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Trump Expected To Name Stephen Miller As Deputy Chief Of Staff For Policy; President Biden Lays Wreath At Arlington Natl. Cemetery; Trump Vows "Largest Deportation Program In American History". Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired November 11, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good Monday morning to you. You are live in the CNN newsroom. I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. And we begin with breaking news. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Stephen Miller as White House deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller is Trump's top immigration adviser and a leading advocate for his mass deportation plan. He's considered, in fact, a key architect of it. And that's not the only key role we're learning about. CNN's Steve Contorno has more on this. So Steve, in a role like this, Stephen Miller would have a lot of influence and control over immigration policy, right?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: That's absolutely correct, Pam. And he has been someone who has had the President's ear on this issue, really going back to 2016. He has been one of the most influential advisors in Donald Trump's orbit, especially on immigration. And he has maintained that position throughout his post presidency and has been working behind the scenes to ready Donald Trump's administration for hitting the ground running on day one, including writing executive orders and helping frame the -- the immigration policies that drove Donald Trump's campaign.

And his elevation to deputy chief of staff if it comes to pass, which our Alayna Treene has reported, is expected in the coming days here, that would put him in a tremendous position of power. He would be someone in charge of overseeing not just immigration policy, but policy more broadly throughout the United States.

The person overseeing Miller would be Susie Wiles, who is Donald Trump's choice to be his chief of staff. She is less of a policy person than Miller is. She is someone who has been known to be a -- a disciplinarian and credible manager of Trump and his orbit. But she is not as much in the weeds on these legislative and executive issues. And Stephen Miller would obviously, in that role as deputy chief of staff, would be in a position to really oversee a large portfolio of Donald Trump's priorities and how he wants to shape them and enact them going forward. BROWN: And some other key roles we're learning about, Trump has named Tom Homan, his former acting ICE director as border czar, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be U.N. Ambassador. Tell us more about those appointments?

CONTORNO: Really showing where Trump's priorities are in these early moments of his transition team here, you know, two people very closely involved with his immigration policy have now been named positions with Stephen Miller and now Tom Homan. Homan's background is interesting. He goes back to being a border agent who rose through the ranks and rose to a senior level position in -- in President Obama's ICE department and actually was received one of the highest awards that a civil servant can get from President Obama.

And Donald Trump kept him on staff and eventually named him his acting ICE director where he was the enforcer of his immigration policies and then later became sort of the architect of other con, you know, controversial policies such as family separation and something he has defended even up until these closing moments of this presidential campaign.

And -- and now Elise Stefanik purportedly being named U.N. Ambassador for Donald Trump. He will nominate her to that role again, showing just how much foreign policy and -- and that is going to be a top priority for Donald Trump. He was someone who campaigned on the idea of ending international conflicts and suggested often that the turmoil we are seeing in the Middle East and in between Ukraine and Russia and -- and -- and with China are all things that would not have transpired if -- if he had won a second turn. And so now putting Stefanik in place to sort of spearhead his efforts to reintroduce his administration on the world stage, she'll have a very important role there.

BROWN: Certainly. All right. Thank you so much, Steve.

Well, just moments from now, President Biden will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate this Veterans Day. Vice President Kamala Harris is there with him and it's her first official appearance since her election concession speech. Arlette Saenz joins us now from the White House and Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon. Arlette, to start with you, this is a very solemn ceremony for the President and his final.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It is, Pamela. And President Biden in just a short while should be walking up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with Vice President Kamala Harris where the two are expected to participate in this annual wreath laying ceremony. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden actually hosted a breakfast here at the White House a bit earlier this morning where they welcomed military veterans, their families and survivors as well to mark this solemn day.

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Now, after this laying of the wreath at the Tomb the Unknown Soldier, President Biden is expected to deliver remarks. Vice President Harris is not delivering mark -- remarks today, but this is the first time that we are seeing her in an official White House event since she gave that concession speech last Wednesday. And it's also the first time we're seeing Biden and Harris together in several weeks as well.

You can start to see some of the images right now. The Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough is there and President Biden and Vice President Harris are approaching. Now, the White House today is trying tout some of the work that they've done for veterans in recent years. President Biden often says that the one sacred obligation this country faces is preparing and protecting those troops who had to war and also caring for their families back here at home and once they return. So that is part of what they're trying to stress today for Veterans Day.

BROWN: All right. And we're just going to listen in.

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BROWN: You're watching there President Biden laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. A very solemn moment and particularly personal as well, Arlette, for President Biden, of course, his son Beau was a veteran who later died of brain cancer.

SAENZ: Yes, Pamela. Obviously, the care and protection of military members as they're overseas and also when they come back home is of chief concern and a priority for any president. But this also holds personal significance for President Biden himself. His son, Beau Biden, who passed away in 2015, had served in the Delaware Army National Guard in Iraq. And so this is something issues relating to the veterans and military families has always been a priority for the Biden White House.

First Lady Jill Biden has led this initiative aiding military families. But another initiative that Biden has enacted while in office is extending benefits to those military members who have faced toxic exposure while they were serving. Biden has often talked about how he believes his son Beau Biden's brain cancer could have been caused by his exposure toxic burn pits while he served in Iraq. One of the top priorities for Biden when he came into office was

getting legislation passed that would extend additional benefits to those who have been exposed toxins. In fact, today the White House and Biden administration is touting that they are expanding the type of cancers that could qualify for disability benefits relating to these toxic exposures. So that is just one of the steps that the administration has taken in recent years to try to enhance for those members of the military.

Now, President Biden is heading over to the amphitheater now where he is expected to deliver remarks. And as I mentioned earlier, the one thing that Biden consistently says is the one sacred obligation facing any president, any White House, is ensuring that they care and protect for those as they are in harm's way in war, but also caring for those who return their families and also those who survived them.

BROWN: And Oren, I want to bring you in because Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, I was also attending today's ceremonies. What's his message on this Veterans Day?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: He was. He stood just a few feet behind President Joe Biden. In fact, you saw Biden walk right by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as headed up the stairs after the ceremony, after a very moving rendition of Taps was played and as they were essentially beginning to move on to the amphitheater there. Austin put out a statement this morning, as -- as you would certainly expect from the defense secretary, a short but powerful statement in which he says in part, from the jungles of Vietnam to the mountains of Afghanistan, from the shores of Normandy to the sands of Iraq, our veterans have shown unparalleled courage and commitment. They embody the ideals that make our military and our country strong. May God bless all of our veterans and their families. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.

To pick up on what Arlette was talking about, the health of veterans, the care they receive, that has also been a very big push for Austin and for the Pentagon over the course of the last four years. Austin has been very close to Biden himself and his work to implement a lot of his policies. We saw some of that just a few weeks ago when the Pentagon and the Defense Department proactively looked through the -- the records of those who had been discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell to correct their records, to make sure they didn't reflect or show in any way a dishonorable discharge, that they had received an honorable discharge and received the benefits that they were entitled to.

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So that's one more example of the sort of work that the Pentagon has done over the course of the last four years under Biden, under Austin, to make sure veterans get the care, the treatment and the benefits that they deserve after serving in the military. Pam?

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much. Arlette Saenz and Oren Liebermann, we appreciate it, and thank you to all of our veterans. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BROWN: And you're looking at live pictures now. We are waiting for President Biden to speak at Arlington National Cemetery marking this Veterans Day. Of course, we will bring that to you live. But first we want to go back to our breaking news. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Stephen Miller as White House deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller is Trump's top immigration adviser. He is a lead architect of Trump's plans for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

And he has said that a second Trump administration would seek a 10- fold increase in the number of deportations to more than 1 million per year. Joining us now for more on this is former Obama Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. He is also a partner at Paul Weiss. Nice to see you. Thanks for your time. So Stephen Miller, as I noted, is seen as an architect of Trump's mass deportation plan. What is your reaction to this news?

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER OBAMA SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Pam, any administration in the enforcement of immigration law and policy has to have priorities. Mass deportation, the phrase mass deportation is a bumper sticker. It's a rallying cry. But any administration, whether it's Trump, whether it's Biden, Obama, Bush, has to have priorities. And the priorities are the most dangerous among undocumented immigrants.

I want to see ICE ERO going after the criminals, going after the national security threats when they're released from jail, turn them straight over to ICE for deportation after they've been ordered deported from our country. And I know Tom Homan knows that as well because he used to work for me at DHS.

BROWN: So I want to follow up with you on that because you did work with Tom Homan. Tom Homan is very anti sanctuary cities. What you said though is, you said, look, they should be handed over to federal authorities in sanctuary cities. That's not typically allowed. So what do you say to that and what do you say about Tom taking on this role as border czar?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, I've dealt with a lot of major cities, big city mayors when I was in office about the sanctuary city movement. And we were able to get a fair amount of traction when it came to working with mayors saying, look, we need you to give us the most dangerous in your jails who are undocumented for the sake of the public safety of your own citizens. Now, Tom, I worked with a lot and he was with me when he was at ICE. He was very definitely pro enforcement.

I don't recognize frankly that Tom Homan, I hear public speaking these days, but he does understand the hurdles and -- and the law. I don't understand the appointment of Tom Homan as a border czar, responsible for border security, aviation security, maritime security. That's the job of the Secretary of Homeland Security. That's 60 or 70 percent of the job. And it is entirely within the Department of Homeland Security.

Normally you appoint a czar to lead an interagency, multi department effort. So I -- I-- I have a lot of questions about this appointment.

BROWN: So you think, though, that the fact that he does have operational experience and understands the complexities could be a positive, though?

JOHNSON: Yes, I do. Tom understands the complexities of immigration law and enforcement by this idea of some sort of mass deportation is -- is frankly not workable. I'd much rather see ICE go after the criminals versus somebody who's been in this country for 10 and 15 years, committed no crimes, has a small business and has U.S. citizen children. These are people who are de facto Americans. Go after the criminals.

BROWN: So let's talk a little bit more about that because, you know, you say go after the criminals. We've actually heard from JD Vance, for his part, right. And -- and others close to Trump that that will be their overall priority. But at the same time, you're also hearing Trump say, look, day one, we're going to focus on mass deportations. Practically, with a promise like that, I mean, how do you even -- how do you even do that and how do you do it without hurting the economy?

JOHNSON: That -- that's a good question. First, if you're -- if you're looking for people to send back, they have -- there has to be a final order of deportation. If the order issued in absentia without the person present, they're entitled to an automatic rehearing. They have to have exhausted their appeal process, and then you have to find them. And that's not a difficult process.

And by the time you winnow down that list, it's not nearly as great as you think it is. I, again, I'd much rather see ICE go after public safety threats, the criminals, gang members and potential national security threats. That's where the focus needs to be. That's where it's always been, including during the previous Trump administration.

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BROWN: Do you think that the Biden administration was remi -- remiss and not doing that enough?

JOHNSON: No, I won't say that. I'm -- I'm sure that the priorities were public safety threats and -- and the like because it was -- it was the written policy of my successor, Ale Mayor -- Ale Mayorkas. It's all a question of resources, Pam. How much do you want to devote to this? But even if Congress gives you endless amounts of resources, the -- the dangerous among us have to be the priorities.

BROWN: I spoke with former Trump Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli last week about some of the claims. He wrote the section on Immigration and Project 2025. I want to play some of what he told me regarding what should happen with family separations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEN CUCCINELLI, FORMER ACTING DHS DEPUTY SECY. UNDER TRUMP: When it comes to mixed families. By that we mean you may, as you use the example of a citizen child and -- and illegal parents, the family is going to make that decision. The government isn't going to make that decision. And -- and they'll be given the time to do that, I expect. But they're going to have to make that decision. And their earlier decisions obviously have brought their family to the point of having to make that future decision of where they live and whether they live together or apart.

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BROWN: And I should also note that Tom Homan on "60 Minutes" was asked the question, is there a way to do this without separating families? And he said, well, you just, yes, sure, you -- you deport the families together. What is your reaction to that?

JOHNSON: Pam, when I was Secretary of DHS, the way I approach this issue is I could not ask a border patrol agent or an ICE enforcement agent to do something I wouldn't do myself. And I could not pull a father away from a 2-year-old U.S. citizen born child at the border or -- or someplace else. To me that's an inhumane policy. Again, the priorities need to be the criminals. The priorities need to be the public safety, national security threats.

And there -- there are enough of them in our jails today to keep ICE very, very busy. My concern, Pam, about mass deportation, this notion of mass deportation, it's going to turbocharge the sanctuary city movement in big cities such that local law enforcement will refuse to work with ICE in getting at the public safety threats.

BROWN: Jeh Johnson, thank you so much. So interesting to hear your perspective as the former secretary of DHS and someone, as we noted, who worked with Tom Homan. We really appreciate your time.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

BROWN: And we are continuing to wait and watch for President Biden to speak at Arlington National Cemetery. We're going to bring it to you live after a short break.

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