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Now: Marathon Senate Voting Session Underway On Trump's Megabill; GOP Sen. Murkowski Votes With Dems On Key Megabill Amendments; Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) Discusses About The Megabill; Jury Sends Note To Judge Shortly After Starting Deliberations; Disney Cruise Ship Rescuers Save Girl And Dad After Overboard Fall. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired June 30, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:40]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Vote-a-rama drama, this thing is still going on-a - I tried. Republican lawmakers are working to pass President Trump's sweeping tax and spending package, and a final vote on the bill could come as soon as tonight.

Plus, deliberations are underway in the federal criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. And the jury just sent a note to the judge saying they're concerned that one of the jurors cannot follow the judge's instructions. We have the latest there.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And later, two firefighters shot and killed, another gravely injured. Officials believe the suspected shooter deliberately started a fire as part of an ambush.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Happening now, that vote-a-rama on Capitol Hill over President Trump's mega bill as the White House is staring down the clock. We're just over five hours into this marathon voting session. And here's the deal, pending any huge GOP surprises, Democrats can play the delay game, but they simply don't have the numbers to stop this bill. Republicans feeling the pressure are now racing to see if they can meet the president's July 4th deadline, at the same time managing some not so beautiful pushback to this bill from their constituents back home.

There are still a few key senators who are hoping for last minute changes. So, let's go now to Lauren Fox on the Hill to find out what's happening up there.

And Lauren, you have some new reporting on two of these key senators that we're watching.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, Democrats have thrown out a series of really tough amendment votes for Republicans, including some to shore up funding for the Medicaid program. This bill does go after several pieces of that program, including provider taxes in states across the country.

And we've seen a couple of times Republicans cross over and vote with Democrats on these amendments. Now, none of the amendments have passed, but that just goes to show you, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Susan Collins, they are crossing the aisle and making it clear that they share some of the same concerns with Democrats about what is in this underlying bill when it comes to those cuts to the Medicaid program.

Now, Thom Tillis, who has already said he's voting against this bill, he voted to move it forward. Then he announced his retirement yesterday. He took to the floor last night and railed against this piece of legislation, saying he had no idea how he was going to go home and make the case to more than 600,000 North Carolinians who rely on this program, that he had agreed to those cuts, even though many of them are now delayed in this piece of legislation, an effort by GOP leaders to make sure that they adhere to strict budget rules.

Right now, John Thune can only afford to lose three Republican members. He lost two on Saturday night on a key procedural vote. Thom Tillis, who we just talked about, as well as Sen. Rand Paul, who has very different concerns that the bill includes an increase in the country's borrowing limit for the debt ceiling. This bill includes $5 trillion for that. That's something that he said he couldn't support.

[15:05:00]

So that just gives you a sense of how tight the margins are. And while this is all playing out in front of cameras, you see these votes happening on the Senate floor, one after another. We are now at just under a dozen of these votes. Behind the scenes, GOP leaders are working furiously to make sure that they have the support they need when this vote-a-rama ends. And it comes down to that final and critical vote on Donald Trump's agenda here in the Senate.

KEILAR: Yes. This is taking so long. I literally saw someone bouncing a ball there by the door to the Senate chamber. So, people trying to ...

FOX: That's Markwayne Mullin.

KEILAR: I wondered ...

FOX: He always has a ball. He always has that (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: I couldn't see - he's partially cut off, so there you go. Killing some time there. Bouncy, bouncy. All right. Thank you so much, Lauren. We appreciate it.

Let's go to the White House now and Kristen Holmes.

And Kristen, this is so important to President Trump. This is his key piece of legislation. How is he - how are those at the White House watching this go down over here in the Senate and on the Hill?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, they're watching it really closely, Brianna. They are watching every move that happens on the Hill right now. And you've seen President Trump kind of live posting about it on his social media. We saw him go after Sen. Thom Tillis over the weekend, threatening to primary him and then sending kind of cryptic messages after that to other members, no one specifically, but saying, remember, you have to still get reelected even if you want cuts.

Now, I did just get off the phone with a senior White House administration - or excuse me, a senior White House official who told me that they like the odds right now. They think this is going in the right direction. Of course, they're watching to see what actually gets approved through this process, but they think this is going to work out in their favor.

Now, they're cautiously optimistic. They obviously know something could change at any time. We just heard from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt talking about this, the importance of this, and the hope for Republicans on the Hill. Take a listen.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The White House and the President are adamant that this bill is passed and that this bill makes its way to his desk. Republicans need to stay tough and unified during the home stretch, and we are counting on them to get the job done.

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HOLMES: Tough and unified. And, Brianna, one of the things that we just continue to talk about, but it's so important to stress here, is that this is not only the cornerstone of President Trump's second term. This is also what he believes and his team believes his legacy is going to be. So, it's not just important to him. It is critical to them to get this across the finish line.

And one of the things we've seen in the weeks leading up to this is a full court press by his team, by his administration official, and by his allies with all of these senators. And again, right now, they're saying they like their odds.

KEILAR: All right. We will be watching the Senate as they are as well. Kristen Holmes live for us at the White House. Thank you. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss the implications of this bill with North Carolina Republican Congressman Tim Moore.

Congressman, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

I want to start with the deficit.

REP. TIM MOORE (R-NC): Thank you.

SANCHEZ: The Congressional Budget Office says that the Senate version of this bill would add some $3 trillion to the deficit. That's actually about a trillion more than the House version. The White House and some Republican supporters of this bill are pushing an alternative scoring method. It has a dramatically different projection, one that's much lower, perhaps not surprisingly. I just wonder if you can guarantee your constituents that at the end of the day, this bill would not add to the deficit.

MOORE: Well - and thanks for having me on today. You know, I think what's important to understand is that this bill is dealing with decades of mismanagement, excessive spending, excessive taxation. And it's going to take a while to get the spending curve under control. You can't just, you know, turn this thing on a dime.

And so, while there may have to be some more very temporary debt, it's - the projection is that it's going to go down. And I'll tell you this, the scoring methodology, if you look at what's traditionally used as far as rate of growth, it - actually, you're not going to see, I would say, anything near what's being talked about.

But I will say this, too, I do think that the House bill was better than what the Senate bill is right now. But look, I'm going to vote for it. We've got to do this. We've got to extend the Trump tax cuts. We need to invest in energy in this nation, border security, national defense and so this bill is going to do a lot to really move things forward.

But let's not forget, this is only the first reconciliation bill. There will be others where we can do things to take even more, you know, ways to deal with the debt, because I believe the national debt is absolutely at critical mass. So, you know, again, this is bill number one.

SANCHEZ: Sure.

MOORE: Then, we're going to have the rescission package. Then, you'll have other bills as well.

SANCHEZ: I also wonder what impact it's going to have for your constituents, benefits like Medicaid or food assistance programs. I know that North Carolina's governor is warning that less federal funding for Medicaid expansion would mean that more than half a million people in your state would lose coverage.

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Can you guarantee folks in North Carolina and your 14th district who depend on these benefits that they won't lose them?

MOORE: Well, I can tell you if someone is here illegally and getting these benefits, they're going to lose them. Because if they're here illegally, they shouldn't be getting them. If someone is committing waste, fraud or abuse, that needs to be cut. And if someone is able- bodied, able to work, but is refusing not to do so, the work requirements are going to take care of that.

In terms of any additional costs that the state may end up having to pick up, I've been assured by our legislative leaders, our Republican legislative leaders, that they have the bandwidth, they have the ability to pick up that cost.

So, at the end of the day, I don't think folks who truly need Medicaid, those who are disabled, you know, those who like a single parent who's raising a child, I don't think those folks are going to be impacted. And I'm convinced that the way this language of the bill is, and also importantly, how the administration executes the rollout, that people who need this service are not going to lose it. So, it's going to be okay.

SANCHEZ: I wonder how you square that, Congressman, with what the senior senator from your state, Thom Tillis, someone who I understand you have a personal relationship with, has said about this bill that it betrays the very promise that President Trump made on Medicaid. He talks about it slashing nearly a trillion dollars in funding, leaving some 12 million people uninsured. Why do you think Senator Tillis is warning your party that this is a massive mistake? You don't believe him?

MOORE: Well, I'll say, you know, Sen. Tillis and I go way back. We served in the state legislature together. He was the Speaker of the House before I became Speaker of the House. So, he's a great friend and I appreciate his leadership. And I think he has raised some valid points. But in the conversations that I've been having with our folks in the House, we're going to be able to deal with any of those issues. But more importantly, the state has assured us that they're going to be able to have the bandwidth fiscally to pick up any additional share that the state may have to carry with this.

But at, you know, the end of the day, you know, this is one small piece of what is an absolutely fantastic bill. I mean, think about this. We're finally going to have a bill that fully unleashes the American energy resources, getting more energy out there, which allow gas prices to go down, to make us an energy exporter again. That's going to do so much to deal with inflation, what we're doing on the other issues.

So, you know, dealing with waste, fraud and abuse, these other things on Medicaid, that's one part of it. But this is a huge bill that covers so many areas. And I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to voting for this bill.

Are you concerned about the scale of it, Congressman, given that we've heard some of your fellow Republicans state that they were surprised by some of the contents of it once it's made - once it made its way to the Senate? Are you sure that that's the right idea to get all of this in one bill, even when a lot of it individual lawmakers seem to be just holding their nose and passing it because they want to remain loyal to the President?

MOORE: You know, I'm agnostic on some of these other provisions that don't go to the core mission that's been laid out of, you know, again, extending the Trump tax cuts, investing in energy, investing in the border, investing in national defense, reining in the national debt. A lot of these other things that are kind of have sort of, I guess you'd say hitched a ride, you know, whether they're in there or not is not of consequence to me, as long as at the end of the day, everything squares, and we're going to be better off at the end than we are right now.

And I'm going to tell you, we don't have an option but to do this, because, you know, if we don't pass this, it will be the most - one of the most massive tax increases that the American people have seen. And we're not going to let that happen. And I tell you, I trust our president. I think he's, you know, shown tremendous leadership on the international stage. He has shown a lot of leadership within the country, of course. And I think he really has a good idea of the direction the country is going and the direction it needs to continue to go.

And so, I want to be there to be a part of it, seeing that we keep moving America forward.

SANCHEZ: Understood. Congressman, one final question. I want to give you an opportunity to respond to a report in Fortune magazine that you failed to disclose stock trades worth up to half a million dollars. Apparently, you're laughing. This was apparently some trades that you made days before and then after President Trump's announced tariffs. You sit on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Did you miss this deadline? Can you explain why?

MOORE: So, no, we - actually we did not miss the deadline, which is why there was no fine or penalty assessed. We filed the report within what's called the grace period. There's a 10-day grace period there. And the big reason for that was we had some personnel changes and delays getting that done. But now everything's square and all of my stock trades are out there and, you know, based on just publicly available information. So, we'll keep - we'll continue to comply with the law on that and - just like everyone else.

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SANCHEZ: What do you say to Americans who think that it's inappropriate for members of Congress who may have access to sensitive information that most Americans don't have? They argue that lawmakers shouldn't be trading stocks. What do you say to them?

MOORE: Well, I'll tell you, if any person, a lawmaker, anyone trades off of any information that's not publicly known or anything, they should absolutely face consequences for that. That's entirely inappropriate. But I don't have access to any of that at all.

But one thing I do, just out of an abundance of caution, is I don't trade any, like, financial services stocks or anything. I just don't do those. So, the stocks I do are either ETFs, which are just general assortments of all kinds of stocks, you know, index funds, those kinds of things. And then normal blue chips, you know, things that are like Ford Motor Company, American Airlines, things that are just normal stocks that that I've actually traded for many, many years before being in Congress.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Tim Moore, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate you sharing your time.

MOORE: Great to be with you. SANCHEZ: Still to come, just after deliberations began, jurors in the

trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs say that one of them is worrying the entire body that they can't follow the jury's instructions. We're live in New York where the music mogul is facing life in prison.

Plus, we now know the identity of the man, authorities say, deliberately started a brush fire to ambush firefighters, killing two of them. What we know about this 20-year-old suspect.

And later, watch as crew members from a Disney cruise ship save a girl and her father after the child fell overboard and her dad jumped in trying to save her. We're back in just moments. Don't go anywhere.

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SANCHEZ: Just a few hours into jury deliberations in the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial, and there is already an issue with the jury. They sent a note to the judge saying, quote, "we have a juror, number 25, who we are concerned cannot follow Your Honor's instructions." The jury foreperson also asked to either speak with the judge or that that juror be interviewed.

Instead, the judge sent the note back telling jurors to follow his instructions and to keep deliberating. He also told the jury not to reveal any specifics about their deliberations and potential future notes.

KEILAR: And then just to give you a sense of what we know about juror 25, because I'm sure you're very curious, he is a 51-year-old male scientist who lives in Manhattan with his domestic partner. During jury selection, he told the court he had seen the hotel surveillance video showing Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura, and he had heard about allegations of people being drugged and taken advantage of, but had not formed an opinion because he did not know the law, nor whether anyone who came forward made up their allegation.

This panel, this jury, consists of eight men and four women, and they range in age from 30 years old to 74. We have CNN Legal Analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

All right, Joey, this is interesting because the note was requesting a couple of things here, and that's not what the judge did. The judge sent a message to the jury essentially saying, follow my instructions, just keep going. Is that really the only option that he had here?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. Boris, Brianna, good to be with you.

Now, this is a major development, and it's important because, right, this could be an appealable issue for the defense in the event that there's a conviction. Jurors are sacred, and you want to be very careful about whether you're guiding them one way or guiding them another, whether it be by insinuation, whether it be by the language that you give them an indication. You don't want to put your thumb on the scale at all.

So, the way in which the judge handled this very rightly and properly and lawfully, by the way, was to say, hey, listen, you know what my obligation is, and that is that you all follow the law. The jury, what they have to do, their job is to make factual determinations. They are the deciders of fact. The judge is the person who delves out what the law shall be. The jury was instructed as to what specific law applies to the case.

Now, it's up to the jury to apply those laws to the facts.

Now, what this means, Brianna and Boris, who knows? Maybe this is a juror that says, I don't care what you say, and is sitting on their hands and, you know, folding their arms, saying, I don't care., I'm not finding him guilty. Or in the alternative, I don't care what you say, he is guilty.

So, we don't know what that means, but the way it was handled, I think, was the only lawful way to do so.

SANCHEZ: Is there anything that you might read into Juror 25's biographical details? We don't know much, but there was a thorough jury selection process. Does it surprise you that we got here?

JACKSON: So, it doesn't, because remember, what happens, Boris, is that jurors are processing this information over the course of time, right? You look at 34 witnesses over the course of seven weeks, and although you cannot speak to the issues during the actual trial, you can't speak with the jurors. Hey, what do you think about this afternoon? What do you think about this morning? He's guilty, isn't he? He's innocent, isn't that right?

You can't do any of that. You're certainly formulating opinions with respect to what you believe, what the evidence shows, whether you're on the side of the defense, on the side of the prosecution. People take sides every day, watching news programs, sitting on their couch, et cetera.

So those are not something that is new, right? What then happens is, after it's all over, the judge then says, okay, I've instructed you, now you can begin to talk. But what ends up happening, Boris and Brianna, is that you're supposed to negotiate in good faith.

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And what that means in English is that sometimes you might say he's guilty, but a fellow juror might raise a good point, and it brings you over to the not-guilty column. Sometimes you might say, you know what, he's not guilty, and it brings you over to the guilty column and so you just negotiate in good faith, you can't sit on your hands and say I've made up my mind, I know what I'm doing, that's not really appropriate to the jury process.

KEILAR: So, we should also note that one of the jurors before deliberation a few weeks ago was taken off the case because they had been less than candid about where they lived. That actually certainly for part of the time they lived in New Jersey. And so, this is kind of a lot of jury drama that we've seen, Joey. Is it an unusual level of jury drama?

JACKSON: So, I wouldn't say unusual, you know, look, these are life issues and the jury selection process is not a perfect process, just like a trial is not a perfect process. You're entitled to a fair trial, you're not entitled to a perfect trial, right? You're entitled to a jury of your peers and imperfection and, you know, perfection eludes us all, let's say.

And so, you know, Boris asked me, hey, look, you know, we know this person, this juror, he's 51 years old, he's a scientist, he's in Manhattan, he's a messy partner, can you read anything into it? You really can't. You've interviewed them, you've read into it that you feel that he's qualified to be on the jury, you read into it that they're appropriate to serve. Just like, Brianna, with your question, the other jurors seem perfectly honest, perfectly forthcoming, but oh, by the way, you're in Jersey? We can't allow that, you're off.

And so, what you expect is that the jurors are candid, that everyone's acting in good faith, that they heard the evidence, that they're going to be open, that they're going to be receptive, and that they're going to do their job. At the end of the day, doing the job entails looking at those five counts and making a decision based upon how the judge instructed you on those five counts - RICO as to count one, the sex trafficking as to count two, the transportation - the prostitution as to count three.

Do the facts as we know them, as we've learned them during this trial, do they match the legal instructions? If so, you're guilty. If not, we've got to let you go. That's the process. And during that process, by the way, there are people like a tug-of-war. You pulled over to my side, I'm pulled over to yours. We'll see what ends up happening. And if this juror can follow the judge's note, which was the right choice that the judge made.

SANCHEZ: Joey Jackson, always fascinating to hear your point of view. Thanks for joining us.

JACKSON: Pleasure. Thanks, Boris, and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: A really eye-opening story that we're tracking, a Disney dream cruise nearly turned into a nightmare for a dad and his young daughter. This is video from the passenger ship, rather a passenger on the ship. It shows a rescue boat from a Disney cruise ship saving them after the girl fell overboard and the dad jumped right in after her trying to save her.

KEILAR: Yes, the rescuers pulled the girl and her father out of the water on Sunday as the Disney Dream cruise ship was returning to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas on the last day of its voyage. No information has been released about how the girl fell overboard or her age. But a passenger who witnessed this scary moment wrote on Facebook that, thankfully, the Disney Cruise Lines rescue team was on it immediately and both were saved, which you can say again. we will be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)