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Trump Cancels Meeting With Top Democrats on Spending Bill; Democrats Demand Extension of Obamacare Subsidies as Condition of Voting for Spending Bill to Keep Government Open; Shooting at ICE Facility in Dallas, Two Detainees Killed, One in Serious Condition as Per the DHS. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 24, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

SEN. JOHN THUNE, (R-SD) MAJORITY LEADER OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE: -- the president. We could take it up today and pass it. It is that straightforward. And in the past, that's always the way this has worked. And in the past, as I said, 13 times when the Democrats had the majority in the Senate, this is the way that it was done. And Republicans worked with them on a -- on these short-term continuing resolutions.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF 'INSIDE POLITICS': Let's talk about one of the -- really the main Democratic demand that they want in exchange for keeping the government funded, which is to extend healthcare subsidies. There is support across the political spectrum for extending healthcare assistance. I'm putting some numbers up on the screen -- 63 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of independents want that. Are you concerned about backlash for not saying yes to doing this as part of the short-term spending bill?

THUNE: Well, I mean, in short-term spending bill is just that, it's a short-term spending bill to give us time to negotiate these bigger issues. We want to get an appropriations bills done this year. That's not something they did when the Democrats had the majority. Senator Schumer didn't bring a single appropriations bill to the floor last year. We've done three of them already. We want to do a bunch more. And this enables us to have the time to do that and to have discussions about other issues, like the premium tax credit issue.

There are obviously issues related to that, that -- there -- that that particular program is desperately in need of reform. And I think that should be a part of the conversation as well. And I think everybody is willing to have that conversation. But you shouldn't hijack a bill that will keep the government open in order to do a lot of extraneous things. And this is a program that costs $365 billion.

And so, if we're going to have that conversation, we should, but it ought to be in a place in time where we can work through some of these issues and look at some of the reforms that would come with that to make that program work --

BASH: Do you feel --

THUNE: -- in a way that is a better deal for the American taxpayer.

BASH: -- they're going to -- a lot of them are going to expire at the end of the calendar year though. So in the meantime, people could lose the help that they're getting in purchasing health insurance. Do you see any benefit in doing something before that happened? And even more broadly, are you sort of -- sounds like you're committing maybe with some reforms to extending that as long as it's done through proper process.

THUNE: Yeah, it ought to be done. It ought to be done in regular order, Dana. I mean, again, this is not the -- this is not the time or the place to do this. But bear in mind, it isn't just this the Democrats are asking for. They're asking for hundreds of billions of dollars of additional spending. They are literally wiping out the rural hospital fund that we put together, $50 billion that's available to help support rural hospitals, and that's wiped out in their proposal as well.

So, I think this is an issue that needs to be discussed. We need to figure out what the path forward is. Obviously, they're of the 23 million or so people that get their insurance on the exchange, over half of them this last year, according to a lot of the data that we've seen, didn't even file a claim and probably don't even know they have coverage because a lot of these folks get auto-enrolled. The payments are made directly to the insurance companies.

Like I said, this is a program that needs reform, but I think everybody is willing to sit down and talk about how to make that happen in a context where it should be discussed, not as a hostage to keep the government open. I mean, right now, as I said, we have a bill sitting on the desk in the Senate --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: But what if people lose their benefits in the meantime,

THUNE: -- that could keep the government open. Well, I mean, I think people aren't going to lose their benefits is that -- this is expires at the end of the calendar year. And what we're talking about here is a seven-week continuing resolution to fund the government till November 21. And I assume in that time period, there'll be plenty of opportunities for us to negotiate and discuss what the future of the premium tax credit program looks like. But it ought to be done --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Would you commit to doing that as a way to keep the government open?

THUNE: Well, I've said before, I'm happy to have the conversation. I mean, I got to see what's going to be proposed. I'm hoping that the Democrats actually have a proposal. What they're talking about is a straight up extension, which as I said costs $365 billion, has no reforms in it. And this is a program that's desperately in need of reform. BASH: Speaking of healthcare, I do want to ask about President Trump along with HHS Secretary, RFK Jr., saying this week that pregnant women should limit using Tylenol during pregnancy because of a "very increased risk of autism." And that's a claim that is not grounded in science. How worried are you, sir, that RFK Jr. and the president will actually, with what they said, adversely impact the health of American women and their babies?

THUNE: Well, I'm obviously very concerned about that. I am a father and a grandfather, and just have as of about seven months ago, a newborn grandson. So --

BASH: Congratulations.

THUNE: Obviously, pregnant -- thank you. Pregnant moms is something I have a very high level of interest in. And I do, I agree. I think that science ought to guide these discussions, these conversations and our decision making around our health. There are studies out there that they reference, but again, I think there are an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol.

[12:35:00]

And so, I think that, obviously, my view is we ought be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure that they are well grounded in science and medicine, and where we're taking the consultation, advice of experts in the field, and ensuring that these things are all well documented.

BASH: So given the fact that it sounds like you do have some concerns about it, and RFK Jr. is in his job because you and the majority of the Senate voted to confirm him, is there anything that you can do to push back or call him, or is there anything you can do at all, or should you do in order to change the public discourse?

THUNE: Right. Well, the Senate Finance Committee had an oversight hearing recently where he testified and I think he's scheduled to come before, or maybe the CDC Director, Dr. Oz is scheduled to come before the HELP Committee -- the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as well, to talk about some of these issues. But again, and I -- the secretary has a responsibility and obligation to restore and return the trust of the American people and the decision making process there. And I think the way to do that is to make sure that the decisions are grounded in science.

But yes, there needs to be oversight, there needs to be accountability, and there needs to be transparency into this decision making process and ensure that it is governed by science. And we have a number of physicians, as you know, who are Republican Senators who have pretty strong views about this, and I think have made those clear, not only in the last few days, but prior to that as these decisions are made about America's public health, they ought to be grounded in science. And that's my belief. And I hope that the secretary adheres to that. There will certainly be, I think, future opportunities for him to come in and to defend his views and decision making process that leads him to decisions that he makes.

BASH: We'll have more of my conversation with the Senate Majority Leader John Thune in a moment. When we come back though, we have some breaking news on what is going on in Dallas, where three people were shot at an ICE facility. We're getting new information about the victims. More after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:42:58]

BASH: We now have more on our Breaking News, the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is now with me. Priscilla, what are you learning from your sources about the victims now?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, we were talking shortly ago that at least two of those who were shot at this facility were detainees. Well, now, I am learning from a homeland security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, that two detainees were killed and one is in serious condition following, of course, this shooting at the Dallas ICE Facility. Now, earlier in the morning, we had learned of the shooting and the Acting ICE Director said at the time that those who were shot were taken to the hospital.

It's unclear, where they were declared deceased. But the latest information from the Homeland Security spokesperson is that two detainees are killed or were killed, and one is in serious condition. Now, during an earlier press conference, authorities did not provide details of the injured or fatalities, though they did say that no ICE agents were shot or injured. We also know that the suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Now, Dana, we're also getting a statement from the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, in the form of a post on X where she said, I'm just going to read part of it, "These horrendous killings must serve as a wake-up call to the far left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences." Of course, Dana, we've seen over the course of the morning how the administration is tying this to the ramped up attacks and threats against ICE. And then she went out to say that, "The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop." And that she is praying for the victims and their families.

We do not have the names of the victims or families. We also do not know yet the motivations of the suspected shooter. But what we are learning in this moment is that two detainees were killed, detainees who were being taken to this facility, and one is in serious condition, Dana.

BASH: Just awful. Absolutely tragic. Thank you so much for that, Priscilla. Really appreciate it. And coming up, President Trump is pressuring the Justice Department to investigate his opponents and the television networks to cancel his critics. What does the Senate majority leader think of that? His answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:48:33]

BASH: Welcome back. Here's the rest of my conversation with Senate Majority Leader, John Thune.

Senator, Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves after an almost week- long suspension. I want to listen to part of his opening monologue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST OF "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!" ABC NEWS: Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the FCC, telling an American company, we can do this the easy way or the hard way and that these companies can find ways to change conduct and take action on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead. In addition to being a direct violation of the First Amendment, it is not a particularly intelligent threat to make in public. Ted Cruz said he sounded like a mafioso, although I don't know -- if you want to hear a mob boss make a threat like that, you have to hide a microphone in a deli and park outside in a van with a tape recorder all night long.

(LAUGH)

This genius said it on a podcast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Do you think that the FCC chair and the president went too far here?

THUNE: Well, I -- first off, Dana, I think as you know, I'm a big believer in the First Amendment and free speech. And I think that any decisions that are made with respect to programming ought to be made by the companies. Obviously, individual networks are making some of these decisions based on their criteria. In most cases, I assume that's going to be economic decisions based on ratings and revenue and that sort of thing.

[12:50:00]

But yeah, coercive use of government shouldn't be something that is used. I think there were examples obviously in the previous administration where the Biden administration put pressure on social media platforms that are communicating news and information to the American people. So these -- in any circumstance, the answer is, these ought to be decisions left to the marketplace.

Now, having said that, broadcast companies operate on public airwaves that are owned by the American people, which comes with a higher level of responsibility, obviously, and certain requirements that they have to live under when it comes to the agency that oversees that, which is the FCC. But as a general matter, my view is that, yeah, the government ought to stay out of the free speech marketplace unless there are clear violations that violate laws that are in place to protect the American people.

BASH: So the FCC chair and the president, they made a mistake here, is that what you're saying?

THUNE: Well, I don't accept they made a mistake. They were making statements. But as somebody who serves on the Senate Commerce Committee and reference to -- Senator Cruz referenced, he's the Chairman of the Committee. He's made some observations about this. This isn't an area that I think the FCC ought to be wandering into.

BASH: And just to sort of follow-up, the president put on his Truth Social platform. First of all, that the White House was told that Kimmel had been canceled. So he's not upset that he's back. And then he said, last time, I went after them, they gave me, meaning ABC, $16 million. This sounds even more lucrative, a true bunch of losers. Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad ratings. He's threatening to sue again. Is that the right approach?

THUNE: I can't -- again, I'm not going to speak for the president or the administration. He did win a big lawsuit. I think there is an expectation, again, when you operate on public airwaves, that there be certain standards of truth and facts that you operate around. And I think the reason there was a settlement there is because the courts found in the president's favor. And if he wants to pursue litigation, obviously that's his prerogative.

BASH: Yeah.

THUNE: But, again, my view is when it comes to the FCC, when it comes to governing authorities and governmental power, it shouldn't be used in a coercive way when it comes to the First Amendment. I also think that people who -- and companies that have people on their airwaves ought to pay a lot of attention to whether or not they're speaking truth and facts. And there were some clear things that, in my view at least, in the statements that were made, as I said this before, they were incredibly inappropriate and questionable with regard to their accuracy and that's something also I think that the companies ought to pay attention to. But they're going to make the decisions based on criteria that they have. In most cases, those are going to be economic decisions.

BASH: Yeah. And of course, the court agreed with the settlement. They didn't -- with -- which was part of what ABC agreed to. They didn't say that ABC did anything wrong before they actually got to the settlement. I want to ask you a big picture question here, Mr. Leader, which is just to take a look at some of the actions that the Trump administration has taken in recent months. We've been talking about the threats to ABC for bringing back Jimmy Kimmel, a big one over the weekend, was telling his Attorney General to target political rivals by name.

And then a part of that, he fired the U.S. attorney involved in looking into evidence on some of his political opponents because they didn't prosecute, fired the heads of several independent agencies. And of course, he's asking the Supreme Court to let him fire the Fed Governor. He's doing all of this as you and fellow Republicans in Congress are largely silent. Should Americans take the silence as support? THUNE: Well, I think first off, there's always a lot of -- there are a lot of things that are said, there's a lot of rhetoric, and then there's you got to see what happens and follow up with actions. I mean, I have every confidence that Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, is going to make good decisions with respect to how she uses her prosecutorial powers. And I think we ought to have an independent Fed, I've said that. I've made that abundantly clear. I think we need an independent Central Bank and -- but there are a lot of things that are said, but I think you have to see actually in the end, what gets done, Dana.

And yes, we have a responsibility as an independent, co-equal branch of the government to make sure that we're doing appropriate oversight of these decisions. And I believe that we'll do that.

BASH: Do you feel like that's happening?

THUNE: We have a number of committees that have oversight. Well, I think, yeah, I mean, you asked me about HHS earlier. There was a very -- rather I would say argumentative explosive hearing a few weeks ago in front of the Senate Finance Committee on some of these -- on the subjects that you just mentioned. And I expect that will continue.

[12:55:00]

There have been a lot of things, as I said, that presidents say -- I've been around several administrations, several presidents -- every one of them tries to assert as much executive powers they possibly can. And sometimes that gets tested in the courts and obviously, sometimes there's oversight that happens through the Congress, through the power of the purse, and other powers that the Article I branch of the government possesses.

BASH: Before I let you go, we're out of time, but your colleague, Lindsey Graham, was on Fox last night and once again suggested that there should be a third Trump term. I know that he has a sense of humor. Maybe he was joking, but he's not alone in saying this. Can you say definitively as the Senate Majority Leader, you do not believe constitutionally that President Trump or any president could have a third term?

THUNE: Well, I think the Constitution speaks to that issue, and I think it's pretty plain, Dana.

BASH: OK, so no Trump 2028?

(LAUGH)

THUNE: Well, I didn't see -- I know Lindsey said that before, and I think he generally expects a pretty lighthearted response when he says it.

BASH: OK. All right. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

THUNE: Thanks, Dana. BASH: And thank you for joining "Inside Politics." "CNN News Central" starts after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)