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Biden Announces All-Female Senior WH Communications Team; FL Gov: Schools Will Remain Open For In-Person Learning; Trump Spars With Top Georgia Republicans Over November Vote. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired November 30, 2020 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: His advisors really say he could do anything at this point but they are not currently expecting him to attend.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Counter programming does sound likely, it's going to be up to everybody to not change the channel. Thank you so much, Kaitlan. Appreciate it.

And President-elect Joe Biden announced his economic team today with at least four women and key roles. Now, if confirmed, Janet Yellen would be the first woman to serve as treasury secretary. He's named Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Cecilia Rouse, forgive me, will lead the Council on Economic Advisors. And Heather Boushey will be a member of that Council. The economic team announcement comes just one day after Biden named an all-female senior White House communication staff.

Seung Min Kim is a White House reporter for The Washington Post and is here with me now. Good to see you. Seung Min, the transition team does seem to be fulfilling the campaign promise that a cabinet would reflect diversity in the country.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Certainly, and not just gender diversity, like we're seeing with the Treasury or with the economic team picks and the communication picks but certainly, in terms of race as well. We have Alejandro Mayorkas to lead DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, becoming the first Latino to lead the agency that deals primarily with immigration. So that is a landmark nomination for Joe Biden as well.

And we expect to see the diversity of race, gender, lived experience in a lot of these upcoming nominations as well. And I think Neera Tanden, who is being, who will be tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget. She is Indian American and she brings that perspective that diversity as well to the Vice President's or the President-elect emerging cabinet.

BASH: Yes, she does. Let's talk about her because she's sparking a lot of reaction from both progressives and from Republicans. I want to read a tweet from Senator John Cornyn's communication director, he said, Neera Tanden, who has an endless stream of disparaging comments about Republican senators whose votes she'll need, stands zero chance of being confirmed. And Josh Holmes, who was the chief of staff to Mitch McConnell, put it this way, and there's the sacrifice to the confirmation god speaking of Tanden. She does need Republicans to be confirmed. Do you think that this is real or she in real trouble?

KIM: I mean, if Republicans do keep control of the Senate, she certainly could be in trouble because she has been a longtime figure in Democratic politics, obviously has her role in leading the Center for American Progress, a very prominent liberal think tank and also her role as a Hillary Clinton ally in the 2016 campaign, which certainly made her, which certainly got her into tussles with Bernie Sanders supporters.

If you've seen Sanders allies, such as former spokeswoman may come out against Neera Tanden as well. So it's a really interesting dynamic. You see the arrows coming from both the left and the right. But certainly if it is a Republican controlled Senate, she will have a hard time getting confirmed.

I don't -- you know, it may not just be her past mean tweets, although I will say Republican operatives are happily screenshotting some of her old comments right now. But also just her, it reflects a bigger struggle for Biden's Cabinet nominees to get confirmed, because I think we can safely say, and Republicans have said this as well that you can't argue these people aren't experienced.

BASH: Exactly. That's the key.

KIM: -- qualifications to lead those positions. So it's really going to come down to a fight that we saw a lot of the Obama years, their ideology --

BASH: Yes.

KIM: -- their personal views, and I think that's where you're going to see a lot of the heated fights and that's why those Georgia runoffs are, you know, we keep saying over and over critical to Biden's agenda in personnel and policy.

BASH: And you mentioned mean tweets, we're out of time but I just have to say that Mark Salter, who was a long time top aide to John McCain said, oh, did she hurt the feelings of Republicans who have excused or ignored hundreds of offensive statements by Trump who's belittle people for the race, backgrounds, or looks? Poor baby.

OK. We're going to leave it there. Thank you, Mark Salter, for that reality check. And thank you, Seung Min, for your expertise and your reporting. Appreciate it.

KIM: Thanks for having me.

[12:34:20]

BASH: And coming up California implements new COVID-19 restrictions and Florida's governor makes a promise on schools. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Right now in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is updating reporters for the first time in weeks and CNN's Rosa Flores is in Miami Beach. Rosa, the Governor is really talking specifically about keeping schools open and what is he saying?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Dana, it's very curious because during this press conference, which is still ongoing, Governor Ron DeSantis did not mention that this state is about to hit 1 million cases. He did not mention that more than 18,000 people have died in this state from the coronavirus. Instead he started off his press conference by saying that he is doubling down on reopening schools for in person instruction in the spring. Here's the other thing that he did not mention. He did not mention his plan to reopen school safely. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Schools will remain open for in person instruction. And we will continue to offer parents choices for the spring semester and every parent in Florida can take that to the bank. Closing schools due to coronavirus is probably the biggest public health blunder in modern American history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:40:03]

FLORES: Now here's the reality on the ground in the state of Florida, the number of hospitalizations have increased by 30 percent in the past two weeks, that's more than 4,000 people in this state that are hospitalized right now with COVID-19. Also Dana, there are mayors who've been calling Governor Ron DeSantis, sending him a letter back in November 18th, asking him for help. They want him to step in and do something to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the state. And these two mayors that I have been in contact with both here in Miami Beach and the city of Miami, have not heard back from Governor DeSantis yet. Dana?

BASH: Well, as you said, the press conference is ongoing. Maybe we will get some answers. They aren't on schools. Studies have shown that schools can be open safely, but also you said that he doesn't have a plan, can only -- he can only do that with a plan to keep the children and the teachers safe. Rosa, thank you so much for that reporting.

And officials in Santa Clara County, California are updating their coronavirus restrictions in response to a surge of cases and hospitalizations there. Those new guidelines go into effect today. Joining me now is Dr. Sara Cody, the public health director for Santa Clara County. And Dr. Cody, thank you so much for joining me. And I want to walk our viewers through the new limits that you're imposing in your county there, a 10 percent outdoor capacity limit on most stores and facilities with the exception of groceries and pharmacies that can open at 25 percent capacity. A maximum of 100 people can gather outdoors, hotels are open only for essential travel isolation or quarantine. And anyone who returns from traveling a distance of over 150 miles must quarantine for 14 days. L.A. County has some similar rules. They're not enforcing it. How will you?

DR. SARA CODY, HEALTH OFFICER & PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA: Thank you, Dana, it's good to be with you. Thank you so much.

We are putting local measures in place to do what we can to protect our community and particularly to protect our healthcare system. Right now, what we're hearing from hospitals is that they are starting to feel the pinch, our beds are filling. And we are concerned. So we are taking local measures to bring the prevalence down as much as we can, and hoping that we get some bold statewide and national action to support us.

BASH: And just on the question of how you're going to enforce it or how local officials, county officials are going to enforce it. Do you know the answer to that? Do they know yet?

CODY: Yes, we are working -- we have multiple layers of prevention. And we do have an enforcement team as well as many, many other teams. It's important to know that our policies are designed to go together. So for example, limiting lodging to just those who are traveling for essential purposes, complements the quarantine for those folks returning. And so we will enforce as we can. We also, we of course can't enforce every action, we really depend on the public to take actions to protect everyone.

BASH: Which is totally understandable. And really quick, one of the potential impacts there could be on this and the 49ers, the NFL told the Profootballtalk.com that the team will engage early this week with the county to learn more about this order. Real quick, do you think that it could have an impact on that team its ability to practice and play?

CODY: I really want to emphasize to everyone that this is, you know, it's a team effort. Every single person in the county, every single sector, every single business, we all have to come together. We have already lost close to 500 lives from this virus. We all must fight it together. And our hospitals are beginning to feel the weight of this pandemic. And we just need to do everything that we can to ensure that everyone can get the care that they need when they need it.

BASH: Dr. Sara Cody, thank you so much for coming on. I appreciate it and good luck out there.

CODY: My pleasure. Thank you.

[12:44:31]

BASH: And coming up the California Governor is deliberating and delaying as he decides who will get the Vice President-elect's vacated Senate seat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Now that Senator Kamala Harris is Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, it falls on California Governor Gavin Newsom to name her replacement. The New York Times says Governor Newsom doesn't appear to be in any rush to fill her seat saying quote, yet nearly a month after Ms. Harris's election, Mr. Newsom has not yet named his successor, and the pressure is mounting.

Alex Burns is National correspondent for The New York Times and co- wrote that piece. Alex, nice to see you. There is a long list of contenders you have in your piece including a longtime ally of Gavin Newsom, he is the Secretary of State of California Alex Padilla. And in your piece, Alex Padilla says this to you about the Governor. He says he's a deliberate person with tons on his plate. There are wildfires. There's COVID. He has a budget due in January. This is just one more significant item. So I will just add something that he probably didn't say to you, which is that this is a political minefield for Gavin Newsom, but talk about Padilla and other contenders that the Governor is considering.

[12:50:23]

ALEX BURNS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you're certainly right, Dana, that it is a minefield. And that quote that you read from Secretary Padilla is spoken like a front runner who is trying to hold on to that position by playing his cards very, very carefully. It's an opportunity for Governor Newsom to make history with this appointment. California has never had Latino governor or senator. And if he were to choose Secretary Padilla, that would be a big breakthrough.

And it is why you talk to Democrats in the state, you talk to people close to the Governor, they do think it is likelier than not that he ultimately goes in that direction but because it's California and because it's Democratic politics. Nothing can be that simple that there's a lot of pressure on Newsom to consider appointing a woman to a seat held by the person who is becoming the first female Vice President and particularly a woman of color and perhaps particularly a black woman that if Kamala Harris is replaced by a man or by a woman who is not black, then there will be zero black women in the Senate that if she is replaced by a man, the number of women of color in the Senate will drop from four to just three.

And there are some pretty loud and pretty influential voices in the state of California who would like the Governor to consider figures like a Representative Karen Bass, who people may remember as a vice presidential contender or Representative Barbara Lee, a real liberal hero from the Bay Area. And all of this of course, Dana, comes on top of the pressure that's already on Governor Newsom, to move past some of the missteps from the last few weeks, including that a notorious dinner at the French laundry restaurant that he held in violation of his own public health recommendations.

So, you know, our reporting my colleague, Shawn Hubler and I indicate that the governor has not been regarding this as a particularly exciting or fun choice for him to make that this is not some big gift that he gets to dispense, but are really, really tough political choice.

BASH: Yes, I think the opposite of a gift is the best way to look at it. Alex, thank you so much. Great reporting, appreciate it. BURNS: Thanks a lot.

BASH: And up next, the fight between Georgia's Republican Secretary of State and the President escalates. Now Trump is calling out the GOP governor as well, more on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:57:03]

BASH: A bitter back and forth today between the President and two top Republicans in Georgia over his election conspiracies. The President is pressuring Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to use his emergency powers to overrule the will of voters which is a Biden win there. Now, Kemp says the law prohibits him from meddling and that he trusts his Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who conducted an audit of the November vote and found no fraud. Now Raffensperger again today said that the vote won't change. And he's warning the President that he's being swindled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R-GA), SECRETARY OF STATE: Once this recount is complete, everyone in Georgia will be able to have even more confidence in the results of our elections. Despite the massive amounts of misinformation that is being spread by dishonest actors. There are those who are exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters with fantastic claims, half-truths, misinformation, and frankly, they're misleading the President as well apparently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Let's get straight to CNN's Kyung Lah. And Kyung, this is just the latest chapter in the book of Trump that is nonfiction, but nobody would believe if it were actually fiction. And it's really remarkable.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's incredibly remarkable, and especially to see this volley going back and forth between the Republicans, the top Republicans in this state with the President of the United States, who continues to talk about this myth about the election here not being valid.

And let's take a look at what we're seeing now from the spokesperson of the Governor Brian Kemp, who just released this statement saying, quote, Georgia law prohibits the Governor from interfering in elections. The Secretary of State, who is an elected constitutional officer, has oversight over elections that cannot be overridden by executive order.

So you have the Governor now saying, I can't do this. The law prevents me from doing this. And while all this is happening now, Dana, a reminder that the Georgia Senate runoff is coming in just weeks, January 5th and while Republicans go back and forth, it is a two Republican senators who need their base to show up in order to hold on to the majority, the Republican majority in the Senate, Dana. BASH: They absolutely do which is why things are so -- people are so quiet here. But it is kind of awkward because the President says don't trust the vote. And Super PAC there is putting out his son in ads to get out the vote for that runoff or those runoffs you were talking about.

LAH: Yes, his son who is very clearly a fervent supporter of his of his father. But on his Twitter feed is acknowledging the reality that the Republican base has got to come out and vote on January 5th.

[13:00:01]

And there's real concerns that the Republicans won't show up as the President blast the voting system.