACCALLUM: Just more -- she's got a busy life and it's going to get even
busier.
Let's bring in Jonathan Turley. Joining me once again now, George
Washington law professor and Fox News contributor. You know, with regard to
what Shannon just spoke about, some of these voting issues that are before
the court, there has been some discussion about her appointment by
President Trump and the election going on and whether or not she should
have to recuse herself and I heard you speak about this this afternoon as
an insult and I'd love for you to explain to everybody at home why you see
it that way.
TURLEY: It's utterly absurd, what is being suggested by some of these
members. There is no basis why she should recuse herself from voting on
these pending cases or on election cases. There is a standard for recusal
that is codified. Some justices have recused themselves, relatively few
cases.
It's a matter left largely after the justices themselves. They are not
subject to the decision, the review of lower court judges, so this is left
to their discretion. When they have recused themselves, it is because
they've had a personal interest, financial or professional, on a case.
Justice Kagan recused herself because she was involved in some of the cases
that came before the court. There is no case in the history of the court
that would support a demand for recusal from his election cases.
Moreover, if we are going to make another decision like Bush v. Gore, we
don't want to be based on a tie. We want a full panoply of justices to
decide. To suggest that she should recuse herself has got to be some kind
of judicial shale, and she's not. She's a very serious intellectual and
jurist.
MACCALLUM: You know, by that measure, it would seem to me that anyone who
was appointed by any president, if any decision came before them that might
benefit them in some way, they would have to recuse themselves. I mean, it
makes no sense.
TURLEY: That's right. And you know --
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: We are listening in, the vote is underway. Jonathan, stand by
with me. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Daines.
SEN. STEVE DAINES (R-MT): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Duckworth. Mr. Durbin. Mr. Enzi.
SEN. MIKE ENZI (R-WY): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Ernst.
SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Feinstein. Mrs. Fisher.
SEN. DEB FISCHER (R-NM): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gardner.
SEN. CORY GARDNER (R-CO): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Gillibrand.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Graham.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Grassley.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Harris. Ms. Hassan.
SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-NH): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Hawley.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Heinrich. Ms. Hirono. Mr. Hoven.
SEN. JOHN HOEVEN (R-ND): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Hyde Smith.
SEN. CINDY HYDE-SMITH (R-MS): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Inhofe. Mr. Johnson.
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Jones. Mr. Kane. Mr. Kennedy.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. King.
SEN. ANGUS KING (I): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Klobuchar. Mr. Lankford.
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Leahy.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Lee.
SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Loeffler.
SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Manchin. Mr. Markey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aye. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McConnell.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. McSally.
SEN. MARTHA MCSALLY (R-AZ): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Menendez. Mr. Merkley.
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Moran.
SEN. JERRY MORAN (R-KS): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Murkowski.
MURKOWSKI: Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Murphy. Mrs. Murray. Mr. Paul.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Purdue.
SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Peters.
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Portman.
SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Reid. Mr. Risch.
SEN. JAMES RISCH (R-ID): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Roberts.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Romney.
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Rosen. Mr. Rounds.
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Rubio.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Sanders.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Sasse.
SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Schatz. Mr. Schumer. Mr. Scott of Florida.
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Scott of South Carolina.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Shaheen. Mr. Shelby.
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Sinema. Ms. Smith. Ms. Stabenow. Mr. Sullivan.
SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Tester. Mr. Thune.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Tillis.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Toomey.
SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Udall. Mr. Van Hollen. Mr. Warner. Ms. Warren. Mr.
Whitehouse. Mr. Wicker.
SEN. ROGER WICKER (R-MS): Aye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Wyden.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Young.
SEN. TODD YOUNG (R-IN): Aye.
MACCALLUM: Some very dramatic thumbs down votes there. But this has gone
through. And 52 votes for Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Shannon Bream, your thoughts on some of the political showmanship here with
some, you know, vote and walk out essentially by all the Democrats?
BREAM: There has been a lot of drama around this particular nomination,
confirmation process. It is something that's a lifetime appointment. It is
critically important to both sides. And so not surprisingly we would have a
little bit of drama tonight.
We talked a little bit earlier about Senator Collins, Republican running
for reelection in Maine voting no. I have to think that there was an
understanding with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP
leadership that she would vote no because they knew they were covered
otherwise. She's in a tough race. That no vote may actually help her there.
And there's a lot of conversation about whether the swiftness of this
confirmation may cost the GOP and those Senate races in the fall. So, I got
to think there was a deal in place for her to vote no because they felt
they have the other boats to go forward.
MACCALLUM: Yes. Shannon, thank you. Also joining me Mike Davis. Former law
clerk to Justice Neil Gorsuch who now works to confirm President Trump's
judicial nominees as the Article III Project. Mike, your thoughts as this
vote has now passed for Amy Coney Barrett.
MIKE DAVIS, FORMER LAW CLERK TO JUSTICE GORSUCH: This is a historic
victory for President Trump. Then candidate Donald Trump in 2016 campaigned
on the promise that he would transform the federal judiciary with judges
who understood that there are modest but critical role is to follow the law
and President Trump has done that with Justice Gorsuch, justice Kavanaugh.
A near old time record 53 judges to the critically important federal
important federal courts of appeals. And now Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
MACCALLUM: You know, your thoughts on Amy Coney Barrett and what kind of
justice she will be.
DAVIS: She is a phenomenal Supreme Court justice. We saw this during her
hearing. She's exceptionally well-qualified. She's going to bring a very
unique perspective to the Supreme Court, as a mother of seven kids, two
adopted from Haiti. One with down syndrome. She is number one in her class
at Notre Dame Law School. Clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Scalia.
She's going to bring a nine Ivy League perspective to the Supreme Court
which is desperately needed.
MACCALLUM: She says she's going to teach them something about football.
And we know that it's very collegial on the Supreme Court so we expect that
will happen. Thank you, Mike. Good to see you tonight.
That is THE STORY of Monday, October 26, 2020. But as always, THE STORY
continues. Tucker picks up our coverage live right after this. Stay tuned,
everybody. Have a great night.
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