Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Habba Unlawfully Serving as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey; Donte Mills is Interviewed about the Alina Habba Decision; Tennessee Special Election; Clint Henderson is interviewed about Holiday Travel. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 01, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

SCOTT DRESSER, VICE PRESIDENT, AMAZON ROBOTICS: About apparel, home goods, electronics. Really, really great, great stuff and great deals today. Encouraged stuff -- for folks to get out and enjoy some of those deals that the robots are helping us deliver.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: What are some of the new ways that you're using these robots? I mean will they go as far as delivering packages to people's homes yet?

DRESSER: So, we have some really exciting new robots. The robots that we've just deployed, some of our latest automation, one of the ones we call Proteus. Proteus is an advanced mobile robot that can actually work around people. And we actually have it deployed in -- for the last year in some of our most advanced fulfillment centers, moving things like heavy shipping containers around the fulfillment operations. And we think that's great because that was a process that our employees used to do. We like taking those heavy lifting jobs, those jobs that are labor intensive and take advantage of robots to do that job for them while keeping our employees safe around robots.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about some of the controversies that robots are obviously going to bring. Your robotics chief technologist Tye Brady told "Fortune" that the idea that there is some sort of battle of robots versus humans inside Amazon's warehouse network is a myth. I mean, are you saying that no one's upset about being replaced by robots?

DRESSER: So, Sara, I think that's a -- that's not how we've seen it. And that's certainly not how history has shown us that robots will work alongside employees. I'm standing in a fulfillment center here in New Jersey, where our employees are picking customer orders with the help of robots. And we believe that that's what's going to transpire going forward. We have many new programs. It will admittedly change the nature of what people will do. We know that we need to spend effort and time on helping our employees and other folks upskill with new jobs in robotics and A.I. And we've heavily invested in programs like that. Like we have a really good example of our mechatronics and apprenticeship program for our employees. That teaches them important skills on how to fix and repair robots in a new job that's -- that pays up to 58 percent higher than current roles. Great way to upskill our employees, and a great way that tech -- robotics can help our employees be safer. Also provides new job opportunities and new high skill job opportunities for our employees.

SIDNER: So, you're saying -- oh, well, I see that something is on the move there warning people. It's probably backing up.

I do want to ask you about recent reports that are saying, you know, Amazon plans to replace more than a half a million U.S. jobs with robots. I mean is that number correct? And sort of how -- what do you say to people who say, look, these are jobs that humans once had, and now they're going to robots. And it's a situation that people don't like to see jobs going away from human beings who need it for their families.

DRESSER: Yes, we -- we've certainly seen those reports, but they only tell really part of the picture. And again, if you -- if you look at what we've just done here during our peak season, we've hired over 250,000 employees across America as part of our peak season. And again, as we've deployed and scaled a million robots across the network, there's no other employer in the country that's hired more people in the last decade. So, we think that the opportunities and the growth that robotics has enabled has also allowed Amazon to continue to grow, continue to provide great jobs. And as I mentioned earlier, continue to provide opportunities for upskilling jobs and really changing the nature of what people are doing into jobs that are more managerial, more problem solving, where high judgment decisions need to be made. We think that's a better place for the future of work.

SIDNER: Scott Dresser, thank you. We're getting the inside look there on how you all are dealing with a huge number of people who are going to be shopping today.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following some breaking news right now. An appeals court now says that former Trump personal attorney Alina Habba is now unlawfully serving as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. More on that ahead and the far-reaching implications that could bring with it.

And also, we're tracking winter storm troubles ahead. Some 40 million Americans in the path of some serious snow and ice right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:45]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we do have breaking news. We just got a ruling from a federal appeals court that says that President Trump's former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, is unlawfully serving as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

Let's get right to CNN's Katelyn Polantz for the latest on this.

Katelyn, what are you learning? KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John, the last

few lines of this decision from all three judges on that panel in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, it's pretty clear, Alina Habba is not the acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. The reason, they say, is the way that she came into that position.

Now, she had been nominated by the Trump administration to be the U.S. attorney in New Jersey. But it went so long without Senate confirmation, more than 120 days as required by law. That's when Congress should be able to weigh in on a presidential nomination. That Alina Habba was then stepped back from that nomination and slid into the job through other appointments in the Justice Department.

One of the things the government argued, the Justice Department, the Trump administration argued, was that the attorney general should be able to give Alina Habba powers if she wants, as part of the Justice Department, to do this job as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey. The federal court here, they say, no, that is not going to be how this works.

[09:40:05]

You cannot just do that. It doesn't hamper the ability of the Justice Department in New Jersey to keep working.

This is going to have implications very likely for other places where the attorney general has tried to give powers to someone like Alina Habba, say maybe in the Eastern District of Virginia with Lindsey Halligan. Although this ruling, it only applies to New Jersey and the surrounding states. It does mean, though, that this now could be something that goes to the Supreme Court. And we're very likely to see other appeals courts weigh in on this issue at some time as well.

John.

BERMAN: All right, CNN's Katelyn Polantz with the breaking news on this.

With us now is attorney Donte Mills.

Donte, great to see you, counselor.

What does this mean for cases in New Jersey right now in federal court. Even the past ones that maybe Alina Habba was overseeing, and the current ones?

DONTE MILLS, CRIMINAL ATTORNEY, MILLS AND EDWARDS, LLP: It means a lot, not just for cases in New York. This is happening all over the country where the Trump administration has been frustrated with the process of getting these people appointed. So, they've decided to use interim appointments. The problem with that is it's limited to 120 days. Once you get past that, you need that Senate confirmation.

So, here's what's happening here. Defendants brought this lawsuit and said she wasn't appointed. The judges said she wasn't. She wasn't appointed properly. She's out. But those cases remained because other people in that office signed off on them. That's a little different than what we saw in Virginia, where she was removed from office, but that case against Letitia James and James Comey, those cases are out because nobody else signed on to those indictments. Here there were other people involved. So, the defendant's cases remain. But those interim people are out of office.

It's interesting, the judges said specifically in this decision that the Trump administration was frustrated, but New Jersey citizens deserve clarity and stability. What they're saying is the rule of law is going to apply over the will of the administration. They want to get people in that may not be qualified and may not make it through Senate confirmation. So, they're appointing them as interim people. The court is saying, no, you can't do that. You have to follow the proper procedure.

BERMAN: Advise and consent. The Senate has the power to confirm these nominations.

Donte, great to see you. Thank you very much.

MILLS: Yes, thank you.

BERMAN: All right, it is Election Day in Tennessee tomorrow. A special election for Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District. This is a heavily Republican district. So, why are Republicans having to spend so much money there?

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here with the details.

When I say this is a Republican district, Harry, how Republican?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: It is a ruby red Republican district, John Berman. What are we talking about? Well, why don't we just take a look at the past three presidential elections in the great state of Tennessee, in the Seventh District, in that great state? Look at Trump's margins. In 2016 he won it by 17 points. 2020, 15 points. And then in 2024, Johnny B, takes the cake. Here we get Donald Trump winning by 22 points. That's why I say even a close GOP win tomorrow is a bad sign for them because what we're dealing with is a district that all three times that Donald Trump was on the ballot in the general election he won it by double digits. And last time he broke the 20-point margin barrier.

BERMAN: I would say, if you had to look at the congressional map, any district that Donald Trump won by 22 points, you would say, you know, you've got like nearly a 100 percent chance of winning if you're running for Congress there. But what are the prediction markets saying right now?

ENTEN: Yes, what are we talking about in terms of the prediction market odds? Look, the Democrat has a 15 percent chance of winning in that race. OK, a 15 percent chance. Which ain't nothing in a district that Donald Trump won by 22 points.

But here, I think, is the key nugget on this side of the -- of the ledger. And that is a GOP win by under ten points. Theres a 68 percent chance of that. So, there is a more than two -thirds chance that the Republican candidate, yes, they win, but they win by a significantly lower margin than Donald Trump. We're talking about double digits smaller. We're talking about a huge, huge shift to the left. We're talking about when you add these two together, we're talking about a more than 80 percent chance that there's a clear, double-digit shift to the left and a 15 percent chance the Democrat actually wins in a district that Donald Trump won by 22 points. That just shows you how bad the environment is for Republicans right now, that the Democrat has any sort of a chance in this district.

BERMAN: Talk to me about what the special election has been showing so far.

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, you see this and you say, OK, this might just be a one off in Tennessee. It's a December special election. But get this, 2025, House special elections, Dems out ran Kamala Harris. We've had five so far. Arizona Seven, Dem out ran Kamala Harris. Florida One, Dem outran Kamala Harris. Florida Six, Dem outran Kamala Harris. Texas 18, Dem outran Kamala Harris. And in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Virginia Eleven, the Dem outran Kamala Harris. On an average so far, the Democrats have been outrunning Kamala Harris' margin by over 15 points.

[09:45:01]

So, what the prediction market suggest what happened in Tennessee is not something that's happening in isolation. It is happening all over the congressional map.

BERMAN: OK. So, when you see something like this, what does history tell us about what ultimately happens?

ENTEN: OK. So, you see this and you say, ah, special elections, what do they matter? Well, take a look to the midterm that happens down the line. You go all the way back since over 20 years ago, what are we talking about? Special elections and midterm results. When a party outperformed in special elections since 2005, five out of five times they went on to win the House of Representatives in the next midterm.

So, what's happening, what's likely to happen tomorrow in Tennessee, what has happened across the congressional map is likely not to stay in 2025, is likely to push forward and be very good news for Democrats come 2026.

BERMAN: Watch these margins tomorrow night. Republicans are a little bit jittery.

Harry Enten, great to see you this morning.

ENTEN: Great to see you.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

A lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:50:26]

BOLDUAN: At the White House, Melania Trump is unveiling this year's holiday decorations. The theme this time around is "Home is Where the Heart Is," with a nod to America's 250th birthday next year. One standout attraction always is the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room, now honoring gold star families. And with the East Wing now torn down and under construction for a new ballroom, visitors this holiday season will be taking a brand new, whole new route as they make their way through the White House for holiday tours this month.

And a family pet jumped into action, literally, to save the family. A woman in Atlanta says that she was woken up by her rabbit. A bunny named Coco jumping in its cage so loudly to get their attention, waking her up, alerting her that something was wrong. And it seems just in time. A fire had started. Smoke was starting to fill the home. The woman, her 92-year-old mother, her sister and Coco were all able to get out in time and escape the fire. Authorities believe that the fire started on the family's back porch. Luckily, thankfully, no one was hurt and the woman says it is all thanks to Coco the bunny.

Sara.

SIDNER: Oh, good bunny. That's so cute. Not bad bunny. Good bunny. Just in case you didn't know the difference between the two, Kate. I got to stop drinking.

Anyway, we're tracking an enormous winter storm which is threatening about half the country. You can see a bunch of snow and/or ice everywhere from Kansas to Maine. The storm already forcing delays and cancellations at some of the busiest airports.

So, what is the best way to try to navigate what is going to be a bit of holiday travel chaos? Joining me now with some answers, Clint Henderson, the managing editor at The Points Guy.

Let's start with this. Sunday we saw a bit of a mess. There was a weekend storm. Now we've got another stormfront coming through. Do you think things are going to be just as bad? There were a lot of cancellations on Sunday.

CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: Yes, Saturday was even worse. And I do think they're going to see a lot more cancellations through the week. So, have a backup plan, whatever you do. Have the airline app installed on your phone. You want to be able to rebook yourself. Remember, it's holiday time, so there's not that many seats available to get rebooked. So, you have to be among the first to get rebooked. Follow the airline on social media. Know what other airlines fly the route in case you're having an airline specific meltdown. Sometimes you can message them directly on social media. American Airlines on Twitter, for example, X, has a really good response rate if things are going crazy.

SIDNER: Oh. HENDERSON: If you have lounge access, run to the lounge. They have customer service desk there. So, you got to use every tool in the toolbox right now because there's so few to -- so few seats available to be rebooked on.

SIDNER: Are there -- you know, you always talk about, hey, you know, make sure that you have downloaded the app.

HENDERSON: Yes.

SIDNER: It's the best way to sort of also see what's going on, because you get those delays, you get those things and they tell you, like, it's going to be a minute.

HENDERSON: Yes.

SIDNER: Is there any trick to using the app when things go south?

HENDERSON: Well, some of the apps are better than others. So, United Airlines has a great app that will show you weather and all kinds of interesting features. But my favorite is the one called Flighty. It's a fairly new app. It shows you the airplane that you're going to be flying on, where it's coming from, for 24 hours ahead of time. So, you can see, even if it's going through a hub that may be affected. If your airport's not affected, you can track it and see, this plane's not going to make it. I'm going to reschedule. I'm going to -- I'm going to launch into my backup plan right now.

SIDNER: Oh, that's really smart. You can see like, hey, look, you know that there's a big problem at this airport, and that's the connector, so you might want to change.

I do want to ask you, you know, it's December 1st. We are like 24 days from Christmas. Hanukkah is also on the way. Is it too late to get a good deal?

HENDERSON: If you have points and miles, it's not too late. And here's great news. It's Cyber Monday and tomorrow's Travel Tuesday. I used to think this was a gimmick. There is incredible sales on right now.

SIDNER: Really?

HENDERSON: On all the major airlines. The problem is they're not for Christmas flights, they're for New Year flights.

SIDNER: OK.

HENDERSON: So, but look to see what's available. Thirty percent off, $99 one way fares, some good stuff out there today.

SIDNER: There are good deals. Like, this -- what is it, Travel Tuesday.

HENDERSON: Cyber Monday.

SIDNER: Why am I just learning about this? Did you know? HENDERSON: Cyber Monday, Travel Tuesday. Yes.

SIDNER: All right, Cyber Monday, Travel -- and it's not a gimmick. You said that there's really good stuff out there.

HENDERSON: No, there's legit sales out there right now.

SIDNER: It's not too late, John Berman.

BERMAN: What if you already bought tickets and there's a better deal on Tuesday?

SIDNER: Should have bought refundable.

HENDERSON: Reprice. The airlines will give you a trip credit for the difference if you find a better deal.

BERMAN: See.

HENDERSON: As long as --

BOLDUAN: Wait, I thought that was --

HENDERSON: But you can't fly -- you can't fly basic economy. It has to be a regular main cabin ticket, because there's restrictions on basic economy.

BOLDUAN: So, it does not apply to John Berman.

SIDNER: Yes, it doesn't apply. So, there, I was correct, because I know how you buy tickets.

BOLDUAN: Should we be --

SIDNER: Basic.

[09:55:02]

BOLDUAN: Should be buying like far, far in advance? Like --

HENDERSON: So, the ideal booking window for domestic, one to three months. For international, three to six months. So, if you got spring break trips to book, though, book today or tomorrow while we have these great deals. That's for new year flights. So, see if spring break's on sale.

BOLDUAN: You heard it here first. Got to travel more.

SIDNER: Let's go.

BOLDUAN: That's all I'm hearing in this. Got to take more trips.

SIDNER: Thank you so much. Where do appreciate it.

BERMAN: We get the best advice from you. Thanks so much.

SIDNER: That's so true.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, thank you all for joining us right now. We're racing to our computers to book our flights. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)