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Two Idaho Firefighters Fatally Shot, One Wounded In Ambush; GOP Sen. Tillis Slams Trump Agenda Bill's Impact On Medicaid; WAPO: Iran Downplayed U.S. Strike Damage In Intercepted Call. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 30, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:35]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning there are so many questions left to answer but the manhunt is over for the gunman authorities say carried out that deadly ambush on firefighters in northern Idaho. That suspect was found dead on Canfield Mountain with a gun nearby.

Authorities said the suspect deliberately started a brush fire to lure fire crews to the mountain yesterday, then as firefighters responded he opened fire on them. Two firefighters were killed. A third was wounded, underwent surgery, and is now in stable condition according to authorities.

The sheriff says the loss of two firefighters gunned down while trying to simply do their jobs is an extremely difficult tragedy to comprehend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROBERT NORRIS, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: It hasn't sunk in yet. I mean, this is -- this is a situation where I don't even think a lot of us in this room has processed this. So, yeah, I -- this community supports firefighters and law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Members of the community lined the streets for a procession transporting the two firefighters killed in that attack. Officials have not yet released their names -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn to this right now. So what is Thom Tillis going to do today? The Republican senator says that his party is about to make a mistake. He voted no on the procedural vote for the president's massive tax and spending bill over the weekend.

He was attacked by the president who promised to meet with primary challengers then against Sen. Tillis to which Tillis essentially responded with "I'm out" -- announcing he's not longer going to seek re-election and taking to the Senate floor to have his say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding is not there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now the Senate is gearing up for a marathon day of votes to move this bill forward today. The president clearly is watching this closely though the reporting is viewing this -- what's playing out in the Senate -- as a loyalty test now.

CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House for us to kick us off for the perspective from there this morning, which is an important one. How is the White House -- how is the president viewing what happened over the weekend and what we're about to see start playing out come 9:00 a.m.?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: Yeah. You can be sure the president is tracking every twist and turn in this process, especially on Saturday night making calls late from the Oval Office and even taking direct aim at Sen. Thom Tillis as that North Carolina Republican announced that he would be voting no on this bill.

The president threatened to primary Tillis even before the vote had gaveled out and he said in a post to social media on Sunday that "Tillis has hurt the great people of North Carolina" and that he "is a talker and a complainer, not a doer."

And, of course, after Tillis announced his retirement on Sunday the president called that "great news."

But the reality is that this big, beautiful bill is so sprawling. It has provisions for border security. It ends many of those green energy subsidies from the Biden era. It raises the debt ceiling and reimagines Medicare policy. It extends tax cuts.

But there are some serious and diverse concerns from within the Republican Party on the size and scope and the cost of this bill. The president appearing to address that yesterday as he wrote, "For all cost-cutting Republicans, of which I am one, remember, you still have to get re-elected. Don't go too crazy! We will make it all times 10 with growth more than ever before."

Now, the president views this bill as key to unlocking his domestic agenda. It's really a question of loyalty for these Republican lawmakers, and the White House says that voting no on this bill is an ultimate betrayal.

But Democrats, for their part, are starting to coalesce around their messaging and they say that this bill would lower taxes on the wealthy and hurt working Americans. All of this setting up a major test for the 2026 midterm elections, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. A lot to happen today.

It's good to see you, Betsy, starting us off this morning -- John. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now Doug Heye, a Republican strategist who happens to hail from North Carolina. And Christine Quinn, president and CEO of the group WIN. She's also the executive committee chair of the New York State Democratic Committee.

[07:35:08]

And Doug, I want to start with you, North Carolina man, on Sen. Thom Tillis who announced dramatically over the weekend he's not going to run for re-election. He split with President Trump on the tax and spending bill.

What does the decision from Tillis tell you?

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: It tells me that he found himself in an impossible position. And look, history tells us that North Carolina Senate races are always close. There's not been a double-digit Senate win since 1974 in North Carolina. Tillis was going to have a tough primary, and he was going to have a tough general. But ultimately, I think you try and stick these things out.

And John, last night as I was trying to think about things, I was on the roof of my building having a cigar and I looked at the light that was shining on top of the Capitol. And I thought about what I heard so many times from members of Congress who said things like Thom Tillis saying I can't serve as the member that I want to be. And I thought of Don Corleone shaking Johnny Fontane and saying you can act like a man.

When you take that oath you're taking an oath not to Donald Trump, not to Barack Obama, or any other politician. You're taking an oath to the Constitution and ultimately to your constituents. And when you make a deal with the devil it comes with a cost. This is what Thom Tillis has learned time and time again. It's what every Republican learns. And ultimately, it's why Tillis has decided to step down.

BERMAN: Are you saying his decision came too late or are you saying that he should have stayed in and fought against the things that he finds himself opposed to?

HEYE: Look, I would say stay in and fight for what -- for what you believe in. But we've seen so many Republican senators and members of Congress -- and this isn't necessarily a Donald Trump thing. This goes back to 2010, 2012 where we saw a lot of Republican House members doing these same things. Senators as well.

You know, you're elected for a reason. It's to serve your constituents. And regardless of whether or not you're going to have a tough race -- and by the way, if this ends up being Lara Trump versus Roy Cooper, North Carolina is going to be WrestleMania 3 -- Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan -- the most targeted Senate race in the country.

But you're elected to do things for a reason and ultimately, I think quite often we forget that in Washington. BERMAN: So, Christine Quinn, on the legislation itself -- you're a Democrat watching what's going on. You know, Tillis making his dramatic stand. Is this thing getting passed? For all the drama that we're going to see today and tomorrow do you think this thing is eventually getting through no matter what?

CHRISTINE QUINN, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WIN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE, FORMER NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER: I mean, I hope not but I think it probably will get through and I think it'll be devastating for Americans across the country. We're going to see by some accounts 12 million, some accounts 16 million people lose their insurance coverage, lose their Medicaid. I work every day with homeless families who are terrified about how much SNAP food stamp benefits they might lose. And this is all to fuel massive tax cuts for the rich.

I mean, the American public are very clear. They understand this bill. The vast majority of Americans are opposed to this bill and think it is bad for them and not why they voted for Donald Trump.

So I think it's going to happen, and I think it's going to have terrible results. And I think that will move into the midterms and we're going to see Americans stand up and say no, this isn't what I thought I was buying.

BERMAN: So we have Doug Heye, a North Carolina man on the North Carolina situation. We have Christine Quinn, New York City woman on what's going on here and I think really, the ripple effects of reverberations around the country.

You have Zohran Mamdani who by all accounts will win the New York Democratic primary for mayor.

QUINN: Yes, absolutely.

BERMAN: I mean, they still have to count the second round and all -- whatnot.

But he's being asked repeatedly about many of the things he's said and where he stands. And over the weekend he asked about billionaires in general. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS": Do you think that billionaires have a right to exist?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I don't think that we should have billionaires because frankly, it is so much money and a moment of such inequality. And ultimately what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state, and across our country. And I look forward to work with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fair for all of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: "I don't think we should have billionaires." So what do you think when you hear that?

QUINN: Well look, I think the real message there is we need less inequality. We need more affordability. It isn't right that such a huge amount of the country and New York's money is all in the hands of a very few. We need to be able to bring people up, create good jobs with true living wages so we can have greater equality.

I don't think you can argue with the fact that we have a system that lacks equity. A system where not just low-income people but middle- class people aren't able to make ends meet in this country. And then you have people having $500 million, or whatever it was, weddings in Venice. That's galling to people who are working so hard just to pay the bills.

But look, every billionaire we have we should tax them accordingly because that helps fuel all of our services and all the needs we have in this city.

[07:40:05]

BERMAN: So, Doug Heye, when you hear that messaging from Mamdani -- "I don't think we should have billionaires" -- how does that play around the country?

HEYE: Well, I think Republicans feel that there is real opportunity with this statement and obviously other things that Mamdani has said.

The Republican Governors Association is going to use this in the New Jersey governor's race. It's the same media market. The National Republican Congressional Committee is going to use this in targeted races throughout the country. They look at what happened in New York City as an opportunity for them to highlight how far left the Democratic Party has gone.

BERMAN: Christine, and how will Democrats counter that?

QUINN: You know what? They'll counter that with today's vote-a-rama and every time Senate Republicans and Republicans in Washington vote against working people. These are people who now own kicking 12 or 16 million people off of Medicaid. Putting people who need coverage without coverage. Putting sick people without the care they need. That is what Republicans will own and that is what Americans are going to reject in the midterms. That's what I believe.

BERMAN: Christine Quinn, Doug Heye, New York City, North Carolina, one place, one time. Thank you both for being part of this -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. New this morning The Washington Post is reporting the U.S. intercepted communications between senior Iranian officials who downplayed the damage from recent American strikes. That's in direct contrast, of course, to President Trump's claim that those strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear sites. He's also insisting Iran didn't have time to move its enriched uranium.

Meantime, a warning from the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog Iran could resume uranium enrichment, it says, in just months. CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Jerusalem for us. I am -- I am curious about how this is being responded to by Israel, by Iran. What are you learning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. Look, the Iranians have been very, very clear from the get-go that they think that they won the 12-day conflict with Israel. That they believe that they struck military targets here. That they did -- landed a devastating blow on urban areas. We've heard that from the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It's -- I think, when we listen to Iran discuss and declare how much for their uranium enrichment production facilities are still intact it should be taken with a pinch of salt. Why? Because their assessment of what they -- the damage they did to Israel doesn't bear reality. We can't inspect the sites in Iran ourselves. There isn't good, accurate, on-the-ground information.

But what they are saying diplomatically -- and this is what Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said just yesterday. He said no one's going to stop Iran's enrichment of uranium. It's an entitlement. They're going to do it. And they believe it's an international legal entitlement for them to be able to do that for peaceful civilian- power-generating needs.

The narrative that Iran generates here is that it intends to go back to producing uranium. The narrative is that they don't feel this is the right time for negotiations with the United States because they feel that the United States joined Israel in the -- in the -- in the strikes on Iran.

So I think that the Iranian position on this -- the details of what happened on the ground may not be clear, but their intent does seem to be clear.

SIDNER: Yeah.

I do want to just sort of switch gears here. There is such extreme desperation -- starvation, destruction -- in Gaza.

What are you learning about Prime Minister Netanyahu's priorities now in this war, and do you see a sense that there is a shift?

ROBERTSON: You did get that. Yesterday, for the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu using the 12-day conflict with Iran, describing it as a success and therefore there were opportunities coming from that.

He described getting the hostages out of Gaza as his primary goal, then dealing with Hamas. Now, prior to this he's always said the way to get the hostages out was to defeat Hamas, so he's shifting the priorities. So that narrative is changing.

We've heard -- the government described this yesterday -- that the security situation around Gaza is no longer dangerous in those communities -- the Kibbutz right next to Gaza that Hamas overran on October 7. That's a new narrative. The prime minister is creating a sense -- and this has been welcomed by the hostage families -- that the hostages are now the priority.

And again, his ability to do this and have the political room for maneuver comes from his and President Trump's view that the conflict against Iran was a success. They're sticking to that narrative.

[07:45:00]

SIDNER: All right, Nic Robertson. Thank you so much for all your reporting from there in Jerusalem for us -- John.

BERMAN: All right, a new app is helping communities stay one step ahead of immigration enforcement turning smartphones into warning systems. Who is behind it and how does it work?

And are you hitting the road for the Fourth? Where will gas prices be? You might like the answer.

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BOLDUAN: Friday's landmark Supreme Court ruling limited a federal judge's authority to issue nationwide injunctions, to curb executive power -- it was a big victory for President Trump.

[07:50:00]

The 6-3 decision clears the way for the Trump administration to expand its already broad view of presidential authority. But what it did not do was decide on the merits of the constitutional question that was before the court of birthright citizenship -- the main substance of the case.

Many Democrats are furious with this outcome so far, saying it's unraveling the foundation of American democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): By taking away the power of courts to restrain the president when he is clearly acting in an unlawful manner -- as he is when he says that children born in the United States are no longer citizens -- you are assisting him in trying to undermine the rule of law and undermine our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining us now for a reality check of where things are right now with this, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig is here.

So Elie, the immediate result is the plaintiffs, if you will -- if you will, they go back to kind of the trial level district court --

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- on this.

So what exactly -- as they head there, what exactly has changed or has not changed with this Supreme Court decision?

HONIG: So today we begin the process of picking through the rubble essentially. What is not changed is that the federal district courts -- trial level courts -- still do have the power to review a presidential action --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

HONIG: -- to find it unconstitutional and to block it through what we call an injunction.

What has changed is the scope of those injunctions. Now we know those injunctions can only apply --really with some narrow exceptions -- to the actual parties to the case. What district court judges cannot do anymore -- again, with some narrow exceptions -- is issue nationwide injunctions that sweep beyond just the parties there in the court and to the entire country. That's a major reduction in judicial power with respect to the presidency.

BOLDUAN: Are there still ways with this -- are there still ways for a district court to block a president's actions in a way that applies beyond maybe that one plaintiff?

HONIG: There are. There are. And the Supreme Court gave us a hint what some of these can be. I know you have a couple of AGs coming up later.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

HONIG: So one of them is if there is a lawsuit brought by a state. The state of New Jersey, state of Colorado -- there's an argument that the ruling could apply to the entire state.

Another is what we call class actions -- and watch for a lot of these cases to try to transfer into class actions. That's when a couple of named plaintiffs go into court but they're really there representing a very broad class of people. Perhaps in this case all children born to non-citizen parents. Now that's easier said than done though. People sort of --

BOLDUAN: I would say so.

HONIG: Yeah. People have been casually saying well, everything will turn into a class action. It's really hard to get certified -- approved as a class action. But that's another way that plaintiffs can seek broader relief.

BOLDUAN: And then on -- so everyone thought but wait a second, this was about birthright citizenship, right?

HONIG: Right.

BOLDUAN: So the Supreme Court did not rule on the substance of that constitutional question that the president has raised on birthright citizenship.

How do you see that legal fight now playing out? HONIG: Chaotically. Yes, they have not answered the birthright citizenship question. We could end up in a scenario. There are 22 states that have sued to challenge Trump's effort to limit birthright. It could be that we have different laws in those 22 states or different judicial holds.

BOLDUAN: Really?

HONIG: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Twenty-two different rules on birthright citizenship in 22 different states?

HONIG: Yes. Well, we could have one set of rules in 20 -- the 22 states --

BOLDUAN: Yeah, right.

HONIG: -- that sued; another set of rules in the 28 states that have not sued.

BOLDUAN: That's wild.

HONIG: That is wild, and that's why this is going to be so chaotic.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court is ultimately going to have to decide this --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

HONIG: -- hopefully, sooner than later. I actually think they're going to strike down Donald Trump's effort to limit birthright citizenship. But until they do, we're going to be in this great unknown and they're going to be picking through the rubbish -- the rubble here, really, piece by piece.

But yeah, we could have a scenario where New Jersey -- a child born in New Jersey is a citizen and a child born across the river in Pennsylvania is not a citizen under the exact same circumstances.

BOLDUAN: When it comes to the Supreme Court or it always involves what are the broader implications of -- and so what are the broader implications of --

HONIG: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- what has already been decided?

HONIG: So this ruling sweeps way beyond birthright citizenship.

BOLDUAN: Right.

HONIG: This sweeps to everything. Think about all -- there's been about two dozen or so different Trump initiatives that district courts have put on hold nationwide from his immigration enforcement to the firing of federal employees, withholding of federal funding. All of those cases now are in flux, and the question is, are those decisions going to be able to sweep nationwide?

The answer, as of right now, is no -- but that's why we're going to start seeing later this afternoon parties in all those cases filtering back into courts trying to figure out what do we do? Now these decisions that had been blocked nationwide -- now they're only blocked as to the two or three, or however many plaintiffs are in court. So what do we do?

So it's going to be an uncertain period for sure, and it's way beyond birthright citizenship. It's to all the presidential initiatives.

I should add though this is not a Trump-specific issue. The Biden administration asked for the exact --

BOLDUAN: Right.

HONIG: -- same thing the Trump administration just asked for and got. This something that's 20 years old or so -- this idea of nationwide injunctions -- and now that tool is gone and it decreases the power of the judiciary and increases the power of the executive, no matter who is sitting in the Oval Office.

[07:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Yeah. No president -- one could venture to say no president -- no president enjoys a nationwide injunction --

HONIG: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: -- of what they think is the right path.

HONIG: Whoever is in the White House hates them.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

Great to see you. Thank you so much.

HONIG: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: A lot more to come on this.

And as Elie was just noting, next hour we're going to speak to two attorneys general from both -- one from Colorado and New Jersey who are leading this effort. The lead plaintiffs, if you will, in this case that went to the Supreme Court. The big question is what now? We'll have that next hour -- John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning some pretty good news for millions of drivers expecting to hit the road for the Fourth of July weekend.

CNN's Matt Egan is here. Gas prices -- they're pretty low.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, John, they're pretty low and they're trending lower. And this is good news because it should be relatively cheap to fill up your tank this holiday weekend. So GasBuddy is projecting that the national average is going to be $3.10 to $3.15 a gallon. That is significantly cheaper than $3.49 a gallon last Fourth of July. This translates to Americans spending about half a billion dollars less on gasoline this holiday weekend versus last.

And when we look at the trend you can see that gas prices -- they spiked three years ago. This was -- we're looking at almost $5.00 a gallon on the Fourth of July, right? That was a nightmare. Trending lower since then. In fact, this would be the lowest Fourth of July for gas since at least 2021 -- perhaps even since 2020 during COVID.

And, of course, people are making more money on average than they did back then, so on an inflation adjusted basis gasoline is swallowing up a smaller and smaller chunk of paychecks.

And some drivers in some states are seeing even bigger drops in the price of gasoline, including in Michigan where it's about 42 cents cheaper to fill up than it was --

BERMAN: Wow.

EGAN: -- this time last year. Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nevada, and a number of other states seeing significant drops.

And it's not like people are not expected to travel this weekend -- they are. AAA is forecasting that almost 62 million people are going to travel by car. That is more than a million increase from last holiday weekend.

And what's also notable here is we almost saw a very different story, right? It was just a couple of weeks ago that oil prices were spiking because of the Iran-Israel crisis. Look at this spike that we saw in June. And then they came all the way down -- almost straight down because thankfully, the ceasefire does appear to be holding. We're actually looking at a -- at about a $20.00 cheaper price for oil than it was at this point last year.

So you put it altogether and this is some positive news heading into the holiday weekend.

BERMAN: For -- at least it is today.

EGAN: It is.

BERMAN: Things have been moving so quickly but it is great news for people hitting the roads.

All right, Matt, appreciate it.

EGAN: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right. This morning Canada backing down on its threat to tax digital services in the U.S. after President Trump threatened to cancel trade talks altogether. President Trump calling the tax on online companies a direct and blatant attack on our country.

In a statement, the Canadian government said it was stepping back from the tax to help bring the country back to the negotiating table. President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have said they hope to have a deal signed by July 21.

All right, Houston, we have a problem. Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" show in her hometown of Houston hit a snag when -- look at that -- her flying car prop malfunctioned. She just sitting there stuck. The Grammy winner stopped her performance as the car sort of tilted in mid-air.

Fans were, of course, on edge but encouraging her. But Beyonce stayed, and calm, and collected, finishing the song after being lowered down. She then told the crowd, "If I ever fall, I know y'all will catch me." Aww -- she's probably right.

It was raining rose petals and dollars bills in Detroit over the weekend. During a celebration of life honoring beloved community member Darrell Thomas. Five thousand dollars were dropped by a helicopter. Thomas' son said it was his father's wish and final expression of love to the community.

That's what I call making it rain in the best possible way, John.

BERMAN: Absolutely.

All right. New this morning as the Trump administration steps up ICE raids and mass deportations, one tech developer is pushing back with an app designed to track ICE activity in real time. It's called ICEBlock and it's controversial to say the least.

CNN's Clare Duffy is with us now. How does this work, Clare, and what are the legal implications?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yeah, John. I talked with Joshua Aaron, who is the longtime tech worker who developed this platform, and he said he really wants it to be an early warning system for people about the location of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers. So he says he does not want people interfering with those officers' activity, but he does want people to be able to avoid them altogether if they want.

So you open the app -- it looks like a map -- and users can tap the map to report an ICE sighting in their area. And then everybody who uses the platform within five miles of that sighting will get a push alert.