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Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Killed in D.C. Shooting; Trump Pushes White Genocide; Ted Deutch is Interviewed about the D.C. Shooting; House Passes Spending Bill. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:53]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: We continue to follow two breaking news stories this morning out of Washington, D.C. Police say a suspect shouting "free Palestine" has been arrested, accused of killing this couple who worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington.

Police say the suspect was pacing back and forth outside the Capital Jewish Museum, and then approached a group of people and opened fire. He then waited around the scene and was eventually arrested.

The other breaking news, the House is voting now, not on President Trump's agenda, but it's one last gambit by Democrats. You're looking at live images now. If this fails, then the bill will go to the floor where it appears to be on track for final approval.

Back now to that shooting outside a Jewish museum in D.C. This morning, Israel is tightening security at embassies worldwide following the killing of the two staffers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMB. DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We have been in touch with our colleagues in the embassy in Washington, D.C., with our colleagues in Jerusalem. You know, all of our embassies, you know, are on high alert after this attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The sole suspect has been identified and arrested. A witness says that he was yelling, "I did it for Gaza."

Attorney General Pam Bondi says that the Trump administration will work hand in hand to protect the Jewish community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We'll be doing everything in our power to keep all citizens safe, especially tonight, our Jewish community. We will follow the facts. We will follow the law. And this defendant,

if charged, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now, Chief Charles Ramsey, CNN's senior law enforcement analyst.

Good morning.

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.

CORNISH: I want to talk more about the suspect because I was reading some reports that he waited around the scene, essentially presented himself. What is the first step in this investigation in -- in this kind of situation?

RAMSEY: Well, there are a lot of steps in the investigation.

[06:35:01]

Now, he's under arrest. He's from Chicago. We don't know yet -- at least we don't know yet how he got to Washington, D.C. Was he in a hotel? Did he have a car? So, there are numerous search warrants that are being executed, many of which probably already have been executed.

There will be a review of his social media footprint, if he has one, to see what they can learn from there, because they want to know, first of all, you know, the motive. Why did he do it? We believe we know, free Gaza, but -- "free Palestine," rather. But we -- we need to be able to confirm that.

We also need to know, was anybody else involved? Now, he went inside the museum, but apparently didn't have any intent to do more damage inside. He didn't have the gun. He actually ditched the gun. In fact, the people inside thought he was a witness and -- and -- and a victim of sorts initially until he admitted that he did the shooting.

So, there are a lot of moving parts. You have the FBI. You have ATF. You have the Metropolitan Police Department. They'll use all the resources they need to really, you know, develop the case they need to -- to develop, to charge this guy and -- and to convict him.

CORNISH: How do you go about investigating sort of his background, his motivations, because we're going to be talking about this possibly as a hate crime, as an act of terrorism. Are there particulars -- particular ways of going about that kind of investigation?

RAMSEY: Social media, family, friends, a lot of these people leave a lot -- a lot behind. They leave a pretty large footprint. And I have no doubt that he probably did as well.

And that's the purpose of executing these search warrants and so forth, to get as much information as possible. And so there will be a lot of interviews that -- that will take place, many of which probably already have taken place again. And if he's cooperating, he'll provide authorities with a lot of that information as well.

I mean, he did confess saying that he did it, and he took them to the firearm that he used to commit the crime. So, if he continues to cooperate, they'll be able to get a lot of information. Again, now, it's about building a strong case against this individual. And that's exactly what authorities are doing now.

CORNISH: Chief Charles Ramsey, CNN's senior law enforcement analyst, thank you.

RAMSEY: Thanks, Audie.

CORNISH: All right, we're going to talk next about those White House Oval Office meetings because yet another world leader found himself in the hot seat following a tense meeting with President Trump.

So, initially, it seemed to be going fine between Trump and the president of South Africa. Then things turned when the president pressed him on false claims about genocide against white South African farmers. In fact, Trump went on to play a video about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have thousands of stories talking about it.

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Sure.

TRUMP: And we have documentaries. We have news stories.

Excuse me, turn the lights down. Turn the lights down. And just put this on. It's right behind you, Johan (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing we can do. There's nothing this parliament can do with or without you. People are going to occupy land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, what that video went on to show were South African opposition politicians. And after it played, South Africa's president said what was on the video doesn't actually represent his government.

The group chat is back.

And, Stephen, I want to start with you because in a way I think this has been the single most revealing Oval Office meeting in terms of showing the president's priorities and helping us understand how he sees the world.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Right. That meeting was the latest Oval Office smackdown we've seen by the president. And world leaders now have a big decision to make, I think, because as we saw with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, they come into the Oval Office and, in a sense, they become a prop for the president's domestic priorities. You know, South Africa has a lot of problems. The legacy of apartheid, some mismanagement by the African national congress over the last 30 years. But there is no evidence that there is a white genocide of South African farmers taking place. But this is something that's very popular among some of the more nationalist aspects of the president's base.

CORNISH: And some of the more prominent political commentators. I know Tucker Carlson has done a lot about this on his show. But I guess what I'm wondering is, the South African president, you know, he brought the top golfer. He brought a -- like all of these gifts. He spent the first few minutes talking about what Trump had done for him with Covid. It's not as though he wasn't prepared to be in that space.

COLLINSON: Right. And that's, I think, the question when you're a diplomat and you're preparing your head of state to come and visit the president, you have to ask, is it worth it, because these leaders are not just dealing with Trump. They have to be careful about their own constituencies back home. We saw this with Keir Starmer. We saw it with Mark Carney when he was over here, the Canadian prime minister a few weeks ago.

[06:40:04]

He had to worry about undermining his own political standing with his own voters who had just elected him because of the confrontation that he faces in the Oval Office.

CORNISH: When you guys are watching these kinds of performances, to your mind, who is it for?

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It's for the audience in America. It's for his MAGA base. But it is also largely -- you have to remember that everything that Trump does has more than one special ingredient of white nationalism. And that is not something that just exists in America. His foreign policy ideology is also heavily influenced by white nationalism. To have the South African president come -- and he also recognizes this white nationalist -- white nationalist bent of President Trump, to bring two white, very prominent leaders along with him, he did that purposely.

CORNISH: Yes.

CROSS: This is a guy who is smart. He's --

CORNISH: Right, the chief of agriculture from the opposition party, who was white.

CROSS: He understands.

CORNISH: And so you have this thing where white South Africans were trying to explain to Trump that there was no genocide.

Doug, who -- who's this for?

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think it's also a global audience. He wants heads of state for other countries to see, I can treat you like this if I want to. Obviously, we saw that with Zelenskyy. That's not going to change. But this also predates the first Trump administration. I think the rules of engagement for diplomats changed in the first Trump administration.

Lord Kim Darroch was the U.K. ambassador to the United States, was tremendously effective in his role, very popular here in Washington. Cables that he got -- or that he would send to London were leaked. That was politically motivated. And, obviously, we see these politics don't stop.

CORNISH: OK, guys, I want you to stick around. There's more to discuss.

I do want to return to one of the big issues of the day because we're continuing to follow this breaking news. Two Israeli embassy staff members killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum. I'm actually going to talk to the CEO of a group that was hosting an event where that couple had just been.

And nobody got a lot of sleep in the House last night. They actually pulled an all-nighter. Right now, they are preparing to vote on President Trump's agenda. This is a live look at the House floor.

And, of course, we'll have more from the group chat after this.

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[06:45:43]

CORNISH: Back to our breaking news this morning.

Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a photo of the two staffers killed in a D.C. shooting. The victims, a young couple about to be engaged. Police say the suspect chanted "free Palestine" as he was arrested.

Now this video, obtained by CNN from an eyewitness, appears to show him being patted down by law enforcement outside the Capital Jewish Museum. The couple had just left an event there organized by the American Jewish Committee.

We're joined now by that group's CEO, Ted Deutch. He's also a former congressman from Florida.

Thank you so much for being here this morning. And I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

TED DEUTCH, CEO, AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: Well, thanks. As am I.

CORNISH: This was a young diplomats event, so there were people kind of from all over the city, different communities. But I understand that the theme was turning pain into purpose. I can't imagine what is going through your head this morning given all that.

DEUTCH: Yes. Last night our -- really our worst fears came true. This was an event -- it's a -- it's an event we all look forward to every year that brings together AJC's young leaders, the American Jewish Committee's young leaders. The -- this year the focus was on -- on humanitarian diplomacy. It was on finding ways to work together in an interfaith way across the -- across the region to help bring peace. And there were Jews. There were friends and allies of the Jewish communities, people from across the -- the diplomatic world. And -- and all of the good feeling was shattered immediately after when these two -- when these two beautiful, young souls were taken by this murderer. This is a horrific reminder to the Jewish community and the world that anti-Semitism often most times is not violent until it becomes violent. And when it does, it become -- it can become deadly. And that's what we have to stop.

CORNISH: Were you familiar with the victims? Have you heard anything from their family or friends?

DEUTCH: Very familiar. Very familiar with both of the victims. This is, I mean Yaron is an Israeli Jew. Sarah is an American Jew. Sarah was deeply involved with AJC. She's traveled with AJC. She cared deeply for our -- our work in the diplomatic space. And she and Yaron had a -- a beautiful relationship. It's a -- it's a tragedy of the worst magnitude that these beautiful young people were -- were taken from us. And it happened at a -- at a time when the Jewish community in the United States and around the world was feeling -- the feeling very much as if the threats were rising, understanding that -- that what starts as words can turn into violent action. And when people are screaming at -- at -- at Jews, when they're not allowing Jews to walk in certain places, when they're telling people -- telling Jews to go back to Poland, telling them to go to the gas, telling them that they're -- they're not welcome, and then labeling them with all kinds of horrific names, that that can lead to violence. And that's -- that's what was on full, horrific display last night. It can't be tolerated. Not by the Jewish community and not -- not by the broader community that also is impacted so dramatically when something like this takes place.

CORNISH: I recall after the Tree of Life Synagogue shootings there was such a concern about how to protect the Jewish community in particular. How are you thinking about security now? This was supposed to be, as you said, it -- it was a big event, and it was at a museum. It's actually very rare to see kind of the shooting of diplomatic staff here in the U.S. How do you think about this going forward?

DEUTCH: Well, you ask an important question, and we think about security.

[06:50:02]

I -- I point out, as we head toward a weekend that -- that on Sunday churches across America will have their doors wide open, welcoming to everyone who -- who arrives. And sadly, because of the situation that the Jewish community faces, virtually every synagogue in America will have some kind of significant security, whether it's a metal detector or police out in front.

The physical security is real and it needs to be a focus. But the -- the bigger question is, how is it that we should have to worry that when a group of Jews gather in one place, that they represent a target. That's the bigger challenge. That's why we have to come together, not just the government, and -- and the government reaction has been strong. The -- the reaction to what happened last night by the Trump administration, by Mayor Bowser and her administration in D.C., we're really grateful for. But more than that, it's everyone across society. It's college professors and doctors and -- and lawyers and -- and store owners, all of them standing together saying they're not -- we will not tolerate this kind of anti-Semitism and hatred that can lead to this kind of horrific violence. We have to come together to -- to say that and to give those words real meaning.

Everyone has a role to play. Everyone has a role to play. And when we sit back and we see the kinds of normalization of anti-Semitism that's transpired on social media that we've seen in too many instances in Philadelphia at the bar with the sign that said "f the Jews," the music video that to the -- a song called "Heil Hitler," we can't tolerate that. We can't just turn away. We have to stand up and stand with the Jewish community to push back, to fight it, to protect, not just the Jewish community, but to protect our democracy, to protect our values and ideals. That's what's at stake here.

CORNISH: Ted Deutch is the CEO of the American Jewish Committee. Thank you so much.

We've got an update on another breaking story, because right now, you're looking at it, the House is voting on President Trump's big, beautiful bill.

The group chat is back.

Now we wait, basically. We're just watching the numbers tick up. In the end, I don't think this bill was as difficult for lawmakers as sort of it had been talked about.

What's going through your mind, Doug, as you look at this?

HEYE: Yes.

CORNISH: Is this about House Speaker Mike Johnson and his ability to get the job done?

HEYE: Yes and no.

CORNISH: Is this about Trump? What are we looking at?

HEYE: Every conversation I had this week with Republican colleagues was, will this get through or not? And I heard the same thing every time. Well, I don't think so. But every time I've bet against Mike -- bet against Mike Johnson, he's won.

So, he's going to win today. This is great news for him. But ultimately this is still Donald Trump's agenda. And of course, he had to get involved to get this past the finish line.

CORNISH: Can you talk about what Democrats kind of -- how they played this experience? Was it effective? I know I heard a lot about Medicaid. But, like, how do they talk about this going forward? You -- you brought up midterms.

CROSS: Yes, I think Democrats played it in the only way they could. They don't have the numbers. And this was going to be on a strict party line vote either way.

What they tried to do was make sure that people in the communities knew what was at stake. I think that to a certain extent they waited a little bit too long to do so after the town halls were initially canceled by Republicans early on.

It is the Medicaid cuts. It is threats to Medicare. It is SNAP. It is what we're seeing with Pell grants, the grants that allow for low income people to be able to actually attend college. All of those things matter. And they're going to keep pressing the flesh, so to speak, when it comes to this because it's going to have massive midterm consequences for Republicans. And we're going to see, you know, whether -- what happens there because Trump doesn't care about the midterms as much because he can -- he can shift around with his own agenda and skip Congress in general. We've seen him do it with some of the DOGE efforts and other things.

CORNISH: I think he cares about the midterms.

CROSS: As well as the executive order. Well, if he cared --

CORNISH: Like, he -- he likes to win things. He doesn't -- yes.

CROSS: If -- if he cared, he would not have done such a huge, great American heist when it comes to creating this chaos around this bill, essentially because he knows that it's going to profit the upper class, millionaires and billionaires. Meanwhile, it is going to screw over the middle class and make the poor class widen. That's what this does.

CORNISH: OK. So, we have a sense of what the message will be going into those midterms for Democrats. Do we have a sense of, I mean, people don't really know what's in it, if I'm being honest.

COLLINSON: Right.

CORNISH: We've just been saying big, beautiful bill. They're all -- are lots of changes that will happen after this is passed.

COLLINSON: That's true. And, to your point, I think it's going to be very interesting to see where this settles because although the Democrats have a lot to work with here, talking about Medicaid cuts, cuts to food assistance, the polls show us that Americans are almost as down or perhaps more down on the Democrats than they are with the president because of his own popularity that -- that is receding.

So, it's interesting when you watch presidents. Sometimes they get their big, first legislative bill through.

[06:55:04] There's a great sense of celebration. And then it ends out with a lot of people voting on that are actually voting on a bill that will cost them their seats in the coming midterm elections. So, I think the end game here is hugely important.

CORNISH: Yes. Very much, when I think of Obamacare, right, in the Obama era?

HEYE: I was on a call -- I was on a call this week with the speaker's office, and they said, this is step six of nine. The reality, it may be 29 steps. This goes to the Senate. There's going to be a lot of ping pong back and forth. This is not what ultimately is going to become law.

CORNISH: But I think it is interesting or helpful to this president to have some kind of legislative win. We've heard a lot about what he can do by himself. Some people have said, has Congress pretty much given up on, like, its job in many ways? There is still a job for them to do and execute it.

We're looking right now at the House floor. I have sat through many of these votes as if -- as you guys have, watching those numbers tick along. We see one present, which I think we're going to learn who that was. But, in the end, Democrats, more or less, held together. Nobody broke.

We're going to take a listen.

SEN. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): On this vote, the yeas are 215, the nays are 214, with one answering present. The bill is passed.

CROWD (chanting): USA! USA! USA! USA!

CORNISH: So, we can See House Speaker Mike Johnson there. And a lot of applause from Republicans in this moment. As Doug said, it was a fractured caucus on the way to this process.

HEYE: Andy Harris from Maryland, the hardliner, who was the present vote.

CORNISH: Ah.

HEYE: That's -- that's one he's going to have to explain, not just to the president, but to his constituents.

CORNISH: So, I want to talk about this as even just -- I'll call it a victory for the House speaker because there was a time where it felt like no Republican speaker could survive even the most basic votes or process. And, like, he's managed to do that.

COLLINSON: That's true. And this was a speaker that came pretty much from nowhere after the chaos -- after the ouster of Speaker McCarthy. And I think he has confounded the expectations of many people in building and knitting this very fractious Republican coalition together. But I think your point is a good one, a lot of the things that he had

to put in this bill to get it through the House by that one vote, they're going to be very problematic for certain Republican senators, some that are running for re-election. When it comes back, it's going to be really interesting to see what -- what it actually looks like.

CORNISH: What kind of pressure does this put on the Senate now, right? Because there is going to be a lot of conversations as they kind of reconcile, right, their part of the legislation. What do you think folks are going to be pointing to, talking about?

CROSS: Medicaid for sure. We've already seen op-eds that have been written by Republican Senate leaders in -- in their -- in their local newspapers, as well as "The New York Times."

CORNISH: Republican Senate leaders.

CROSS: Yes.

CORNISH: OK.

CROSS: Because they recognize that this is going to shut down rural health care. It is going to eradicate the already fragile health care system in many of their districts, particularly because there is a larger percentage of Medicaid recipients who reside in red districts than any place else.

CORNISH: Yes.

CROSS: So, I think that for them, they're paying attention because they know that this is going to have an effect on midterms. But moreover, their states cannot afford to lose that level of coverage.

HEYE: And --

CORNISH: Doug, yes, can you talk about?

HEYE: One -- one constant in Washington is that regardless of party, the House and the Senate usually do not see eye to eye on things.

CORNISH: Yes. Correct.

HEYE: And this is certainly going to play out over the coming weeks when they come back from the Memorial Day recess.

CORNISH: Can I ask what you guys are keeping an eye on, what you're going to be looking for in the days ahead?

Stephen.

COLLINSON: There's a gala tonight out at the president's golf club for people who bought into his meme token.

CORNISH: This is the crypto gala.

COLLINSON: That's right.

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: And it shows us, I think, about how a lot of the ethical concerns that normally shadow a presidency have been obliterated because a lot of people are worried that there are foreigners who are buying influence with the president. And it hasn't got that much attention.

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: And I think that tells us the story.

CORNISH: I think some of it is people are confused about how crypto works.

COLLINSON: Yes, what it is. Yes.

CORNISH: But there is great movement and he is -- people talking about profiting from this moment.

Ameshia, what are you going to be looking for?

CROSS: Well, the Workforce and Education Committee hosted a hearing yesterday. It was an anti-DEI hearing. And I think that what we're going to continue to see from this administration is leaning in more on anti-DEI policies and what that actually means, not only for colleges and universities, but also in the workforce. We're going to see a lot more legislation passed in the states. But I also think that we're going to see more bills introduced at the federal level that basically eradicate progress and those areas of progress and success for black and brown people.

CORNISH: Doug Heye, what are you going to be keeping an eye on?

HEYE: In the coming weeks? Store shelves. We've heard a lot about how there are fewer cargo ships coming in, and that those cargo ships have -- have less cargo on them.

[07:00:06]

That means less truckers are delivering things to stores. And if we start to see empty store shelves at your Targets, at your Walmarts and so forth, that's going to be a very real, political problem.

CORNISH: All right, you guys, thank you so much for being with us. It's a very difficult day. CNN's following a lot of news right now, including that shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum here in D.C.

I want to thank you for being with us. And "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.