Maggie Haberman says Trump may have finally gone 'too far' — but isn't betting on it

Donald Trump's pick of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to lead the Justice Department, even as he faces a House Ethics Committee report on allegations he engaged in sex trafficking, illicit drugs, campaign finance offenses, and a number of other misdeeds, could prove too much for Senate Republicans, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman told CNN's Jake Tapper.

But all the same, she cautioned, one shouldn't underestimate the GOP's capacity to swallow their pride for Trump.

"These are not uniting people," said Tapper, also bringing up other controversial picks like former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services. "These are not uniting picks. These are in your face to the medical community, to the intelligence community, to the military community. That's what he wants."

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"And on that, Jake, I think he was quite clear what he was planning to do in office," said Haberman. "There's this whole sort of, as you know, where we've been talking about this literally serious thing since 2015, 2016, this whole, 'Is he serious?' thing. You should assume he plans on doing what he is saying at this point."

"He means it," agreed Tapper.

"So yes," said Haberman. "That's what these picks are designed to do. Whether they all get through, we'll see. Does he end up doing recess appointments, we'll see. I think Matt Gaetz will be a bridge too far for some senators, but we'll find out."

"We'll see," said Tapper. "I might have to take a wager with you."

"I'm not betting — no," Haberman added. "I'm saying, that is one that could be too far. It also could not be. It could be — Trump has much more control over this Republican Senate than the one that he left."

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