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House Passes President Trump's Sweeping Tax and Spending Bill; Two Israel Embassy Staffers Fatally Shot Near Jewish Museum in D.C.; Investors on Edge Over Spending Bill, Mounting Deficit. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You're looking at high fives on the house floor, people taking pictures with the House speaker. The reason being the breaking news, House Republicans just pushed President Trump's domestic agenda a big step forward, passing the massive tax cuts and spending bill after marathon meetings and deep internal divisions that we've talked so much about among House Republicans themselves.

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, managing to keep united almost all House Republicans behind these sweeping spending bill after the rules committee meeting lasted almost 22 hours. Two Republicans voted against the measure. There are big changes that were made in these marathon meetings overnight that made it capable to get the bill to this point, to the floor, and now headed over to the Senate.

CNN's Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill following all of this for us. Lauren, how did we get from there to here and what now?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is been a really remarkable 24 hours on Capitol Hill, especially for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had set this incredibly ambitious deadline of getting this bill out of the House of Representatives by Memorial Day weekend.

Now, so many of his members even were skeptical that this was going to be possible. Yesterday morning, you had members of the House Freedom Caucus saying that they needed another seven to ten days to negotiate in order to pass this bill, arguing that this deadline was really arbitrary, that the speaker was trying to speed this up too quickly, and yet the speaker was able to just get this finished.

The speaker is still on the floor receiving high fives, hugs, people trying to get photographs with him, as they are celebrating this victory. Republicans winning this vote, 215 to 214, there were still two Republican holdouts, Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson, who voted against this bill because of concerns that it is adding too much to the country's deficit.

But still, this is a huge victory where Speaker Johnson was able to bring some of the moderates together, some of those swing district New York Republicans together, and members of the House Freedom Caucus. And he did this in a couple of different ways. One, he gave the House Freedom Caucus what they wanted, which was expediting how quickly work requirements for Medicaid went into effect. He also moved up the deadline for how quickly some of the energy tax credits expired from the period where Joe Biden had passed his own reconciliation bill. And then, of course, for some of those New York moderates, there was an increase in how much people in their districts can deduct in state and local taxes.

So, this was a huge effort where every single move you make as a Republican leader, you're going to win some votes and you're going to lose some votes on the other side, so a very delicate negotiation. But like I said, 24 hours ago, this seemed improbable, given the fact that a number of House conservatives were hemming and hawing about the fact that they needed more time to negotiate.

I will say that usually on Capitol Hill, when you put a deadline into effect, you start moving toward it, Republicans had to make a very difficult decision. Were they going to vote against Donald Trump's agenda or not? I just spoke with one of the conservatives who had been a holdout over the weekend, and they told me Donald Trump did make a big difference here. His legislative team made a big difference here.

But, ultimately, Speaker Mike Johnson, who so many of his colleagues say, is an extremely patient, thoughtful, slow moving, even when things start to feel like they're building, he doesn't lose his temper, they said that that was really key to this. Democrats obviously deeply frustrated about this bill passing, warning about the coverage losses that could come from healthcare, warning about how much this is adding to the country's deficit, but a very big victory this morning for Speaker Mike Johnson. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes, and I'm seeing right behind you, the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is walking right past you, which I would also guess the House speaker, which you've been really amazing at getting him to stop, the House speaker may be passing you by in just a couple minutes as well. Let's see what this means with the big next steps forward as this heads to the Senate.

Lauren, great reporting, as always. Thank you so much. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Politico had a great phrase they called House Speaker Mike Johnson, Magic Johnson, which is a nice way of putting it, given how he worked to push this bill through.

With us now from the White House, Alayna Train. And, Alayna, the president himself leaned on Republicans to make this happen.

[07:05:02]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Absolutely. And he made it very clear this week, not only did he go to Capitol Hill himself to address the entire House Republican Conference, he also had House Speaker Mike Johnson, as you just referred to as Magic Johnson, at the White House yesterday with some of those hardline House Freedom Caucus members to really convince them to get on board. And his message was really clear. He said a no vote on this bill would be, quote, the ultimate betrayal. And so the president made it very clear, if you're with me, you are going to vote yes on this bill. And if you're not, you're probably going to face some tough rhetoric and potentially problems down the line from his team here at the White House if you're not behind him. And that was really, I think, what helped muscle this bill through.

Now, a couple of things, of course, to note. One is this bill is really going to be a crowning achievement for President Donald Trump. It's something they are talking about repeatedly. This is something they think will be a legacy defining moment for him if it ultimately passes. It has all of the things that he talked about repeatedly on the campaign trail. One, of course, wanting to make sure that his 2017 tax cuts are made permanent. They were supposed to expire at the end of this year. But then also what he talked about with no taxes on tip, on overtime, on Social Security benefits, on auto loan interest deductions. So, all of those things are in this bill.

And when I talked to White House officials behind the scenes, they told me that was really what the president cared most about, getting his priorities in this. Of course, the sticking points related to how will you pay for this and some, you know, issues that this president may face down the line is how they did ultimately try to pay for this with Medicaid cuts and also cuts to SNAP benefits, many things that people are criticizing already.

But the key thing to keep in mind, John, is that this fight is not over. Yes, it is a major success for President Donald Trump, for House Speaker Mike Johnson. But this bill is going to face a lot of issues once it gets to the Senate and it's probably going to be reworked in many different ways. And this White House knows that and they know that they have a lot of work that they still cut out for them to make sure that this can ultimately get through and to ultimately to his desk to sign.

But I can tell you they're going to be very happy with this news. I am sure we are just a moments away from having another Truth Social post from this president.

BERMAN: Yes. Look, it is a big step. There is no question about that, a long way to go. And they do have to also contend with very jittery bond markets, the great and powerful bond market, very concerned about what this does to the debt.

Alayna Treene and at the White House, thank you very much. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Still ahead, we're following even more breaking news. Two Israeli embassy workers shot and killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Police say the suspect chanted free, free Palestine. We're live at the scene with the very latest on the investigation.

And a new development in the case of Brian Kohberger, the man accused of killing those four Idaho college students, why his defense team is now asking for the trial to be delayed. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

SIDNER: Okay. You are seeing live pictures. That is Steve Scalise praising the fact that they have just passed in the House what Donald Trump has dubbed the big, beautiful bill. We also heard from House Speaker Mike Johnson going after Democrats, but also praising Republicans for getting this done. We will have much more on what this all means, coming up.

But, first, we have some breaking news from overnight. What appears to be a targeted attack on Jews in our nation's capital, a gunman, fatally shooting two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., right near the Capitol Jewish Museum This morning, a suspect is in custody. Police say he shouted free, free Palestine as he was being detained, and it was all captured on video by an eyewitness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. Free, free Palestine. Free, free Palestine. Free, free Palestine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Police have identified the suspect as a 30-year-old man from Chicago. At this point, they believe he acted alone.

After the shooting, according to people at the scene, the suspect entered the museum appearing to be a witness. Those inside say he was offered comfort and water, but several minutes later confessed to the crime saying he did it for Gaza.

Here's what one witness has told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YONI RIVER KALIN, WITNESS: Here was a group of people trying to show humanity and take care of somebody that clearly looked in a state of distress. And, unfortunately, about five to six minutes later, when more cops started to show up, he immediately walked up to the cops. He turned himself in. He said, I did this for Palestine. He started yelling free, free Palestine, Intifada revolution, there's only one solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: According to the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., the two staffers that were killed were a young couple about to be engaged. He said they were attending an event at the museum before they were tragically gunned down.

CNN's Alex Marquardt joins us now from the scene. What can you tell us about the latest on the investigation? There are so many remarkable things but you are really getting a sense of exactly why this happened.

[07:15:03]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara. Right now, this is a joint effort between D.C.'s Metropolitan Police and the FBI, specifically the Joint Terrorism Task Force. That suspect being questioned by both in this investigation being jointly led this. Horrific shooting taking place just behind me at the Capitol Jewish Museum, it's that red brick building that you can see right there. Incidentally, it is right across the street from the Washington Field Office of the FBI.

We are learning more about the victims of this incident. Yaron Lischinsky and his girlfriend, Sarah Milgrim, they were shot and killed brutally just after 9:00 P.M. last night. Lischinsky was 30 years old, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry, while Milgrim was 26. Yaron worked in the political section. He was a research assistant while Sarah worked on organizing trips to Israel.

And as you noted, the Israeli ambassador not only said that they were a couple, that they were together, but that they had planned on getting engaged, that Lischinsky had, in fact, bought a ring and he planned on proposing to Milgrim in Jerusalem next week.

Now, not long after this incident happened, the shooting happened, Law enforcement descended on this area. We're in downtown D.C. There are a lot of official buildings around here. The nation's top law enforcement official, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, she arrived quickly, along with the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, Jeanine Pirro, and a whole cast of other law enforcement characters, the mayor of Washington, D.C.

And we heard from the deputy FBI director who did call this an act of targeted violence. Here's a little bit more of what Bondi and others had to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We will be doing everything in our power to keep all citizens safe, especially tonight, our Jewish community. We will follow the facts. We will follow the law, and this defendant, if charged, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

STEVEN JENSEN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-IN-CHARGE, FBI WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE: Tonight, a heinous crime was committed and the FBI stands with the Metropolitan Police Department to help not only investigate the homicide and provide support, but also to look into ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: And, Sara, law enforcement has laid out a bit more of how this suspect, Elias Rodriguez, 30 years old from Chicago, carried out this shooting. He was pacing outside the museum as it wrapped up at 9:00. This was an event that was being hosted by the American Jewish Committee for young Jewish professionals, for young diplomats in the city. He went up to a group of four, including Lischinsky and Milgrim, took out a handgun and shot the two of them. Then he went inside.

And as you noted, eyewitnesses and bystanders thought that he might have been fleeing from the shooting. They asked him if he was okay. He appeared unsettled and disturbed. They offered him water. He told them to call security to call the police. And then he confessed that he had done it for Gaza, and that's when he said, as he was taken into custody, you could see in that video, he said, free, free Palestine.

Of course, a lot of questions about Rodriguez himself about his motivation for carrying out this heinous murder, but, of course, being widely condemned this morning by not just Israeli and American officials but people around the world as a horrific anti-Semitic incident. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, as it should be condemned. Alex Marquardt, thank you so much for your great reporting out there. John?

BERMAN: All right. With us now, CNN Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem. And, Juliette, obviously officials calling this a targeted attack. The question is how targeted the political motivation certainly seems clear this morning. But in terms of picking this location, understanding the security, understanding the timing, who would be there, what questions do you have about the sophistication here?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, I mean, basically, you start with an out of state or out of district killer who travels from Chicago to D.C. for an event for young professionals, which it's not just Israelis is my understanding. I spoke to people who had been at the event, it's for about 30 counselor offices were represented. And it wasn't exactly public. In other words, he would've had to search for it to know that it was happening then.

Then there is a group of four people and he shoots two, right? And those are people who work for the Israeli governments. So that fact alone is going to get you very focused on what this attack was. I just wanted to make clear not only is it anti-Semitic, not only is it anti- Israel, this does not happen in the United States very much. In the 1980s, the last consular representative to be killed in the United States was a Turkish consulate general in Los Angeles.

[07:20:05]

Those were Armenians who killed him. This is going to have ripple effects through Israel, through the United States as well as through the consular corps that lives in D.C. homes. So, that's number one.

Number two, of course, is, you know, look, of course, I have to say, we have to investigate this, know his motive. But reality is reality, the anti-Semitism and the anti-Israel targeting of these two young professionals who were just out for an evening will have more likely than not a federal nexus, a federal hate crimes nexus. So, while D.C. is investigating this as a homicide, you will see the FBI overlay relatively soon. It's just clear what this motivation was. He gave it to us.

BERMAN: Yes, right. Of course, how did he know about this event, how did he assess whether there would be the security there to keep it from happening, these are questions that will be answered.

And then, Juliette, what threads do you want to pull on in terms of trying to understand his potential level of radicalization?

KAYYEM: So, first is, what did Chicago authorities or any authorities in where he lived know about him? Was he active? Was he active at a college or university when he's older? But had he been arrested in any of these protests? Because what you want to know is the radicalization process. There's lots of debates in this country that do not end in violence about very difficult issues. And this is just a heinous, cowardly attack that he surrounds himself with some noble cause, he thinks. And so you want to know what was that radicalization process and then what were the means, or did someone help him? Was he pushed by outside forces, or was it just him online or acting with or going to rallies and then becoming radicalized.

But even though he has no record, as far as we know, he has no record, once again, he travels cross country for an event, which he knows there's going to be consular representatives from Israel to commit an anti-Semitic at an event that wasn't highly publicized. So, he knew what he was doing.

And, finally, when he -- I view his confession and what he says on the video as part of, right, the performative, heinous aspects of this. Not only does he kill people outside in public but then when the cameras are on, he now relates his perversion of free Palestine.

And so, that, to me, also shows someone who wants this attention and will view his trial, his upcoming trial as an opportunity to for his perverse ideology. And so that we have to anticipate as well.

BERMAN: We do. That's a very good point. Juliette Kayyem again, we are standing by for more details, more information and we'll report it as it becomes available this morning. Thanks, Juliette. Sara?

SIDNER: We also have much more on the breaking news, the House passing Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill after GOP leaders win, they win over key holdouts.

Plus, a closer look at how that bill could have a ripple effect on an already uncertain economy.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BOLDUAN: All right. We've got a live look at stock, at Market Futures right now, mixed at the moment, and we're a couple hours from opening bell. This is a day, though, after stocks fell sharply. Investors showing that they're worried, among other things, of what President Trump's tax bill means for U.S. debt concerns.

CNN's Matt Egan is here with much more on this. What are you hearing about this?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, it does seem like a risky time for an expensive bill like this, right, because investors are already getting concerned about America's fiscal mess. And nonpartisan groups say that this legislation would actually make matters much worse.

So, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill that just passed by the House would increase the national debt by almost $4 trillion. And, look, we've already got this mountain of debt, right, $36 trillion. It's kind of hard to wrap your head around that number. But to give you some context, the national debt has doubled over the past decade.

Look at this chart. This shows the national debt going back to the 70s, and it is going almost straight up. It has quadrupled.

BOLDUAN: And that is Democrats and Republicans --

EGAN: Oh, absolutely.

BOLDUAN: -- pushing that trajectory, right?

EGAN: This is a bipartisan problem, right? Republicans and Democrats all deserve blame here. But, of course, the question is what do you do about it?

And, you know, it's not just the national debt. There's other metrics that are concerning too, right? If you looked at debt to GDP, that has gone up really significantly.

What's telling is the United States now pays more on interest than it does on the military, right? It's kind of hard to think about that's why, but that's where we are.

And I know that sometimes, well, the White House has argued right that this bill would basically pay for itself by turbo-charging the economy, by boosting wages. But Penn Wharton budget model, nonpartisan group, they see just a little boost to the economy, nothing game changing. They see wages as very little changed.

And I know that sometimes when we talk about debt and deficits. It can be a little technical, right? But this is something that has real world implications for everyone, right? I mean, the more nervous investors are about the national debt, the more they're going to demand in terms of interest rates, right? And the higher treasury rates go, the more expensive it is for all of us to borrow, when you think about mortgages and car loans.

[07:30:02]

That could also lead to slower economic growth. Every billion dollars you spend on interest is a billion less you want, you can spend on priorities.