Interview With Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson; Labor Secretary Nominee Under Scrutiny.
TAPPER: Still more in politics. New hurdles stacking up President Trump's pick to head the Labor Department. Those old racy Super Bowl ads not even the half of it for Andrew Puzder. He defends his suggestive commercials to promotes his Hardee's and Carl's Jr. brands. But Puzder, the man picked to run the Labor Department, faces new questions about an undocumented immigrant who worked in his home, this as Puzder's spokesman now tells CNN after four cancellations, his hearing and confirmation date is finally set for next Monday and his necessary paperwork is finally i. CNN's Jason Carroll takes a look at the other problems Puzder still faces.</s>JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The man tapped to lead the Labor Department now under scrutiny for his own hiring practices. Andrew Puzder, the CEO of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, says his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which "I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S." Puzder's spokesman says the housekeeper was hired about 10 years ago, and fired five years later when he found out she was undocumented. The spokesman says Puzder paid back taxes for her within the past few months.</s>SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D), NEW HAMPSHIRE: The fact that a nominee for secretary of labor would have hired somebody who wasn't documented and who arguably shouldn't have been working again really calls into question his understanding of basic labor law.</s>CARROLL: If Puzder is confirmed, the Labor Department would be run by a secretary with a long record of opposing government regulation, coming out against proposals for a $15 minimum wage, required overtime pay, and the Affordable Care Act. And with a slew of labor-related complaints at his company, current and former workers at Hardee's and Carl's Jr. announced last month they have filed dozens state and federal complaints, including allegations of wage theft, manipulated overtime, sexual harassment and unfair labor practices.</s>SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: A secretary of labor nominee whose whole profit model was how to squeeze the lowest-wage workers in America, how to get them to work off the clock?</s>CARROLL: Republican Senator Johnny Isakson would not say if he will support Puzder.</s>SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R), GEORGIA: I'm not prepared to make a definitive statement until I have seen all the facts.</s>CARROLL: But the Senate majority leader says he's firmly behind Puzder.</s>SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: I think Andy Puzder is an outstanding choice. I'm enthusiastically in support of him. We are always looking for nominees who have never made a mistake. Frequently, it's impossible to find nominees who have never made a mistake.</s>CARROLL: Former Republican Senator Jim Talent has known Puzder for 30 years and thinks he will be confirmed despite the housekeeper issue.</s>JIM TALENT (R), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: He is an honest and humane person. So, I think when senators look at the episode and see the details of it, they will conclude that here was a guy who thought it was important to comply with the law.</s>CARROLL: In the past, Puzder has said a large number of his restaurant employees were in the country illegally. "It used to be that we'd have people in the restaurants, somebody would announce that ICE was coming and 40 percent of the employees wouldn't show up." He made the statements while talking about the benefits of E-Verify, a database for businesses to check employee's citizenship. Puzder's spokesman saying the 40 percent figure was either a misquote or hyperbole and that he was showing the importance of E-Verify, which he says significantly reduced the number of inadvertently hired undocumented workers.</s>CARROLL: Hiring undocumented workers derailed past Cabinet nominees. George W. Bush's labor secretary pick forced to drop out and Bill Clinton's attorney general nominee withdrew in what some dubbed Nannygate.</s>CARROLL: A Republican source told CNN last month that Puzder had voiced second thoughts about his nomination because all of the criticism that he would be facing from Democrats, labor unions and other liberal groups. Puzder pushed back against those reports, tweeting: "I am looking forward to my hearing." And, Jake, once again, that hearing now scheduled for February 16, now that he has all his paperwork in.</s>TAPPER: All right, great, Jason Carroll, thank you so much. Joining me now to talk about this all, Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia. He serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He's also chair of the Select Committee on Ethics. Senator, always good to have you with us. Thank you so much.</s>ISAKSON: Thank you, Jake. Good to be with you.</s>TAPPER: So, I just want to start with actually some breaking news on a press call just now. Your colleague, Senator Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut who met today with Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, said that Gorsuch used the words demoralizing and disheartening to describe President Trump's attacks on individual judges in the Ninth Circuit and out West. This is according to Senator Blumenthal. But this is the president's Supreme Court nominee. What do you make of it?</s>ISAKSON: Well, I have to go by what you're saying is a quote from somebody else. I'm surprised that he would repeat that if that was, in fact, what was said. But I can't deny because I wasn't there to hear it.</s>TAPPER: Do you have any thoughts on whether it's appropriate for the president to talk about judges the way he has been?</s>ISAKSON: Donald Trump has taken it on himself to talk about anything he wants to within 140 characters and I don't think judges would be off limits, according to him.</s>TAPPER: All right. Let's move to the topic of his labor secretary nominee. Puzder is by far not the first nominee to learn he had hired an undocumented worker. But others in the past, including Linda Chavez and Zoe Baird, they have withdrawn their nominations. Do you think that Mr. Puzder needs to do the same?</s>ISAKSON: I think we need to get all the totality of the evidence in and the statements that have been made. And certainly he will have a decision to make if he wants to stay in. And if he does, we will have a decision to make as to whether or not he's the secretary that's confirmed. But that will all be coming up next week. I think the hearing is set for Monday.</s>TAPPER: It is interesting, though, if one were to have a secretary of labor who had employed an illegal immigrant, an undocumented immigrant, especially for President Trump, who has made illegal immigration and combating it such a big issue. Now, Mr. Puzder says once he found out that his housekeeper was an undocumented immigrant, he ended her employment and paid the IRS back taxes. What more do you need know about that?</s>ISAKSON: Well, I just need to know the sequence of when those events took place, if in fact he did pay it back promptly when he found out. I think we are going to have a hearing -- a meeting later tonight to get some of that evidence. And I'm looking forward to seeing the preponderance of all the evidence to turn out what is true and what is not, make a conscientious decision for the people of America.</s>TAPPER: As you know, often what happens is nominees find out about these things during the vetting process and then they try to rectify them before appearing before senators such as yourself. If he only rectified this recently, as opposed to when it happened, will that be a problem for you?</s>ISAKSON: Well, again, you weigh the totality of the evidence that comes out at the hearing we're going to have next Monday and the responses that he's given. Obviously, the more -- the weight of the circumstances adds as you get one in. I will take in the totality of all the answers and I will make a decision then.</s>TAPPER: Back when Puzder was announced in December, you said this in part -- quote -- "I am pleased to see that the president-elect is drawing from his own experience in business to nominate a qualified successful businessman and job creator to become our next labor secretary." But I guess the question is, would -- if this undocumented worker or the abuse claims that have now been rebutted from his ex-wife or even the complaints from staff at his fast-food companies, would any of that be enough to take away from the good things you see in his nomination?</s>ISAKSON: I think the most significant of those claims is the one where he hired an illegal alien in the United States of America and she worked for him for five years before she was asked to leave, before he found out. Finding out the timing on when he found out and how he found out, that's important. The employees who have made statements about how they were treated, the other things he's talked about, that's all hearsay at best and really wouldn't be a consideration.</s>TAPPER: Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, it's always great to have you on. Thank you so much, sir.</s>ISAKSON: You too, Jake. Thank you.</s>TAPPER: More fallout from the deadly U.S. special ops raid in Yemen that cost a Navy SEAL his life. Officials in Yemen are now saying stay out of our country to the U.S., but the Pentagon is saying, not so fast. Then, a critic of Vladimir Putin remains in the hospital in grave condition after possibly being poisoned again. The Kremlin is denying a role, but the critic's wife, she has a different story. Stay with us.