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Kremlin Says, Situation Alarming as Ukraine Ramps Up Attacks on Russian Soil; House Set to Vote on Debt Limit Deal After It Cleared Key Hurdle; Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) Kicks Off Campaign in Iowa, Doesn't Hold Back Against Trump. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 31, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some late signs of progress but also the criticism House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McCarthy has lost some trust in how this has been happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a relook at how our leadership structure is in place.

REP. KEVIN MCCAARTHY (R-CA): It is the largest savings of $2.1 trillion we've ever had.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Republican governor of Florida making his first official stop as a presidential candidate in Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now it seems that they're going all in on Iowa. They can't be so shortsighted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just part of a broader strategy to contrast him with Trump.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We also recognize there are a lot of voters who just aren't going to ever vote for him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 50-year-old Robert Bowers is accused of killing 11 worshippers in October of 2018.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The SWAT officer asked, why are you doing this? The response was, quote, all Jews need to die. Jews are killing our kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The rise of anti-Semitism the third higher than the incidents tracked last year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Ukrainian capital is bracing for more drone strikes after the Kremlin blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on Moscow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is putting pressure on him and he's trying to control the narrative.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Showing that ability to attack behind enemy lines, even on the Russian homeland in advance of this highly anticipated Ukrainian counter offensive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: China will have a permanent human presence in space, potentially even longer than the ISS.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We cannot cede our leadership to China when it comes to space. We need you, NASA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The space race, China is in it, and they say they are in it to stay.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: As you can see, there is a lot going on this morning. We are so glad you're with us on CNN This Morning. I'm joined by my friend, Erica Hill. Good morning.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, my friend.

HARLOW: A lot to get to. Let's start here. Developing overnight, the Kremlin says the situation has become alarming as Ukraine ramps up its attacks on Russian soil. That is what Russia is saying. Ukraine is denying that. These are photos of the aftermath of shelling in the border city. And this is new video of a Russian oil refinery erupting into flames after it was allegedly hit by a drone.

Ukraine has been bracing for Russian retaliation after a wave of drones hit Moscow. Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of trying to frighten Russians with the attacks. The Ukrainians have denied all involvement in any of this.

Our Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is live on the ground in Kyiv. What's interesting, Fred, is despite all of what has been happening there in Russia, it's been quiet in Kyiv overnight.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been quiet in Kyiv overnight, Poppy. And it was the first quiet night, really, in several days. So, that's certainly something where, no matter what the reason is, the folks here on the ground will certainly take it, because I think for a lot of people, it was becoming quite unnerving to be woken up pretty much every single night with Russian drones overhead and then missile strikes during the morning hours or during the day.

But you're absolutely right. It's unclear what is behind this. There's certainly a lot of speculation here on the Kyiv side, some saying that maybe Russia is sort of retooling and reloading its arsenal. One of the things that they are talking about is that possibly new Shahed head drones might be brought in place. Of course, those are the ones that the Russians often send here to the Ukrainian capital.

But one thing the southern command of Ukraine's Armed Forces was saying is they say for a long time, there also haven't been any sea launched attacks either by Russian cruise missiles, for instance. So, that's certainly something that the Ukrainians are also looking out for as well.

One thing that I sort of picked up on before we went to air here is also the spokesman for the Kremlin just a couple of minutes ago, really, he said that the Russians believe after this drone attack that happened in Moscow, he said he believes they, meaning whoever was behind that drone attack, are trying to provoke Russia so they will carefully consider their next move. Maybe that's also one of the reasons why the Russians haven't shot back immediately, but really very difficult to say. Nevertheless, the calm is certainly something many people here are welcoming.

HARLOW: And then the strikes in the Belgorod region in Russia that left four people injured, what should we take from that? Some are pointing to that at the beginning of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

PLEITGEN: It could it could very well be a sign of that or part of that. It was quite interesting because I was able to speak to an advisor to the presidential administration here at the end of last week, actually. And he said, look, some of the things that you're seeing that is already part of the build up to the counteroffensive, if you will. Some of it might be diversion.

Nevertheless, one of the things that we're seeing, not just in Belgorod but in other places as well, is that the Russians certainly are under pressure on the borderland and in their homeland as well. In Belgorod, you had several people who were injured in that small village of Shebekino, where -- I was actually in that village in February of last year when the Russians started their invasion. It's a very small civilian village, but it is very close to the town of Belgorod, which is an important military hub for the Russians. So, that's certainly also something to keep in mind as well. Then you had those alleged possible drone attacks on refineries and also in the Berdiansk region. That's a little bit further north in Russia. The Russians are saying that they took down several drones as well.

So, you can feel as that a possible counteroffensive might be looming, the Russians increasingly under pressure in their homeland as well.

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HARLOW: Fred Pleitgen live in Kyiv, thank you very, very much.

And in just few minutes, we'll speak with the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.

HILL: A big day ahead on Capitol Hill as the White House -- as the House, rather, prepares to vote on that debt limit deal. The bill narrowly cleared its first major hurdle last night.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Norman? Mr. Norman, no.

Mr. Roy? Mr. Roy, no. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Two hard line Republicans on the powerful House Rules Committee tried but failed to block that bill from advancing to the floor. Now, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to rally support for his deal with President Biden as he faces a growing GOP revolt and the looming threat now of being ousted.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill. Bottom line this morning is does McCarthy have the numbers that he needs, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Republicans and Democratic leadership, they're all confident they are going to be able to get the votes to pass this tonight. The first hurdle is going to be a vote on the House floor to pass the rule. Traditionally, the majority would be responsible for getting that across the finish line, but there is concern given the fact that there are a number of members of the House Freedom Caucus who have said that they can't support this bill, that perhaps they might need some Democratic support to get that over the finish line.

We are told that they do expect that Democrats are going to jump in and make sure that that rule passes. After that there will be the final vote on this legislation in the House of Representatives. And it's going to be an interesting moment because this will be a coalition of the members in the middle. This is a rare moment on Capitol Hill when you have so many bills that pass along party lines. This is sort of that time where this was a deal negotiated by Biden and McCarthy. And despite the fact that they may lose some members on the fringes of their party, they do feel confident that they are going to have the votes that they need tonight to pass this out of the House.

After that it goes, U.S. Senate, where eventually we expect that the votes will be there as well. The big question is how quickly the Senate is going to be able to move. But I asked a Republican with yesterday, John Thune, if the votes were going to be there, he said, yes, that he does believe there are going to be at least nine Republicans. That means if all the Democrats are unified, they're going to have the votes to get this out of the Senate as well. Again, just a critical question of how quickly the Senate is going be able to move before that June 5th deadline.

HILL: Yes. To say the clock is ticking would be an understatement here. Lauren, I appreciate the reporting. Thanks.

HARLOW: This morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis beginning day two in Iowa for the launch of his presidential campaign. At a kickoff event with a few hundred supporters yesterday, DeSantis touted his record in Florida. He launched attacks on former President Trump, interestingly, without ever mentioning him by name.

Jessica Dean is on the campaign trail in Des Moines, Iowa with more. This is sort of the beginning of distinguishing himself from his former -- can I say former ally, President Trump now rival. JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's, yes, a very accurate depiction of the situation, Poppy. And it's now on Governor DeSantis and his team to really create this contrast between himself and the former president without making it all about the former president.

And last night, we saw him here in Iowa on his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate. He talked to supporters at this church just outside of Des Moines, where he didn't implicitly and directly go after former President Trump. But when he talked to the media afterward, he had plenty to say.

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DEAN (voice over): Florida Governor Ron DeSantis kicking off his White House bid on Tuesday.

DESANTIS: It's great for me to report that our great American comeback starts by sending Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware.

DEAN: Making his first campaign stop in Iowa, a state set to give an early glimpse into whether Republican primary voters can move on from former president Donald Trump.

DESANTIS: If you don't win, there is no substitute for victory. We must put an end to the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party of recent years.

DEAN: The governor notably, did not mention the former president by name in his kickoff address.

DESANTIS: At the end of the day, leadership is not about entertainment. It's not about building a brand. It's not about virtue signaling it is about results.

DEAN: But as the Trump campaign steps up its attacks on the Florida governor, DeSantis made clear his rebuttals to those criticisms while taking questions from the press after his speech.

DESANTIS: He used to say how great Florida was. Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship.

DEAN: Appearing confident that voters would reject Trump's attacks on his former ally in Florida.

DESANTIS: And now, he's a attacking me over some of these disagreements, but I think he's doing it in a way that the voters are going to side with me.

DEAN: And taking indirect jabs at the former president himself.

DESANTIS: I don't need someone to give me a list to know what a conservative justice looks like.

[07:10:01]

DEAN: All while summing up where he thinks his real fight lies.

DESANTIS: I'm going to focus my fire on Biden, and I think he should do the same. He gives Biden a free pass. I'm focusing on Biden.

DEAN: The first official stop as a candidate, a smoother campaign launch than the glitch-filled Twitter announcement for DeSantis last week. The governor offering familiar attacks against the Biden economy.

DESANTIS: The Biden administration is doing all it can to make it harder for the average family to make ends meet and to attain and maintain a middle class lifestyle.

DEAN: And criticizing fellow Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's debt limit deal that's now headed to the House floor on Wednesday.

DESANTIS: The bill for the massive borrowing, spending and debt and record printing of money by the Fed, that's falling on the American people.

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DEAN (on camera): Later today, we are going to see the governor all across the state of Iowa. It's a state that he said is very important to his presidential bid. And then we'll see him traveling to other early states, including New Hampshire and South Carolina to finish out the week. And, Poppy and Erica, just to underscore how seriously they are taking the state of Iowa and how important it is, he will be right back here on Saturday for an event with Senator Joni Ernst.

HARLOW: There's a lot. There are a lot of great things about Iowa.

HILL: indeed, there are.

HARLOW: I don't blame him. Thanks. There are.

HILL: Well, a major ruling has just shielded the billionaire family behind Purdue Pharma from opioid-related lawsuits. What this could mean for the victims seeking settlements? You're going to hear from one mother who lost her son to this epidemic.

HARLOW: Also this, we are getting this morning, the bottom line on the death dealing deal from the Congressional Budget Office. How it could affect American families, that is ahead.

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[07:15:00]

HARLOW: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. The debt limit deal struck by President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy now heads to the House floor for a full vote after just airily making it out of the committee last night. Failure to pass this could mean a U.S. default and the potential for a global financial catastrophe. But a number of Republicans are still not on board. Not all Democrats are on board either.

Joining us now is Congressman Mike Lawler, Republican from New York. He sits on the Foreign Affairs and the Financial Services Committee, and he's gone on the record that he plans to vote yes for this bill. So, good morning, Congressman.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Good morning. How are you?

HARLOW: I'm fine. Why are you a yes?

LAWLER: Well, look, I had three parameters throughout this, that the president and the speaker must negotiate in good faith, we must cut spending, and we cannot default. A default was never an option, and it's not an option going forward. So, the objective was to get bipartisan compromise, which the speaker has secured, and it meets my objectives to bend the curve here.

You think about this, Poppy, when I was a freshman in college back in 2006, our national debt was about $9 trillion. Today, it's almost $32 trillion. This is unsustainable for the long run. And so what we are doing is bending the curve and starting to put the American economy back on the right trajectory.

And the speaker negotiated a very good deal given the fact that we only control one half of one third of the government. And the fact that he was able to get a deal that includes spending cuts, non- defense and non-veteran discretionary spending is below fiscal year '22 levels.

That is a significant win and something that conservatives and Republicans have fought for. In addition, we're getting permitting reform, NEPA reform, which hasn't been done in over 40 years, and putting constraints on executive spending and overreach.

And so I think as we move forward, Republicans need to recognize that the speaker did a phenomenal job negotiating and got us a very good package that really advances the ball forward and sets us up through the appropriations process to really work to constrain spending more.

HARLOW: The second prong of the three things you wanted that you said you got doesn't square with what the Congressional Budget Office says in terms of reduction in spending. The CBO last night, as you know, came out with their analysis, and they say, yes, this would reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next ten years, but, and this is a big asterisk, changing those work requirements on the cash, TANF assistance and food stamp, SNAP, actually he increases federal spending by $2.1 billion over ten years. How is that a win for Republicans and the win you say it is on spending?

LAWLER: Well, if you look at the changes to Snap and TANF work requirements going forward, states were basically rolling over exemptions. They were allowed 12 percent exemptions and they were rolling it over. Some states were implementing 100 percent exemptions on work requirements. They are now capped at 8 percent going forward.

So, this is going to be significant savings over the long-term when it comes to SNAP and TANF.

HARLOW: But, respectfully, Congressman, that's not what the non- partisan CBO says, because the increase in benefits for homeless and veterans basically undoes the savings you guys got elsewhere.

LAWLER: I respectfully disagree with the analysis by the CBO on this because it's just not accurate. When you look at the fact that we're changing what the states are allowed to do with respect to giving exemptions, they are now capped at 8 percent. Some states were giving 100 percent exemptions on work requirements.

So, this is a significant change and significant savings over the long haul on SNAP. The objective is to get people back working. And I think, look, when these analysis are done, when these analysis are done by CBO, they look at it in a snapshot, okay?

[07:20:07]

They're not looking at things that will happen tomorrow, that will happen the next day. They're not looking at the potential growth in the economy.

Look at what we're doing with permitting reform and NEPA reform. This is going to significantly shorten the lifespan of a project from potentially 11 years down to 2 years. That will boost the economy tremendously and give us more revenues and more potential.

So, I think at the end of the day, when all is said and done here, Poppy, we need to recognize that this is changing the trajectory in Washington. President Biden put forward a budget that would have spent significantly more than the top line number that was just negotiated. This is a win for the American people.

HARLOW: Congressman, what you just laid out is a hope and a lot of assumption on what some of these other aspects of the bill will do. What I'm telling our viewers and you, is that the Congressional Budget Office, which was, by the way, set up by Congress to do exactly this, to oversee the budget process.

It's nonpartisan, as you know, it relies on economists, think tanks. It looks at historical trends. What they're saying is, no, in fact, this increases spending when it comes to TANF and SNAP. And I'm not just pointing to the CBO. Listen to Nancy Mace, your fellow Republican in the House. Here's how she sees it.

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REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I don't think it's been an honest display of what the bill does and it doesn't cut spending does very little for the deficit, and, really, it's D.C. math for two years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Is it not?

LAWLER: Respectfully, again, I just disagree with my colleague there. She's entitled to her opinion. This reduces the deficit by $1.5 trillion, according to CBO's own scoring. It caps spending at 1 percent going forward, which has never happened. So, at the end of the day, look, is it a perfect deal? No. We have a divided government.

And I think people need to get a dose of reality. This idea that you're going to get everything you want out of life, welcome to government, welcome to adulthood. You have to negotiate. This was a negotiation. It was a hard negotiation. And remember, the president and Chuck Schumer had a plan that would not allow for any of this and would just be a clean debt ceiling. They thought House Republicans would not be able to pass a bill. We did. They lost on their bet.

And so now we're in a situation where spending will be coming down, and at the end of the day, this is about moving our economy in a better direction. And that's what we've accomplished here.

HARLOW: I want to move on, but I want to level with the American people. Every time you say that CBO says that it will reduce deficit by $1.5 trillion, you're leaving out the latter part of their analysis that says those increase in benefits to veterans and homeless will increase it by $2.1 billion.

But here is how upset some other members of your party are. Listen to Senator Mike Lee.

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SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): There's not a whole lot of give here. If this is a quid pro quo, as any negotiation between Republicans and Democrats should be, there's a whole lot of quid and not much quo. And we got kind of screwed here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: A number of members of the House Freedom Caucus, I know you're shaking your head, they're not happy with McCarthy at all. And I wonder that some saying they have zero confidence in him, I wonder if you think McCarthy's speakership is at risk.

LAWLER: So, first of all, a lot of the comments coming from a segment of our party are from folks who never would have voted for a debt ceiling increase no matter what the deal was. So, I respect their point of view, but, you know, I really don't accept the premise of their critique.

At the end of the day, the speaker has put the conference in a good position. We gave him the ability to have a seat at the table and negotiate, and he did. Again, Chuck Schumer is the Senate majority leader. Joe Biden is the president of the United States. If my colleagues wanted a better deal, then maybe we should have run some better candidates in some of these competitive swing states and seats.

At the end of the day, Kevin McCarthy is not in jeopardy. He's done a great job as speaker. He's been severely underestimated by Democrats and by the press over and over and over again, and he has been able to move legislation through the House. He will get a debt ceiling deal passed to day, and he will continue on as speaker of the House.

HARLOW: Let me just end on this. Of course, you became very well known around the country for flipping your seat and defeating Sean Patrick Maloney, the then-chair of the DCCC, to get your seat in a district that Biden won in 2020 by 60 percent.

[07:25:05]

It's interesting. This morning, the publication, Roll Call, is naming you the number five most vulnerable member of Congress calling you a top target for Democrats. As you know, there are Democrats in your district already running ads against you. How is that factoring into your decision-making on things like this?

LAWLER: Not at all. Look, I have 30,000 financial service sector employees that live in my district. Default was never an option. To me, as I said, the cost of living, the affordability factor, that's why I ran for office to begin with. We need to bend the curve here in Washington. That's what we're doing.

And I'd remind you, President Biden came to my district just a few weeks ago and we had a very good conversation. I told him he needed to negotiate with the speaker, we needed to cut spending, and the president said I'm somebody he could work with. So, the ads that are being run by the Democrats obviously don't comport with where the president stands on this.

HARLOW: Congressman Mike Lawler, thanks. Come back soon.

LAWLER: Thanks a lot.

HARLOW: All right. Erica?

HILL: Police making two arrests in connection with that mass shooting at a boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida. We have new details this morning on the suspects.

HARLOW: Also, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy setting a date for his long-awaited counteroffensive on the heels of a deadly raid from the capital of Kyiv. We'll speak with Vitali Klitschko, that's the mayor of Kyiv, next, about what he's doing to protect his city.

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