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Soon, House Takes Final Vote on Trump's Sweeping Agenda Bill; Judge Denies Bail for Sean Diddy Combs as He Awaits Sentencing; Liverpool Soccer Star Diogo Jota Dies in Car Crash. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 03, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, it appears Republican holdouts are falling in line. The final passage of President Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill may come as early as this morning. Speaker Johnson confident Republicans have the votes after President Trump put the pressure on lawmakers throughout the night.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Sean Combs denied bail, waking up behind bars. This despite being acquitted of the most serious charges against him. So, what does this tell us about possible sentencing in the crimes where he was found guilty?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: If you are planning to travel for the July 4th weekend, you need to leave now. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but need to prepare for record setting travels expected this year, both on the roads and in the air.

I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Breaking news this morning, President Trump on the verge of the first major legislative victory of his second term. The House is headed for a final vote on his sweeping tax and spending bill after a dramatic breakthrough overnight, Republicans winning over a handful of holdouts who had been threatening to tank the president's signature legislation. This morning, it appears on track to pass ahead of Trump's self-imposed deadline to get it to his desk by tomorrow.

Now, the president posted this shortly before one in the morning saying, quote, for Republicans this should be an easy yes vote, ridiculous. He piled on the pressure after meeting with some of the GOP holdouts yesterday.

These are the numbers though that gave at least some Republicans pause. Nearly 12 million more people expected to become uninsured under the bill. The national debt will go up another $3.3 trillion. Those numbers come from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

CNN's Annie Grayer is on Capitol Hill this morning. What are you learning? It seems that there is one Democrat standing in the way of a vote so far this morning. ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: That's right. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on the floor. As soon as he finishes wrapping, we are expecting a final vote here. And this, Sara, has been a roller coaster up until about 3:00 this morning, Republicans did not have the votes on this. There were as many as five Republicans who were voting against this, and they can only lose three.

But we saw House Speaker Mike Johnson deploy a strategy that he has done again and again, which is to call a vote when maybe he doesn't necessarily have the votes, he's not sure, but he wants to hold this vote open and apply a direct and public pressure campaign on these members. If you were to watch the House floor last night, you would've seen the speaker and his leadership team talking directly to lawmakers, trying to make the case for why they should be voting yes.

Of course, president Donald Trump and his team have been crucial here in getting members to yes, meeting with them at the White House yesterday, Trump deployed his, his team to the Hill to meet directly with members on the Hill in ongoing meetings.

Now, part of what took so long is Republicans have different concerns here with this. So, it takes time to work through all that. You have a group of more moderate Republicans who think that the Senate's version of this bill makes too deep of a cut to Medicaid. They're concerned about how it's going to impact their constituents. And then on the other side of the issue, you have Republicans who think that the Senate's bill doesn't cut nearly enough spending.

So, that is the seesaw that Republican leaders have to walk. It's a dynamic that we've been covering throughout this entire process, but an added development for The house is some House lawmakers don't just want to swallow what the Senate passed. They worked on their own bill for months and they want to make some final changes to it.

Of course, the message from leadership and the White House at this point is that this is the best that we're going to do. This is the final product, and it seems like House Speaker Mike Johnson's dare to defy strategy in an overnight voting session appears to have worked. As soon as the top Democrat in the House Leader Jefferies finishes his speech, we are expecting there to be a final vote and the House Republican leadership is confident that they have the votes to deliver this to President Trump's desk by his self-imposed deadline of July 4th, tomorrow.

SIDNER: Yes, so confident that the House speaker is saying they're going to get this done by 8:00 this morning, that's less than an hour.

Annie Grayer, thank you so much for your reporting there. John?

BERMAN: the president himself working the phones, working the social media on this.

[07:05:02]

Let's get right to CNN's Kevin Liptak. At the White House for what they're saying behind you this morning. KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, a lot of enthusiasm here at the White House as this bill appears to be heading towards a final vote, really, the most consequential piece of legislation in President Trump's second term. But he's not taking anything for granted. He was posting on social media in the wee hours of the morning at one point writing, what are the Republicans waiting for? What are you trying to prove? MAGA is not happy and it's costing you votes. About a half hour after that at 12:45 A.M., the president writing for Republicans, this should be an easy yes, vote, ridiculous.

We also understand that he was on the phone with some of these Republican holdouts into the dark hours of this morning. We also saw that parade of Republicans coming into the White House yesterday representing both sides of opposition to this bill. You had the centrists concerned about some of the cuts. You also had the fiscal hawks concerned about the effects on the deficit.

The strategy in those meetings appear to be more honey than vinegar. The president taking photos, handing out White House swag, signing name cards for some of these Republicans as he works to get them on board. Of course, looming over all of this are the president's threats of political retribution if Republicans vote no.

Many saw the case of Thom Tillis in the Senate as something of a cautionary tale. Remember, he voted against the procedural measure. The president lashed out on social media. Eventually, Tillis said he would just retire. The president really has set this up as a loyalty test, and it doesn't appear as many Republicans at this point are willing to go against him. And it really does, I think, show now the stranglehold that President Trump has on the Republican Party as this appears to be heading towards a final vote.

And this is, you know, a hugely consequential moment for President Trump. He does appear now at the height of his political power. There's no question whether you're for or against this bill, it will now comprise a major piece of his domestic legacy. The question now and the process now is defining what exactly that legacy will be.

BERMAN: Yes. The chasm between what some of these Republican members said about the bill and then going to vote for it, it is just enormous, and it does show the political power that the president has as he sits behind you in the White House this morning.

Kevin Liptak, keep us posted as to what you hear. Thank you very much.

Oh, Kate, you're right there.

BOLDUAN: Oh, hello.

BERMAN: Hi. You snuck up behind me, stealthy.

BOLDUAN: So, stealthy. It was my big old heels on. Yes, exactly. He's just death. No, just kidding.

Coming up for us, Sean Diddy Combs denied bail after a jury finds him not guilty on the most serious charges in his federal sex trafficking racketeering trial. So, what happens now.

And setting records this weekend, millions hit the road and head to the airport for. The 4th of July weekend, we have a look at the forecast for you to see how, if and where it may affect your travel plans.

And trash piling up on the streets of Philadelphia. Yes, I'd say so. Look at that. After thousands of sanitation workers go on strike.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning, Sean Diddy Combs wakes up still behind bars as he now looks to his sentencing. The judge denied bail after a New York jury found him guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, in part citing the defense's own admission that Combs was violent as the reason he should stay in jail until sentencing.

But Combs' legal team is definitely celebrating this as a major win because the jury acquitted combs of the most serious charges, sex trafficking and racketeering. His legal team spoke outside court yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN COMBS: He's thankful, he's relieved and he thanks the jurors. I think the jurors did what jurors do, which is they saw through an overcharged, overzealous kind of a crazy prosecution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's clearly not Marc Agnifilo. That looks like Mark Geragos.

Cassie Ventura was the star witness in the prosecution's case. Her attorney spoke exclusively with CNN about how she is feeling after the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS WIGDOR, ATTORNEY FOR CASSIE VENTURA: Obviously, we would've liked to have seen convictions on the RICO charges and the sex trafficking charges, but Cassie prompted this investigation by the Southern District. And now Sean Combs stands before the court as a convicted felon of two federal crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Julia Jacobs with The New York Times. It's good to see you, Julia. Thank you so much. I've been following your reporting throughout this.

The judge's decision here to deny bail, it really seemed to stun Sean Combs for one. Kind of talk about those moments in the courtroom that you were watching and talk us more about what the judge -- about the judge's reasoning there.

JULIA JACOBS, CULTURE REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, Combs did seem like he thought he was going to get out that day. I mean, he turned around to his family and said, mouth, I'm going home. And right away his lawyer tried to argue for that. I mean, he wanted Combs to go back to Two Star Island, which is this manmade island in Miami Beach where a lot of celebrities live.

[07:15:00]

And I think Combs was probably imagining walking out of the courthouse that day. But the judge did deny bail.

And the reason for that was, you know, legal, I think in terms of that particular statute, what you need is an exception, an exceptional situation in order to allow the defendant to not be detained ahead of sentencing. And Combs tried to make an argument for that, but it didn't work.

BOLDUAN: That definitely did not seem to land with the judge.

Coming out of the courthouse, there were two very different takes on what this verdict means. His defense team saying it was a great day for Combs, calling it a vindication. What about prosecutors?

JACOBS: Right. It was interesting seeing the sort of reframing of what was going on in between the defense and the prosecution in the courtroom. As you said, the defense said he came in, he proved his innocence. While, you know, we don't agree with this conviction, they were mostly happy about it. While the prosecution, you know, seemed like they wanted the judge to take into account the sort of violent behavior that had been put on display at trial, saying -- you know, saying to the judge that this was a brazen criminal who continued to commit crimes while he was still under federal investigation. They cited this violent encounter with his girlfriend in June 2024. And they cited that as reasoning for why he should stay in jail.

You know, the transportation to engage in prostitution, as a statute, is not a violent -- violence is not part of that statute. But what the prosecution is trying to do is have the judge look at the totality of the evidence that was brought into court at trial, which certainly showed that he had a pattern of violence and his defense did not dispute that.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Julia, thank you so much. It's been -- it's great to have you on this morning. I really appreciate it. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Breaking news, a world famous soccer star killed in a car crash this morning just two weeks after his wedding. What we're learning about that case this morning.

And we're keeping a close eye on Capitol Hill, of course, for you, where any minute now, the House is expected to vote on President Trump's key spending legislation. We will bring that to you as soon as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

SIDNER: Some breaking news overnight, Liverpool's soccer star Diogo Jota has died in a car crash in Spain. This is just two weeks after his wedding day. The 28-year-old had three young children. His brother was also killed in the crash.

CNN's Andy Scholes joins us now. Andy, what happened in this case? What a tragedy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, it certainly is Sarah. And according to Spanish law enforcement, Diogo Jota, he was involved in a road accident due to a burst tire while overtaking another vehicle. The car then caught fire after crashing. Jota and his 26-year-old brother, Andre Silva, both died in the crash.

Spanish media reports that the car the brothers were traveling in was a Lamborghini. It's not yet clear. Who was driving the vehicle? Jota was a star for Liverpool. He made 26 appearances last season. He scored six goals with four assists, helping Liverpool win the Premier League. Jota also played for the Portugal national team, where he made 49 appearances and was a big part of the teams that won the Nation's League in 2019 and last month.

Now, both Liverpool and the Portuguese Football Federation putting out statements saying they're just devastated by this news.

Now, Jota just married his longtime girlfriend two weeks ago. The couple had three children together. And Jota's Portugal teammate, Ronaldo, tweeting, it doesn't make sense. Just now, we were together and the national team, just now you had gotten married. Ronaldo also sending his condolences to Jota's family saying, I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We will miss you.

Diogo Jota was just 28 years old.

Now, the Portugal women's team, it's in action later today at the Euros. The tournament, Sara, plans on holding moments of silence at all matches today and tomorrow in memory of Diogo and his brother.

SIDNER: Yes. Wow. That is really, really hard news to swallow. 28, they'd won the championship, he'd just gotten married and he leaves behind a wife and three children.

Thank you so much, Andy Scholes for sharing it with us. John?

BERMAN: Yes, just shocked throughout the world of soccer this morning.

All right, influencer arrested, a 19-year-old pilot solo trip around the world now grounded in Antarctica. Why his landing is being called illegal.

And then it gives kids the chance to talk to some of their favorite cartoon characters, but some parents say this A.I. experience is turning dangerous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BERMAN: All right. Breaking this morning, House lawmakers are expected to begin voting on the president's domestic policy bill any minute now, as soon as the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is done speaking, and he can speak as long as he wants to. That is when the vote will happen and it is expected to pass that despite the concerns that many Republicans had about what it will do to the national debt, that despite some concerns that some Republicans and almost all Democrats have about people being pushed off the Medicaid rolls.

With this now, former White House Director of Message Planning for President Biden Meghan Hays, also with U.S. Republican Strategist Neil Chatterjee.

I want to play for you what some Republicans have said in the last 48 hours of this bill. Just listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): What the Senate did is unconscionable. I'll vote against it here and I'll vote against it on the floor until we get it right.

REP. ANDY HARRIS (R-MD): I'll tell you the last-minute changes in the Senate, like literally the very last amendment probably added another a hundred billion dollars to that deficit by adding in some of the green new scam subsidies.

The bottom line is this is not ready for primetime.

[07:30:00]

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): And we believe it falls short. We believe that it will create too much spending and that is too much in the way of deficits over the next four or five years.