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Now: Senate Holds Key Procedural Vote On Trump's Agenda Bill; Protesters Object To New Migrant Detention Site In Florida; Funeral Held Saturday For Assassinated Minnesota Lawmaker; Europe Sweltering Under Summer's First Major Heat Wave; Protests, Opulence For Finale Of Bezos-Sanchez Venice Wedding. Aired 11-12a ET

Aired June 28, 2025 - 23:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:00:55]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: A test of loyalty to the U.S. President continues this hour in the U.S. Senate. Hello everyone, I'm John Vause. With our breaking news, coverage of a procedural vote in the Senate to advance Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill.

The big, beautiful bill, as it's called, has divided Republican lawmakers. Some believe it cuts too much. Others say it doesn't cut enough. Three Republican senators have already voted no. One more Republican no vote will mean this motion to begin debate will fail. Vice President J.D. Vance arrived at the Capitol a few hours ago.

As President of the Senate, he may need to cast a tie-breaking vote. President Trump stayed in Washington this weekend. He's been lobbying Republicans to pass the bill by Independence Day, the 4th of July.

To very latest now let's go to Washington. And we have CNN senior White House reporter, Betsy Klein, and CNN senior reporter, Annie Grayer. Annie, first to you, what's the latest on these three Republican senators, the holdouts, who are huddling with Vice President J.D. Vance at this hour?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, we're at a standstill and have been so for hours as the key holdouts have met with Republican leadership as they try and negotiate a last-minute deal that would let this get over the finish line.

And the three Republican senators who still have not voted are Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. And they all have their own issues with the bill, and it just speaks to the broader dynamics here. There are so many Republicans who have different concerns with the bill.

As you mentioned, there are already three Republicans who voted no. And as leadership has tried to make one group happy, there have been issues with a different group. So the biggest sound sitting issue has to do with Medicaid. There's been a lot of concerns around how much to cut Medicaid in this bill. And ultimately, leadership put out a new version of the bill this morning that got Republican Senator Josh Hawley on board. But leadership was working up until the last minute to try and get Lisa Murkowski, who was holding out for a while, but eventually flipped to yes.

This vote has been open since 7.30 p.m., and we've seen the Vice President make overtures with these lawmakers. We've seen all of the Republicans gathered around these remaining three holdouts. They've been going in and out of the leader's office.

And this is just step one for Trump's signature piece of legislation that he wants on his desk by July 4th. And you think about where we are in the Senate right now, and it's if -- even if it were to pass this first procedural step, that doesn't necessarily mean people will vote on the final passage of the bill. It's a different calculus, which, you know, at this hour, can we even wrap our minds around.

We also then have to think about how this bill is going to go back to the House, which passed a different version of this bill a few weeks ago. So you start to look at the calendar. You start to think about all the different issues here and the holdouts that remain, that have been remaining for hours. And you really start to wonder if Republicans can deliver this by the July 4th deadline that President Trump has set.

VAUSE: One step at a time. Betsy, to you, the President has been following the vote very closely. And earlier Saturday, he went golfing with some Republican senators, among them Lindsey Graham, who tweeted he was playing on Team Trump, along with Rand Paul. They -- they won. The senator from Kentucky has been affirmed no vote. It seems President Trump wasn't able to win him over on this vote. But this is an indication of how invested the President has been in passing this bill. So what's at stake for him if it doesn't pass?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Certainly, it's enormously high stakes for President Trump, the President currently in the West Wing. And posting through this, he scrapped a planned trip to New Jersey to spend a rare weekend here in Washington, where he's been working the phones, holding meetings, twisting arms, even playing that round of golf earlier today at his Northern Virginia Golf Club because he and his team are keenly aware that this is a critical moment to get this bill over the initial finish line of this first step.

They are aware of these tight margins and all of the hurdles and concerns that Annie has just laid out. But there is a belief that this massive tax and spending bill will really help unlock the President's domestic agenda. This is a major priority for them to get passed while Republicans control both the House and the Senate. And so for all of those reasons, President Trump, along with Vice President J.D. Vance, have really been pushing their Republican Senate colleagues, encouraging them, meeting with them in person, offering them meetings at the White House, to try to get them to a yes vote over the better part of the last 24 hours.

[23:05:24]

The President even playing a round of golf, as you mentioned with Senator Rand Paul, who ultimately, as of now, not final, but as of now, has voted no on this bill. He has been very concerned about some of the spending in this bill, as well as the debt limit increase that it includes. But the President has repeatedly said that those who vote no or consider voting no are grandstanders.

And I want to just read to you a selection of some of the posts he's put on social media over the past hour or so as he's watching this vote. First, he is taking aim at Senator Tom Tillis, another one of those critical no votes. The senator from North Carolina is up for reelection in the midterm elections next November of 2026.

He says that numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the primary against Senator Tom Tillis. I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the great people of North Carolina. The President also calling on his party to build some coalition, to come together.

He says Republicans must remember that they are fighting against a very evil, corrupt, and in many ways incompetent policy-wise, group of people who would rather see our country go down in flames than do the right thing. And then later, referring to Democrats, the President said the one thing they do have is an ability to stick together and vote as one group.

He goes on to say they don't have grandstanders, again using that term that he has been referring to some of the members of his own party who aren't on board with some of the provisions in this really sweeping package. But the reality is there are very deep divisions in the Republican Party on this bill, on the scope and scale of the bill. The spending cuts and whether the President's tariffs and the revenue generated by those tariffs is enough to offset some of the cost of those tax cuts, as well as concerns about potential cuts to Medicaid.

But J.D. Vance, the Vice President, also on Capitol Hill. He could break a tie if needed in his capacity as President of the Senate, telling our colleague Nicky Robertson as he arrived, I guess we'll find out if it passes.

VAUSE: Six minutes past the hour in Washington, D.C. There's these negotiations as this procedural vote continues. Let's go back to Annie there. So these negotiations have been going on for what, almost four hours now, just shy of four hours. So what are these holdouts? Do we know what they want? What's sort of the sweet spot here for them?

GRAYER: So we have some breaking news right now. The vote has not officially been called, but senators just came back to the floor. And a number of senators who were holdouts just voted yes. And that includes Ron Johnson, who had flipped from a no initially to yes. Cynthia Lummis, who was a holdout, Rick Scott and Mike Lee, who also were both hold -- holdouts, all voted yes.

So if this vote still holds and they close the vote, which it sounds like they're doing right now, they won't even need Vice President Vance's vote. So the hours and hours of negotiations that got us to this point, it seems like Republicans got the holdouts on board and are on the precipice of delivering this victory just to unlock the initial debate and moving this bill forward.

But we are tracking this live. Our team is off the floor watching this develop. And this is a big, big moment that we have been waiting for after hours and hours of no developments. It seems all the senators just rushed to the floor. And now the question for our reporting is going to be what got these senators to yes at this last minute. But we're waiting for the vote to close. Big moment here for Trump and his bill.

VAUSE: And Annie, while we have you, if this does actually go through, if the president has the votes yet, it looks like he does, what happens now?

GRAYER: So then there are hours of debate where the senators can offer as many amendments as they like. And that's going to be something we have to track closely because there could be certain amendments that complicate final passage. Just because senators voted to advance the bill in this first step does not mean that they are necessarily a yes on the final passage. So we're going to have to track all of that.

One thing that we have heard today is that Leader Schumer, for the Democrats, the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, is going to have the entirety of this 970-page bill read into the record. That is going to add hours to this process. So even though it's -- even though Republicans are on a -- are poised to advance this bill, don't expect the final vote to be any time soon. There -- there is going to be floor activity through the night, through tomorrow. But this is just the first step that it seems like Republicans are about to pass.

[23:09:59]

VAUSE: And Betsy, this is, as Annie has -- Annie has been saying, this is a very big moment for President Trump. He's been tweeting or posting on social media commentary as the votes came in. We -- obviously, we're expecting some reaction from him fairly soon.

KLEIN: Certainly, we'll be watching this very closely. And I think as Annie was speaking, this vote actually gaveled and passed 51 to 49 votes in favor. So again, this vote has passed. We'll be waiting to see how the President reacts to this news. This is certainly a very big development. Obviously, the first step of many toward enacting this sweeping tax and spending package that is going to be so key to unlocking his domestic agenda.

But again, it is really stunning that they were able to get these key holdouts and really a testament to those efforts to get them to yes, both by the President, the Vice President, J.D. Vance, as well as Senate Republican leadership and other Republicans in the Senate who were lobbying their colleagues on different provisions.

Of course, now it faces this very challenging path forward. They are kicking off. They are going to read the text of the bill and then kick off what's known as a vote-a-rama. I will leave it to our colleagues on Capitol Hill to explain exactly what steps move forward there. But the President has to be very happy that this next step has been unlocked, really clearing that logjam there so they can move forward on this.

VAUSE: This was a pretty tough choice, Betsy, for some lawmakers, for some Republicans. They are faced with, you know, in this bill, there are very clear winners and there are very clear losers. There are tax cuts for the rich and there are social programs being cut which benefit, you know, the middle and income -- lower income Americans.

So, you know, that was political suicide for some in many ways. But then if they voted against it, as we are seeing, the President is now threatening a primary challenge. So there were no good options here for some lawmakers, it seems.

KLEIN: Well, and for President Trump, for a very long time, he has been emphatic that this must be, as he referred to it, one big beautiful bill, not multiple bills chopped up, things like tax cut bill, a separate debt ceiling extension bill, but one big beautiful bill as he's been referring to it over the past few months. And he was emphatic that all of those things must stay in together, which is what has caused some of this logjam, the perils of having such a sweeping, massive bill with so many different provisions. It's got plenty of things that are going to make these Republicans happy.

It has plenty of things that are making them unhappy for various different reasons. This is a very diverse coalition of Republicans with different interests, different states, and their constituents need different things. For instance, we saw with Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, her constituents really depend on Medicaid and she was very concerned about those potential cuts there that the President says will not be significantly impacted.

Of course, that's not true. There will be massive changes to Medicaid policy, millions of people expected to lose coverage. So for that reason, it's just been something that has been very difficult to corral, very unruly and large bill. It's over 900 pages. They're going to start reading it a few moments from now and it's really sprawling in its scale and scope.

VAUSE: And Annie, what's the vote-a-rama?

GRAYER: Vote-a-rama is the opportunity for senators to offer as many amendments as they like. And that's why we don't have a complete understanding of how long this is going to go. And there are specifically Democrats, this is their moment to message against this bill. They are unified in their opposition here. But reading into the record, every single page of the 970 pages here is going to be a profound moment that, you know, Democrats are going to try and message around because they have been, you know, struggling to make their points about why they're so opposed to this bill.

But the -- the Medicaid cuts here have been something that they have been hammering home about how this is going to impact a lot of people in Republican districts and states. So the -- so the vote-a-rama is where we're going to see a lot of floor activity just going on for hours and hours at a time and it's -- it's going to be a very busy weekend for the rest of -- for the rest of this weekend in the Senate.

VAUSE: And Betsy, the popularity of this bill just among Americans, it's not great. So Democrats are obviously looking forward to the midterms and what this bill will do.

KLEIN: Certainly. We've already started to hear messaging from Democrats specifically on those Medicaid provisions as well as other pieces of this legislation that they believe are winning political issues for them. But interestingly, the White House had been pushing to get this done by the 4th of July. Obviously, there are so many hurdles to continue to clear here.

[23:14:57]

There's much to do. The President had even expressed some softening of that deadline. He said it's important, but it's not the end-all be-all to get it done by the 4th of July. There was some real concern that pausing this and letting it pass the July 4th recess period would really slow the momentum for Republicans.

So clearly here, a victory for the President to move forward on this, but now a very big test as to whether they can keep that momentum going, get through all of these different provisions that are going to be added, removed, and see if they can keep the Republican Party together.

But then, and only once it passes the Senate, it still needs to go back to the House. Annie has explained this, but the House is also going to have to approve all of those changes, and there are going to be lawmakers that are Republican with districts that are not happy with some of these changes.

We're already starting to hear from them. Speaker Johnson held a call earlier today urging them to stay in line and express those concerns privately, but that is going to be a major challenge in the days, hours ahead for this White House. President Trump is going to have to continue his lobbying efforts.

Then, and only then, can it be passed and go to his desk for a signature, and certainly he would make much fanfare over that if this were, in fact, to get over the finish line. But so much has to happen before we can get there, John

VAUSE: Exactly. That deadline of July 4th looks very tenuous. It's less than a week away. Betsy Klein and Annie Grayer, thank you both for being with us. We appreciate your coverage.

And with that we'll take a short break. You're watching CNN. Back in a moment.

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[23:20:28]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN. Just an update on what's happening in the U.S. Senate right now. That bill to advance the President's Big, Beautiful Bill, his spending measure, has actually advanced in the U.S. Senate, more on that in a moment. But right now, dozens of cars lined a highway in Florida as protesters denounce the U.S. government's new migrant detention site.

The facility, which is nicknamed, Alligator Alcatraz, is being built in an abandoned airport in the Everglades and set to open Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it could house up to 5,000 people in tents and temporary shelters. Members of the Muscogee Tribe of Indians of Florida say the detention center violates their land rights and is dangerous to the environment, and above all, protesters say the U.S. government's treatment of migrants is inhumane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN HANSEN, TAMPA, FLORIDA RESIDENT: The Everglades in itself is just a very sacred area, and the habitat here needs to be preserved and taken care of. And then obviously what they're trying to do here with Alligator Alcatraz is horrendous and just really not acceptable. I'm hoping that today we can follow the natives' lead and try and bless the land and protect the land and do what we can, and then thereby protect the people, because first of all, no human is illegal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ever since Donald Trump's immigration crackdown began, we've seen scenes of masked ICE agents grabbing people from the streets, detaining them without warning. One such incident caught on camera Friday. A witness filmed a woman running from a masked armed man who was chasing her on the streets of L.A. CNN's Rafael Romo has details.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a video that gives the public a glimpse into the tactics being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as they face enormous pressure to arrest as many undocumented immigrants as possible on a daily basis. The cell phone video was shot by a woman in West Los Angeles on Monday. Aleca Le Blanc says that she was running errands around 10.30 in the morning when she saw a young woman being chased down the street by an older man wearing street clothes, a tactical belt and a neck gaiter covering his face.

At one point, the young woman being chased clings to a tree in what appears to be a last effort to avoid detention. She's been identified as Cilena Vanessa Hernandez Ramirez, and this is the moment when she's pried off the tree by the agent as captured by Le Blanc's cell phone camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have an ID and a warrant before you can take her? Oh, oh, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Are you kidding me, old man? What you're doing is kidnapping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Shortly before the woman was taken away, an SUV had pulled up with more agents wearing face coverings and hats. They were all armed with guns, LeBlanc says. The agents appeared to be confused as to how to handle the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALECA LE BLANC, RECORDED INCIDENT: I see basically an old man chasing a young lady down the street, which is horrifying, and she's running out of fear.

By the time I get to the bottom of the hill, I see that she is, like, you know, clinging to this tree right outside of this, like, little, like, strip mall that everyone goes to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: We reached out to officials about the incident in a statement the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that during operations on June 23rd, CBP encountered Cilena Vanessa Hernandez Ramirez, an illegal alien from El Salvador for being unlawfully present in the United States. Despite verbal harassment by members of the public, the officers ultimately detained this illegal alien and placed her under arrest.

According to the National Day Labor Organizing Network, Cilena Vanessa Hernandez Ramirez came to the U.S. two years ago with her partner Carlos and their now four-year-old son, Iker Javier, hoping to build. She worked hard selling tacos on the streets of Ladera Heights in Los Angeles, doing what she could to support her family. And according to Le Blanc, Hernandez Ramirez does not have an attorney yet, but she's on the wait list to get one from two legal organizations.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

[23:24:30]

VAUSE: Twenty-three minutes past the hour, coming to 24 minutes, we'll take a short break. There is a lot more to come here on CNN, including the latest on our breaking news. The Senate taking action on President Donald Trump's big spending bill. A lot more to come. Stay with us.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom, the latest now on the breaking news from Washington. A few moments ago, the U.S. Senate voted to advance President Trump's so- called Big, Beautiful Bill, 51 in favor, 49 against.

This is a key procedural vote, but the vote -- the fate, rather, of the bill remains unclear. GOP leaders must now satisfy numerous holdouts who are demanding changes. Trump wants to sign the bill by the 4th of July, but anything passed by the Senate must still be approved by the lower house.

We'll stay in Washington a little longer and joining us now is Catie Edmondson, congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Thank you for being with us.

CATIE EDMONDSON, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so if this motion passes, it looks like it has, the big win here for the President seems to be that the bill just doesn't die. But as we say, there's still a long way to go. There are many -- many points along the way where it could still fail, right?

EDMONDSON: Well, that's right. Look, I'm speaking to you from the Senate press gallery. I was just watching this vote and it really was an extraordinary vote because as you pointed out, this was really to clear a procedural hurdle. This was simply to open up debate on this legislation. And we saw that it was a really excruciating vote for a number of senators. This was a vote that was held open for three hours, which is very unusual here.

Normally, a vote should take about anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. And it took three hours because you saw Republican senators who are deeply uncomfortable with this legislation for different reasons, negotiating really either behind closed doors or even on the Senate floor with their party leaders trying to get this bill to a place that they feel comfortable lending their support to.

VAUSE: And the Senate minority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, warned of political consequences for those Republicans who voted in favor. Here he is. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: If Republicans succeed, proceed and follow Donald Trump over the cliff with this bill tied to their ankles like anvil, they will not only doom their own communities, they will doom their political fortune, their own political fortunes, and have no one to blame but themselves. I yield the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:30:17]

VAUSE: This bill is unique in the sense that it has very clear winners and very clear losers. So, has the President essentially been asking these Republican lawmakers, in some ways, to commit political suicide?

EDMONDSON: Well, I think a lot of them have been very vocal about the fact that this is a really tough vote for them. And again, that is for different reasons, depending on where, ideologically, you fall within the Republican Party. We certainly heard that from one Republican tonight, Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina.

He's up for reelection next year, and he said that he could not support the vote either tonight or the final passage vote, whenever that comes, because he feels that this legislation ultimately carries too deep of Medicaid cuts. He said that this is legislation that is going to force really tough decisions for his state leaders that he fears is going to harm not only his voters, but also the hospitals in his state. And so, it's statements like that that really underscore sort of the treacherous territory that a lot of Republicans, and not just in the Senate, also in the House, feel that this vote is forcing them to make, essentially, particularly for those Republicans, again, in tough reelection races.

VAUSE: I want you to listen to the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, on what he believes this bill will do for the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: Mr. President, we have before us today a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver legislation to create a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America. With one bill, we can deliver on a number of priorities, tax relief for hardworking Americans, economic growth, a stronger national defense, a more secure border, a more reliable energy supply.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Who wouldn't want all of that? The problem is many Republicans don't share that opinion. In fact, the -- the divide within the GOP seems to be between those who believe this bill does not cut enough and those who believe it cuts too much.

And that has a unique consequence for the negotiations here, because trying to appease one side seems to leave the other side unhappy and creates more problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EDMONDSON: That's right. That's the dynamic that we saw playing out that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is going to have to try to thread the needle on. It's a similar dynamic, again, over in the House for Speaker Mike Johnson. You have the Rand Pauls, the Ron Johnsons of the world, who are saying, I don't want to lend my support for legislation that is ultimately going to increase the deficit.

At the same time, you have those politically vulnerable Republicans that we were just talking about saying, in fact, these spending cuts already go too far for me and I can't lend my support to this legislation. And so trying to figure out what the middle ground is, is an extraordinarily difficult task. And that is what we are going to see these Republican leaders try to attempt in the next few days, because, again, they're really racing to meet this deadline that President Trump has set for them of getting this done by July 4th.

VAUSE: The former DOGE Czar and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, he is criticizing this bill once again, posting on X, the latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country. Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.

At this point, does it seem that, you know, the longer Musk is away from the White House, the less influence or weight his opinion seems to carry? So is that criticism likely to change any minds tonight?

EDMONDSON: Look, I think if he were to have tweeted that earlier in this year, that that would have had a very different impact. We didn't really hear senators talk about that particular broadside from Elon Musk. And I do think, to your point, the fissure or the rupture that we saw in his relationship with President Trump means that that is not going to be as effective as a lobbying technique as it maybe once would have been several months ago when those two men were in sort of a tighter relationship.

But I think at the end of the day, right, the complaints that Elon Musk underscored in that tweet are ones that are actually shared by a number of Republican lawmakers here on Capitol Hill. And so even if it doesn't sway them to change their vote, I think it ultimately could sort of serve as a bit of a stick in the eye, honestly, as they're being asked to take this vote for the President.

VAUSE: Catie Edmondson, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time tonight.

EDMONDSON: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: You bet.

[23:34:39]

A lot more to come here on CNN, including details of the funeral of a Minnesota state lawmaker killed in what investigators are calling an act of political violence. More in a moment.

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VAUSE: Funeral services were held Saturday for the Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband murdered two weeks ago in an act of shocking political violence. Melissa Hortman was a state representative and a former house speaker.

Among those at the funeral, former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz served as pallbearer and delivered the eulogy. Julia Vargas Jones has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A funeral with the highest state honors. In the country's first basilica, Minnesota in mourning. Governor Tim Walz presenting the children of Mark and Melissa Hortman with the flags flown above the Capitol on the day their parents were killed.

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): Remember your servants, Melissa and Mark.

JONES (voice-over): The political nature of their tragic deaths, the undeniable backdrop for the day's events.

WALZ: All of us are searching for some kind of meaning, some kind of lesson that we can learn to help ease our loss. And maybe it is this moment where each of us can examine the way we work together, the way we talk about each other, the way we fight for things we care about. A moment when each of us can recommit to engaging in politics and life the way Mark and Melissa did.

JONES (voice-over): In attendance for mass, former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. On Friday, mourners paid their respects as the Hortmans laid in state at the Minnesota Capitol. Melissa, the first woman in state history to receive that distinction. Late to rest beside them, their golden retriever, Gilbert.

Just a few miles away in federal court, the man accused of killing the Hortmans appear before a judge. His attorney told the court Boelter has been sleep deprived due to jail conditions and communication has been difficult. The judge granted a delay and his next hearing is now set for July 3rd.

Boelter faces state and federal charges including murder, firearm offenses and stalking. Authorities say the June 14th shooting was a politically motivated assassination and that Boelter could face the death penalty if convicted. He allegedly went to the Hortmans' home, dressed as a police officer and opened fire when police showed up, then fled, triggering the largest manhunt in the state's history.

[23:40:16]

Before the Hortman's, authorities say Boelter went to the homes of three other Minnesota state politicians. At one of them, police say he shot state Senator John Hoffman and his wife multiple times. Both are making a recovery, but say they are, quote, lucky to be alive.

According to court documents, authorities later searched Boelter's vehicle and found at least three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9 millimeter handgun, as well as a list of names and addresses of other public officials, most of them Democrats or figures with ties to the abortion rights movement. There have been questions about what Boelter's wife, Jenny, knew and when. Investigators say she was initially not forthcoming with information, but later became cooperative.

On Thursday, Jenny Boelter spoke out for the first time, saying she and her children are absolutely shocked, heartbroken, and completely blindsided. She called the attack a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith, adding that from the start, her family has fully cooperated with investigators, and they're grateful to law enforcement for apprehending her husband and preventing further harm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: This attack comes at a time of historic rise in threats against public officials and division in America, but the overall message from Saturday's service was that there is still hope to mend that division that came both from Governor Walz, as well as from the pastor who led the services, especially when he shared what the kids of the -- of the Hortmans had asked people to do in the memory of their parents.

They said, plant a tree, pet a dog, or try a new hobby. The best way to honor our parents' memories is to do something to improve your community, however small.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

VAUSE: Robert Pape is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, as well as the director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. He's with us this hour from Chicago. Thank you for taking the time to be with us.

ROBERT PAPE, DIRECTOR, CHICAGO PROJECT ON SECURITY AND THREATS: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were among the hundreds who attended this funeral. The current president decided not to go, nor did he issue any kind of statement. Is that something which deepens divisions in the country, or is it more of a missed opportunity to try and bridge that divide?

PAPE: Well, it's certainly a missed opportunity, but it's more than that. We are living through a historic era of political violence in America. We have been living through this era for five years. We have had violent riots on both the right and the left, riots with the George Floyd protests. We've had riots against the U.S. Capitol. We've had riots on college campuses.

We've had political assassinations and political assassination attempts. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump himself, just to name a few. This is happening against the left. This is historic. You have to go back 50 years to the 1960s to find anything like these violent protests and political assassinations. This is really quite disturbing.

So it is really disturbing that President Trump did not do more to not just show sympathy, but to condemn political violence when it is clearly targeting Democrats. It's awfully easy to condemn political violence when it's targeting your own party. What's difficult for politicians is -- is condemning political violence when it's targeting the other party.

This is a big mistake. This is more than just a missed opportunity. It's really quite tragic that President Trump did not see the importance of, at this point in time, holding our country together.

VAUSE: And as bad as things are, an op-ed you wrote in "The New York Times" predicts that we may be on the brink of an extremely violent era in American politics. One of the reasons for that, you go on in this op-ed to write, about 40 percent of Democrats supported the use of force to remove Trump from the presidency. About 25 percent of Republicans supported the use of the military to stop protests against Mr. Trump's agenda.

These numbers more than doubled since last fall when we asked a similar question. That was for a survey you did for the Chicago Project. So what is driving the increase in those numbers?

PAPE: What we're seeing is major social change in the United States that's leading to political change and the fragility of political power, which is then leading to the use of force for power. And that social change, we also saw in the 1960s, but the details are different. For the last 30 years, we have been going through a major demographic shift from a white majority democracy to a white minority democracy that is changing the nature of political power.

[23:45:22]

We're also seeing changes of shifting vast wealth to the top 10 percent of the American population. And we're seeing of Americans making the bottom 90 percent fight far more intensely than before. And when these social changes happen in countries, and they're now happening in the United States, this doesn't just lead to political polarization. This leads to us becoming our own worst enemies. And that is what's playing out in Minnesota. It's simply a microcosm of this.

Over the last 15 years, there has been dramatic demographic change in this small state of just about 5.5 million people. You are now seeing the white population not just simply outpaced by the non-white population, but literally in absolute decline. And this is leading to major political change inside of Minnesota, which is leading to, again, the fragility of political power and the use of force to fight back and to grab power.

VAUSE: Robert, it is a very important and very interesting topic, which we've been talking about. We could go on for a very long time, but much longer. But we are out of time. But thank you for being with us. Robert Pape, there in Chicago. Thank you, sir.

Well, it's only June, but it feels like high summer in much of Europe. In a moment, we'll take you to Spain, where the tourists are suffering just like the residents.

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[23:50:42]

VAUSE: We're following breaking news from Capitol Hill in Washington this hour. And a short time ago, Alaska Senator Republican Lisa Murkowski voted in favor of advancing President Trump's policy bill. Just three Republican senators left to vote. Republicans need 51 yeas. And right now, we have the Vice President, J.D. Vance, on Capitol Hill, could potentially cast a tie-breaking vote if he was needed. And that appears not to be needed.

A tropical storm warning in effect for parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the storm is currently called a tropical depression. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says if the storm stays on track, it could make landfall along the Mexican coast Sunday night. Current forecasts say it's most likely to come on shores as a tropical storm. Flooding is a concern as the storm could bring up 10 inches of rain to several southern states in Mexico.

Southern Europe is being slammed by the summer's first major heat wave. It comes as tourist season hits its full force. Peak temperatures in Spain are expected to climb over 40 degrees Celsius, which is 104 Fahrenheit. CNN's Ben Hunte has more on how people are coping.

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BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The summer heat is on full blast in Spain, with officials warning people to hydrate and stay safe as temperatures hit near or above 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Look, it always gets super hot in Madrid. What surprises me is how early it's happening. We're still in June. July and August are usually horrible, but the fact that it's already like this now is surprising.

HUNTE (voice-over): A blast of desert air from Africa is fanning out across southern Europe, creating hot, muggy conditions that forecasters warn could continue to be oppressive even at night. Tourists in Greece try to keep cool in the blazing sun. Water bottles and shade help to blunt the scorching temperatures, but some people say the old attractions are like magnets for the heat.

ANTONIA LASEN, TOURIST: The combination of the heat and the marble, I think it was more hot because of the marble and the cement. It was like a cement jungle almost. It was just very hot.

HUNTE (voice-over): The high heat and strong winds also stoking a large wildfire that broke out south of Athens. Greece is increasing its number of firefighters this year to a record high in expectation of another difficult wildfire season. The French weather agency warns of stifling conditions in the southern part of the country that will spread north with high temperatures expected until Tuesday.

In Italy, red heat alerts were issued for several cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice, with officials in some areas advising people to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day. That's something festival goers at Glastonbury in the U.K. may find hard to do, though event organizers are advising the more than 200,000 people in attendance to take precautions by drinking water, staying out of the sun and avoiding alcohol.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

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VAUSE: An annual event in Hungary is unfolding as both a celebration and an act of defiance. Crowds gathered in Budapest for the 30th annual Pride March. Demonstrators carried signs reading, Solidarity with Budapest Pride. Wave placards with crossed out illustrations of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The march proceeded despite a new law which bans LGBTQ events nationwide.

And protests in Venice as well against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos amid his lavish wedding to Laura Sanchez. Some say they can barely pay the rent while working for the billionaire's company. About 1,000 activists marched from the train station to the rail bridge. Many carried Amazon boxes with slogans like No Space for Bezos and other messages that we actually cannot repeat on air. Despite three days of protests, the happy couple seems unaffected. The newlyweds packed on the PDA, the public display of affection, as they headed to the final wedding gala. CNN's Melissa Bell has been following everything from the parties to the protests all weekend in Venice. Here she is.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Day three, the end of the Laurence Sanchez-Bezos now and Jeff Bezos wedding that has so dominated attention here in Venice for the last few days. As each day of the last three, this outside the Amman hotel is the scene. Police boats, boats filled with paparazzi as they wait to see not just the couple emerge day after day, but also many of their celebrity guests.

[23:55:07]

This last evening, they're waiting for them to get into their vaporettos and head off to the last party that's to be held at the Arsenale. It had to be moved because of protests. Still, undeterred, protesters took to the streets again this final third day of the wedding, this Saturday, to make their anger known.

There were workers from Amazon. There were anti-capitalists. There were climate change protesters. There were those opposed to Venice being used as a backdrop, as a postcard for this wedding, and opposed to the extravagance of it. We've seen them carry out a number of actions over the course of the last few days against the holding of this wedding and everything that went with it.

Still, it's gone on really without hiccup, largely apart from the moving of that final venue. With all of the guests really abiding by what seems to have been their non-disclosure agreements, you'll have seen very little of what went on within the party, simply at the paparazzi shots of many celebrities that were invited making their way around the streets of Venice over the course of the weekend.

Melissa Bell, CNN Venice.

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. I'll be right back. After the break with a lot more news.

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