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Now: Senate Holds Key Procedural Vote On Trump's Agenda Bill; VP Vance Arrives On Capitol Hill During Senate Procedural Vote On Trump's Agenda Bill; GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski Votes To Advance Trump's Agenda Bill. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired June 28, 2025 - 21:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN Newsroom, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the day off. We are following breaking news out of Washington D.C., as we have all evening.

Vice President J.D. Vance is on Capitol Hill, along with the Senate, for a rare Saturday session that has become a Saturday night session, as Republican leaders push to advance President Donald Trump's massive policy bill. Now, Republicans are trying to get a final version to Trump's desk by July 4th. Based on how the processes work, that deadline might not be possible. We will see. They are currently voting on a key procedural hurdle. Republicans need 51 yeas. The voting right now unofficially stands at 46 yeas and 50 nays. We are continuing to follow this story from all angles right now.

Joining us live from Capitol Hill is CNN's Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox and CNN Senior Reporter Annie Grayer. From the White House, we've got CNN Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein.

Lauren, I want to start with you, though, because we are now seeing a count come in. I know you've made the distinction of whether we've actually gaveled in or not. Has that actually happened? What are we seeing right now?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. We are still waiting on a couple of key Republican votes, and one of those that we are watching most closely is Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from the state of Alaska, who has had a series of concerns with this bill throughout the process. She has been working really closely with leadership in order to try to blunt some of the impact this bill could have on her state, but it's just not clear if she is going to be willing to move forward with this piece of legislation. We've seen her having several important conversations on the floor, including with the Vice President J.D. Vance.

Our colleague, Sarah Ferris is watching the floor really closely and is in the chamber, and she is reporting that there have also been other huddles with Republican leadership, including John Thune, John Barrasso, the Republican whip, as well as Mike Crapo, who is the Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and others. She has continued to have conversations with other colleagues as well, including Senator Bill Cassidy. It's just a really interesting moment, given the fact that she is someone who has at times not voted with the party when it comes to some of Donald Trump's key priorities. So, this is not something that she is not unwilling to do at times, but it's going to be really interesting to see where she lands.

We also have not seen votes yet from Senator Mike Lee or Senator Rick Scott. They have a very different set of concerns. They have concerns about the fact that this bill may not cut enough and may add too much to the federal deficit.

So, you can see there that those are two really different set of issues, and what's so difficult for leadership is that if they do something to try to appease Senator Lisa Murkowski, does that hurt them with their conservative votes that they need to hold on to in order to move forward? There are already three Republican senators who have said that they are not going to advance this. They voted against this procedural step. That means Republican leadership cannot lose any other members on this vote, and they are already going to need the Vice President, J.D. Vance, who is here at the U.S. Capitol this evening, to break a tie, if not -- if they don't get another defection on the way.

Obviously, this vote has been open now for more than an hour and a half at this point. That gives you a sense of just how tense things are, as they're trying to figure out whether or not they have the votes for this procedural step.

JIMENEZ: And we've watched this, to you all, in particular, develop step by step. And now, of course, we are waiting to see if this threshold will be met for this procedural vote to move forward.

Annie, as Lauren was laying out, look, Republicans have different concerns, whether it is adding to the deficit, whether it is cuts that go too far in regards to Medicaid. Have there been moments where Republicans have made compromises along the way just to even get to this point?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Absolutely, Omar. This has been a seesaw where Republicans try and appease a little bit more of the moderate wing, then the conservative wing gets upset. They then try and do deeper spending cuts to keep that group happy. And it's been back and forth like that for weeks now. But, in the last 24 hours, Republicans have come together around a few key Medicaid provisions that at least brought Republican Senator Josh Hawley on board, who had been a long critic of this bill. So, that is one less Senator for Republican leaders to worry about.

So, overnight, the 970-page bill, the latest version of it, came out, because, as you know, there have been changes to this bill up until the last minute, but overnight, one of the big changes was a fund for rural hospitals to the tune of $25 billion over five years to help them ease the blow for some of the Medicaid cuts that could be coming if this bill ultimately does pass.

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There also is a provider tax decrease. So, that was another thing that helped Senator Josh Hawley get on board. But, just remember that all of the adjustments that have happened to this bill up until this point, and our -- we don't even know what further negotiations could be happening on the floor now, as this vote continues to be held open. But, all of that aside, there is a House version of this bill that passed a few weeks ago and there are a lot of key differences there when you look at Medicaid, when you look at energy tax credits.

So, as hard as this process is, and they -- Republicans and the senators (ph) that are just trying to get going here, there is going to be a whole other process that has to play out in this -- in the House for this bill to ultimately get onto President Trump's desk, Omar.

JIMENEZ: And for those, again, who might think we might be super in the weeds on this, the big picture on this whole process as minute as it may be in this moment, is it unlocks what the President's goal has been in advancing what would be a major legislative win for him, and one that he has hoped senators would be able to get done by a quickly approaching Fourth of July.

And I want to bring in Betsy Klein now, who is at the White House for us. Clearly, we've seen Vice President J.D. Vance already make his way down to Capitol Hill to potentially be a tie-breaking vote in this process, but the President has to be following all of these developments on Capitol Hill. Do we know -- have we heard anything from the White House now that voting has gotten underway?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, you can expect that the President is watching this extremely closely, and just listening to what our colleagues Lauren and Annie just laid out, it is so clear that what we are really witnessing is the perils of making this one big, beautiful bill, as the President calls it.

It was very important to President Trump, as they were starting to negotiate and build out this package that included everything all in one bill, all of his legislative priorities, rather than split up things like tax cuts and the debt ceiling increase and some of these other provisions that he was hoping to put in a bill. He wanted them all together. And for that reason, we are seeing these lawmakers come out with a very complicated and interesting set of concerns that are very varying based on their constituencies.

So, the White House, the President, realizes, this is a make or break moment for this signature piece of legislation. This sweeping tax and spending agenda is something that they really recognize is critical to get past while Republicans control both the House and the Senate, and we have seen President Trump really keenly aware of that, making calls in the last 24 hours, holding meetings, inviting some senators here to the White House, as well as hitting the links with a number of Republican senators, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, as well as Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Now, Paul, as of now, now, this remains to be seen. It is not final, but as of now, Paul is a no vote on this bill. He has had concerns that he has expressed publicly about the debt ceiling provision in the package. So, it's unclear if the President was able to move him to a yes to seal that deal there, but the President scrapping that long planned weekend in New Jersey for a rare weekend here in Washington, where he continues to monitor this extremely closely.

His Vice President, J.D. Vance, as you mentioned, also arriving on Capitol Hill. He was asked by our colleague, Nicky Robertson, as he arrived inside the Capitol Building, whether he believed that this vote, this procedural vote, would pass. He told her, I guess we'll find out.

So, clearly, not a resounding vote of confidence there, and there is still so much uncertainty as to whether they can get this over the finish line with these few votes remaining, and as Lauren just explained, some of these efforts to convince Senator Lisa Murkowski, among others, to vote for it.

But, the reality is, there have long been these deep policy divisions on this bill. Republicans split over things like the size and the scope and how much this bill is going to cost, whether or not the revenue from the President's tariffs are going to offset some of that spending, as well as concerns about potential cuts to Medicaid spending. That is something that the President had claimed would be left the same. Of course, that is not true. There are major changes to Medicaid policy in this bill as it currently stands, and millions of people could lose their coverage.

But, the White House had been pushing to get this done by that self- imposed July 4th deadline. President Trump expressing some openness to extending that. He said it's important, but it's not the end all. Of course, there are some concerns over whether pausing this or letting this play out a little bit longer could slow some of that momentum.

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But, this is still far from over, as Annie laid out. Once this passes the Senate, if this passes the Senate, all those changes still have to be passed by the House. It's going to be another negotiating dealmaking challenge for President Trump, and many questions right now about whether the President can close this deal, Omar.

JIMENEZ: And likely one of the considerations for Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. I mean, Alaska has the highest Medicaid enrollment of any state with two GOP senators. So, a lot on the line in regards to her concerns over some of the cuts to Medicaid that we're currently seeing in this version.

Betsy Klein, Annie Grayer, and Lauren Fox, stay close. We will be coming back to you shortly.

I want to bring in CNN Senior Political Analyst and Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Ron Brownstein, because, look, everything is on the line here for President Trump, or at least a lot. He wants this to be a major legislative win for him and the Vice President clearly arriving on Capitol Hill.

But, the dynamic I really am looking at here is it seems Senate Republicans have always been -- the concerns for Republicans have been either about ballooning the deficit or about cuts that are too severe to Medicaid at this point, but this is over 900-page bill, released less than 24 hours ago. Is this a situation where lawmakers are essentially going to have to rush to either get this passed and please the President, or potentially live to regret it, when the midterms arrive? How do you see the dynamics here?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, & COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG OPINION: Well, the weakness of this bill is the strength, right? I mean, the idea was that if you put all of the Republican priorities into one bill, it would become, in effect, too big to fail. The individual members would be reluctant to vote against it, to sink the new President's agenda, and be the person kind of responsible for that. But, when you do put everything in one bill, you -- there is just so many more things that someone can object to, that can hurt their own constituents.

And it's not unique the problems they're having. I mean, historically, we've seen, at least since Reagan, that the first year of a President, new incoming President, they put their tax agenda in one bill. It often has a precarious road to passage. But this, I think, is especially vulnerable, because, as we talked about before, they are doing two things together here that Republicans have not tried to do since 1995.

They are cutting taxes in a big way that benefits mostly people at the top, and as you've been discussing, they are imposing major cuts in social programs that benefit people in the middle and below, and they are doing that in one bill. They haven't done that since the Gingrich Congress in 1995, and it creates a very clear set of winners and losers, Omar.

I mean, the Congressional Budget Office has calculated the House version of the bill, on average, families earning less than $76,000 a year will come out net losers. It will revoke more health coverage from more people than any single piece of legislation ever in U.S. history. Thom Tillis is trying to get back to the House version of the bill. 300,000 people in North Carolina at least would likely lose coverage under that bill.

So, in the end, the history says they find a way to get there, even if it falls short tonight. I mean, presidents have passed this often by very narrow margins. But, this is, I think, a more tight rope kind of situation than we've seen in the past, because you've got two things that are each unpopular with the public, cutting taxes for the rich, cutting programs for the middle and working class, and you're putting them together. It's kind of the opposite of a Reese's peanut butter.

JIMENEZ: And you mentioned Senator Thom Tillis, some of the concerns in regards to Medicaid.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: North Carolina is another one of those states where over 25 percent of their residents are under Medicaid or Child Health Insurance Program.

Look, even if they do manage to get this passed in the Senate, and we're only monitoring a procedural vote at this point that would start that process, it would still have to go through the House again, and we already know there are GOP hardliners that said they won't accept any changes. So, I wonder what you forecast as -- is there a place for compromise on the House chamber side of things, depending on whatever version of this Senate side passes?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, look at the problem tonight. It really kind of puts the whole situation in microcosm. You have two senators who are saying no because they don't think it cuts enough, Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, and then you've got two who are basically balking because they think it cuts too much, Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, whoever she comes out in the end.

I mean, historically, the moderates are the ones who have folded, especially in the House, but not always. I mean, ultimately, Murkowski, Collins, and McCain said no to repealing the Affordable Care Act in 2017 and that failed.

I -- like I said, the history argues that, in the end, they find a way to do this, the Reagan tax and budget -- Reagan budget and tax cuts passed in 1981, the Clinton budget in 1993, the Bush tax cuts in 2001, the Trump tax cuts in 2017.

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Even the Inflation Reduction Act ultimately passed after arduous negotiations under Biden.

But, you are -- a lot of members have to be looking at the polling on this bill, which is consistently quite negative, and historically, Americans have not responded well to bills that revoke healthcare from large numbers of people. And by the way, the other part of this is not getting any attention, beside the 16 million people who would lose coverage from the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts.

This bill, like the House bills, lets the enhanced premium subsidies passed in that Inflation Reduction Act expire. At the same time, they're letting -- they're extending all the Trump tax cuts, and Omar, that means beyond the people who lose coverage, they'd be other 15 million to 20 million people who would be facing higher premiums right before the midterm election.

So, Republicans are taking a lot of risks here to get what they consider a critical, really indispensable policy achievement of extending the Trump tax cuts. They're asking a lot of vulnerable members. History suggests they fall in line. But, there is no guarantee -- past performance is no guarantee of future results, as they say. JIMENEZ: Yeah. I mean, look, a lot to monitor here, but helpful laying

out the historic context of some of the previous fights we've seen, even going back, more recently, to the Biden Administration. I believe, as you are talking, we are seeing Lisa Murkowski in a blue blazer there, though. She hasn't turned around. So, I can't get full confirmation, but shows it you sort of the active nature of -- yeah, I believe that is. Still kind of a small screen in here. But, bottom line, it shows how active these negotiations are still in -- this late into Saturday.

Yeah, Ron, quickly before you go.

BROWNSTEIN: And look -- quickly, she be convinced to procedurally vote to allow the debate to begin without being on board for the final product. My guess is, there is going to be a lot of moving around to get to the final product and then, as you say, to get it back --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

BROWNSTEIN: -- to the House. But, the bottom line, extending tax cuts for the rich while cutting programs for the middle class and working class has not historically proven a popular combination, and whatever changes at the edges --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

BROWNSTEIN: -- that is fundamentally what they are doing here.

JIMENEZ: All right. Ron Brownstein, appreciate it. Thank you for being here.

I want to bring back in Lauren Fox. Was that -- what we saw on our screen was that -- do we know what happened? Was that Lisa Murkowski there?

FOX: We just heard the clerk call Senator Lisa Murkowski's name and say, aye. So, that reflects the fact that we believe here that she has voted yes. Now, we do know that this has not been gaveled. This is not final. But, I will just point out that leadership has been spending considerable time over the last hour, as well as the Vice President, trying to lobby her.

They have also been working around the clock in order to assuage some of her deepest concerns and really sort of try to help Alaska face not some of the severe cuts that other states made from some of these Medicaid cuts, as well as changes to the program's food -- or for from the nation's food stamp program. Excuse me. So, obviously --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

FOX: -- this could be a very significant development. But, we are still waiting for this final vote to be gaveled, but obviously, very important step there.

JIMENEZ: And Lauren --

FOX: Given the fact that there were already three Republican nos, they couldn't afford to lose a single other member.

JIMENEZ: And just quickly, just because you brought the dynamic up again, can you just explain the difference between what we're seeing right now and what would happen officially when the session is gaveled in?

FOX: Well, essentially, like we just have to wait until the very end when they gavel the vote, because members can always change their votes in this process, right? So, until they gavel the vote, nothing is totally final. So, we always are really careful to point out that, yes, members have voted a certain way, but they have not gaveled the vote, which essentially means it's not final. They could always go back up to the desk and change their vote at any moment. That is why we always watch really closely until that very last moment.

JIMENEZ: Critical context there, as we continue to monitor the votes coming in, 47 yea, 50 nays, is an unofficial count that we're sort of monitoring as we are going through here. As we understand, Vice President J.D. Vance also in the chamber as well, significant because he could cast that tie-breaking vote when the time comes, based on whatever the margin ends up being. As Lauren has laid out, the margin for error, very small on the Republican side, especially with three Republicans already saying they would not move forward with this.

Stay with us for more on our breaking news. We're going to continue to watch this as it moves forward, as Senate lawmakers work to try and bring President Trump's, quote, "big, beautiful bill", as he has called it, to a key procedural vote, which would then set up a whole lot of work moving forward. But, we're going to go back to Capitol Hill in a moment.

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We also want to update you on the tens of thousands of anti-war protesters that packed Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, calling for an end to the Gaza war and a return of the remaining hostages.

And then the Minnesota state lawmaker gunned down at her home, along with her husband, two weeks ago, remembered at her funeral. We'll bring you the details. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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JIMENEZ: All right. We are looking at a live picture of the Senate floor right now, as they hold a key procedural vote on Trump's agenda bill. Critically, however this moves forward, you see the unofficial vote tally right there, 47 yeas, 50 nays, however this moves forward, this would be the beginning of a process that would set the Senate potentially toward voting forward Trump's agenda bill. It would then go to the House, though.

But still, to get to that point, it would be considered a major victory for President Trump. So, we're going to continue to monitor there. We do know the Vice President is in the room, crucial, because he could cast a potentially tie-breaking vote. So, we'll keep you updated on that front. Meanwhile, there were thousands of protesters that took to the streets

in Israel tonight calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and bring the remaining hostages home. Now, after Trump was part of the effort to secure a ceasefire with Iran, some are now calling for him to push Netanyahu to make a deal.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports from the streets of Tel Aviv.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): On hold during the Iran conflict, energized by the possibilities of that perceived victory --

RUBY CHEN, FATHER OF HOSTAGE ITAY CHEN: -- Prime Minister Netanyahu, because he can and he must bring all the hostages back, the living and the deceased, because we want all of them, (inaudible).

ROBERTSON (voice-over): -- free the hostage protesters in full voice at their first regular Saturday rally in three weeks.

Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod, hopeful she'll get her 20-year- old son back soon.

VIKI COHEN, MOTHER OF NIMROD COHEN: We feel that a little different. Trump is very demanding, and we believe in him, we trust him, and we know he has the power to stop the war. He can pressure our Prime Minister to do it, to finish the war in Gaza, and in this way, all the hostages can come back home.

ROBERTSON (on camera): The deal they want now is a comprehensive agreement, bring all the hostages home, 50 of them, about 20 believed to be alive, and get the army out of Gaza.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In Gaza, peace can't come soon enough either.

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Tents pitched on this sand hit, rescuers say, by an Israeli airstrike early Saturday. The IDF say they are looking into the incident. By day break, this night's horror revealed a huge crater and no tents. The recovery not done alone with a shovel. Abu Mohammad (ph) searching for two children. Eight of their deceased brothers and sisters already found. Among the dead were children age one, two, three, four, five, seven, nine and 10 and 11-years-old. Mohammed says there were two boys, five girls, their mother and their grandmother. In Tel Aviv, the days of war counted by the second eyes of both sides on President Trump to stop the clock.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it's close. I just spoke with some of the people involved. It's a terrible situation that's going, Gaza, he is asking about, and we think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire.

ROBERTSON (on camera): President Trump is turning up the mood music for a possible deal in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu's top confidant is expected in Washington soon. It hints at momentum, but Israelis have been here before, hopes dashed by differences.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Nic Robertson, thank you.

Meanwhile, crowds filled the streets of Tehran today for state funerals commemorating the people killed in recent Israeli strikes, which include top military commanders, at least six nuclear scientists and civilians.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen was there and filed this report.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is a gigantic procession right through the heart of Tehran. There are thousands of people here who are trying to touch the caskets. They're trying to give the folks who are on the caskets items to rub on the caskets. Now, there are 60 coffins in total that are going through this city, among them, Iran's top military leadership. You had the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's missile program, Ali Hajizadeh, many others as well, including nuclear scientists, but also civilians. There is also women and children whose caskets are in this procession right now.

People here say that they are honored to pay their final respects to those who were killed, but they're also vowing to continue to stand up to both the U.S. and Israel.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): "Death to America", "Death to Israel", she says. God willing, you'll be destroyed soon. My message to Trump is, God willing you will die, he says, because you attacked Iran, and be sure the people will take revenge for the blood of these martyrs soon, with the obliteration of Trump, Israel and the United States.

PLEITGEN (on camera): All this formed (ph) as Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has lashed out at both the United States and Israel, saying he believes that Iran's military campaign against the Israelis was victorious, and that also the U.S. has seen nothing from bombing Iran's nuclear installations. At the same time, the Iranians are vowing to be defiant, saying that their nuclear program will continue. The force enrichment will continue as well.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Thank you, Fred, for that reporting.

Our breaking news coverage continues in just a minute, as we have been continuing to monitor the Senate floor and as Republican senators push a procedural vote in hopes of bringing President Trump's agenda to its next stages on Capitol Hill. We're going to have the latest. We are tracking the votes live as they come in, ahead on CNN Newsroom. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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JIMENEZ: All right. Welcome back, everyone. We are following breaking news from Capitol Hill.

Moments ago, Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski voting in favor of advancing President Donald Trump's policy bill, and that's crucial, because with just three Republican senators left to vote, she was one of the Republicans that people were wondering whether she would come around to supporting this because of her concerns about the extent of cuts to Medicaid in this Senate proposal.

Now, Republicans need 51 yeas to move into debate. You can see at the bottom of the screen now, the unofficial tally that we are counting stands at 47 yeas and 50 nays. Also, crucially, Vice President J.D. Vance is on Capitol Hill, and that's critical, because he could potentially cast a tie-breaking vote if needed.

I want to bring back in CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox and CNN Senior Reporter Annie Grayer.

Lauren, I want to start with you. Last time we were speaking, we saw Lisa Murkowski coming forward, indicating her support to move forward. Has there been any change? Where do things stand now?

FOX: Yeah. Omar, obviously, that was a very significant moment, given the fact that leadership had spent considerable time on the floor talking with her, trying to get her to a place, obviously, where she could support at least moving forward with this legislation.

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And again, it's really important to point out, this is just that initial piece, this initial step to get things started and underway here in the Senate. Meanwhile, there are now two conservatives who are in the leader's office meeting. They have yet to vote. Those two members, Senator Rick Scott, as well as Senator Mike Lee, both of them have been very clear that they've had some concerns about how much spending is going into this piece of legislation, about the fact that it does not have significant enough cuts in it, that they're concerned about what impact this might have on the country's debt and deficit. Those two men, obviously, are very close to President Donald Trump. It's going to be really interesting to see whether or not they would be willing to thwart the President's agenda at this early stage or not.

It's also obviously very intriguing that they are sitting in the leader's office right now, potentially hashing out some issues. It will be interesting to see whether or not the President has any impact there, if he calls in, if he has considerable impact on whether or not they ultimately vote to support this piece of legislation. But, I point that out, because obviously a couple of minutes ago, we

were so focused on Senator Lisa Murkowski, someone who is seen as more moderate, someone who has not always seen eye to eye with Donald Trump. Now we are talking about two senators who are very close to the President and are very, very conservative. It just shows you how widespread concerns over this proposal have been and why this is such a difficult balancing act for Republican leadership, as they're trying to get the votes to move forward.

Lauren Fox, appreciate the reporting. Don't go far.

I want to bring in Annie Grayer. Annie, look, it seems, based on the concerns we've seen to this point, whether it's over expanding the deficit, or growing the deficit here, or to expand extensive cuts to Medicaid, that compromises will have to be made at some point. Based on the version of the bill that we've been learning about today and that we've seen, are there areas of compromise where we have already seen senators maybe say, OK, I can move a little bit on this, even if it's just to get a procedure moving forward?

GRAYER: That's been the name of the game here, because ultimately, no Senator is going to get 100 percent of what they want. And when I talk to senators about where we are in the process, they say that, at this point, they're frustrated with those who think they still can get 100 percent of what they want.

So, over the last 24 hours, a new version of this bill came forward, which had some key Medicaid provisions in it that got Republican Senator Josh Hawley on board. So, it was one less Senator for Republican leadership and the White House to worry about. It provided a fund for rural hospitals to the tune of $25 billion over the case of five years, which would help offset some of the Medicaid cuts that this bill would enact if it passes.

But, really, this process, Omar, has been like whack-a-mole, where Republican leaders help assuage concerns from one Senator, and that just leads to other issues cropping up. So, that has been the name of the game here. And this is a Republican bill in a Republican administration, and we're seeing how difficult it is to get this through Congress.

And just remember, whatever happens in the Senate has to also go back to the House and pass. And what passed in the House a few weeks ago was a different version. But, House Speaker Mike Johnson had a call with House lawmakers earlier today, saying that he wants his lawmakers to keep their powder dry, not weigh in on what was going on in the Senate.

But, there are a lot of House Republicans who have already said what's happening in the Senate is not going to fly with them. So, that just shows you the difficult process we're in now. This vote has been open for hours. It's just the first step here in the Senate, and then we still to go back to the House and deal with the House Republicans. So, it's a headache all around and truly like a game of whack-a-mole.

JIMENEZ: Lauren Fox, Annie Grayer, you've been all over it. Really appreciate it. We'll probably be getting back to you soon.

But, I want to bring in Larry Sabato, who joins me now. He is the Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Larry, thanks for being up with us. Look, obviously a massive piece of legislation here, and we're just at a procedural stage right now. Three Republican senators already voted against it. Lisa Murkowski, who had been on the fence this whole time, just voted yes, after her concerns over the cuts to Medicaid, which I should point out, Alaska has the highest proportion of residents on Medicaid for any state with two GOP senators.

But, I guess, from a strategic standpoint, is cherry-picking and changing things to win over individual senators a potentially risky strategy? I just wonder how you assess what we looking at here.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, Omar, everything you do in a case like this is risky. Look, there -- the leadership is good at this. On both sides, both parties, leaders have done this a lot, and it's like the old TV game show. Let's make a deal. There is something behind door number one and something behind door number two and something behind door number three, and they can bring other stuff from the furniture store that doesn't satisfy senators.

[21:40:00]

I always wonder why more senators don't hold out, because, in the end, you're able to get more, and you can tout that to your state and your state's voters, and they're going to give you credit for that much, even if they dislike other provisions of this massive bill, whether you consider it beautiful or ugly. So, the odds have always been in favor of this passing.

It is Trump's almost entire domestic agenda. It's the Republican domestic agenda. They have majorities, however small, in the House, and a little larger, percentage-wise, in the Senate. It's going to pass. It may not pass in the next week before July 4th. It'll pass after July 4th. They're all arbitrary deadlines. It doesn't matter, except maybe the congressman's vacation plans. So, these things have a lot of drama in them, but a lot of the drama is made up.

JIMENEZ: And Larry, don't go far because on the phone now I've got Democratic Senator Peter Welch of Vermont. Senator, thank you for being here, because, look, Republicans can't afford to lose another vote. We just saw senators Lisa Murkowski and Josh Hawley, both potentially holdouts at one point, had concerns about cuts to Medicaid, but it seems changes in this latest version of the bill have won them over, or at the very least, I don't know exactly what may have won over Senator Murkowski. What -- do you -- what are your major concerns with the Senate version of this bill that we have seen, again, specifically as it's changed in regards to the House?

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT) (VIA TELEPHONE): Well, I mean, I think the whole bill is just fiscally incredibly irresponsible. It's bad for the economy, and it's going to really affect a lot of suffering. And the person speaking, I think the momentum is always with the majority, and it's an imperative. So, there is a lot of pressure here in momentum for them to pass this evening, to solve.

But, I'll tell you, this is a different kind of legislation. It's not like an appropriations bill. The Medicaid cut is nearly a trillion dollars, the nutrition cuts, the stripping of states of the ability to pass their own legislation about social media and AI. That really causes a lot of harm in red states and blue states. It's equal participation in the pain that this bill is going to inflict. So, just as an example, you saw the community hospital folks in Ohio sending a letter to their two Republican senators, saying, this is a real problem for us.

So, what I see is there is a real pressure and conflict of my Republican colleagues who want to support the President's agenda, whatever that is, on the one hand, and on the other hand, know -- they know that there is going to be a lot of pain inflicted on the people they represent. So, I think this is different than a budget bill where the senators hold out, get what they can for their own state's advantage.

JIMENEZ: And even looking at what Senator Josh Hawley put out in a New York Times OpEd recently. He cited some pressure from his constituents in regards to his hesitations on the Medicaid cuts, but clearly, he -- something won him over, and at least where we are in negotiations to this point.

WELCH (VIA TELEPHONE): Well, the Senator --

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Go ahead.

WELCH (VIA TELEPHONE): Go ahead. Well, this is the existential bill. But, one of the dilemmas of using reconciliation, and I'll acknowledge both sides have done it, but I think it's really awful, is, by definition, you're prohibiting the other side, who represent half the Americans in the country, from having a seat at the table.

So, this has to be a Republican-only bill, and that means that the negotiations on the Republican side have to ultimately capitulate to, I would say, the more extreme elements in the caucus. So, it creates a dynamic, because the more concessions that soon makes the fiscal hawks who are concerned about the deficit, which is exploding, and actually, the latest CBO numbers show the changes the Senate made has made that worse. Then the more cuts you make to Medicaid, where some of the senators are very concerned about what that will do to folks that they represent into the community hospitals in their states. So, this -- my perspective on this is, this is a bad bill. It's getting worse in the Senate.

JIMENEZ: And Senator, earlier, I was speaking to Senator Amy Klobuchar, much earlier, at this point. I don't even know what time it is. I can't imagine with you all. But, she was talking about -- or we were talking about a reported plan among Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to -- for Democrats to read every single page of this 900 plus page bill, sure is a delay tactic, but as Senator Klobuchar put it to me, it gives the nation time to start hearing about what this bill really does.

[21:45:00]

Is that still the plan? Is that still the momentum among Democrats right now, even as we're watching to see however this procedural vote ends up?

WELCH (VIA TELEPHONE): It is. I mean, we don't have the votes, but as the information about what's in the bill gets out, the bill loses support. Actually, the bill right now is polling terribly. It's underwater, of course, with Democrats, but it's underwater deeply with independents, and it's even underwater with Republicans.

Now, keep in mind, one of the things that Trump did is kind of counter-programming, but he was going to protect Social Security. He was going to protect Medicaid and Medicare, and this bill clobbers Medicaid. I mean, it's nearly a trillion dollars that comes out, and then folks who are getting affordable care under the Obamacare act, they're going to lose their premium support. So, healthcare, for every one of us, however we get it, employer sponsored, Medicaid or Medicare, that is deeply and profoundly important to us, and this bill is literally taking healthcare away from millions of Americans, and it also has an enormous impact on our community hospitals that are very fragile.

So, the more people hear about this, they wonder, what's up? And of course, the bet, nobody talks to me in Vermont, saying, Peter, you got to pass this bill for my tax cut. They just don't believe there is a tax cut in it for them, particularly when they're seeing inflation hitting them in other areas, and if they can't have healthcare, that's going to be brutally costly to people to try to hang on.

JIMENEZ: Senator, I really appreciate your time. I know you all have, it sounds like, a long night and/or tomorrow ahead of you. So, please stay in touch as things proceed ahead.

WELCH (VIA TELEPHONE): Yeah.

JIMENEZ: We're going to squeeze in a quick break. Everyone, we will be right back with more news after this.

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[21:50:00]

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JIMENEZ: All right. We are continuing to monitor the Senate floor. This is a live look right now, as we are waiting to see if Senate Republicans get enough votes to get them past this procedural hurdle, which will then set them on a path to potentially vote through Trump's large agenda bill. It has been a process we have been monitoring for hours.

At this point, you can see the unofficial look right now, 47 yeas, 50 nays. It needs to get to 51 yeas. Critically, Vice President J.D. Vance is on the Senate floor right now, and it's critical, because that's what the margin could come down to. He could be the tie- breaking vote on this major hurdle. We are continuing to monitor. I will bring you back to that as we get more updates.

I also want to update you on something that's maybe more fun, it depends what you think is more fun, monitoring Senate votes versus a three-day lavish, secretive celebration in Italy. The star-studded wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez drew to a close in Italy. A host of famous faces have been seen in Venice, helping to celebrate the Amazon founder and his new bride.

Not everyone is thrilled, though, by the high-profile event. Demonstrators have held rallies across Venice, voicing anger at the opulent expenses involved and expressing outrage over global capitalism in general. But, the newlyweds seem to be taking it in stride, as they travel from one posh event to the next.

CNN's Melissa Bell spoke earlier with our Fredricka Whitfield from the Venice Lagoon.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're, in fact, just in that boat right ahead. We're in a sort of speed chase with the paparazzi. They had come out of their boat to wave to everyone, but they've now gone back inside. I mean, Fredricka, just before we started chatting, it's the boat just ahead. This is the happy couple now heading to their final party. It is the third day of celebration, of course, and it has been an extravagant party. No expense has been spared.

And whilst this is an unusual scene and so far as we're -- actually, very many of us following us, what you have seen over the course of the last few days is these vaporettos full of paparazzi. They've been on the shore. They've been in the boats just hoping to catch a glimpse either the happy couple itself, or many of their A-list celebrities.

So, it has been something quite spectacular for many of the Wilder tourists who found themselves here over the course of the weekend, either to see this sort of spectacle, and again, we're right up alongside it, Fredricka. This is the boat of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos, now carrying them to their final party. You can see them. They're just through the window waving at people. They're waving at us.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Oh, my goodness. I mean, Melissa --

BELL: It is heading to their last party.

WHITFIELD: Oh, hello, people. I mean, Melissa, I said last time, you find yourself in the middle of it all, and here you are, I mean, really in the middle of it all. You have closer access than anybody right now to the Bezos. And I'm talking about you're closer than even their guests are to the Bezos. So, wait a minute. So, I saw them all wearing pajamas, lingerie, very fun kind of post-party wear. What's the theme here? Where are they going? What's going on?

BELL: Well, they had this love bash, had been due to happen at a place called the Misericordia. It's a beautiful sort of venue in Venice, where they often hold parties, a sort of medieval structure.

[21:55:00]

It had to be moved. So, the newlyweds that you're seeing now are on their way to the Arsenale, which is this sort of big shipyard, also medieval, where they're going to hold their final bash and where it's simply going to be easier for authorities to keep not just us and the paparazzi currently involved in this high-speed chase --

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

BELL: -- down the canal, as we try and follow their boat. But also, of course, the protesters, as, when we spoke last time, Fredricka, we were in the middle of them. That protest is now wrapped up, but the protesters had been very clear. Their plan had been to disrupt this wedding as much as they could in order to have the world hear their many different claims, and there were a number of them that they were arguing for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: How do I get to be on a boat at work? Melissa Bell in Venice.

Meanwhile, I am here. We're here together. We're both not on boats. We are here Saturday night, watching the procedural vote process move forward, and we are now hearing from President Donald Trump weighing in on the progress we have seen to this point. We will bring you what he is saying on the other side of a break.

CNN's special coverage of the Senate vote on President Trump's agenda bill soon.

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