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Trump Finally Relents, Allows Biden Transition to Begin; President-elect Joe Biden Set to Introduce His National Security Team Soon; U.S. Stock Futures Rise As Biden Picks Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 24, 2020 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Parts of these bills, you know, that any president would act this way. But in spite of that, I think that we should do what common sense dictates. There may be some argument about what the apparent winner needs.

That's the operative term here. And there's no question in my mind or anybody else's for that matter that Joe Biden was the apparent winner. And so, that's what's supposed to make her do her job. But she didn't pay attention to that. So, we may have to define what apparent winner means. So, I'll give her credit for that. I don't think it's any need to worry about whether or not she is right or wrong. Let's just go forward.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, moving forward, starting today, you are on the coronavirus subcommittee. So, starting today, what will Joe Biden and his team learn that they didn't know yesterday? What sorts of plans can he start making for distribution of the vaccine, for instance?

CLYBURN: Well, I think that they'll get the benefit of whatever the scientists have been telling these various committees. As you know, we now know that they were getting information that they were not sharing with people.

For instance, the White House has been sending information out to the states for them to do certain things, keeping it secret while maintaining a public posture saying something else. We found out from Bob Woodward's interviews with the president that he knew things that he never shared with the republic -- with the public. So, I think she has information, her staff, that information that they are sitting on. And we need that information in order to act on it. They had it and didn't act, we want to get it so we can act.

CAMEROTA: About the names that Joe Biden has put out in terms of his cabinet -- I can put them up on the screen. Everybody from Tony Blinken to John Kerry. There have been already some analysis and assessment that this is a return to the status quo.

These are folks with a lot of experience, but they're also folks who Trump voters, you know, didn't like, felt were too international. Too Washington. Too status quo. Similarly, progressives would like to see some of their ranks represented in his cabinet, say, Bernie Sanders. Do you think that he will heed that warning or whatever that advice?

CLYBURN: Well, I know all of these people, some better than others. But Miss Yellen would not be satisfactory to the progressives? I would think they hit the jackpot when he named her to be the first woman to be treasurer.

An outstanding appointment. And so, I think that, Dave, when you look at someone like John Kerry to do international stuff as it relates to climate control, he is a fantastic person for that as well and that Blinken was her deputy. And now he's going to be the Secretary of State. He's been around the president for a long time. So, I don't know that this is status quo. This is picking up and building on what got stepped away from four years ago.

So much of what these men and women have been doing was building on history so that they have a better future. We had a president to come in and just undercut all of that and started out taking this country on a different road, a road, which has lost respect around the world. These people, I think will get that respect back and continue our pursuit of a more perfect union. You cannot say that this president's administration was in pursuit of a more perfect union. He was pursuing disintegration of this union.

CAMEROTA: And do you think there is a role for the Stacey Abrams or Pete Buttigieg or Bernie Sanders in this cabinet?

CLYBURN: Yes, as well as the Jaime Harrisons. I'm not going to let you all forget about Jaime. The fact of the matter is, he is co-chair of the DNC now or associate counsel of the DNC. He ran for that office four years ago, he's a young man who should not be left on the battlefield.

Stacey Abrams has done great work, and she will going to do good work. I think she's going to be very successful come January the 5th, with all the other people working around her. So, there are a lot of young people out there and some not-so-young people like Bernie Sanders, I wish he would come into the administration. Bernie has a way of getting people to understand certain things.

[07:35:00]

So, I think that we are a big tent. And we are a tent big enough to hold young people and some not-so-young people. That's why I'm hanging in here.

CAMEROTA: Congressman, you'll be happy to note, not only have we not forgotten about Jaime Harrison, he'll be interviewed by John Berman in our next hour. So stick around for that.

CLYBURN: Very good.

CAMEROTA: OK, Congressman James Clyburn --

CLYBURN: Thank you --

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much. Great to get your take on all of this, this morning.

CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me.

CAMEROTA: President-elect Joe Biden makes history today by picking the first woman as Treasury Secretary. Markets are cheering this pick. We discuss why? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. stock futures pointing way up this morning as President-elect Joe Biden officially begins his transition. He, we have learned, is going to nominate Janet Yellen; former Fed chair to be Treasury Secretary. CNN International anchor and correspondent Julia Chatterley joins us now to explain it all.

Julie, it struck me that this nomination which we have reported on, it earned praise from Senator Elizabeth Warren and a gushing, glowing profile in the "Wall Street Journal", that tells you the breadth of support behind this nomination.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, you've got a winner when Elizabeth Warren and the stock markets are praising and celebrating a pick. I couldn't agree more with you. The bottom line is she knows a lot of people.

She's got a whole wealth of experience. I'd call her crisis ready. Just take a look at her CV, she'll be the first woman, of course, to be Treasury Secretary, but she'll be the woman only to have held three key positions, the Federal Reserve chair to have led the White House's Council of Economic Advisors.

And then, have come of course, become Treasury Secretary in a pivotal moment, of course, she's going to take over. And she has to look at the jobs market. She has to look at the broader crisis and be ready to act. And I think she will. Politically, to your point, she's got something for everybody here. She's seen as someone who understands and is respected by Wall Street, at the same time, she's not seen as being cozy with them.

You remember, she sanctioned Wells Fargo for bad behavior at the end of her reign. She is also a consensus builder. And this is key for me, John, at this moment. She is going to need to do that. We've seen the battles that Congress has had, enacting more financial aid.

And she said even back in September, we need to see more spending. So, in my view, and I think a lot of people I'm speaking to, they believe the recovery will be stronger for having her in this role.

BERMAN: It's that last part that you know the markets like.

CHATTERLEY: Yes -- BERMAN: She wants to keep the money flowing. It's a philosophical

point for her in terms of stimulus in moments like this when an economy is in trouble. So, there was a moment yesterday before the official ascertainment that may have pre-staged what was to come. General Motors in the middle of the day announced it was no longer going to back President Trump's climate roll-backs, and instead, aligned with the incoming Biden administration. That has significance.

CHATTERLEY: Huge. The banner says business is moving beyond Trump. The story here, of course, is that the Trump administration was trying to curtail California's powers to enact its own, tighter emission standards. California cares more about climate than many other states.

GM had always said, look, we want a broad standard. One standard for everyone to make our lives easier. What GM came out with yesterday was saying, look, we initially backed that litigation from the Trump administration. Now, we're not going to and we hope we can all work together.

Business recognizes, I think the Biden administration is not going to move away from climate control, climate change, and enacting these things. And as I started and I'll finish the same way, business moving beyond Trump.

BERMAN: It's happened. Julia Chatterley --

CHATTERLEY: It's happened --

BERMAN: Thanks so much for being here with us. Appreciate it.

CAMEROTA: OK, John. America's hotel industry has been devastated by the pandemic. Many properties remain closed and the thousands of people that worked in hospitality are out of work. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us live with more. What's the situation across the country, Vanessa?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Well, this is the time of year when hotels around the country are welcoming holiday travelers. It's also the time where they make a good chunk of their revenue. But obviously, that is not happening this year. Some of the most iconic, luxury hotels in New York City and around the country known for their holiday spirit are simply not doing that this year. And that is leaving thousands of workers without a job this holiday season.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Jesus Morales looks forward to the bustle of the holidays at Chicago's historic Drake Hotel. Customer demands and long hours are tiring, but financially rewarding.

JESUS MORALES, WORKS AT DRAKE HOTEL: Last year, I was making good money. But it's gone. I don't know when I'm going to be back to work.

YURKEVICH: This year, there is no holiday bonus. Morales worked here for 33 years, but was furloughed in March. The Drake is one of Chicago's top hotels, where highly-trained employees serve an elite clientele. But this year, there are very few of both.

MORALES: My savings is gone. My under-the-pillow money is gone.

YURKEVICH: The hotel industry has lost more than 650,000 jobs during the pandemic. Four in 10 hotel workers like Morales are still out of work. These last few months have been taxing, emotionally and financially. His daughter is recovering from an accident and his wife needs daily medication.

[07:45:00]

MORALES: I don't have health insurance right now. My insurance ran out like a month ago. To get my insurance, it cost about $1,200 a month and it's just no way I can pay that.

YURKEVICH: In New York, iconic hotels are shutting their doors. The Plaza is temporarily closed, the Roosevelt, permanently, and the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel is running at 15 percent occupancy. Its sister hotel is shuttered.

(on camera): What is it like to be sitting in your closed hotel right now?

JOHN FITZPATRICK, OWNER, FITZPATRICK HOTELS NORTH AMERICA: It's very eerie. It is costing a lot of money to stay closed, and every month, it's just drain. It's just in your blood as a hotelier, you never close your front door.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Just 25 of John Fitzpatrick's 175 employees are working. Bilal Yayla was recently called back to bartend, but he says without regular tips, his income has dropped by more than 50 percent.

BILAL YAYLA, BARTENDER, FITZPATRICK GRAND CENTRAL HOTEL: I was out of work for almost three months. Also, we lost our insurance, and I have two babies at home.

YURKEVICH: In Miami, Jenny Brody has won awards as an elite concierge at the St. Regis Bal Harbor. But she and her husband were both furloughed from their hotel jobs in March. He found a temporary job in October. She's still looking.

JENNY BRODY, FURLOUGHED CONCIERGE: You just kind of go into panic mode, like, did we save enough for this rainy day, so-to-speak. But really, 2020 has become a rainy year.

YURKEVICH: At the end of this year, dozens of federal protections for those out of work expire. For millions of Americans, like Morales, it's not the new year he was expecting.

MORALES: Since I was 17, I've been working at least two jobs until now. So I've been paying taxes for 46 years, trying to be the best citizen of the United States as you can. And it's just tough. It's just frustrated that the government is not doing much for the hard- working people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: Now, the hotel workers we spoke to say they're very encouraged about news about a potential vaccine. But they know that their industry coming back is not like flipping on a light switch. It will take time. And listen to this number, John. The American Hotel Lodging Association says that two in three hotels across the United States will close without federal aid. Just imagine if that happens, all of those jobs that will go with them. John?

CAMEROTA: I'll take it, Vanessa, that is really hard to get your head around how many people will be out of work for good, I mean, meaning there's no end in sight for them. Thank you for sharing their stories with us. Meanwhile, listen to this story. A phantom candidate who did not even campaign played spoiler in a Florida state Senate race decided by just 32 votes. CNN investigates the dark-money mystery behind this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

CAMEROTA: There are questions this morning in Florida about three state Senate races, in each there was a candidate who did no campaigning and held no fundraisers. Were they real or were they spoilers planted by so-called dark money to siphon votes from the Democrats? CNN's senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin joins us now. What have you learned about this, Drew?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, the concern here is this could be the new trend in the newest of political dirty tricks. We've had spoiler candidates before, but this is a ghost spoiler candidate and backed by dark money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): It was the closest of races, incumbent Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez lost his Florida state Senate seat by just 32 votes. The Republican challenger who won --

ILEANA GARCIA, FLORIDA STATE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm Ileana Garcia.

GRIFFIN: Ileana Garcia, a founder of Latinos for Trump, but there was a third candidate in this race playing the role of spoiler, his name Alex Rodriguez, sharing the same last name as the Democrat in the race and promoted as a liberal. Alex Rodriguez got more than 6,000 votes, Jose Rodriguez says the straw candidate cost him his seat by pulling away Democrat votes.

(on camera): Have you ever met him, seen him, talked to him? Has he been involved in any debates?

JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, FORMER FLORIDA STATE SENATOR: I didn't even know what he looked like until after the race and investigative reporters tracked him down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have to fight back. GRIFFIN (voice-over): In state Senate district 9, Democrat Patricia

Sigman lost to a Republican by just 2 percent of the vote, here once again, no one ever saw the supposedly liberal third candidate.

PATRICIA SIGMAN, FORMER FLORIDA STATE SENATE CANDIDATE: She had no website, she never participated in any of the debates or forums, never showed up anywhere. She wasn't even registered to vote until she filed.

GRIFFIN: In these races and one other, ghost candidates in Florida were supported by mysterious PACs which sent out hundreds of thousands of dollars in mostly identical advertising mailers making those candidates seem liberal, yet CNN has learned the people behind the mailers were all Republicans.

BEN WILCOX, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INTEGRITY FLORIDA: This is a new one for me.

GRIFFIN: Ben Wilcox; research director of the non-partisan watchdog group Integrity Florida says no doubt someone running a dark money campaign impacted at least one state Senate seat, possibly two.

WILCOX: Florida is financially regulated when it comes to financing of campaigns, it's probably legal, but you know, it really shouldn't be.

GRIFFIN: Here is what we know, two brand-new political action committees registered on the same date at the same minute, and one day later received a combined $550,000 in donations from the same company. The paperwork says the PACs were started by two young women whose social media is filled with pictures of beaches and boats, but CNN could find no evidence either of them or their PACs had ever been involved in politics. Then on the very same day, both PACs paid the same printing company all of that $550,000 for the flyers. It's their only expenditure.

The printing company and one of the PACs are linked to this man, Alex Alvarado, a Tallahassee-based Republican consultant and former Republican congressional intern.

[07:55:00]

The printing company is run out of this house owned by his mom and stepdad, the PAC started by a friend of his girlfriend's. And despite being involved in ghost candidate advertising with very liberal and progressive ideas, every one of them is a registered Republican. That even includes the ghost candidate, Alex Rodriguez who was registered Republican until this election. And none of them are talking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been looking for Alex. Is he around?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he'd be back tomorrow, though.

GRIFFIN: That's actually Alex Rodriguez who lied here to a local Miami TV reporter about his own identity. The money flowed into the PACs from one company, Proclivity. It's registered in Delaware as a corporation under the name Richard Alexander.

(on camera): What or who is Proclivity? The trail ends here at a strip mall in Atlanta, Georgia. This is where Proclivity has a mailbox drop, but nothing else.

(voice-over): Democrats like Patricia Sigman are calling for an investigation into who paid for all of this.

SIGMAN: They don't run in order to win, they run in order to just try to siphon off votes, and you know, they don't have a website, they don't campaign, they don't show up. They're ghosts.

GRIFFIN: Florida's Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee denies any knowledge whatsoever of the mysterious money that helped in three of their races.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Now, Alisyn, if this was all on the up and up and all legal of course, we'd be hearing from these people, but not a one of them is talking. Not the ghost candidates, not the PACs, not the Republican strategists and certainly not anybody behind that half million dollars plus in dark money.

CAMEROTA: Drew, that is a fascinating report. And they're also alphabetically, they come higher on the ballot than the real candidate which also, I think, perhaps leads people to check it. What if one of those ghost candidates ever accidentally won, then what?

GRIFFIN: Well, I think it would be hard-pressed to find one of those candidates who would actually win because they are going against two major parties, Democrats and Republicans. but it is surprising that one of them even asked for privacy during the campaign when reporters actually tried to find her. So these people had no intention of running and certainly no intention of winning.

BERMAN: In terms of legality, you note it's legally questionable, but what would have to happen to keep this or stop this from happening again, Drew, and are there any signs that anyone is doing anything?

GRIFFIN: You know, we have been honestly trying to figure out what is the political law down in Florida to prevent this. It seems like these candidates all filed paperwork correctly, it seems like they did qualify for the ballots, there is a question of one of the candidates whether he lied about his address and whether he could run in the district, but that's separate from actually being able to run.

Here is the bottom line. Florida is run by Republicans. Republicans benefited from this, and right now, we're not seeing very much interest from anybody connected to the Republican Party in Florida even trying to find out what happened here.

CAMEROTA: Drew, I'm so glad you brought this to everyone's attention, it's very spooky.

BERMAN: Look, it's shady, it's just outright shady, and Drew went and got the receipts. I mean, you see the dollar figures on the line there, it's just stunning that this happened and it happened if anyone wants to go find out, it's right there for the taking.

CAMEROTA: And when have you ever met a bona-fide politician who hides from a camera. That's your first tip-off.

BERMAN: A sign.

CAMEROTA: NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: TSA Administrator Emily Murphy has sent a letter to Joe Biden ascertaining that he is the winner of the 2020 election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is about time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As one adviser put it, it's the end of the road for the president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some history-making choices, all of these nominees think they can get confirmed in the Senate.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're seeing a team develop that I have great confidence in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clear signs Americans are not heeding the CDC's warning to stay home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will see a surge superimposed upon a surge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would just urge everyone, please cancel your non-essential travel. We're going to see much higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is NEW DAY. And this morning as close to a concession as we are ever going to get from President Trump. He declared overnight that it is in the best interest of the country for the official transition process to begin, but, you know what? His opinion doesn't really carry any official weight here. It never did just like the outrageous lawsuits or attempts to overthrow the election.

What matters is the head of the General Services Administration finally ascertained that Joe Biden is president-elect, which finally and officially frees up millions of dollars in resources and opens the doors for agencies to start cooperating.