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Senate Passes Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" in 51-50 Vote; House GOP Leaders Reiterate Pledge To Pass Trump Megabill By July 4; Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) Discusses About Bill Passing The Senate; Source: House Expected To Vote On Trump Megabill Tomorrow; Jury Requests Transcripts Of Key Testimony. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 01, 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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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: That was a close one. By the narrowest margin possible, the Senate passing President Trump's multi-trillion-dollar domestic agenda package after hours and hours, a record-setting number of votes. The bill now goes back to the House for a high-stakes fight as President Trump's July 4th deadline looms. We'll discuss.

Plus, Fed Chair Jerome Powell punching back. Why the head of the Federal Reserve says the central bank hasn't cut interest rates despite serious pressure from the President.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And jurors in Sean Diddy Combs' federal criminal trial are deliberating for a second day. What they requested today after sending the judge another note.

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

SANCHEZ: We start this hour with President Trump expressing confidence as his "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" now heads back to the House. Just a short time ago, his MAGA agenda measure overcame huge hurdles in the Senate to narrowly pass. We have new reaction from a growing number of Republicans, some who are not as optimistic that this bill will just sail onto the President's desk. Of course, all eyes are still on that July 4th deadline that President Trump has been pushing. Let's get out to Capitol Hill with CNN's Lauren Fox, who's been speaking to lawmakers.

Lauren, what are you hearing?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right now, Republicans in the Senate are doing a victory lap that they were able to get this bill with significant changes out of their chamber and back to the House of Representatives. But even they are warning they do not know what the future fate of this bill is going to be and whether or not they're going to be able to meet that July 4th deadline that the President has been so intent on getting and meeting.

One thing that we heard earlier today from Sen. Lindsey Graham is that he believes this bill is better now having gone through the Senate, but he also didn't want to predict victory in the House. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I don't know what's going to happen in the House. They're going to take it up pretty soon. Did they have the votes to pass exactly what we did? I don't know. I just think we delivered for the President. We gave our House colleagues a better bill than we found. It has $200 billion more in savings. The tax cuts are permanent. So, I think it's a better bill from my point of view, but we'll see what they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And just to give you a sampling of what Speaker Mike Johnson is up against, just a few minutes ago, we saw a tweet from Representative Andy Ogles saying he did not like the Senate package. He thought that they should just replace the House bill with it and send it back to the Senate once again. Obviously, that would start this process and rigmarole all over again.

Meanwhile, you have some moderate lawmakers who are expressing some deep concerns about the fact that the Senate bill went further in its cuts to Medicaid than the House bill did, especially with a provider tax provision. Representative David Valadao over the weekend made clear that the Senate changes may have gone too far for him to support this legislation.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Speaker Mike Johnson has been trying to impress upon his members that they should not be drawing red lines in the sand on social media or in interviews with reporters, in part because he wants to give himself, obviously, maximum flexibility to try to win over the support and votes he needs in the days ahead. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes, he will need every inch of breathing room possible. Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

Let's go now live to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, what is their angle on this? How are they seeing today's news?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, they're incredibly optimistic. First, of course, they are celebrating the fact that this passed in the Senate.

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It doesn't matter that it passed by a narrow margin, but President Trump was able to do what they had hoped, which was essentially strong arm or muscle this through Congress, despite the fact that there were many Senators who weren't on board with many of the things that were in this bill.

Now, when it comes to the House, we are hearing from a number of White House officials today who are expressing a lot of confidence, and that includes President Trump himself. Here's what he said about this going to the House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It tells you there's something for everyone. I mean, we have - it's a great bill. There is something for everyone. And I think it's going to go very nicely in the House. Actually, I think it will be easier in the House than it was in the Senate.

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HOLMES: Now, to give you a little bit more context here, President Trump, even if he thinks it's going to be easier, as he said, there has been working the phones. That's what a number of White House officials told us. He hasn't been in touch with just congressional leadership, but also with various members that they think might be hard to convince.

The other thing we have been told is that one White House official said when it comes to the House, we're more optimistic than we were even in the Senate, because we have effectively been whipping House members for weeks, essentially saying that they were getting them ready, have been courting them, have been pushing them on this bill for a long time.

Now, obviously, we've already heard that some of these House members have some issues with the changes that were made in the Senate. So, right now, there is a lot, again, behind the scenes, wheeling and dealing. And President Trump himself is involved, because, again, I know we say this - I say this every time I talk to you, but this is truly what President Trump believes is his legacy. It's not just the cornerstone of his second term in office. It is what he believes he will be leaving behind. So, there is nothing more important than - to him than getting this passed.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Really raising the stakes there, President Trump. Kristen Holmes live at the White House, thanks so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: House GOP leaders say they are committed to getting this bill passed by that July 4th deadline. With us now is Congressman Randy Fine of Florida.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us in studio.

And so, are you a yes on this Senate-passed version of the bill?

REP. RANDY FINE (R-FL): Well, we're still reading the bill, but I'm not going to let the President down in the end. Look, as Republicans, we have to show that we can govern and we have to show that we can get President Trump's agenda done. And I'm 100 percent confident that we're going to deliver on that.

KEILAR: Are you going to have time to read it by the deadline ...

FINE: Well, we're reading it.

KEILAR: ... if you could see a vote as soon as tomorrow in the House?

FINE: Well, we're reading it now, and they read it in about 10 hours in the Senate, and they read it out loud. I read a little quicker when I'm reading quietly. So yes, we're reading it right now, and I think we'll get there.

KEILAR: So, we're reporting - CNN's Annie Grayer and Sarah Ferris, that behind the scenes, some of your House Republican colleagues are privately discussing whether to block this bill from coming to the House floor at all, that they would vote down that so-called rule vote. Do you see this ultimately happening? What are you hearing about this?

FINE: Well, I hope not, because look, we deserve a free-spirited debate. The President is our leader. This is his legacy, as you just said. And it does amazing things for the American people. It's going to do what we've promised to do on the border, to lock the border down. It's going to make sure people don't have a huge tax increase, and it's going to cut taxes not for millionaires and billionaires. Millionaires and billionaires don't get tips. They don't work overtime. It's going to cut those taxes for regular people, and that's what I came here to do.

KEILAR: There are a lot of tax cuts that are going to help rich people as well, to be clear. The House pass version, which you have obviously - you voted for, and expressed support for, estimated to add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over a decade. The latest CBO score on the Senate version, $3.3 trillion.

In January, when you were running for Congress, you shared a DOGE tweet that was highlighting the current budget debt and debt-to-GDP ratio compared to the stats in 1984. And you said, "The greatest existential threat to the United States is not China. It's not Russia. It's not Iran. It is this. And if I accomplish anything in Congress, it will be to help save our country by being destroyed by it."

How does that cost estimate, which is huge, of this bill that you're backing, square with your promise to save the country from fiscal irresponsibility?

FINE: Well, I was actually going to give that quote right now if you hadn't read it. Look, we have a hundred-yard game we have to win to save the country, and you can't do it all in one bill. I believe we're on the one-yard line right now. I think this bill takes us to the 11- yard line. It gets us a new first down. But we still have 89 yards to go.

And I think one of the mistakes my colleagues are making is they're treating this "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" as the only big, beautiful bill that we will ever have done. I think looking at those baselines and assuming the tax cuts go away is ridiculous, because it would destroy the economy.

So, I look at the new tax cuts, I look at the new spending, and I look at the new spending cuts. And when you do that, it clearly moves the ball in the right direction. KEILAR: Still $500 billion. It's a big number. So, you are putting

your eggs in the basket that you will have a chance to eradicate the cost of this bill?

FINE: I'm putting my eggs in the basket that we're going to eradicate the deficit over my time in Congress, which, by the way, this never solved the $2 trillion-a-year problem.

KEILAR: So, why start by adding to it?

FINE: Well, because I'm not convinced that it does. The last time the CBO ...

KEILAR: Why not?

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FINE: Because the last time the CBO scored tax cuts, they were wrong by a trillion and a half dollars, so ...

KEILAR: But that's because no one could ...

FINE: They don't do dynamic scoring.

KEILAR: Well, that's because ...

FINE: They don't think about the economic impacts.

KEILAR: ... but that's because they made the estimate without considering the pandemic and without considering other things as well, COVID, high inflation that was - I don't think anyone predicted that. We can't predict a pandemic. It's a nonpartisan organization and ...

FINE: You say that, but their projections assume 1.8 percent economic growth for the next 10 years, something we've never seen in the history of the country that low. So, I have some questions. I used to teach economics at Harvard, no less, so don't hold that against me. But I have real concerns about how we do that scoring, and I think it can be done a lot better.

KEILAR: So, Elon Musk is threatening to primary opponents of lawmakers who voted for this bill. We've heard that Republicans on the Hill are actually worried about this threat. Does it worry you?

FINE: I worry less about the voters, and I worry more about the judgment of my children. My children will forgive me if I lose an election, but they will not forgive me if I don't help solve this problem, which I believe this bill moves us down the field to do that. Those are the two kids that I'm worried about.

KEILAR: Okay, you don't worry about Elon Musk getting someone to primary you?

FINE: If he does, he does. But I think politicians that make decisions because they're worried about their primary election are not the kind of people that you want in Congress. I've always, as long as I've been elected, done what I believe is right, and I find that voters reward me for that. I've never lost an election.

KEILAR: This morning, we heard the President say that he could put doge on Musk. He is entertaining, canceling contracts and subsidies for Musk's companies, including SpaceX, which is obviously so crucial to our space program. You were there not far from the Space Coast. I wonder if you think that is a good idea.

FINE: Well, look, I think no one has done more from a business perspective to transform the world than Elon Musk. But it's also true that no one has gotten more money from the government to do it. SpaceX is almost 100 percent funded by the U.S. government. Now, I think what it does is extraordinary. And I'm also a three-time Tesla owner. So, some of Elon's comments hurt me in my soul.

But I believe we have to do the right thing. And I think Elon may be upset. And he's not wrong. He agrees with this existential threat that is our debt and deficit. But there are ways to do it. And if we don't pass a bill to preserve the tax cuts, we will blow up the economy and we will hurt the American people. And so, we have to get it done.

KEILAR: SpaceX is the primary ride to the International Space Station, believed to be crucial ...

FINE: Yes, absolutely.

KEILAR: ... by many to national security. Should the President be using a government agency or effort to threaten someone who ticks him off by exercising their free speech? Should he be doing that? Weaponizing a part of the government when - I mean, there are critics of Elon Musk, but SpaceX arguably is very important to the national security of the country.

FINE: Here's what I'll say. I don't know that it's fair for someone whose fortune was created thanks to the U.S. taxpayer to be so critical of when we're talking about these sorts of spending cuts. SpaceX wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the generosity of the U.S. taxpayer. And I'm glad it does.

KEILAR: So, his free speech should be limited because of that?

FINE: You're allowed to say anything that you want, and he does. But I think sometimes the speech isn't all that helpful. But I understand why he's angry, too. He sees the same problem that I do, a country that will collapse in our children's lifetimes if we don't solve this problem. But this bill moves the ball down the field. Voltaire once said, don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. And that's something that me, who's also frustrated with parts of the bill, but me and my colleagues need to keep that in mind. Half a loaf is better than no loaf, and we have to remember that and we have to keep moving forward.

KEILAR: So, as you take the vote on this expensive bill, what are you going to do to tackle that fiscal problem?

FINE: Well, we're going to have to keep looking for cuts. This is only the first thing that we're going to do. If this was the only bill I'd ever vote on, if I if I thought this is where we stop ... KEILAR: But where are you going - you know where there are cuts.

FINE: Oh, sure.

KEILAR: So, where are you going to do it?

FINE: Look, everywhere I go in this town I say, why are we spending money on this? Why are we spending money on that? I often feel like Rome is burning and all people want to do is (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: Okay, but if you don't have specific cuts in mind ...

FINE: Sure. I'll give you a good example.

KEILAR: ... you understand that you ...

FINE: You want example? Absolutely.

KEILAR: ... but do you have - but I was going to say that without something really in hand ...

FINE: Yes.

KEILAR: ... do you see why some of your colleagues have an issue feeling that a vote for this, they don't want to put their eggs in that basket of future votes to tackle the deficit and the debt?

FINE: I can't speak for why they're going to do that, but I'll give an example of what I would do. I would get rid of the Department of Education. There are estimates that up to 50 percent of the billions of dollars the Department of Education spends is actually on overhead. It actually doesn't benefit kids. We can get rid of the Department of Education, give 75 percent of the money directly to the states, cut 25 percent of what they spend and take all of that to the bottom line. That's how we make the government more efficient.

And I have been here for three months and I am shocked at all the dumb things that I see get spent on.

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The problem is they're all relatively little. And the way you eat an elephant is one bite at the time. That's why we did the rescissions bill a couple of weeks ago saying we shouldn't be funding transgender ministries in Uganda. We need to be focused on looking for all of the ways to cut spending. And this bill is a start. It is not an endpoint.

KEILAR: Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.

FINE: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: We really appreciate it, Congressman Randy Fine.

And still to come, the jury deliberating in the federal criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs asking for key testimony transcripts. We'll bring the latest. Plus, Jerome Powell says the reason why the Federal Reserve hasn't lowered interest rates is because of President Trump's significant policy changes. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: Jurors in the Sean "Diddy" Combs criminal trial have been deliberating for more than 11 hours now, and so far, they've sent several notes to the judge. The latest note came earlier today concerning testimony from two key witnesses. Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a male escort named Daniel Phillip, who says he was paid to have sex with Ventura.

SANCHEZ: The jury is going over transcripts from the early days of the trial when Ventura and Phillip described the sexual encounters known as freak-offs. Jurors also asked to review transcripts of Ventura's testimony about her being violently assaulted at a Los Angeles hotel. Here to discuss is CNN Legal Analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

Joey, great to see you, as always.

Why do you think the jury is asking for these transcripts of Ventura and Phillip's testimony?

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

So, what happens is, is remember the jury's role. The jury's role is to be the fact finder with respect to determining exactly what happened. And so, as a fact finder, what they now do is they match those facts with the law as it has been given to them. This specifically, I believe, relates to the issue of sex trafficking. There has been throughout this trial the notion from the prosecution that this was coerced sexual activity. And while prosecutors argue this was 11-year relationship, there were plenty of instances, according to prosecutors, where Cassie Ventura, his long-term girlfriend, was coerced into these freak-offs involving another male participant.

This specific jury note, right, you get read back. That is that no one has a photographic memory. And so, when you sit there for seven weeks, particularly this testimony, which was earlier in the trial, you want to refresh your recollections to specifically what those interactions were with this male escort. What was this male escort paid? What they paid? What was expected for the payment that they were being made for this particular freak-off? Was this freak off consensual? What happened during it? Was there any violence? Did it appear that Sean "Diddy" Combs was forcing or coercing Cassie Ventura to engage in it as opposed to her freely and willingly participating?

So, that goes to the core of that issue. It goes to the core of that specific count. And it goes to the core of whether the jury will find him guilty or not guilty. KEILAR: And yesterday, the jury sent this note asking about the

distribution of controlled substances. What did that question tell you about the jury's thinking, Joey?

JACKSON: Yes, so Brianna, what happens is, is while we don't know, you know, really much about the jury's thinking, because it could be from one juror, it could be from several jurors, et cetera, it certainly does give us a roadmap with respect to how they're tackling this case. If they're looking at the distribution count, which was looked at yesterday, right, could be looking at it again today. But with respect to that note, it demonstrates that they were focused on RICO.

What about RICO? RICO is this Racketeering Influence Corrupt Organization Act. You need specific things to happen, number one. You need for there to be a criminal enterprise. That criminal enterprise has to exist for 10 years or more. There has to be a conspiracy with respect to Sean "Diddy" Combs and others to engage in illegality.

Now, to the heart of your question, one of the predicate acts in terms of the illegality, there were many, right, from the prosecutor's allegations, whether it be the arson, whether it be this drug sex trafficking issue itself, whether it be the bribery, whether it be the obstruction of justice. But one specifically was the issue of drugs and the drug distribution. Was there, as the prosecution's arguing, this drugs that were distributed, that is transported to other people?

And if it was so, and that does serve as a predicate act for RICO, right, that they're looking at, was it for Combs' personal use or was it distributed as, you know, in terms of - to other people to engage in illegality? So, that's what it says and suggests that they were focused on with respect to that question, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Joey Jackson, thank you so much. We are keeping our eyes as jury deliberations continue on New York.

Coming up, the family of a Cuban immigrant who had been in the U.S. for decades is demanding answers after he died in ICE custody last week in South Florida. Stay with us.

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SANCHEZ: As President Trump tours the new detainment center that he's calling Alligator Alcatraz, we're learning more about one migrant recently held at a nearby South Florida facility. This is 75-year-old Isidro Perez. He's pictured here with his family, the guy with the beard in the background.

He's a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States nearly six decades ago, likely allowed entry under parole programs for Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro's communist regime. He came to the United States back when he was 16 years old, reportedly working as a mechanic and fisherman.

But in June, Perez was arrested by ICE. When his family says that he was sitting at a community center, you can see him here in this photo provided by a family friend, the white beard, his hands behind his back. ICE says that he was charged with inadmissibility pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. He was sent about an hour east of the facility where President Trump toured today to Krome Detention Center, which in recent weeks has been in the spotlight for moments like this one.

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