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GOP Rebukes Trump on Iran War, $1.8 Billion Fund, Ballroom, Intel Pick; Search for 20-Year-Old Auburn University Student Missing in Japan; Knicks Storm Back to Beat Spurs 105-95 in Game 1. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired June 04, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's got a fun name, and also has a lot riding on it. A vote-a-rama today in the Senate over President Trump's immigration agenda, but the real focus on Trump's anti-weaponization fund and Republicans demanding assurances that fund does not rise from the dead.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The frantic search for an engineering student who vanished on vacation. His family says his phone's tracking system suddenly turned off.

And driving like teenagers, not in a good way. A brand new CNN report about Waymo self-driving taxis and the basic traffic laws they seem to have some trouble with.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: So, it's a scramble on the Hill right now. Republican leaders trying to get major parts of President Trump's agenda over the finish line as they face a revolt from inside their own party. First, in the House, four Republicans broke ranks to join Democrats to support a resolution aimed at reining in President Trump's war powers in Iran.

Here are the four that voted across party -- with Democrats. It's not really across party lines, but voted with Democrats on it. If it were to pass in the Senate, it would direct the president to either withdraw troops or come to Congress for approval to continue the war. That's in the House.

Now, the Senate today is expected to kick off a marathon voting session, they call it a vote-a-rama, to try and pass $70 billion in new immigration enforcement funding. It's been stalled for weeks by a GOP revolt over the president's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, and also the billion dollars for security enhancements for the new White House ballroom. The Senate dropped the ballroom money, so that hurdle no more. And acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress this week that that fund, the anti-weaponization fund, not moving forward, period, he said. So, another hurdle passed. Actually not.

Enter President Trump yesterday in the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's -- I'd have to ask the lawyers. I don't know. I know one thing, the weaponization -- are you talking about the weaponization fund?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what's your --

TRUMP: The weaponization fund as far as I'm concerned, was a beautiful thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So, now a group of Republicans are demanding guarantees in writing, in legislation, that the fund is truly dead before they vote yes on the ICE funding.

CNN's Alayna Treene live this morning at the White House. A whole lot going on Capitol Hill, but it has everything to do with what's going on in behind you at the White House. What are you hearing?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's very rare, Kate, that you see, particularly in a Republican-controlled, you know, Capitol Hill and White House, both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, you're seeing this type of friction really play out, very rare in the Trump era. And it's all around some of the very controversial things that the president has really pushed and his administration has said that they wanted to move forward with.

I do want to start with what's happening in the Senate, and really the uncertainty around what is going to happen with this bill to try and get immigration funding across the line. This is something that, of course, is a huge priority of the president's, but he has injected uncertainty into it with these comments because of all of the controversy surrounding that 1.8 anti-weaponization fund that they had put forward.

Now, as you mentioned, earlier this week, we saw Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche come out and try to put to bed this idea that they were going to move forward with it. I think the writing was on the wall, and many people I know in the White House recognize that it was just too politically damaging for them to hang on to this.

And so, essentially, he told lawmakers that they were not going to be moving forward with it. And when he was pressed specifically, does that mean ever? He said, yes, we are not moving forward with it ever. While the president is very much reluctant to have that one, of course, I will tell you, I mean, he deeply actually believes that there are people who deserve money from the Justice Department, taxpayer money, for what they argue it was from, you know, charges from a weaponized Justice Department. But that is really getting in the way of what Republicans are trying to do on Capitol Hill.

And I just want to emphasize again, this is so rare. [07:05:01]

We very rarely see Republicans who I think across the board on the Hill, but also within the president's own administration who are always trying to show him loyalty, say, you need to back off from a priority and something that you've already rolled out because it is going to damage the party overall.

Trump says, you know, he wants to still move forward with it. It might be a temporary pause on this fund. But, again, really creating a lot of uncertainty about what is going to happen with that push for immigration funding on the Hill today.

And then war powers, I mean, that was fascinating to watch, too. I will note a lot of the members we saw who voted with Democrats on that are not necessarily the most conservative Republicans. But Democrats have been trying to pass war powers for weeks now. The fact that it's happening now at a time when we're seeing other Republicans kind of rebel against the president, and absolutely a fascinating dynamic. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, a growing unease with the direction of the war and where they are right now, that is at least being shown at the very minimum.

It's good to see you, Alayna. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. With us now, CNN Washington Bureau Chief and Political Director, David Chalian. Chief director, good morning to you, sir.

This is a moment in this presidency, the second Trump presidency, if you will, where Republicans are pushing back in ways they haven't before. On the weaponization fund and the president's declaration to misquote Monty Python, it's not dead yet, you were seeing senators speak out directly and overtly. Thom Tillis, senator from North Carolina, said, the only way you can explain it is explain you got rid of it. I feel like there are people advising the president as if there is no election in November.

It's that second part, David, I want you to address here. What are Republicans saying overall, their big picture concerns?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yes. You know, sometimes, John, we've observed with President Trump over ten years here that he can sort of set his own rules to American politics more often than not. And sometimes actually the rules of politics even apply to Donald Trump, and I think that's what we're seeing now. You have an unpopular president who's pursuing some unpopular strategies, either with the war in Iran or the weaponization fund, and you have Republicans who are on the ballot this fall who do care about the midterms, to Thom Tillis' point, because their own futures are dependent on the outcome of those races.

And so you're seeing something that actually in politics is a tale as old as time when a president even controls Congress. His own party starts looking out at their own interests more than the president's interest. The thing with Donald Trump is that that we don't see a ton of because of the grasp he has with the base of his own party. But even now we are seeing the laws of politics apply.

BERMAN: What does that mean for now Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche?

CHALIAN: You know, it's a great question. I mean, I think this is going to be a nomination to watch. Todd Blanche has good relationships with senators up on the Hill. They confirmed him for the deputy attorney general position. But given what he's been doing over the last couple months in sort of the auditioning role, and specifically with relation to the weaponization fund, which you heard he went out and was far more definitive about trying to sort of kill it than the president is himself, that's going to raise a whole new round of questions, even among some Republican senators who have been so opposed to this fund in a nomination process.

I know the president said last night he thinks this should go very quickly. Again, given where we are politically and how close we are to the midterms, very quickly is probably not in the cards even if confirmation is.

BERMAN: What's the next six months going to be like? I looked at the calendar. It's the beginning of June. By my math, that does mean there is six months left. Six months with a small handful, but a significant handful, of Republican senators who are mad at him.

CHALIAN: You know, this is one of the aftereffects. If the president goes in and supports a primary challenger and gets an incumbent Republican senator defeated, like Cassidy, Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and John Cornyn in Texas, or just sort of scares Tillis into retirement because of fear of a potential Republican primary challenge, you have this group -- you have a group of senators now that just doesn't need to care as much about the president's priorities and sort of can be free to pursue their own course here.

I mean, it -- just look at John Cornyn's Twitter feed of late since he's lost that battle with Bill Paxton. This is a senator who clearly is not doing Donald Trump's bidding anymore.

BERMAN: They have no Trumps left to give is one way we could put it.

CHALIAN: Exactly.

BERMAN: David Chalian, great to see you this morning. I appreciate it.

CHALIAN: You too.

BERMAN: Kate?

BOLDUAN: I'm super angry I hadn't thought of that line before you. I'm super angry. Well done.

Let's turn to this. There's some big news coming in overnight. A family's search for an American college student who went missing on a trip to Japan. We just spoke to his parents, what they are saying now this morning.

[07:10:02]

That's coming up next.

And there's also new details about the groups, yes, groups, of people seen climbing into manholes in New York City, spending hours in the sewers. What police now think they're doing down there, and who they believe is behind it all.

And in case you did not hear, boys, the Knicks sealed the deal in a thrilling game one final, and how they pulled it off. Lulu?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: But the enthusiasm here, it is not going anywhere. It is not going anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, police and family members are searching for a 20-year-old Auburn University student missing in Japan.

[07:15:01]

James Weston Higginbotham was last seen on Friday at a train station in Kyoto while on a family trip.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is in Kyoto this morning with the latest on this. What are you learning?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. I'm just outside the station where Weston Higginbotham was last spotted. And I want to show you something kind of incredible that's happening right behind us. I don't know if you can see, there are lots of people coming out of the station right now, but there's a woman here and several other Japanese citizens handing out missing persons posters about Weston Higginbotham.

These are ordinary citizens. They have no relation to the Higginbothams, whatsoever. I was speaking to her just moments ago, and she said that she just felt so compelled to do something to help, to do something to spread the word to as many people as possible, that she created these posters.

And I want to show you what she's handing out here. These are photos of Weston, his height, his hair color, his eyes, when he was last spotted, and they've been translating this in multiple languages.

And, again, these people, they have no relation to the Higginbothams, whatsoever. They just wanted to do something to help because this is something that no parent should ever have to go through. And we spoke to the Higginbothams earlier on Thursday, John, and they were, of course, extremely distressed about the situation. This is what his mother, Nancy, said to us earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY HIGGINBOTHAM, MOTHER OF JAMES WESTON HIGGINBOTHAM: Every single second you think about your kid, and then you have the flashbacks of when he was two and I, when I was breastfeeding him, the birthday parties we've thrown for him.

I want that back. I need him back because a family of three is not the Higginbothams. We're a family of four.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: And, John, we spoke to the police earlier on Thursday as well, and they told us that several officers and also dogs are currently searching the surrounding forests in this area. And they're doing that because Weston is an avid hiker, an avid environmentalist.

And the Higginbothams told us that moments before he disappeared, he had a small spat with his family. And when he wants to cool off, when he wants to spend some time on his own, he likes to go into nature. So, the police are hoping that they'll be able to find him in, again, these surrounding forests.

But something I do need to note here is that a typhoon was hitting Japan for the last couple of days or so, which have hampered efforts somewhat. But, again, the search is continuing day in and day out, and the Higginbothams have told us that they're not leaving Japan until they get their son back. John?

BERMAN: So hard for that family, and hard to hear their emotions this morning.

Hanako Montgomery, thank you for that report. Please keep us posted.

All right, what could be a major threat to food production, a dangerous flesh-eating worm that attacks livestock, it was detected in Texas.

And game one of the NBA finals interrupted by a fan taking a selfie. That person wasn't here for the basketball. How Victor Wembanyama responded.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Knicks fans waking up bleary-eyed but still pumped, just a perfect way to describe the entire studio crew today. The Knicks went on a tear in the opener of the NBA finals to win game one against the Spurs.

CNN's Coy Wire has it all. Bleary-eyed, welcome to CNN News Central. How's it going, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, bleary-eyed Brad and Lu, we'll check on them in a minute. The Knicks have been waiting 53 years for another title. Right now, they look like they don't want to wait another day.

Early on, it looked like Victor Wembanyama's show. The 22-year-old French phenom swatted a shot into next week on one end, then buried a three at the other. But Karl-Anthony Towns made every bucket feel like a chore, helping hold Wemby to 6-21 shooting, 26 points.

Now, a couple scares for superstar Jalen Brunson in this one. A teammate accidentally shoved a Spur into his knee. Later, his ankle got stepped on. Twice he left the floor, twice he came back because Brunson apparently is built from the same material as New York fire hydrants. In a game-high 30 points, he helped lead New York to a 105- 95 road win.

Back home, Knicks fans celebrated like they'd just won free pizza for life. That's now 12 straight playoff wins, just the seventh team to do it. The Knicks haven't lost since April 23rd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JALEN BRUNSON, NEW YORK KNICKS GUARD: Knowing we're on the road and knowing my team has got my back, I think that's the biggest thing in an environment like this. They trust they have in me, and I trust I have in them. It's got us to this point.

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, SAN ANTONIO SPURS FORWARD: When we play bad, when I play bad is when we shoot ourselves in the foot. It's -- this is why I'm not worried. It's -- we're going to be so much better. I'm going to be so much better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. We had one of the strangest moments we'll ever see in an NBA finals. Fourth quarter, a fan sprints onto the court, walks right up to Wemby and takes a selfie. Wemby said he wasn't quite sure how to react. Honestly, nobody was. The fan was escorted away, but it created such confusion, officials forgot who had possession when the play stopped, so it resulted in a jump ball. Just stay in your seat, people.

The surprises keep coming at Roland-Garros. World number one Aryna Sabalenka won the first set, raced to a 4-1 lead in the second of the quarterfinals, then everything flipped. Diana Shnaider turned the match on its head, delivering one of the biggest upsets of the tourney. This guarantees we will have first-time Grand Slam champs take on the women's and men's side. None of the four women remaining have ever even played in a major final.

[07:25:02]

How about those Texas Longhorns, one win away from softball history, taking game one of the Women's College World Series finals, beating Texas Tech 7-3 behind a familiar power source. Katie Stewart becoming the first player ever to homer in four consecutive games at a single Women's College World Series. The defending champs look to go back-to- back tonight in game two.

Now how about those Knicks, Kate? They're somewhere excitement level right now between ticker tape parade and coffee-fueled hysteria. How are Brad and Lu holding up this morning?

BOLDUAN: I had to ask if they were even here. That's how tired they are. I mean, Lulu, I can always know where you are. But here is something. Lu is hiding. Brad is hiding. They say they've had too much fame, is I think what I was told. But like let's be honest, if you know these men, you know they love a little attention. But most importantly --

WIRE: I mean, I do understand. They need to embrace this moment. They don't come around every decade.

BOLDUAN: Please come to me nicely. Lulu, please come over here.

WIRE: There he is.

BOLDUAN: I was promised --

WIRE: Bring him out.

BOLDUAN: America was promised a gun show, quote, if they win, and now Lu has renegotiated the deal and says, Coy, if they win the whole thing. I did not hear that yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was part of the deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was supposed to be the whole thing.

WIRE: I thought we were promised today, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. That's the only reason I came to work, and I even wore a tie to look professional when the gun show occurred, but no.

WIRE: We want to see those muscles no one's seen since last summer, guys. Come on, you can deliver next time.

BOLDUAN: But, I mean, then there's Coy. Coy's like, oh, wait. I'll take part. I'll take part. I'll take part. Yes, Coy, we see where this goes.

All right, I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you too.

BOLDUAN: Congrats. I love you. Congrats. Thank you so much. Renegotiated on live T.V.

Coy, I love you. Thank you so much. More to come.

WIRE: You too. BOLDUAN: Ahead for us, what is next for 60 Minutes after the shakeup at CBS? You don't want to know what's going on in the studio right now, guys. Three correspondents, the show's executive producer all fired in the last week. We have new details on the show's future now.

And new data in that shows that links between GLP-1 weight loss drugs and also lower breast cancer risks. Phil, play us off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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