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Trump Taps Loyalist Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to Be A.G., Sending Shockwaves Through DOJ; Soon, Biden Heads to Peru for Summit With Asia-Pacific Leaders; FBI Offering Reward to Catch Ballot Box Fire Suspect. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 14, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth than being confirmed by the Senate. That was a Republican congressman on the prospects for Donald Trump's pick, Matt Gaetz, to actually become attorney general. And a reminder, Queen Elizabeth, may she rest in peace, is no longer with us.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You want to buy a home? You're going to need a hefty salary, at least six figures. The new report on the shocking price spike delaying the American dream for millions of people.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Are there aliens out there? And does the U.S. government have proof? Lawmakers now demanding the military fess up, pointing to a possible decades long cover-up.

Welcome to the news today, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, one analyst tells the New York Times that President-elect Trump has effectively provoked his first constitutional crisis eight days after winning the election. We are waiting to see what newly elected Senate leaders do after the announcement that Trump will nominate now former Congressman Matt Gaetz to be attorney general.

Gaetz is, objectively speaking, loved by some MAGA enthusiasts, but he is, objectively speaking, loathed by a big and very public number of Republicans in Congress. He resigned his House seat just days before the release of a bipartisan House Ethics report on allegations of sexual misconduct.

So, how could he get confirmed in the Senate? That is a major question this morning, along with what it tells us about Donald Trump's new administration. A Republican strategist and appointee under Trump's first administration tells Politico, we went from some solid picks to some interesting wild cards, to some that are more than controversial, no way confirmable. This is Trump daring the U.S. Senate. This is Trump potentially usurping the U.S. Senate and going to try to put people in place through recess appointments, which could mean we're at a constitutional crisis from the start of Trump's second term. Let's get right to Steve Contorno in Florida this morning with the pick in the plan here from the transition team, Steve.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yes, John. Certainly off the side of the gate, Donald Trump was choosing from a more traditional well of candidates with some of his early appointments to his cabinet. Well, that certainly changed with the elevation of Pete Hegseth to his defense secretary and as well as Tulsi Gabbard to lead the National Intelligence Office as its director. And now with this pick of Matt Gaetz as his attorney general, that's certainly sent shockwaves, not only through Florida politics, which I've covered very closely for a long time, but obviously through Congress as well, and for a lot of good reasons. Matt Gaetz is a firebrand. He has a long history of controversial statements, of clashes with leaderships. He has been in a personal vendetta against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for a number of years.

And as you said, this is certainly not a very pro-Matt Gaetz Congress, but it is an increasingly pro-MAGA Congress. And the question now becomes, can Matt Gaetz get confirmed by the Senate? We saw the new Senate leadership installed yesterday, someone in John Thune, who is not necessarily or is probably more of an establishment figure than anyone else in that body.

But listen to what Senator Tommy Tuberville had to say about what he expects for these confirmations going forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): I've already seen where a couple of them says, I'm not voting for him. Wait a minute. You are not the United States of America. You have one vote in the U.S. Senate. You did not get elected president. Vote with President Trump. This is the last chance we're going to have of saving this country. And if you want to get in the way, fine, but we're going to try to get you out of the Senate, too, if you try to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:04]

CONTORNO: Now, John, I'll leave you with this quote from Senator John Fetterman, who is obviously a Democrat. He said, quote, it's just kind of like a god-tier kind of trolling just to trigger a meltdown. Well, Trump certainly got that meltdown yesterday. And if it is the reaction that he actually wants, then we probably can get used to seeing more announcements like that. And some of his allies online have been suggesting that you haven't seen anything yet. John?

BERMAN: Well, it may be the reaction he wants, but he needs to not lose four Republican senators, and some Republican senators have already indicated they may not be on board here.

Steve Contorno, thank you very much for that. Sara?

SIDNER: Speaking of which, John Berman there with an audible gasp from House Republicans meeting behind closed doors yesterday when they heard the Matt Gaetz election, according to sources to CNN. And then the word spelled out Ohio Congressman Max Miller telling Axios Gaetz has a better shot of having dinner with Queen Elizabeth, the second, of course, than being confirmed by the Senate. The queen, of course, died in 2022. Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett called Gaetz's nomination wonderful, but also told Axios that it's going to be tough because he's got enemies in the Senate.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox is joining us right now. What happens next with Matt Gaetz and some of the president-elect's other nominations?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sarah, let me just walk you through the scene on Capitol Hill yesterday as we learned that Matt Gaetz had been nominated to be Donald Trump's attorney general. There were a number of Republican senators who said out loud that they were shocked by this nomination. We also heard from some Republicans who quickly made clear that they had some concern. Senator Joni Ernst telling me he's going to have to work really hard when she came out from the chamber. I asked her once again and she said he's going to have to work extra hard to get confirmed to the United States Senate for this post.

And, you know, you saw a range of reactions yesterday, from Susan Collins to Lindsey Graham. Here they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I don't know yet. I'll think about that one.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you have any concerns about it?

GRAHAM: We'll see.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I was shocked that he has been nominated. If the nomination proceeds, I'm sure that there will be an extensive background check by the FBI and public hearings and a lot of questions asked.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I like Matt a lot. I know him very well.

Presidents are entitled to have the people that they want in these key positions.

RAJU: Do you think Matt Gaetz is confirmable?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): We'll find out, won't we?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And, of course, that moment there with Marco Rubio, he had just come out from the Senate Intelligence Committee and he was talking about his own nomination. I think he was expecting press to be asking him about the fact he'd officially been nominated to be the secretary of state. Then quickly, it turned into a Q&A about Matt Gaetz.

That just shows you the political issues here on Capitol Hill, a lot of Republicans feel like this is an opportunity for Donald Trump to be moving forward with his cabinet, and some of them are a little concerned that he's stepping on his own message right now, given the fact that he, on the one hand, nominates someone like Senator Marco Rubio, who many Democrats say has earned this post, then, on the other hand, he moves forward with nominating Matt Gaetz.

SIDNER: We're seeing -- we were expecting to see a vote on the House Ethics Committee on an investigation into Matt Gaetz, potentially tomorrow, when it comes to allegations of sexual misconduct. How does that investigation change now that he has resigned and is up for this post?

FOX: Yes, Sara, there are a lot of really smart people on Capitol Hill trying to figure out last night and this morning how that whole process will proceed. I was on the phone with sources late into the evening yesterday and they're trying to understand right now if Matt Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress because he has now since resigned his seat in the House of Representatives, can they move forward with that vote? Would there still be a vote? And I think that that is still a question that a lot of people are trying to understand the answer to.

You know, I talked to sources who have made clear that if this report is finished, perhaps that is different than just continuing an investigation of a member who has since stepped down.

So, that's still a huge question mark this morning, and we'll see in the days ahead what can happen with that report. Sara?

SIDNER: Lauren Fox, so much going on so fast. Thank you so much for keeping up with all of it. I appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: We also have seen new surveillance video of the person who set ballot boxes on fire just ahead of the and new details about what police are looking for now.

Plus, CNN speaks to Latino families about what they think Trump's mass deportation plans, what they think it means for them.

[07:10:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're a green card holder, your wife is a U.S. citizen, why are you afraid of deportation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just I just became a green card holder after 33 years of being in this country. I don't think people understand the fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And an Australian couple comes home to a wild surprise in their bed. I promise it is cute, not creepy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

BOLDUAN: In just a few hours, President Biden is hitting the road for the last big trip of his presidency. First, he heads to Peru to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, the APEC Summit.

And what's happening on the sidelines of the summit might even matter slightly more than the official program. Biden is going to be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday. It'll be their first face-to-face meeting in a year, and likely the last, obviously, before a new era, a Trump era of U.S.-China relations begins.

CNN's Arlette Saenz tracking this one for the White House for us this morning. Arlette, what is Biden hoping to accomplish with this trip coming in the literal twilight of his presidency?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, President Biden had hoped to head to these summits preparing to hand off to another Democratic president, but instead he is now facing this new reality as world leaders are now grappling with and trying to game out what a Trump presidency will look like now.

The most high-profile meeting President Biden will have will be on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru when he sits down with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in a year. Now, senior administration officials said not to expect a long list of deliverables-like meetings in the past, given that Biden is on his way out, but they are expected to touch on issues like Taiwan, also China's support of Russia amid its war in Ukraine, cyber concerns among other issues.

Now, Biden has really tried to manage this relationship with an increasingly assertive China, with officials saying that one thing that has been key in this relationship is keeping open lines of communication. The U.S. has taken steps to limit Chinese technology as well as watched with concern about China's aggression towards Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

These are all issues that President-elect Trump stands to inherit at a time when he has suggested he will take a very hard line on China. He has promised much tougher tariffs. It also has already selected several China hawks to be part of his administration, perhaps suggesting a more confrontational approach with Beijing in the coming four years.

Now, one thing that the Biden White House has stressed is that they believe that his efforts to shore up alliances in the region have really been key to trying to build a counterweight to China. President Biden in the coming days will also be meeting with the South Korean leader as well as the new prime minister of Japan, all as they're trying to show that their efforts towards building and shoring up these alliances have been key in the Indo-Pacific, but they also should be something that a President-elect Trump should continue down the road.

But for President Biden, this trip also serves as a real bookend to his presidency. Biden has long focused on foreign policy. It's been a key priority and a personal passion of him. So, he will now be in front of the very world leaders that he has worked with over the last four years, but also at a time when they are grappling with what a Trump presidency will look like.

We know that when Obama went on a similar trip after Trump won in 2016, world leaders were asking for advice, asking for their thoughts on Trump. So, we will see if those kind of conversations continue play out as well as Biden heads to both Peru and Brazil this weekend.

BOLDUAN: Arlette Saenz at the White House for us, thank you so much, Arlette. John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, the FBI is offering 25, 000 to anyone who can help identify a suspect wanted for setting two ballot boxes on fire.

And, honestly, one of those stories where, if true, it kind of makes everything else seemed completely insignificant. Is the U.S. covering up extraterrestrial activity? Congress wants to know today, damn it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. Developing this morning, new video from the FBI shows a person setting a device on a ballot box in Portland not long before it bursts into flames. This is one of three ballot boxes set on fire near Portland before the election.

CNN's Veronica Miracle has the latest on this. Good morning, Veronica.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, investigators now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of this individual. And before we had seen stills of what happened, but this new video really shows and gives us a glimpse of exactly how this person was able to light these ballot boxes on fire.

That video shows this person drive up next to the ballot box, light something on fire inside of his car. Investigators are calling it an improvised incendiary device, and then stick it on the side of the ballot box. This person drives off and that's when you see a few seconds later, this big explosion, what looks like something of like a firecracker or a bomb went off.

Now, this is one of three incidents that investigators believe are all connected. This video is from Portland, Oregon, in late October. In that same night investigators, rather, believe that suspect went to another ballot box about 15 miles north in Vancouver, Washington, hit another ballot box there, and then a few weeks prior also lit a ballot box on fire also in Vancouver, Washington.

So, they're describing this individual as a white male, about 30 to 40 years old, driving a dark colored '03 or '04 Volvo S-60 sedan. And here's the interesting piece. They believe that this person may have extensive experience with metal work and welding, and they were able to glean that information just based on how the incendiary device was created.

[07:25:04]

So, during the time, and election officials, they did ramp up security for ballot boxes in the area leading up to the election. They were concerned that others would be hit. It did not, just limited to those three ballot boxes, but this person still out there again, a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of this individual.

Back to you, John.

BERMAN: All right, we'll see what materializes here. Veronica Miracle, thank you very much for that, Sara?

SIDNER: All right ahead. Why some legislators say President-elect Trump's pick for the director of national intelligence could actually be a threat to U.S. Security.

And how much money do you need to make if you want to become a homeowner? A new report shows just how hard it is to achieve the American dream of homeownership. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]

BOLDUAN: The shock is intense. That is how one source describes to CNN the reaction from inside the Department of Justice now to the news.