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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
Now: Senate Moves Closer To Final Vote On Trump Megabill; Judge Asks DOJ For Answers In Birthright Citizenship Hearing; Now: Jury Deliberating In Trial Of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired June 30, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:26]
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: It's the majority versus the margins. Will Republicans give Donald Trump a big win or will it be back to the drawing board?
Let's head into THE ARENA.
Right now, new reporting on whether the president's massive policy bill has the votes to pass. The Senate barreling toward a final vote with a razor thin margin this hour. We'll talk live with top lawmakers in both parties from the Senate and the House.
Also this hour, an emergency hearing over birthright citizenship. What the Trump administration is telling a federal judge today about the possibility of deporting babies born in the U.S. to immigrant parents.
Plus, breaking news in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. The new order from the judge after the jury raises a concern about one of their own during the first day of deliberations.
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HUNT: Hi, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to THE ARENA. It's wonderful to have you with us on this Monday.
As we come on the air, we want to get right to the floor of the U.S. Senate. We are now in hour nine of a marathon voting session where lawmakers are putting more things into the bill, throwing things out, all in an effort to get it across the finish line, at least on the Republican side.
The margin for President Trump literally could not be closer. Just a handful of Republicans voting no would sink the whole thing. Right now, it's just not clear if there is enough support to get the bill out of the Senate.
Our panel is going to be here to weigh in, but we're going to get started with CNN's Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill and CNN's Kristen Holmes on the White House North Lawn.
Lauren, first to you bring us up to speed on the vote-a-rama.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Kasie, this got started around 9:00 a.m. this morning. They have now moved their way through about a dozen amendments. And there have been some interesting crossover votes on the Republican side with Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins joining with Democrats a few times in order to try and shell up support for some of those Medicaid provisions that Dems introduced, essentially cutting out some of the key cuts in this bill.
Meanwhile, you have Republicans putting up their own amendment right now on immigration. That is one that we expect a couple of Democrats may cross over. But none of these amendments have so far passed. None of them have been added to the bill. And we should note that we expect that this process is going to continue to take several more hours, because behind the scenes, Republican leadership, they are working overtime in order to make sure that they have the votes they need to pass Trump's agenda. Once that critical vote takes place on the floor.
We are watching a number of Republican senators, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. She voted to get on to this bill, but has expressed some concerns. And since she voted on that proposal, the Senate parliamentarian has thrown out some key provisions that were important in her state. We're also watching Senator Susan Collins very closely. She's up for reelection.
And then there's a series of conservatives who wanted a key amendment vote to take place on the floor. What happens if that amendment isn't added to the bill? Do people like Senator Rick Scott or Mike Lee, do they drop off of this bill? So that is all the delicate balance that Republican leadership has to keep together in the next couple of hours.
I will point out that once the vote-a-rama stops, both sides have decided that they are done taking these votes. That's when well see that critical vote. I'm being told that that may not take place even late tonight. It could stretch into the early hours of the morning -- Kasie.
HUNT: Often does.
And, Kristen Holmes, I mean, what are you hearing from the White House? Because it does seem as though at this writing John Thune the Republican majority leader doesn't have the votes. What's going on in the White House?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They say they're still cautiously optimistic. I got off the phone with a senior White House official who told me that they like their odds right now, so they are expressing confidence. We also heard from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who essentially said the same thing.
Listen to her in the press briefing earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Republicans need to stay tough and unified during the home stretch, and we are counting on them to get the job done. REPORTER: What is the president's confidence level in getting 218
votes in the house by the end of this week, in order for him to sign it on Friday?
LEAVITT: Well, look, we are very well aware the president is very well aware that this bill needs to not only pass out of the Senate, but it needs to go back to the House. And we need the full weight of the Republican conference to get behind this bill. And we expect them to, and we are confident that they will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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HOLMES: Now, a couple of things to keep in mind here, Kasie, we can't overstate how important this bill is for President Trump and for his administration and for his team. They really believe this is going to be his legacy. So they're doing everything they possibly can to get this passed. They are all -- all hands on deck. They are making a full court press. We're talking about administration officials, allies inside and outside the White House making direct calls to senators, trying to push them.
And of course, you have the veiled threats from President Trump himself, not so veiled when it came to Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, threatening to primary him. But he also posted on social media saying, remember to these cost cutting senators, you still have to get reelected, clearly, playing those cards that he still holds right now.
And it seems to be working at least somewhat because we've seen some of these senators who originally said they were opposed to this bill, now saying they're getting on board. But of course, as you say, unclear what happens in the end here.
HUNT: Indeed, it does seem as though it is both do or die and also a potentially impossible needle to thread.
Lauren Fox, Kristen Holmes thank you both.
My panel now here in THE ARENA, CNN political analyst, national political reporter for "Axios", Alex Thompson; CNN political commentator, Republican strategist and pollster, Kristen Soltis Anderson; CNN political commentator Ashley Allison; and CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings.
Welcome to all of you. Thank you for being here.
Scott Jennings, going to start with you, because it's all on the line here for the president and he over the weekend attacked one of his own, Thom Tillis, threatened him with a primary challenge. Thom Tillis response was to say, I'm out and you don't have any control over me anymore.
Do you think the president can, you know, cut off his nose to spite his face with that? SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he's trying to
communicate to the party that this is the agenda on which I ran and won. Not just the Electoral College, but the national popular vote. And the voters who elected me didn't send you to Washington to thwart me. They sent you to Washington to help me pass this agenda.
This is how we won our big victory last November. Make the tax cuts permanent. New tax breaks for the working class. Secure the southern border and lock in the gains that we've made there.
And generational welfare reform that keeps illegals from getting benefits and gets able bodied people off the couch and into the workforce. This is how he won the election last November. And he doesn't really think Republicans should be trying to stop them from implementing what they told the American people they would do.
HUNT: So I take your point that the president is saying this is his agenda. I want to play what Thom Tillis said yesterday, because let me tell you, I think this is going to be in a lot of campaign ads for the midterms because he basically said, I listen to what Donald Trump promised Americans, and this bill is the opposite of that. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): It is inescapable that this bill, in its current form, will betray the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office. I'm telling the president that you have been misinformed. You supporting the Senate mark will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid. I owe it to the people of North Carolina to withhold my affirmative vote until it's demonstrated to me that we've done our homework.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Scott?
JENNINGS: Yeah, he has a difference of opinion with the president. And -- but it's just the majority of Republicans in the Congress. And what they're saying over at the White House is, is, I'm sorry. You're just wrong. I mean, that's your opinion, but you're just wrong. We did run on making the tax cuts permanent. We did run on new tax breaks for the working class. We did run on investing in the southern border and the border security.
I mean, this is how he ran his campaign. And so Thom Tillis maybe didn't pay that close of attention to it. But a lot of Republicans did.
ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He did run his campaign that way, but he didn't say how he was going to do it. And he said he wasn't going to touch Medicaid. He wasn't going to kick people off.
And he is. It is a bait and switch. And that is what Donald Trump has done many, many times over and over. And at 1.0 and now in 2.0. Tillis is right, and Republicans should take note. A lot of -- I believe that there are a lot of Republicans who are voting for this, who also think the president is wrong, but they are afraid to stand up to the president because they know that he will be primaried.
But take heed, Republicans, here's some free advice. The president doesn't have a great track record of primarying people with good candidates. Look at what happened in 2022. He will find these very aggressive candidates that will only sign with him, that don't do well in your state.
So, you do have an opportunity to stand up, fight for the people of your state. The only way to ensure that the wealthiest continue to get these tax cuts is to hurt the middle class and the poor people in this country.
HUNT: I want to put up on the screen, Kristen, this one's for you and Alex. I want you to weigh in on the politics of this, too, the polling on this Big, Beautiful Bill, quote, unquote. It is not great for the president.
We can show you in poll after poll after poll, it's basically 20 percent to 30 percent. People don't like it.
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Those blue bars are people who oppose it. They are way higher than the people who support it.
The gap there is way bigger than the traditional partisan gap in this country, and what should Republicans who are looking at this data think?
KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Republicans who look at this data should think is that those numbers aren't good, but there's a really wide range of them. And that's because how you talk about what's in this bill really matters a lot. There are ways to describe this bill that are going to make those numbers look terrible.
Democrats are excited to run those kinds of ads from here until next November. But there are things when you test them, things like, should we ensure that the tax cuts continue and so on and so forth, that actually on their own, do test quite well. And so, the question is, can Republicans figure out what in this thousand plus page bill, they're the most excited to run on as they approach next year's midterm, next year's midterms? Because there's a lot going on in this bill that can really make opinion look very different depending on how you ask it.
HUNT: Well --
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, I'm not confident that every member, even most members of Congress, have even read the bill, let alone all the voters in those polls. So, like most people don't even know what's in the bill yet. But I can tell you, talking to a lot of Democrats who basically most Democrats I talked to are -- think this bill is going to pass. They have resigned themselves, but as a result, they are preparing for the political battle that is coming over this bill.
And most Democrats I talked to think that, well, we extended your tax cuts. We didn't -- your taxes didn't go up is a weaker message than you cut Medicaid.
HUNT: Well, and, Scott, to kind of circle -- circle back on this, and to Kristen's point, when I think about how Democrats did Obamacare, they had a lot of divisions around that. But at the end of the day, you know, Nancy Pelosi was riding herd over that, and she had everyone singing off the same page of the same hymnal about the idea that the bill was going to be good for the country.
And Republicans right now are not doing that. To Alex's point. I mean, there's not, you know, they're not pulling out these things and making this forceful argument. Josh Hawley is out there saying this cuts too much Medicaid. That puts you at a political disadvantage. No?
JENNINGS: I don't know. Look, if I were voting for this and if I were in the Congress, I would vote for it. But if I were voting for it, I would say, look, this is very simple. I want taxes to be low. I don't want people who are gaming the system to get benefits. I don't want illegal aliens to get benefits on your back. And I want to secure the southern border.
That's basically what I went to congress to do. And that's what we're doing in this bill. And I think in the midterm situation, it's defensible to say we're saving Medicaid. We're saving the social safety net by keeping people out of it who don't belong in it. I think to Kristen's point, if you tell people that illegal aliens are getting benefits, I'm certain that doesn't poll very well. If you tell people that able bodied people who aren't at home taking care of anyone else, or kids are sitting around getting benefits, you have to go to work and they don't. I'm guessing that's okay.
So, in a campaign, you get to make your case, and I don't think Republicans should shy away from making it.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMPSON: But that sounds a lot more like -- that sounds a lot more like the GOP of 2005, right? Like reforming Social Security.
HUNT: He is from the Republican Party, 2005. He was.
JENNINGS: Do you think that the Trump Republican Party of 2025 wants to give illegal aliens Medicaid? I think you're mistaken.
ALLISON: This is the thing. This is the thing. Let me break it down for the American public. You said people gaming the system, the wealthiest people in this country game this tax system every single day. They are going to benefit the most from this.
The people who are going --
JENNINGS: How?
ALLISON: They -- because their tax cuts, they get $60,000 in tax cuts a year if you make -- if you[re in the top echelon and the people who are actually eligible for Medicare, you know how much they get? Six hundred dollars. So, you do the math.
JENNINGS: That's how percentages work.
ALLISON: No, no, no, no, no. But they could actually --
JENNINGS: I mean, people who pay taxes get tax cuts.
ALLISON: Let me be clear, but the people at the top, what are they getting taken away from? Nothing. The people at the bottom, they always get the short end of the stick.
So, you can argue, you can do your talking points. This bill is going to hurt people who actually are the working class voters that you all did a good job at winning. They are not passing a policy that will help you.
They always say there are people on Medicaid that don't work. Who are those people? Are you that person if you're on Medicaid? Are you the person that's staying at home when you could actually work? No, you're not.
JENNINGS: There are millions.
ALLISON: No, there's not. There actually are not.
THOMPSON: The one thing I will say that Democrats are worried about, that Republicans are going to be able to run on no tax on tips, which does appeal, which does appeal to working class people. And that is the one thing where Democrats feel that they're on their back foot.
ANDERSON: The issue is -- I mean, there's just this bill contains multitudes.
THOMPSON: Which is why the political battle started.
ANDERSON: It's not a million bills all in one. But that's what makes this so challenging and present so many challenges and opportunities for both parties.
HUNT: Right. Well, and this is now how legislation gets done, right? Each president comes in, they basically get one massive shot to do something like this. And then that's what they spend all their political capital on. I mean, we've seen that repeatedly in recent administration.
JENNINGS: I do think that the White House also believes that the stuff that Trump has done on tariffs and what you can do out of the White House on the economy doesn't work unless they also lock in the tax piece as well, like it's a two --
HUNT: You have definitely been here every time we've said these tariffs, you like these. You're like they got to pass the bill and then we'll fix it.
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JENNINGS: Yes. And so -- and so, for the White House and for the president's economic legacy, and if you talk to Scott Bessent, he'll tell you the same thing. The trade stuff works only if we also keep taxes low on the domestic side. Only if we do no tax on tips like they have to go together.
So, I think for the White House lobbying Republican members right now, you can't have one without the other.
HUNT: So, we've spent a lot of time in this conversation on, you know, people at the lower end of the economic ladder, right, how they're going to feel about this. That's one set of opposition, even inside the Republican Party, right? Cuts to Medicaid, Thom Tillis, Josh Hawley.
The other side or the deficit hawks, Ron Johnson, some members of the House, while we've been on the air. Elon Musk writing this on his own platform, quote, "Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history, should hang their head in shame. They will lose their primary next year if it's the last thing I do on this earth."
This, among other things, that he has tweeted, he said, "It's obvious with the insane spending which increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. We live in a one-party country. The porky pig party. Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people."
That was him a little bit earlier today, 3:08 p.m. I mean, that's the other piece of this, Kristen.
ANDERSON: And that was very much part of his rant, however many weeks ago it was, the summertime is a blur, but in his conflict with Donald Trump that got patched over. But I mean, he has been very clear and on record that for him, the number one thing he's interested in is cutting government.
What I think is notable, though, is when I have asked voters, if you had to pick just one of three, you could either protect programs that you love, you can cut taxes, or you can cut the deficit.
For Republicans, cutting taxes wins over the deficit every time. And so, I think Musk is a little bit in the minority of the party of this. They would rather just like get the tax cuts done.
THOMPSON: Yeah, Elon is not alone despite, you know, without looney tunes references. Business leaders in both parties, you know, are incredibly worried about the debt crisis. And both parties have basically held hands and contributed to the deficit over the last 30 years. And there is no willingness by anyone in the party because of the polling you're talking about to actually try to reform it until it gets to a crisis level.
JENNINGS: I'm never going to say a bad word about Elon, because I think what he did to help Donald Trump win the election and save Western civilization can never be forgotten. He has a difference of opinion with the president on this.
I would just say that getting the debt ceiling lifted in this bill. So, Republicans doing it on their terms, as opposed to having to beg Chuck Schumer for votes, will be a lot less costly than if they did it the other way. That's number one.
Number two, there's still a way for Republicans to pivot to cutting spending. This is not a spending bill. It's a reconciliation bill. It's largely just a tax bill.
There's still a way to pivot to this topic. His concerns are not unfounded. They're not misplaced. Theres still a way to pivot to this later. And I actually think the Republicans should pivot to this once they're done with the taxes.
ALLISON: There's trouble in paradise. Okay? There is trouble in paradise.
And Elon Musk, feel free to go into those Republican primaries and support folks that could challenge and give Democrats an easier chance of winning in the in the midterms.
HUNT: We shall see.
All right. Alex Thompson, thank you very much for being here today. Really appreciate it. Everybody else is going to stand by for us.
Coming up, the emergency hearing today over birthright citizenship and why the judge is demanding answers from the Trump administration.
But first, Senator Chris Murphy will be here live as lawmakers barrel toward that final vote on the president's massive tax and spending bill.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I don't think it's really helpful. I think if you have an argument to make do that in the next five or seven or eight amendments to make that powerful statement and that really -- I don't understand. I don't think people are going to really be paying attention if you're doing 20 or 30 or more kinds of amendments. I don't really think there's a lot of dignity in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right. Welcome back to THE ARENA.
Joining us now to discuss the latest on President Trump's agenda as the Senate continues its very long series of votes, despite the objections of Senator John Fetterman, which you heard there, is Democratic senator Chris murphy of Connecticut. He's a member of the appropriations committee.
Senator, thank you so much for being here.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Yeah, thanks for having me.
HUNT: So, at this point, do you think there's anything that Democrats can do to stop this bill from marching forward? I realize that there are a lot of questions right now about where the Republican votes are, but there also does seem to be an overarching sense that it's likely to pass.
MURPHY: Oh, listen, I think there's still a lot more that we can do. I mean, every hour that this bill hangs out there, it gets more unpopular. I mean, this is the most immoral, illogical bill that I think I've ever voted on in my entire time in Congress. You're talking about throwing 17 million Americans off of health care. That's an extraordinary number of people who would lose their health care in order to do what? In order to give another $250,000 tax cut to the very wealthy. Nobodys asking for that.
And so, yeah, they don't appear to have the votes yet. I think they are making adjustments to the bill on the fly behind closed doors, trying to cobble together the votes. I think, you know, six hours before the vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act, people probably would have said, oh, yeah, Republicans are going to get it done. And they didn't. At the very last minute, Republicans changed their mind, in particular, John McCain. And we saved health care for 20 million Americans.
So yeah, we pushed to the finish line here. And we also may be able to offer some amendments that Republicans will vote for that could make the bill better. There are things that we can strip out of the bill with a 50-vote margin that will work on later today. So, yeah, we're not -- we're not giving up.
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I'm not going to give up if 17 million people's health care is at stake in this country.
HUNT: I do appreciate the reminder. Oftentimes there is a sense, oh, this is a foregone conclusion. But when you think back to that moment where John McCain gave that very dramatic thumbs down, you really do never know what's going to happen.
And to that point, let me ask you about Senator Murkowski, because clearly, Republicans have been going out of their way to try to figure out how to make sure she has what she needs in this bill. The parliamentarian has said some of those things are not permitted in this bill. You mentioned that Democrats have some things to focus on that might draw a vote like hers.
Can you give us a little bit more detail about what that might look like?
MURPHY: Well, we're going to try a variety of different ways to pare back the devastation that's going to happen in this country to our healthcare system. So, the Senate actually increased the cuts to health care from the House bill. The Senate is supposed to be the more moderate body, but in this case, the Senate Republicans demanded that even more people get thrown off of health care.
But a lot of hospitals are going to close. In Alaska, for instance, it's estimated that 40 percent of the hospitals that serve rural populations there could close because of this legislation. We're going to give Republicans some chances to either eliminate the Medicaid cuts or roll back the Medicaid cuts. I don't know whether they'll vote for any of our amendments, but, you know, we are going to try to defeat this bill. And then there may be times where we just try to make it a little bit better.
It could be the Republicans maintain their unity that Donald Trump has imposed such cult like unity and loyalty on this party, that they won't break at all. But we're going to try. I think that's what we got elected to do, to try over and over and over again to stop this bill and make it better.
HUNT: Senator Thom Tillis announced over the weekend after he was threatened with a primary challenge from the president, that he's not going to run for reelection. Do you think Democrats can win the seat in North Carolina if Tillis is not on the ballot there?
MURPHY: Well, I don't really see there to be any silver lining to this bill, but it is true that if they pass it, they're going to lose a ton of seats in this country. I mean, nobody is asking for this bill.
People thought Donald Trump was a populist. They thought that he was going to help poor people. And it ends up that he's screwing poor people. Eighty percent of the country is going to see their costs rise. They're going to be poorer when this bill combined with the tariffs go into effect.
So yeah, I think we'll absolutely win the Senate seat in North Carolina. I think we're probably going to win it anyway. But I think it makes it very hard for Republicans to win seats in states like that after they vote for the most massive transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the rich in the history of the country.
HUNT: So I also want to ask you, while I have you, about what we saw happen in New York City over the course of the last week, which was Zohran Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. Do you think that Zohran -- that Mamdani is the future of the Democratic Party?
MURPHY: Well, I think his message, his economic message is the future of the party. I don't agree with everything he says or every position he holds. But you know what he's modeling for Democrats is a laser like focus on power, on taking power from people who have way too much like the landlords that are screwing New York residents with rents that are way too high and giving power to people who have too little of it -- you know, everyday families, working people in New York who are playing by the rules and just can't get ahead. I think he had a real focus on bold economic ideas. And if the
Democratic Party borrows from that focus, I think we'll do really, really well.
HUNT: All right. Senator Chris Murphy, very grateful for your time today, sir. I'm sure you got a late night ahead of you, so we appreciate you spending some time with us. Hope you'll come back.
MURPHY: Thanks, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. See you soon.
Coming up next here, the first hearing over the president's attempt to end birthright citizenship since that blockbuster Supreme Court ruling. Plus, a live report from outside court in New York, where the jury is deliberating the fate of Sean "Diddy" Combs, and raising concerns to the judge about one of their own.
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HUNT: All right. An emergency hearing on birthright citizenship wrapped up just moments ago. The judge there demanding that the Trump administration explain whether officials can soon start deporting the babies of immigrant parents under the president's executive order.
CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joins us now.
Paula, can you -- can you take us through this? What was the judge trying to ascertain from the administration?
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, here's a larger significance of this hearing. This is the first time that we've heard from a judge after Fridays historic Supreme Court ruling limiting the power that just one judge has to block a policy for the entire country. That Supreme Court ruling left a lot of open questions for judges to grapple with. The biggest question in today's hearing is, okay, now, what happens with President Trump's executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship?
And in this hearing in Maryland, we heard from plaintiffs who continue to challenge this executive order. Now they have to do it through a class action lawsuit. So they're trying to identify themselves as a group with similar concerns, because this is how the Supreme Court says you might be able to get relief.
So, we heard -- the judge heard from plaintiffs. Their lawyers described how some of these plaintiffs are, quote, afraid of bringing more life into this world. Describe the incredible stress, anxiety and fear that they're experiencing because of uncertainty around this executive order.
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And one thing the judge really wanted to get out of the Justice Department, as she was weighing whether this should be allowed to go forward, is whether the government intends on. Deporting babies later this month, because the Supreme Court put a pause on this executive order for 30 days.
But at the end of this month, she wants to know, okay, are you going to start deporting babies who are born here after February 19th, the date of the executive order? And the Justice Department didn't give really a very clear answer. The lawyer said, quote, my understanding is that the executive order will not be operative for 30 days. The judge said, is that your understanding or the position of the United States? Said, my understanding, and I can confirm that, but I have a high degree of confidence in that understanding.
Kasie, that is just not a coherent answer to the question that she asked. So, she demanded more clarification from the Justice Department before they can move forward. But this is a great example of how that Supreme Court decision on Friday was enormous. Theres still so much to unpack in terms of how this will impact the lives of families, of babies who are born here, whose parents are not U.S. citizens.
HUNT: All right. Paula Reid, thanks very much for taking us through that. Really appreciate it.
Joining our panel now, CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams.
So, Elliot, this ones for you. But that honestly, that exchange Paula just had on the screen is really remarkable. She was asking clearly the DOJ lawyer was afraid of going crosswise with the administration. That was obvious.
But this bigger picture question and, you know, I get the nationwide injunctions. One judge isn't supposed to be able to do it for the whole country. But the problem in a situation like this is if your baby is born in this country, and the 14th Amendment says one thing, and it's not clear if your baby is a citizen or not, like what is even happening.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And this is sort of the scenario that the Supreme Court invited both at oral argument and in their opinion by inviting parties now to file class actions to -- you know, to try to win their position here in this suit.
The challenge that they were confronting, Kasie, with dealing with constitutional rights, if you do not allow them to be enforced on a nationwide basis, you're creating the scenario that you're talking about where someone in one state might have rights to do something and someone in another state may not.
Now, again, what the Supreme Court has said is that fine? Everybody nationwide form one giant class action of every child who has parents who are unlawfully present in the country. All of you can sue at once. All of you can clog the courts up at once, and then we'll see what happens there.
It's going to get back to the Supreme Court at some point in the near future. But yes, it's going to cause a lot of pain there. And Paula hit it right on the head. There are just a lot of open questions about how to make this work, because people do have a right to sue regardless of what anybody thinks about who ought to be a citizen of the United States, they do have a right to, you know, to have their day in court. Just getting there is going to be incredibly complicated.
HUNT: Kristen, where are voters on this?
ANDERSON: So, I thought it was interesting, the chyron that we had up on the screen earlier talked about immigrant parents. And the reality is that the public opinion is very different if were talking about an immigrant parent who is legally in the United States versus somebody who is not. The Pew Research Center asked people in April, 95 percent of people think that if you're born to U.S. parents in the U.S., you should be able to have birthright citizenship, and 94 percent say if you're born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated legally, it should apply to you as well.
But voters are split 49/50 on if it should count if your parents are here illegally.
HUNT: So, Scott, this is obviously one of those instances it seems to me, where I think the phrase is Overton window. The President Trump has adjusted the way that we talk about this issue. Nobody was really talking about it until he started. He's been doing it for many years now, right? And suddenly, it is right in the mainstream of what we're talking about.
It would be a huge and seismic change. Do you think it's the right thing to do?
JENNINGS: Well, I think there's certainly good arguments to change it. But like Elliot said, ultimately the Supreme Court just has to get involved here and decide it once and for all. I mean, you know, this period of time where we're having a period of uncertainty will be short, but I assume eventually the Supreme Court will come back and say, we agree with your arguments to do it. We disagree with your arguments to do it, and here's the way the system is going to work moving forward.
I mean, conservatives have been talking about this for a very long time, and I think there are reasons to go back and look at whether this was how it was intended to be applied. But ultimately, again, it's a national issue that affects everybody in the whole country, in every state. So, the Supreme Court ought to be the final word on it.
HUNT: Ashley, last word?
ALLISOIN: Why? Why are we here? I mean, there are so many nuances. So what happens if one of your parents is a U.S. citizen? The other person is not here legally and they have a child? What happens then? What happens if you're a visa holder or a green card holder, or you're -- there -- this is an unnecessary argument. I think, right now.
And at the end of the day, if this was like a deciding factor that voters would have to decide who to vote for, I place my money on somebody saying, just leave it as is.
[16:40:07]
HUNT: I will say one thing about clogging up the courts because, oh, my gosh, the amount of paperwork required to make these decisions.
WILLIAMS: They invited it. They literally opened the door, and quite frankly, it's a conservative court and I'm old enough to remember when conservatives were opposed to lots of class actions clogging up federal courts.
And, you know, this is going to lead or could lead to tremendous amounts of litigation. Now, again, I understand the concern with nationwide injunctions. We don't want that, and we don't want that thumb on the scale. But I don't know if this was the way to do it. And we are just seeing the beginning of a lot of litigation right now.
HUNT: All right. We do need to turn to this story because this is going on right now. Sean "Diddy" Combs future in the hands of 12 New York jurors who are deciding whether the media mogul is guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. If he's convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
CNN's Kara Scannell joins us live outside the courthouse in New York City.
Kara, we're pretty early in these deliberations, but one of the jury foreperson did send a note to the judge expressing concern about a fellow juror. What happened?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kasie, this was about one hour into deliberations. There was a note to the judge in which they wrote that we are concerned that juror number 25 cannot follow the judge's instructions. So that was very early in the deliberations, and it was about an hour before the judge appeared on the bench. The parties were all in the courtroom waiting to see what was going to happen, how it was going to play out.
And they went back and forth discussing what would be the appropriate response since this was so early in deliberations. Ultimately, they decided to send a note back with the judge telling the jury, reminding them that their duty is to deliberate and that they have an obligation to follow the judges' instructions.
So, a note went back to the jury at around 2:15 p.m. Now, it's been two hours. We've not gotten any other notes from the jury, any other updates. So, deliberations are continuing. At this point, they've been deliberating for about five hours.
We expect the judge will bring them out around 5:00 to end the day, unless the jury elects to stay later. He told them the timing is in their hands. They can decide how long they're going to deliberate each day until -- you know, despite that early question of whether this one judge, one juror was able to follow their instructions, we don't have an update yet of how things are going, but there has not been another note indicating that there is an issue. So, it appears that deliberations are ongoing.
Now, Combs himself is not in the courtroom as we are waiting for deliberations. He is escorted since he is in custody, into a holding area, he held up two books that he has with him before he left the room. One of them is the "Power of Positive Thinking". The other was "The Happiness Advantage". He held them up for the media there so we could see what he had with him.
You know, his family was here this morning. They had a prayer circle before the jury, right after the jury went back to deliberate and before they all dissipated. But as the deliberations were playing out, only his sister remains in the courtroom waiting to see if there's going to be a note or what the next development is, in this case.
Obviously, the stakes are very high for both sides. As you said, if Combs is convicted of the sex trafficking charges, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years. The other charges also carry potentially significant sentences. But as it is right now, this first day of deliberations may be coming to a close without any decision, as the clock ticks closer to 5:00 -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Kara Scannell for us outside court -- Kara, thank you very much.
All right. Coming up next here, we're going to talk to a senior member of the House Armed Services and Oversight Committees. Congressman Mike Turner will join us live in THE ARENA.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:48:11]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
We are continuing to monitor the Senate floor as lawmakers are voting on amendments to President Trump's sweeping domestic policy agenda. CNN now learning that the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, will be holding a call with a group of centrist Republicans who are privately uneasy about the Senate version of the bill.
Joining us now to discuss, Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio. He is a member of that group known as the Republican Main Street Caucus.
Congressman, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.
And for -- for folks who don't know, you've also been a mayor, right? You have been in positions that were that are very much going to be affected by what happens in this bill. So, I'm really interested to know, do you have concerns about how Republicans in the Senate are changing the bill that you all voted on in the House just weeks ago?
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Sure, sure. Well, Kasie, I appreciate it.
And that call is going on as you and I are on today. So, I won't know the specifics of it. But I do think that that overall, there will be broad support for what's occurring. And, you know, first off, you know, foundationally, what's important
about this bill is, is this really does encapsulate what's important in President Trump's policy issues, both capturing from his first term the important foundational tax structures that have kept the economy going of his of his tax plan. And then those policy issues that he both campaigned on, the promises that he's made that are important to keep our economy growing, jobs creation, those economic investments that are important that that that he has, you know, really seen that I think will lead the economy.
And of course, those important spending priorities that go to national security. What he sees, both for, you know, investments in our national defense, but also the border security provisions that are going to be absolutely essential to keeping our country safe.
[16:50:03]
Of course, I do have concerns -- there are issues that go to, you know, those things where we do have, you know, both as we look to, you know, those portions where we look at having a heart, how do we care for others? But there are, I think, protections in this bill overall, as we look to where there are going to be cuts, where there are going to be savings of where people are going to be having decisions that they can make to ensure that these cuts don't fall upon them. And I think in those aspects that our communities are going to have some protections.
HUNT: Have you heard from constituents at home that they're worried about losing their health care after this passes?
TURNER: Well, there are some concerns. Certainly, I'm hearing from the hospitals locally and, you know, and I do think certainly in the Medicare and Medicaid, certainly in the Medicaid provisions, there are concerns.
But even in this area, as the work requirements that are being put in place, a lot of those issues where there's concerns and you're seeing where some of the cuts fall on areas where there's projections that people might lose health care coverage because there'll be individuals where there'll be work requirements, who might choose not to go and get jobs, go and perform work that the American people feel that that individuals should go and enter into the workplace, that they might lose their health care under Medicaid, that, that those -- those people should avail themselves of other opportunities.
I think those values are such that the American people believe that people should enter into the workforce.
HUNT: Sir, I do want to change gears because, of course, of your position on the Armed Services Committee. We saw some attacks from Russia against Ukraine over the weekend. Ukraine's air defenses are strained.
We did hear that President Trump is weighing sending additional Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. Do you think he's waited too long to do that? Do you want to see him do that? TURNER: Well, I think obviously we should give Ukraine everything that
they need. They are fighting gallantly and they are doing so really for democracy and for Europe. And I think these are the principles, of course, that that our country stands for.
And that's why we have supported them in this defense against Russian aggression. And certainly, you know, its aggression that that is not just a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. It is Russia against democratic values and against Europe itself, and, of course, the Western values. And of course, that includes the United States.
So, yes, I think we should -- should stand with them and we should provide them the assistance that they need.
HUNT: Do you think that the president has been too trusting of Russian President Vladimir Putin?
TURNER: I think that the president has been trusting that Vladimir Putin is going to come to the table. And the fact that Vladimir Putin has not done so, I think the president is losing his patience. I think the president rightly so, should now turn to putting additional pressure on Russia. I think the movement by Senator Lindsey Graham to put increasing sanctions on Russia should move forward in both the Senate and the House, giving the president options to impact economically. Russia, giving them the tools, I think really to make it more difficult for Putin to continue this aggression against Ukraine.
HUNT: All right. Congressman Mike Turner, so grateful for your time today, sir. Thanks so much for being here. I hope you'll come back.
TURNER: Thanks for having me.
HUNT: All right. Coming up next here, something totally different. Sixteen carriages dangling away. We'll explain.
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[16:58:24]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
A mid-concert mishap has global superstar, excuse me, Beyonce dangling over a crowd of fans. I'm sorry. What happened?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE, SUPERSTAR: Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Stop, she says. Stop. She's not supposed -- it's not supposed to look like that. She was performing her song 16 carriages on Saturday from that floating red convertible, when it suddenly tilted sideways. It is supposed to be not sideways.
The car and Beyonce both harnessed to cable. She was seen gripping one of them as the car swayed in the air. Video from fans show her slowly being lowered to safety after she got back on solid ground. Beyonce told the crowd if I ever fall, I know you all will catch me.
She also poked fun at the situation on Instagram. She posted pictures of her dangling and captioned the post sitting sideways, a reference to fellow Houston native Paul Walls 2005 song.
I don't know. Elliot. This is very -- I mean, I would find that to be terrifying if I was dropping from a ceiling.
WILLIAMS: Honestly, this is not a laughing matter. You know how serious this could be? Because, you know, look, after all those No Kings Day protests, we had a couple weeks ago. We have had two royal figures in American history. Number one, Dolly Parton. Number two, Beyonce.
And if anything could have happened to any of these two people, it could have been an extinction level event for America. Protect the queen.
HUNT: I mean --
ALLISON: I concur to both. I mean, it is scary.
WILLIAMS: And can we show Scott Jennings's face?
ALLISON: And also, just to just clear --
(CROSSTALK)
HUNT: We need Scott's face.
ALLISON: Hold up.
You're saying about him pandering about Beyonce and Dolly, get on the Internet. The fact that Scott Jenning's thought he was breaking this news to me while sitting on set after it happened all weekend was hilarious, but it is scary. I'm glad -- it's actually an adult thing to do to say stop.
HUNT: Jake Tapper, what do you think? It's 5:00.
