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Trump Agenda Bill to See Full Vote Today in House; Jury Partially Acquits Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Judge Denies Bail; 'Star Trek' Legend George Takei on Hope & American Democracy. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 03, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, July 3. Here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

An all-nighter in the House. GOP rebels now on board to move the president's Big, Beautiful Bill forward. A final vote could happen any minute now.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC AGNIFILO, SEAN COMBS'S ATTORNEY: Today is a victory of all victories for Sean Combs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Sean Combs found guilty on just two of five charges. His bail, however, denied. So how long could he be behind bars?

And he is the "Star Trek" legend known for fighting injustice off- screen. How George Takei's lived experience has shaped his views on patriotism, protest, and the state of democracy.

Six a.m. here, and live pictures of the House floor, where Hakeem Jeffries has been speaking for just a little over an hour for the so- called magic minute there.

Lawmakers continue to debate President Trump's sweeping domestic policy agenda. The minority leader, of course, leading that there.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Audie Cornish. Great to have you starting your day with me.

Boy, a lot to cover there in Washington. It is the breaking news we'll be following with you throughout the morning. This record-breaking all-nighter in the House to get President Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill to the finish line.

At this moment, that measure is on track for a full vote in probably about two hours. Getting there, though, no small feat. Despite hours of arm twisting, five Republicans voted no on a key provision to move that bill forward last night, leaving it in a state of limbo. House Speaker Mike Johnson, of course, can only afford three

defections, and he's also facing that July 4th deadline, which was set by the president to get the bill passed.

President Trump, of course, keeping his thumb on the scale all night, complete with this Truth Social post shortly after midnight. Quote, "What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!"

CNN's Brian Todd is live on Capitol Hill. He's been literally burning the midnight oil. Now, the 6 a.m. oil.

So, as we inch closer here, Brian, to this full floor vote, the fact that we got to this point, how did that happen? How was the speaker, or maybe the president, able to get enough support just to move that?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, it was through a marathon engagement of negotiating, kind of leaning on people, courting them. This has been going on for weeks, and especially over the past 24 hours.

Speaker Johnson and President Trump have really been trying to, you know, court those hardliners who are holding out into turning to their side.

And finally, finally, a couple of hours ago, we got word that they had, in fact, turned and were going to vote "yes." A couple of hours ago, it seemed uncertain whether they would even get past that procedural vote and that motion to then move forward.

But they did get past that, because four out of the five Republican holdouts did come to Speaker Johnson's side.

Now, the latest guidance we're getting now is that this final vote on the passage of this House bill could come, could start, actually, within about a half hour. It could start between 6:30 and 7 a.m. So, it's coming fast.

You see Hakeem Jeffries on the floor there. As you mentioned, he's been on the floor for about an hour, but they're going to be wrapping up this debate fairly soon. We believe this vote could start -- could start maybe between 6:30 and 7 a.m.

But again, for Speaker Johnson, it's just been an excruciating few weeks. And the past 24 hours, especially, have been challenging for the speaker as he's tried to wrangle these last few votes.

There were five Republican holdouts on the floor until just a couple of hours ago. They were Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, Thomas Massie, Andrew Clyde, Victoria Spartz, and Keith Self. Four out of those five came around to Speaker Johnson's side.

The only one who remained unknown throughout was Brian Fitzpatrick, the moderate Republican from Pennsylvania.

And of course, all of these members and all of those holdouts thinking about how this is going to play in their midterm reelection campaigns next year.

And this is going to be a big part of, you know, whatever fallout comes from this bill on the Republican side. And we'll see how that plays out, of course, in the next several months.

But again, this was a very tough process for Speaker Johnson. He was under enormous pressure to get this bill to the president's desk by tomorrow, the Fourth of July. It looks like he's going to get there.

Speaker Johnson and his allies have said they believe they have the votes for passage. They are confident in that. It is not a certainty, we have to say, but they are very confident at this point that they will get to the finish line. They seem to be pretty close to it at this point -- Erica.

HILL: Yes, that's for sure. Brian, appreciate it. Thank you. And I know you'll keep us posted when that vote ultimately begins.

Joining me now in the group chat: Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Lulu Garcia-Navarro, "New York Times" journalist and podcast host; and Audrey Fahlberg, who's a politics reporter with "The National Review." Nice to see all of you this morning.

So, Isaac, let's kick things off here. As -- as Brian noted, looking like this is going to pass. Is there any wiggle room here at this hour?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't seem like. And I'll tell you, Erica, I spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill yesterday, standing right off the House floor. I'm paid to follow what's going on here? You are, too. All of us are.

And it is incredibly hard to make sense of what even this process has been. An amendment on the amendment, a vote on the rule.

And very little attention, first of all, I'd say to what is actually in this bill, whether it's the Medicaid changes or the immigration funding, for more of what the administration wants to do there; changes about how A.I. might be regulated; changes about clean energy credits. It's a huge amount of things in this bill.

And yet, what we have seen is it moving through literally overnight in the Senate and in the House, over and over again, where there -- the -- the attention has just been on which votes are going to switch, which aren't.

Not a huge surprise, given how the Republicans in Congress have been approaching things these last few months. They are voting where Donald Trump wanted them to be.

And now I think the question does move to the politics of this. The Republicans were claiming a mandate. Donald Trump was claiming a mandate just a couple of months ago. These razor-thin margins in these middle-of-the-night votes call that somewhat into question, whether they have anything close to the mandate they talked about. And look, for the Democrats, they -- they had a big event yesterday before all the voting started, and they were feeling like they were probably going to lose, but that this may be the thing that powers what the midterms look like next year.

HILL: That is the hope for Democrats, obviously.

DOVERE: Yes.

HILL: From their view, that they want this to power the midterms.

For Donald Trump, Lulu, when we look at this, it's -- it's fascinating the way that elements of this bill are structured in terms of the things that the Democrats are really going to hit on. Right? Let's say Medicaid, health care access. Those may not be felt as immediately as some of the benefits that Republicans will want to point to.

How do you see that playing out, Lulu?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I think it's one of the most interesting parts of this, which is Republicans learned from 2017 when they passed their first tax cuts, of which this actual bill extends when it becomes a law, that if you wait to give the good stuff, it's not going to be felt by the American people.

And so, what this is going to do is it's going to give the good stuff first, which is Americans are going to get their tax breaks before the next time that they pay taxes.

And the bad stuff, according to Democrats, or the hard stuff, which is basically the cut to entitlements -- Medicaid, SNAP, et cetera -- isn't going to be felt until later.

Now, that doesn't help vulnerable Republicans, because it's still going to happen before the midterms. But it certainly, in terms of the way that this is going to be viewed by the American people, it's going to delay some of the effects of this.

And I think that makes the case that Democrats are making a little bit harder, at least in the short term.

HILL: And when we look at where things stand in terms of the president, even just his Truth Social post last night, Audrey, looking at this: MAGA is not happy. It's costing you votes.

We know the president is leaning into the politics of this. It's also yet another example, I think we could argue, of just what a stronghold he has on the party.

AUDREY FAHLBERG, POLITICS REPORTER, "THE NATIONAL REVIEW": Oh, absolutely. I mean, he's been ramping up political pressure on holdouts for months now.

Of course, he's on the phone with some of these holdouts throughout this vote last night. And of course, this also demonstrates that, when House GOP lawmakers hold a big vote ahead of a recess, they can dangle that recess ahead of these lawmakers, who just really want to also be on vacation with their families, of course.

But look, this is a massive win for House and Senate Republican leaders. The president had largely delegated the particulars of this legislation to -- to congressional GOP leaders, while maintaining, you know, the border security provisions are something he's cared about. The populist tax-break policies that he campaigned on: no tax on tips, overtime pay, car loan interest. Those are, of course, temporary in the bill.

He's really cared about those. But the particulars, he's left with congressional GOP leaders.

And so, I think, you know, as we've seen over the past few weeks, there's been a massive conflict between the fiscal hawks, who are saying, you know, these Medicaid -- modest Medicaid reform proposals in this bill that moderates are caring about, these don't go far enough for fiscal hawks. Right?

[06:10:02]

But one of the challenges for Republicans, as Lulu said here, is with these Medicaid reforms. You know, they're -- they're not even huge Medicaid reforms, but these are huge challenges for moderate Republicans, because in recent years, the GOP has become a more working-class party. Many of these people rely on entitlements.

And so, this is going to be a challenge for Republicans in the midterms. Again, not fiscal hawks, most of whom hail from deep red districts and won't be worried about any kind of effects of Medicaid in the coming midterm cycle. But this may be a challenge for moderates.

But again, a lot of those work requirements don't kick in until later.

HILL: All right. Group chat, stay with me. Lots more to discuss, of course, throughout the hour.

Also ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, as we follow this breaking news in the House, preparing to vote on the president's agenda, there are questions about the math and whether, as the kids say, its actually mathing.

And a closer look at how voters feel about this massive bill.

Plus, Sean Combs denied bail after a mixed verdict. Why the judge cited the defense in his decision to keep the music mogul behind bars.

And why are the streets of Philadelphia lined with trash? We'll explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but I'd just pay them workers whatever the hell they're asking for, because I would hate to live on this street. I would hate. No, no, no, no, no. That is no, no, no, no, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:15:44]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): On behalf of every single American, I'm on this House floor after 6 a.m., and I'm planning to take my sweet time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries there just moments ago, of course, on the House floor. He actually began speaking, I believe, it was 4:55 a.m. Still going there for the so-called magic minute. A little over an hour and 20 minutes at this point.

House Speaker Johnson, though, is expecting a vote to come, possibly even could happen within the next hour, telling our reporters he really hopes to have the president's agenda by 8 a.m.

So, we'll continue to keep an eye, of course, on Washington and on those developments for you.

We're also following other developments, though, out of here in New York. Sean "Diddy" Combs still behind bars this morning after a split verdict in his federal criminal trial. Of course, the question is, how long will he remain behind bars?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Puffy, go! Go, Puffy, go! Go, Puffy, go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Puffy, go! Go, Puffy, go! Go, Puffy, go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Puffy, go! Go, Puffy, go! Go, Puffy, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Supporters out there chanting, of course, in the wake of that verdict announcement on Wednesday.

Combs was acquitted on the most serious charges, which could have resulted in a life sentence. His defense team taking a victory lap outside the courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGNIFILO: Today is a great victory. It's a great victory for Sean Combs. It's a great victory for the jury system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Combs will not be free right away. And it turns out his attorney's own words may be the reason.

Combs is facing sentencing on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. His lawyers had asked for him to be released on bail. The judge, however, denied that request, citing Combs's violent history, telling his legal team, quote, "You full-throatedly, in your closing argument, told the jury that there was violence here. And domestic violence is violence."

Joining me now, Dave Aronberg, former state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida.

Dave, nice to see you, as always.

So, when we look at where things stand here this morning, the fact that the judge, right, then told Diddy's defense team, Look, I'm using your words. You're the one who said there's violence now. What does that tell you about where things could end up in terms of sentencing?

DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Erica, good to be with you.

Yes. The defense was hoisted by their own petard, to use a Shakespearian phrase. But keep in mind that, generally, in federal court, if you're convicted of a crime that can get you up to ten years in prison, you're going to be taken into custody pending sentencing. So, that shouldn't be a surprise here.

And Judge Subramanian mentioned Diddy's propensity for violence. That's sort of tipped his hand as to where he's going on sentencing, which makes me believe, yes, he's going to give Diddy prison time.

Now, how much? Well, there are sentencing guidelines. And the judge is not supposed to use stuff against him that he was acquitted of, like racketeering, like human trafficking, when it comes to sentencing. But he can use his violent tendencies.

I mean, Judge Subramanian saw that awful video that was first aired by CNN from the Intercontinental Hotel. He heard about Diddy's drug use. And so, he's going to give him a prison sentence.

Now, I would say probably at least maybe two years, maybe two to a maximum of five years. Remember, he gets ten months of time as credit that he's already served.

HILL: And the sentencing, I know it was scheduled for -- I believe it's October 3rd. But there is some -- some wiggle room there. The judge saying that that could actually be moved up sooner.

ARONBERG: Correct. And the defense wants him out as soon as possible. Diddy does not want to be incarcerated another day. He's used to the high life, the life of privilege, and to be able to enjoy that lifestyle, not be stuck in this horrible facility he's in now.

But, you know, actions have consequences. And no matter what, no matter how many supporters he has outside the courtroom, pouring baby oil on each other, I mean, what has happened to our society? That he will always be the guy who manhandled Cassie. That's on the video. That's what everyone can see.

So, he's going to have to live with that legacy in the court of public opinion.

HILL: There's been a lot of discussion about the three charges, right? Where he was found not guilty. One of those, that racketeering conspiracy charge. Do you believe that the FDNY overcharged here?

ARONBERG: I do, and I was the state attorney for Palm Beach County for 12 years. And I often talk about not overcharging.

[06:20:03]

When you overcharge, you lose credibility in the jury's eyes. And so, I do think this was overcharged.

And the defense used it against the prosecutors, because they said, you know, this is a -- a group of individuals who may be loyal to Diddy, but it's not an ongoing criminal enterprise. And I think the jury believed that.

And as far as the human trafficking, well, that hurt their credibility when it came to human trafficking, which there was strong evidence.

I was surprised, actually, he got acquitted on the human trafficking as it relates to Cassie. I mean, they had that video. You need to show commercial sex acts with force, fraud, or coercion.

What was on that video was force. And all you need to show is one, one time that Cassie said no. One time when there was force.

But apparently, the jury just didn't believe them. And this is a post- MeToo world we're living in, Erica. Instead of believe all women, it's doubt women who don't leave right away, I guess.

HILL: It is interesting to see whether even this -- the court of public opinion, very different, obviously, from what happens in a courtroom, but whether it could impact people coming forward in their own instances.

Dave, really appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you.

ARONBERG: Thank you.

HILL: Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING, as Florida opens a migrant detention camp dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, Audie sat down with George Takei for his take.

The actor, of course, spent part of his childhood in U.S. internment camps during World War II.

Plus, we are, of course, keeping a very close watch on Capitol Hill. Congress holding another all-nighter as this Big, Beautiful Bill faces its final hurdle. That final debate underway right now. The vote, up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFRIES: -- The American people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:56]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE TAKEI, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: There's a sense of loyalty to the men and women you serve with. A sense of family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: "Star Trek" legend George Takei continuing to captivate audiences, of course, with his iconic role as Sulu, a character who embodies courage, resilience and loyalty.

Off-screen, he's lived those same values, from fighting for civil rights in the '60s to becoming an LGBTQ activist. In his new book, "It Rhymes with Takei," he shares the experiences that made him and what they reveal about democracy today.

He is Audie's guest on "The Assignment" this week, reflecting on hope, the importance of taking a stand, and how his family's incarceration in a Japanese internment camp shaped his life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAKEI: We had very protective parents. And they -- and they were exemplars for me and after the war, too. They -- my father explained to me that the American Constitution is a great form of government.

He used to quote to me Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "Ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people." He said, those are noble words. That's what makes American democracy great.

But the weakness of American democracy is also in those words, because people are fallible human beings, and they make mistakes. Even great presidents can get swept up in the hysteria of the times.

Because to Roosevelt, the West Coast of the United States was just like Pearl Harbor. It was open, unprotected, and vulnerable. And here were these people that look exactly like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor. And so, he panicked out of ignorance.

And this is where teachers and librarians are the pillars of democracy. They can teach them this truth: that people, even great presidents, can be stampeded by hysteria. And that's what we're going through right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: You have a president who is now saying he's carrying out mass deportations because it's popular. Or saying that he has popular support for -- for going after undocumented migrants.

And it made me think, as I was reading your book, about the fact that a majority of Americans at the time, in the '40s, supported the removal of Japanese Americans.

And so, how does your experience of that inform your thinking of the way the president is saying now; that there's somehow -- there are, at times, popular support for these kinds of -- these kinds of actions?

TAKEI: The important thing -- and my father taught me this when I was a teenager. I had many, many after dinner conversations. People, Americans need to speak out.

We were a small minority and -- and cowed, really, under the force, the -- the huge tidal-wave force against us. And Japanese Americans, when you have rifles with bayonets pointed at you.

And I, as a 5-year-old, I saw a bayonet pointed at my father right at our front door. I was terrified, and I'll never forget that.

But politicians lie. And people believe that lie, because there's hysteria rampant at that time. And in our time today, right now. And it's a situation that is completely anti-American. People must speak out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: And you can catch, of course, new episodes of "The Assignment" every Thursday.

Just ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, the verdict is in for Sean Combs. Why he was denied bail, despite being found not guilty on his most serious charges.

Plus, we're keeping a close watch on the House floor as Trump's Big.