- We want to get this right.
Not just the right person -- that's the first thing --
but the right process.
- You've said that you would like the confirmation vote
to happen by April 9th.
Why April 9th?
And do you have confidence
that you can get bipartisan support by that time?
- Why am I picking April 9th?
Because if I don't pick April 9th, I have to pick a date
in the late weeks of April.
And the longer you wait,
the more likely things get complicated.
I mean, things can happen, so if I have a singular focus,
it's to get this done in an orderly,
predictable way, in a timely fashion.
- You've had one committee member on the Republican side
who's already said some inflammatory comments
about Biden's choice to pick a Black woman this time.
This Judiciary Committee has historically had moments
where they've had women or people of color in front of it
and there have been moments where --
that could be deemed insensitive
or things come out that could be inflammatory.
Is that something you're concerned about at all,
the optics of all of this?
- I've been surprised because not
all of the Republican senators by any means,
but some of them seem particularly exercised
by assertive women of color.
It is almost like a dog whistle.
And I'm not the only one who's raised this.
Senator Leahy's raised this, as well.
I listen to them and wonder if they hear themselves.
Because it is fair to ask hard questions --
these are important jobs.
But to continue to have this high blood pressure
and high emotion over assertive women of color,
I don't quite understand it.
I can't give you a good explanation for it.
I hope it doesn't happen in the Supreme
Court nomination process.
- What are you doing now to work
with some of the Republicans on the committee,
as well as, you know, Republicans in the Senate?
- When I heard the news from Ron Klain
about Breyer's retirement, he asked me to wait a day.
Well, it broke in the hour after he had spoken to me.
I reached out to Chuck Grassley, the first phone call I made.
He is the ranking Republican.
Chuck has voted for Democratic nominees
from the Biden administration.
I'm not going to presume anything
about his vote on this nominee,
but I promised him several things
that I already said to him over and over --
I'm not going to stab you in the back,
I'm going to let you know what's coming.
- Where do the swing votes come into all of this?
Have you had conversations with Senator Manchin
or Senator Sinema about where their support lies?
- No, I haven't.
I'll be honest with you -- I have not.
I've reached out.
Of course, the committee's talked about it a lot,
and neither of them are on my committee,
and I reached out to Republican senators.
The vice president, Kamala Harris,
has been reaching out to some of the women in the Senate
that she knew on the Republican side.
So, as far as Manchin and Sinema,
I haven't talked to them directly.
- Is this an opportunity for the Senate to come together
on something very significant
and have a moment where they're agreeing on something?
Do you find it as maybe a seminal moment
in this term of the Senate?
- Yes, and I'm hopeful.
And I'm hopeful for two or three reasons.
I've looked at at least the short list
that has been publicized of nominees.
And of course, it would be the first African American woman,
but you know,
if you pay any attention whatsoever to these things,
you realize that the success that they've had so far
in their personal and professional lives
really tells us a story about who they are.
They are way above average.
Secondly, we just have gone through a debate --
which many people may not relate to this,
but I relate to it -- about changing the Senate rules.
The argument on the other side was,
no, the rules can work if you're bipartisan.
And you know, I think some of the Republicans
took that to heart.
I've seen more interest in actually legislating
since that debate.
Some of them are trying to prove the case that, in fact,
the Senate can be functional, and this is one real test of it.
And finally, I'm going to get inside Mitch McConnell's mind
for a moment, if he doesn't mind,
and say this may not be the issue
he wants to take to the voters in November.
He may think that this is more divisive and negative
for their fate than positive.
So, perhaps it won't be as contentious as it might be.