The heat is on this week in the Senate, where members must choose whether to stand with—or against—their party in the vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court Justice. Democrats plan to filibuster and Republicans have promised to respond with the so-called “nuclear option,” which would change the rules so that a simple majority of senators could confirm Gorsuch instead of the 60 votes needed now. The change would apply to future Supreme Court nominees, too. The next pick for the country’s top court would only need a simple majority—just as it already is for federal court nominees, ever since 2013 when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid engineered that change. Some Senators are worried that the change would mean Republicans and Democrats would no longer have to reach across the aisle on Supreme Court picks—or anything else. Joining Jim Braude are Farai Chideya, a Harvard Fellow and senior writer for FiveThirtyEight during the campaign; Steve Kerrigan, former CEO of the Democratic National Convention and a former candidate for lieutenant governor; and former Republican state senator Robert Hedlund, who is now mayor of Weymouth.

It’s no stretch to suggest President Donald Trump has gotten off to a rocky start with the intelligence community. In January, he likened intel leaks to the media with living in Nazi Germany. Then weeks later, he attacked the media as he stood in front of a CIA memorial wall, a sacred space meant to honor fallen agents. This morning, he tweeted that reports of electronic surveillance on his campaign were a “crooked scheme.” Intelligence officials have not confirmed evidence of those surveillance claims. As congressional panels continue their investigations, former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn has agreed to testify if he is granted immunity—a request raising questions of its own. For a closer look at the president’s relationship with the intelligence community, Jim is joined by former Director of Central Intelligence and Deputy Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton, John Deutch, who is now an institute professor at MIT.

Jim re-introduces us to the first couple, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence.