During coverage of President Trump’s nomination of federal judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Wednesday’s NBC Today, the hosts and correspondents seemed to justify Democrats planning to block confirmation. In a report at the top of the morning show, Peter Alexander proclaimed: “Democrats vowing to hold up the pick....promising to filibuster any pick who isn't Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee, who Republicans refused to give a vote or a hearing.”
Moments later, the reporter concluded: “The bottom line here, the Democratic base's anger about President Trump’s temporary travel ban has really turned up the temperature in Congress, making it harder for Democrats to be seen supporting President Trump on anything.”
In a discussion with legal correspondent Pete Williams that followed, co-host Matt Lauer argued: “Anytime you go through a confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court Justice, it's contentious. It should be because it carries such weight and consequence.” He then asked: “But add in anger over the election, anger over Merrick Garland, anger on this so-called stolen seat, referring to that, and even what's happened in the first ten days of the Trump presidency, and what are we in for?”
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Williams responded:
I think you're right, Matt. Remember, the fight over Merrick Garland, the Republicans said, wasn't personal, it wasn’t about him, it was about principle. Now the Democrats are saying the same thing. That this, to a large extent, isn't about Gorsuch, it's about the fact that Merrick Garland never even got a hearing. So that is going to be a major issue here for the Democrats.
In a later interview with former White House chief of staff Andy Card, Lauer worried that any Republican attempt to overcome Democratic obstruction would spark a “war in Washington.”
Here are excerpts of the February 1 coverage:
7:04 AM ET
(...)
PETER ALEXANDER: Still, Trump’s selection is already setting off political fireworks. Democrats vowing to hold up the pick. Even before the announcement, some Democrats promising to filibuster any pick who isn't Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee, who Republicans refused to give a vote or a hearing.
SEN. CHRIS COONS [D-DELAWARE]: I do think it’s important for us to remind the American people that this is, in some way, a stolen seat.
ALEXANDER: To be confirmed, Gorsuch will need 60 Senate votes, something Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is insisting on. That is unless Republicans decided to overrule the process, deploying the so-called “nuclear option,” changing Senate rules to allow a simple majority vote to approve the pick.
Because Gorsuch wouldn’t alter the Court’s ideological divide, some liberals are urging Democrats to save their fire in case President Trump gets a second, and likely more significant nomination, that could change the balance of the court.
The bottom line here, the Democratic base's anger about President Trump’s temporary travel ban has really turned up the temperature in Congress, making it harder for Democrats to be seen supporting President Trump on anything.
(...)
7:06 AM ET
MATT LAUER: Anytime you go through a confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court Justice, it's contentious. It should be because it carries such weight and consequence. But add in anger over the election, anger over Merrick Garland, anger on this so-called stolen seat, referring to that, and even what's happened in the first ten days of the Trump presidency, and what are we in for?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Supreme Court Showdown; Will Nomination Fight Get Nasty?]
PETE WILLIAMS: Well, it will be several weeks before the confirmation hearing, so that's a good thing for this nominee. But I think you're right, Matt. Remember, the fight over Merrick Garland, the Republicans said, wasn't personal, it wasn’t about him, it was about principle. Now the Democrats are saying the same thing. That this, to a large extent, isn't about Gorsuch, it's about the fact that Merrick Garland never even got a hearing. So that is going to be a major issue here for the Democrats.
(...)
