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Isa Soares Tonight
Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" Passes in the House; Liverpool Star Diogo Jota Dies in Car Crash. Portuguese Footballer Diogo Jota Dies in a Car Crash in Spain; U.S. House Passes President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 03, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, and a very warm welcome, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, we'll bring you the heartbreaking story
of the death of football star Diogo Jota and his brother. We'll have that in just a moment. But first, I do want to begin this hour with breaking
news out of Capitol Hill, where U.S. House Republicans are expected to pass a massive bill that we've been bringing to your attention, in fact.
Speaking all week about this, and this bill would advance Trump's domestic agenda, and that is the best that happened at any moment. Speaker Mike
Johnson, as you could see, is making remarks right now and has been speaking for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once he finishes speaking, then it's
the full chamber expected to vote.
And this comes after what has been a record-setting opposition speech, I think we can call it that, by Democratic leader -- lasting more than nine
hours. We saw Hakeem Jeffries just for -- just over nine hours, wrapping up a short time ago after slamming the measure as an all-out assault on
ordinary Americans, and warning that people will die as a result of the cuts to the healthcare.
We are now looking -- House Speaker Mike Johnson talking about the President's bill, Big Beautiful Bill, as the President has called it. And
he's called it, you know, it will define the -- make the country strongest and more prosperous. Let's listen in.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): That's right.
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: Now, I'm going to say this as they mock America and mock everything and mock the bill. We'll see how the people feel about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, order!
JOHNSON: So, listen, seriously. As friends and colleagues, really across the aisle, what we celebrate tomorrow is the nation's birthday. Let's put
the politics aside for a minute, and let's reflect on our blessings. No kidding, really. Tomorrow is the 249th birthday of our nation, and we --
that's right.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll stick to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, USA!!!
JOHNSON: I mean this sincerely, I thank my colleagues for standing. We all should be united, and that we are, we are -- we have squabbles, we have
partisan debates and all of this. But at the end of the day, we're all Americans, man. And we've got to -- we've got to believe that. We've got to
know it. We've got to recognize that we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. It's not even close!
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: My friends and colleagues, we are so blessed. We should not take it for granted. We live in the most free, the most successful, the most
powerful, the most benevolent nation that has ever been on the face of the earth. And there's a reason for that. The reason that we are the greatest
nation is because we were built on the ultimate foundation.
And the bold declaration that my friend Hakeem Jeffries articulated earlier, it's true. We unite under that. The bold declaration that we do
hold these truths to be self-evident. What is a self-evident truth? It's something that's obvious. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all
men are created equal.
It does not say born equal, it says created equal. And that it is our creator -- yes --
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: It is our creator that gives us our rights. See, the powerful thing about that is we're the first nation in the history of the world that
acknowledged that our rights do not derive from government. They come from God himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: You see that -- those words up there, that motto, it says "in God we trust" right above the speaker's rostrum. You know, a previous Congress
put that there in the early '60s in the height of the Cold War.
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There's a little visitor's guide that people get when they do tours late at night. You probably seen your constituents and visitors and friends get the
guide, if you turn, I think it's about to page 21, it explains why that's there, and it says, "Congress voted to put that there as a rebuke to the
Soviet's world view", at the height of the Cold War.
Why? Because communism, socialism find their root in Marxism. And Marxism begins with the belief that there is no God. It's wrong. And this Congress
made --
SOARES: If you're just joining us, let me bring you up-to-date with what we are looking at. These are images coming to us from the U.S. House floor.
The Speaker, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson there addressing the House, because we are standing by for a final full House vote on President Trump's
Big Beautiful Bill, a bill that we are discussing here at great length on the show, a bill that has faced many opposition, much opposition not just
from the Democrats, but also from many holdouts, several holdouts within the Republican Party.
Holdouts that President Trump has been pressuring, has been meeting with to try and get them on board. And we are about to see, once the Speaker of the
House stops talking as you can see there, stops addressing the House, then the vote can begin. It will be held after what nearly eight-hour speech.
Historic final House speech by Hakeem, Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries who addressed, who addressed the House. Speaking for one of the record longest
House speeches to delay today --
JOHNSON: Let's finish the job --
SOARES: It's time for action --
JOHNSON: On the bill --
SOARES: There we go. Time for action. Vote yes. Now, from what I understood earlier today, and Speaker Mike Johnson addressed this. He had
said earlier he hadn't slept during the overnight slog. And the thinking is, there were one, that he might lose -- Republicans might lose, party
might lose one or two GOP votes, the minimum -- the maximum is three votes.
Now, they're about to start voting. Let's go to Annie Grayer. Annie, we are now about to see the votes commence. Give us a sense of one, what we're
likely to see now, how likely the votes will take, and a sense of which way, whether President Trump now has this in the bag.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, Republican leadership and the White House are very confident that they now have the votes to pass the
House and get it to the President's desk by July 4th. The deadline that the President has wanted to sign it by. So, we have seen this tumultuous
process play out.
We've been covering every step of the way. If you were to just go back 24 hours, Republicans didn't have the votes. They were -- at least, five
Republicans voting against this. But overnight through lots of painstaking and direct negotiations between the President and his team and the Speaker,
they were able to convince all but one to advance this to this final stage.
I actually caught up with Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who was the only Republican to vote against the rule, the procedural vote last
night. And he told me to watch the board whereas -- so, we will be closely following his vote when they finally call it. But this is just a huge
moment for the President and his team and Republicans on Capitol Hill who have been debating this bill for months.
There have been issues on all sides of the aisle here. You have Republicans -- you have -- you have Republicans who have been upset with the Medicaid
cuts. You have Republicans who have been upset that there's not enough spending. And we're now told that this vote is officially underway. So, we
are going to be checking this vote total very closely.
We know that Republicans want to vote and get out of town as quickly as possible. So, unlike the slow procedures and slow-moving votes we've seen,
this one, we expect to be a quick one.
SOARES: And we're seeing now as you're talking, Annie, we're seeing the clock under -- less than 40 minutes remaining on this vote to -- we'll have
a final readout on the President's Big Beautiful Bill. Talk to us and explain to our viewers around the world, how the President was able to
bring some of those holdouts back into the table, how he was able to win them back.
GRAYER: The President met directly with all of the holdouts yesterday in a variety of meetings. In one meeting, he was in there with Vice President JD
Vance for two hours, and he has played a very important role here. He's been seen as the closer here in getting reluctant Republicans on board,
trying to assuage their concerns, trying to hear them out.
He sent his team to the Hill yesterday so they could be in a round-the- clock meetings as lawmakers had more questions, because remember, the House only got the Senate's bill a matter of days ago.
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And that was very different than the -- than the bill that they had passed in the House back in May. So, the President's team has been critical in
walking House lawmakers through those changes, making them feel comfortable with those changes. And this is a strategy that House Speaker Mike Johnson
has deployed again and again, which is relying on the President to get -- get the people who say are holdouts on board. And that's what we've seen
play out this time around as well.
SOARES: But this was -- and I remember you and I talking, Anna, as we're looking at the time remaining as the vote is ongoing, 12 minutes or so,
this was, I remember you telling me, a loyalty test for many of the Republicans. Speak to that, of course, because clearly, the President has a
stranglehold over the party.
How much do you think this will be his legacy, and what this will mean for many of those voters voting today, and the impact they might have on
primaries.
GRAYER: This bill is do or die for President Trump. He has put all --
SOARES: Yes --
GRAYER: Of his eggs in this basket. Republicans are trying to deliver the President, his domestic agenda from more border security to tax cuts. And
this is what Republicans have been -- this is what Republicans have been campaigning on. But by the same token, we saw the top Democrat in the
House, Hakeem Jeffries, give -- break the record for the longest speech on the House floor ever, because he is starting to shape what Democrats
message to counter this bill is going to be.
Democrats are going to talk about endlessly these Medicaid cuts, and try and show how devastating they are to people who might lose their coverage.
So, this bill now sets off a race for messaging for the midterms, where the battle for control of the House will be at stake.
SOARES: Can we talk a bit about -- you know, there's been plenty of drama. There's been plenty of arm-wringing as you've -- as you've just outlined
for us here. But if this goes through, and the likelihood that it might, right? This is a major win for President Trump, right? This is very much
his legacy, what he's framed his legacy around. Can you speak to that for our international audience? Because it's been incredibly fraught just
getting here.
GRAYER: This is a huge win for the President. He has wanted this to be done by July 4th so he can have a huge celebration around this bill. And
remember, Republicans are going to be only passing this with Republican votes. What the President has wanted Congress to do is pass a very
conservative agenda here that speaks to the President and his base, and that's why they've had to really rely on this complicated legislative
process, because they can only pass with Republican votes.
They're not going to get any Democratic support here. So, the President is adamant that this must pass. And Republicans, even though they've had so
many concerns, we've been covering for months, are appearing to fall in line and deliver the President his massive victory.
SOARES: Stay with us, Annie. I want to bring in Kevin Liptak because as the votes counting down, nine minutes or so to go, I'm seeing one nay, one
no. But -- and correct me if I'm wrong here, Kevin, he can only have, what, three max nays? Just talk us through this.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I think that's right. Although, the math had been somewhat complicated because some members had
had trouble getting back to Washington because of the weather, although I presume that in the days since that storm hit, they have been able to find
their way back to Washington.
But you were just talking about the idea that this is going to formulate an enormous part of the President's legacy. That is true, whether you're
talking to proponents of this bill or opponents. You know, for better or for worse, this bill contains almost the entirety of President Trump's
domestic agenda, and the race now going forward is going to be defined what exactly that means.
Does it -- as the President's supporters say, create an enormous amount of growth triggered by those $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, or does it balloon the
deficit and sort of put the U.S. on some dire financial straits for the decades to come? Does it -- in President Trump's telling, sort of strip out
the waste, fraud and abuse from the social safety net system?
Or does it remove 12 million people from health coverage? I think all of that will be debated in the months and years ahead. One of the reasons that
this bill has been structured the way it has been structured is that, the tax cut parts of this bill will go into effect in the near term. They will
be felt this year.
Some of the cuts to Medicaid and other social safety net programs won't be felt for years to come, including after next year's midterm election. And
that's part of the way Republicans have designed the bill to reap some of the political benefits from it. But I think they are still going to have to
rely on President Trump to go out and sell this bill.
[14:15:00]
You know, recent American history is kind of littered with Presidents who passed major pieces of legislation using congressional majorities, and
later came to regret not being able to tell the American people better about what was in this bill. You think of President Obama with the
Affordable Care Act, you think of President Biden with the Inflation Reduction Act, both of them passed those bills only to go on to lose their
majorities in the House and/or the Senate in the midterm election.
And so, that has been something that has been at the back of a lot of Republicans' minds, as this has been making its way through Capitol Hill.
There's, you know, not a lot of evidence that President Trump is prioritizing their political futures. This bill is all about his legacy and
his priorities and his promises that he made to his voters.
Now, I think the task will be going forward in how you approach this with the American people who are very skeptical of this legislation according to
polling. One of the -- you know, tenets of this bill is that it sort of lumped together all of these things that the President was saying that he
was going to do, because it was going to be easier to pass it that way.
The downside of that is very difficult, I think to explain to the public everything that it does. And so, the task in a lot of ways is just
beginning for the President.
SOARES: Stay with us. Let me bring Annie into the conversation, Annie, six minutes, 30 seconds remaining, still only one nay. Flesh out a bit what
Kevin just laid out for us. This bill, as we have discussed, you have discussed, Kevin and I have been discussing all week, has been highly
controversial, not just for the Democrats as you -- as you -- as we have spoken about, but also for some holdouts in the Republican Party.
What is it about the bill that some Republicans have felt so uncomfortable about? Speak to the Medicaid, the tax cuts, speak to that.
GRAYER: Republicans are concerned about how this is going to impact their constituents. I mean, if you go back to when this bill was in front of the
Senate, Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted against this piece of legislation, and then announced his retirement the next day, because he
said he just could not sell this bill back home.
He was concerned about all of his constituents that were going to be cut off Medicaid. But this just shows the loyalty test of it all. The fact that
the Senator, Senator Tillis only announced his retirement after voting no, that's how difficult it is to navigate this in Trump's Republican Party.
The only no vote on the board right now, again, the vote is still open, is Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has long been at odds with
President Trump.
Trump has threatened to primary Massie over his opposition. So, that is why, even if Republicans have concerns about this bill, and trust me, there
are many who have concerns about this bill, are ultimately falling in line. They're concerned about what this will mean for their political futures.
I also over the last couple of days caught up with Republican Congressman Don Bacon, who announced his retirement. And he is -- he told me, he is
ultimately going to support this bill. But he admitted that the Senate's version of the bill, which is the version that the House is voting on right
now, that the Senate's version of the bill with the cuts to Medicaid in it, are going to be hard for Republicans to have to answer for when they go
back and campaign for their seats in 2026.
He acknowledges this, and I think there is a lot of work for Republicans to do as they have to respond to this, as Democrats are going to force them to
respond to this again and again if this legislation does become law.
SOARES: Yes, on that, Kevin, on that point that Annie has just made, but we still have Kevin, right? On that point --
LIPTAK: Yes --
SOARES: From Annie, Kevin, how are the -- how are Republicans going to explain this to their constituents? How are they framing already that
narrative? Just give us a sense of what you're hearing, because clearly, you just outlined from polling, many are very much against certain elements
of this Big Beautiful Bill. We've got three minutes, 57 remaining.
LIPTAK: Yes --
SOARES: How are they framing -- what is the rhetoric been around this?
LIPTAK: Well, they're really trying to emphasize the tax cut portion of this bill. We should say most of those tax cuts would benefit the wealthy.
But there are provisions in here that will benefit the working class, including eliminating taxes on tips, which was one of the big campaign
promises that President Trump made on the trail last year, also was echoed by Kamala Harris.
She endorsed the same provision. And so, they do find some of these elements in the bill that will be broadly popular with the American people.
But again, one of the difficulties that they'll face is that, this is an enormous bill for every one piece of it that is popular, like no taxes on
tips.
There are parts of it that are very unpopular, like cutting back on some of the social safety net programs. And I think when you listen to the way
Republicans are talking about it, they say that those changes are necessary in order to sort of bolster the fiscal strength of those programs.
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They are running out of money, in their words, and it's stripping back some of the benefits that Americans are receiving, Americans, that they say
don't deserve them, that, that will make these programs stronger in the long run for people who do deserve them. But that's a very complicated
argument to make, particularly if Americans find themselves or find people that they know no longer covered by some of these programs.
So, I think it will be a difficult task ahead. The other element of this bill that they're pointing to is the massive amount of money now put
towards President Trump's hardline immigration agenda. That is at the end of the day, his biggest promise to voters on the campaign trail. It's
something that he's been intently focused on during his first months in office.
This bill does provide an enormous amount of money for him to continue the deportation programs, sort of the roundup of undocumented migrants to send
back to their home countries. That's a program that's enormously popular among President Trump's base of supporters. But it has been waning in
support among the general populace.
So, it's not necessarily clear how far they will be able to get politically on that either. I think at the end of the day, this is such an enormous
piece of legislation. What Republicans and what President Trump are going to have to do is to pick it out piece-by-piece, and try and tailor their
message to their individual constituencies.
But that's also what Democrats are going to do as they try and make --
SOARES: Yes --
LIPTAK: The case that this bill strips Americans of their coverage, as they make the case that it cuts taxes for the wealthiest of Americans.
You've already seen Hakeem Jeffries and his fellow Democrats make that case in the public. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how Republicans
try and counter that.
SOARES: Yes, and look, we've got one minute -- less than one minute, 12 seconds or so left on this vote. So far, we've got one nay as you can see
there on your screen. Let me bring in Larry Sabato, we'll go back to Annie and Kevin just a moment. Larry, I think you're with us. Very much as
expected, now two nays. It does seem to go -- it's going President Trump's way with 45 seconds to go or so. Just your reaction, Larry.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, this was always expected to happen.
SOARES: Yes.
SABATO: Yes, there's always a lot of drama, and you're always going to have tweaks here and tweaks there. But this was the entire Republican
agenda, the entire Trump agenda. And it's passing solely on Republican votes, and there aren't that many defections, but there are a couple.
SOARES: Yes, we don't -- we've got -- we're seeing two nays. We know there were some major holdouts. We saw President Trump meeting with them in the
last 24 hours to try to bring them on board. How -- you know, this is -- I found something interesting that Kevin said -- we've got 11 seconds. How
are they going to sell this to their constituents, and how that might impact the primaries when they -- when they -- when they do come?
SABATO: Well, they'll mention the positive parts and won't mention the negative parts. That's the job of the Democrats. They'll have to focus on
the pieces that will disturb people. And remember, in many of these pieces don't kick in until after the next election in 2026. That's very clever,
very clever, and politicians are clever.
SOARES: So, I'm seeing now, the timings wrapped up, I'm sure you can talk us through this, Larry. The voting has ended, yea is 216, nays, 214. For
our viewers around the world, what happens now?
SABATO: Well, essentially, the vote is over, and the Speaker will gavel the vote to a close and announce the results. And the Republicans will
cheer and the Democrats will sit down or boo, although they won't boo loudly because they're not supposed to. And then it will be prepared and
taken over to the White House for the President's signature tomorrow, which is when he wanted to unveil it on --
SOARES: Yes --
SABATO: Independence Day in America.
SOARES: Stay with us, Larry. Let me go to Annie because I understand that two people haven't voted. Two Republicans haven't voted on this. Annie, are
you still with us? What are you learning on that?
GRAYER: I'm -- so we have another Republican no vote, and that is Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. He was ultimately
the only Republican to vote against the procedural step last night against the rule. And I caught up with him right before the vote. He was -- he was
being very coy about whether or not he was going to vote for this or not.
But his concerns are how this bill is going to impact his constituents' Medicaid coverage. He has been expressing these concerns to leadership. He
told me he hasn't spoken directly with the President, but that he has been speaking with House Speaker Mike Johnson, and that the conference
understands that he comes from a very bipartisan district, and that he has to ultimately vote his conscience.
He's -- the Speaker told us earlier today that he understands that Congressman Fitzpatrick has his own considerations here, that he -- they
weren't pressuring him necessarily to change his vote. They were trying to understand if there was a way to get to yes.
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We've seen time and time again, House Speaker Mike Johnson deployed this strategy of going to the floor, not necessarily sure if he's going to be
able to get the votes, but through a very direct and public pressure campaign, ultimately picking off members one-by-one. So, he's been -- the
Speaker has been able to take down that no list from, you know, at one point, dozens down to just the single digits.
He's able to lose three votes here if all members are in attendance. So, even though Congressman Fitzpatrick's no vote is a loss for Republicans
here, it doesn't ultimately tank the bill at this point. They still have one more cushion of a vote to lose. But this just shows you what lawmakers,
what Republicans are weighing as they weighed their vote, which is, do they want to deliver President Trump and the Republican Party this victory that
they claim?
Or are they concerned about the impact of their districts? And here, Congressman Fitzpatrick has shown how he comes out in that calculation.
SOARES: And Annie, as you're talking, we're looking at live images from the U.S. House floor. I saw some members -- or shaking hands, almost like
in celebration. What happens now? Is this done as we look at closer shot? Thank you, I've got terrible poor eyesight on my part, bear with me.
But clearly, at the beginning, when that, the voting stopped, there were celebrations and shaking of hands. A moment, of course, of huge relief for
many Republicans to get this over the line for President Trump. What happens now? Is this done? Does this keep -- does this stay open? Just talk
us through the process here.
GRAYER: So, we are waiting for that final gavel, which will officially close the vote. And once that's done, this legislation is passed, it will
be off to the White House for President Trump's signature. Who is preparing a big ceremony for this. The President has been demanding that this bill be
on his desk by July 4th.
Many Republicans thought that, that was a rushed timeline, that they were not going to be able to meet it. But the fact that Republicans seem to be
on the precipice of delivering this bill by the self-imposed deadline that Trump set, will be a huge win that many Republicans will celebrate.
But I just want to point out, of the two votes -- no votes that we have so far, we were talking about Congressman Fitzpatrick just a moment ago, his
reason for voting no is very different than Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who also voted no. We talked about him a little bit earlier.
Congressman Massie is against this piece of legislation for very different reasons than Fitzpatrick. Massie does not believe that this bill does
enough to cut federal spending, whereas Congressman Fitzpatrick is worried that this bill does too much to cut Medicaid. So, you can see just that
juxtaposition right there.
The differences of opinion within the Republican Party, and how difficult it's been for Republican leaders to usher this through Congress when they
have to consider all of these competing concerns.
SOARES: And you mentioned the gavel, silly question on my part, apologies if it's quite basic coming to you, Annie, but how long does it take for the
gavel -- is there a time limit before we hear the gavel sound or just so I know I'll get a sense really, of when this will be done?
GRAYER: Well, we are waiting to hear that gavel, you absolutely will hear it. It will be a big celebration moment. I mean, as we've seen throughout
this process, these vote timings can definitely slip as conversations are going on behind the scenes, as lawmakers are weighing their votes.
So, the time that you see on your screen of how long a vote is supposed to take is really more of a suggestion or a hope than it is necessarily a
reality that lawmakers stick to. I mean, yesterday, there was a vote held open for hours on end --
SOARES: Right --
GRAYER: So, we are waiting for that final gavel.
SOARES: So --
GRAYER: It is very -- it is -- everything is seeming to fall in line for Republicans. But again, we've got to wait for that final gavel --
SOARES: How much then -- how much then is from what we're looking at, how much horse trading then is done before we wait for the gavel. Do -- what is
the -- what are the chances of people switching sides or switching their vote here?
GRAYER: Well, we haven't seen movement in that sense, but there are Republicans that were still waiting to vote. They might be on the floor.
They might be coming to the floor. So, I think Republicans are trying to give every lawmaker the chance to vote on this massive piece of
legislation, and that might take some time and delays getting people here.
SOARES: Annie, do you stay with us? Continue the news gathering on your end. I do want to go to Kevin Liptak to really put this moment into
perspective for our viewers around the world, because for weeks on end, Kevin, we have been seeing really President Trump applying the pressure,
even staying in Washington over the weekend to apply the pressure on those holdouts. Speak to the significance, Kevin, of this moment for President
Trump. How much is this part of his legacy?
LIPTAK: Well, it will be a part of his legacy whether you're for this bill or whether you're --
SOARES: Yes --
LIPTAK: Against this bill. And certainly, that was at the front of President Trump's mind, as he was twisting Republicans' arms to get on
board. And it was not necessarily an easy process. There were Republicans who were opposed to the deficit aspects of this bill. There were
Republicans who were opposed to the cuts.
And you saw President Trump kind of use a mix. He used charm offensive in some ways. He invited Republicans over here to the White House. He took
photos with them. He gave them swag from the White House gift shop for their kids. He signed cards for them. But sort of looming over all of that
were his threats of political retribution. You know, the president making quite explicit that he would support primary challenges to any Republican
who opposed this bill. And so, that was kind of in the back of a lot of Republicans minds as they were making up their minds on how to vote.
One cautionary tale that a lot of Republicans saw was the senator, Thom Tillis, from North Carolina. He voted no on a procedural measure last week.
The president lashed out at him on social media. Eventually, Tillis just said he was going to retire, saying he, essentially, would not opt into
this loyalty test that the president was setting up. So, you saw this mix kind of, of the honey and of the vinegar as the president really put the
press on these Republicans to get this bill passed.
And it is now an enormously consequential moment. It looks like they're applauding on the House floor now.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: They're applauding now. I can see it. Let's listen for just a second, Kevin. Let's -- do we have audio on this?
Very faint. Very faint applause. But I haven't heard the gavel. Go for it. Oh, here we go.
We are hearing that it has passed. Kevin, this is the moment the President Trump have been waiting for. Let's listen.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The yeas are 218, the nays are 214. The motion is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the
table.
SOARES: 218 yeas, 214 nays. The motion has passed in the House. The president's big beautiful bill is through. Kevin, put this into perspective
and the significance of this domestic bill, of course, and what it means for the president here.
LIPTAK: Yes. And the bill passing with only two Republican defections, which I think gives you a sense of the position that President Trump now
holds on the Republican Party. This now an importantly consequential moment for the president, for his domestic agenda, as he works to consolidate his
power here in the U.S.
And I think you have to take it into context of the last several weeks for the president. This bill obviously an enormous win for him domestically,
but it comes after these series of successes, whether it's the strikes in Iran, whether that's enormously a powerful Supreme Court decision, the
President now is at his most powerful, his most politically potent.
Whether that lasts or not, I think remains an open question. In a lot of ways, it depends on his ability to sell this bill to the American people,
but this really is a president now at the peak of his political abilities. We'll see him tomorrow sign this bill at the White House. We'll see him
this evening taking a victory lap in Iowa, sort of a kickoff to the July 4th celebrations.
This has been such a long time coming, and there had been various moments when it didn't appear as if every Republican was going to get on board, but
I think what you saw was the president really using the sway of himself, but also his very motivated base of supporters to convince almost every
Republican to get on board.
Those two Republicans are the objections. The president has made very clear that he will carry out acts of political retribution to those who opposed
him and to those who opposed this bill. It was very evident that those threats were enough to convince the Republicans to keep the defections
really at a minimum. And so, the president, I think, eager to celebrate this bill tomorrow. Certainly, a very important moment in his second
presidency.
SOARES: And I imagine given the importance of this moment, this landmark victory, I think it's fair to say, for the Republican Party, you know, a
big achievement in his second term, will we hear from the president, do you think? I imagine he'll take the social media, but do you think we'll hear
from him today, Kevin?
LIPTAK: Well, we'll hear from him this evening in Iowa. He's set to leave at about an hour or two hours from now, head to Iowa for kind of a
political rally. Whether we hear from him before then I think remains an open question. But obviously, he'll be very eager to come out and tout this
victory, tout his ability to unite the Republicans, but also begin that process of explaining and selling to Americans why it was so important to
get this bill passed.
[14:35:00]
SOARES: Fantastic. Kevin Liptak, Annie Grayer, thank you to you both. Really appreciate it. Let me go to Larry Sabato who's been listening in.
And, Larry, let me just pick up where Kevin left off. Now, comes a job of just trying to convince Americans of the importance of this bill. How the
Republicans going to do thus -- this given, of course, the reservations that some of them had here?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, they have the presidential bully pulpit. They also have a downside though,
and the downside is this is a party line vote. The Republicans own this. They own every part of it. And it's already very unpopular. I don't
remember a bill of this size, including so many things being so clearly unpopular while it was being debated, and I doubt those numbers change very
much.
You know, you can sell it every which way you want, but the Republicans will be held accountable for it in elections this year. There's some
scattered elections this year, and certainly, in the national midterm elections in 2026. So, you know, every success, every victory has the nub
of a defeat potentially. So, we'll see how the Democrats use it too.
SOARES: Yes. That was going to be my question. The opportunity perhaps for the Democrats, how are they going to use this?
SABATO: They're going to reiterate what they have been saying really incessantly since January. This proposal is the largest transfer of wealth
from middle- and lower-class Americans to the very wealthy in American history. There's really nothing like it. When you look at the numbers, you
realize the big gainers are the wealthy. And of course, they fund Republican campaigns. They are a big part of the Republican constituency.
But if the Democrats can get that message across, and you never know whether the Democrats are capable of it, then they could convince middle-
class Americans and some poorer Americans who defected to Trump in 2024, that Democrats have their concerns at heart more than Republicans do. But
there's a long road before that happens.
SOARES: Yes. And as you're talking, Larry, we are looking at images from Capitol Hill. We are expecting to hear from the U.S. House speaker. There's
a handle on already together -- all of them together. We'll wait. We'll bring that to viewers in just a moment.
But in your final point, on that point you just made, J. D. Vance tweeted just before the vote, GOP congressman just texted me. I was undecided on
the bill, but then I watched Hakeem Jeffries' performance and now I'm a firm yes. What did you make of what we heard from her Hakeem Jeffries? What
was the -- what was he trying to achieve there with that record speech?
SABATO: The tragedy for Democrats is that's all they've got. They have their voice. They're allowed to speak on the Senate floor and the House
floor. They don't control the White House, the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court. They have nothing that matters. So, all they have is their
voice. Cory Booker, a member Senator from New Jersey, he gave a filibuster in the Senate about an earlier item, and then Hakeem Jeffries broke the
record for the magic minute filibuster in the House.
And so, Democrats who are listening or who hear excerpts of what Hakeem Jeffries said may be encouraged or may gain some arguments they can use
with friends and family, but it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters happens on election day, and a lot of Democrats forget that.
SOARES: And, Larry, I remember when you and I spoke, I think it was earlier this week, I've lost track of the days, about this very bill, I
remember you, you talk -- we were talking about loyalty, and this is what it's all about. The grip the president -- the iron grip the president has
on the GOP. Can you explain that to our viewers around the world and the -- and you know how much importance the president puts on loyalty and then --
and getting everyone marching to his tune.
SABATO: Well, the key for Trump -- and no other president has done it like Trump, except maybe for Lyndon Johnson back in the '60s on occasion. But
Trump uses both the carrot and the stick, but the stick is about a thousand times larger than the carrot. And essentially, what he tells each member in
blunt terms, and he does it publicly through those Truth Social posts, is, if you cross me on this, then enjoy your last few months in Congress
because we will beat you.
Now, most of the time he wins, he wins on that because Republican MAGA forces, Trump forces will turn out in large numbers in primaries and they
will defeat these incumbents. But even when he can't prevail, the message is sent, if you cross me, I'm going to at the very least, cost you a
miserable campaign.
[14:40:00]
You'll have to raise millions of dollars just to keep the Republican nomination. The MAGA forces will go after you with everything they've got,
and your life is going to be terrible. So, you know that -- generally, when people hear things like that, they try to avoid having that happen.
SOARES: Larry, as always, appreciate your insight. Thank you very much, Larry Sabato. You are looking over live images there from Capitol Hill.
There's this GOP senators. Oh, you were looking -- oh, there they are. They're back. GOP Senators, of course, who have plenty to celebrate in the
House. Of course, the bill passed in the House. We are waiting for the House Speaker Mike Johnson to address the media. They all seem to be
waiting. We're keeping our eyes closely peeled on that monitor, on those live images as soon, of course, as we see the house speaker. Maybe we might
get him to him now, because I see people turning. No. Is it him? No. We'll keep an eye on that. As soon as we hear from him, we'll bring that to you.
We have another really important breaking news story that we've been following here at CNN, one of shock, heartbreak, disbelief, really.
Football supporters current as well as former teammates and coaches are struggling to come to grips with the tragic deaths of Portugal -- of
Liverpool star and Portuguese International Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva.
The two, both in their 20s, were killed in a car crash in Spain earlier on Thursday. Liverpool FC released a statement saying the club was devastated
by the unimaginable loss. Investigators say the Lamborghini, they were traveling in, left the road after when one of its tires burst while trying
to overtake another vehicle. The charred vegetation on the side of the highway really a chilling reminder of the tragedy.
Less than two weeks ago, Jota, as you can see there, married his longtime girlfriend, Rute Cardoso. He captioned post online celebrating their
wedding by writing, sim para sempre, it means in Portuguese, yes, forever. He leaves her and three young children behind. From Liverpool to Lisbon,
Porto, and beyond, an outpouring of grief. Red supporters, many in tears gathering at Anfield to leave flowers, as you can see. Scarfs and flags
outside the grounds.
A minute of silence will be observed before the Women's Euro match between Portugal and Spain, which are scheduled to begin in about 20 minutes.
Abel Xavier is a former Liverpool and Portugal player, footballer. He joins me now. Abel, really appreciate you being with us. This is absolutely
devastating news. He is one of the bright stars for Liverpool, for Portugal. Just your reaction.
ABEL XAVIER, FORMER LIVERPOOL AND PORTUGAL FOOTBALL PLAYER: Good evening, Isa Soares. Thank you for having me. Yes. In fact, we are all devastated
about this news. My first words is going directly to the family of Diogo Jota. And of course, this is a very sad moment and is in fact is a shock
for everyone. You can see what Diogo Jota represent in the football world, not just in Portugal, but also international.
We can see lot of presidents and directors and colleagues talking about him. There is two sides in a football player. You can evaluate it on Korea
that starts in Portugal in youth development after he was able to have the strength to become a senior player, you know, especially in Pacos Ferreira
and on portal. He was alone two times to Spain, to a tragic Madrid.
And finally, and I think his old dream of any player, you know, is try to go into Premier League. And he was able to have impact in (INAUDIBLE) for
two years. And finally, he was able, you know, to go to a massive club where I also play there, that it was Liverpool.
I believe that Liverpool, you know, you are going to do it in a proper way, in a proper matter about this situation. You know, Liverpool is a resilient
club. The same way Diogo Jota, you know, show during all this career. For that reason, you know, you can see it that the mentality that you have in
England what concern football, you know, it's great. You know, the valor that all the clubs makes statements about the situation of the Diogo Jota.
Everybody's touch emotionally.
SOARES: Yes.
[14:45:00]
XAVIER: In Portugal we saw also the president of the country, prime ministers as well, you know, all the in identities of sporting and he was
talking about Diogo Jota. In England, himself, you know, the prime minister and the ministers as well, you know, all the clubs, sending statements, you
know, that mean that he was not just a football player, he was especially human being. And you can see it through all his career, his attitude, his
behave, his dedication, you know, it was unbelievable.
SOARES: And, Abel, you are absolutely right. He was deeply loved in Liverpool. He was deeply loved in my home country of Portugal as well. And
he was also, and I think this is important, a brilliant player, a prolific goal scorer, very clever in that box. Can you speak to that?
XAVIER: Yes, Isa. We can -- now, we can try to valor Diogo Jota by skills, by his technic abilities, by static abilities. But when club -- during
club, saw something more than just this kind of valor, I think that the human sides, it make more than one player, you know?
SOARES: Yes.
XAVIER: Because before a player there is the man. And I think that every time that Diogo Jota, he was not able to play in the first team and he was
on the bench, every time he come on, and every time he come on with a very positive and impact in the field, you know, that mean that the all the
valor of obedience, expectation of decisions, you know, try to be very professional, very (INAUDIBLE), you know, that is the human side. That is
the side of a person who wants to help. You want to collaborate it. And you want to grow with the team.
For that reason, you can see it also in the Portugal national team, you know? We have a tremendous quality in France. I know. And Diogo Jota, every
time when he come on, you know, he produce something special, he produce something unique. And his definition, it's gold score rates. You know, it's
unbelievable.
And there is also a special valor in Diogo Jota. Many of the times that he was injury and he have a severe injuries towards his career, he was able to
overcome this situation. And Liverpool back him, you know?
SOARES: Yes.
XAVIER: And for that reason, I believe, because I play there, Liverpool is a very special club. You never walk alone and they're going to deal
properly with a situation like that, you know, to show, you know, that they never forget. And they have a great memories for those who participate and
create valor in the structure like Diogo Jota.
SOARES: And that motto, you never walk alone, we are seeing it, you know, right now as you are speaking about live pictures coming to us from
Liverpool, an outpouring of love as support. We are seeing many flags, Portuguese flags, Liverpool scarfs as people pay their respects to Diogo
Jota. Of course, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his wife, Rute, at this incredibly difficult time.
His brother, his younger brother, Abel, Andre Silva, he was also in that horrific car accident. What can you tell us about Andre, because he was
also a football player, was he not?
XAVIER: Yes, yes, Isa. Andre, he was also a football player. Of course, he doesn't have the same impact and the same media like Diogo Jota, but he
have the same valor, you know, because he have a good education races, levels. You know, for that reason, he was playing in Penafiel. And today,
we saw also the club statement and the president talking about its valors and his dream, you'd like to achieve also what his brother is achieving,
you know, because he was in early stages of his career.
And it's a shock for everyone. You know, his -- you know, his parents lose both sons, you know, and, you know, the wife, that stay with three kids
also, you know? And they get married 20 days -- 10 days ago, you know?
SOARES: Yes.
XAVIER: And all life, you know, in front of them, you know, and it was disrupted with the magnitude like that. For that reason, you know, what we
need to do now, is, of course, the people who are surrounding of family, you know, give positive strength, the necessary strength, you know, towards
the family, the close family, because we know that in football world, you know, everybody have the rights to praise. You know, but those who count
properly, you know, in the specific moment, you know, there are not so many people.
SOARES: Yes.
XAVIER: But now, I think it's the limited justice for Diogo Jota that all these statements around the world, all the, you know, tribute that most of
the people are doing, it's because what he produce. What it produce. It's history. It's an example history for those who coming from youth want to
achieve a dream, they make it, you know, but unfortunately, he was not able to have the continuity.
[14:50:00]
SOARES: On that point, Abel, give us a sense of what he was like, what kind of person he was in the locker room because we saw his achievements.
He won the Premier League recently. I remember the crowds turning out all in red. It was absolutely fabulous here in the U.K. But what kind of person
was he? I heard someone describe him always having a smile, cheeky smile on his face. Always full of (INAUDIBLE). What was he like?
XAVIER: You know, Isa Soares, you know that sometimes it is not easy to be a sub from start point. You know, I remember when he starts playing for
Liverpool, Liverpool have three great strikers, you know, Mohamed Salah, and they have Sadio Mane and Firmino. He was very tough for him to come in,
you know. But slowly, you know, he was able to get his position because his attitude was always very positive.
You know, most of the time when I was there to watching the games when he was in the bench and the club another coach is ask him to go into, you
know, working and prepare himself to come onto the game. You know, you can look for his attitude in the sidelines that he wants so much to be in the
game during the time. It can be 10 minutes, it can be 20 minutes, you know. And this is unbelievable.
And I think that the crowd, Liverpool, you know, to give it to him, a person's song (ph), it doesn't happen often.
SOARES: Yes.
XAVIER: Isa Soares, it doesn't happen often that one player, you know, we are not going to talk about if he's a foreign player or not because we are
international football. We are in a global football. And what we are seeing now is a global expression of the people who love him. There is no real
reality. You know, and this is what we need, you know, to understand about football, objective, prices, trophies, but there is another side, and the
another side counts.
Diogo Jota to have a music and the fans praising showed the love that they have for him. And this is special, because it doesn't happen to -- many
players pass by to a Liverpool club. And for you to have a song directed for your approach and directed to the valors, you just must listen to this
song. There is a meaning involving that song. You know, for that reason, I think he's a special player, but behind that, he's a special human being.
SOARES: Yes, you are absolutely right. It's such a great point to bring up, you know, to have a song created for you just shows you, Abel, how much
-- how loved he was. Abel Xavier, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. An incredible career, two lives cut and careers -- two lives
and careers cut way too short. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and their loved ones. Abel Xavier, (INAUDIBLE). Thank you, Abel.
I want to return to our breaking news, and of course, we've been bringing that for the last half an hour or so, and that is of course the president,
Trump's big beautiful bill has passed. Passing in the last, what, 10 minutes or so? 218 yeas, 214 nays. We were expected to hear from GOP
Republican senators. I think that's what we are looking at right now.
Larry Sabato, just put us in perspective for this moment, of course. A big achievement for the president. I imagine we'll hear from him today. How do
you think now the president and more importantly, other Republicans will try to sell this to the American people, those who have huge reservations,
but were brought on board?
SABATO: Well, they're certainly going to say the truth, which is it is the biggest legislative moment of Trump's career and it is a big triumph,
there's no question about it. But there are a lot of controversial and some would say negative and destruct destructive pieces of this giant bill, and
that will become clear over time.
So, they're going to have to continue to sell this for years. This is not over tomorrow or next week or next month, because the changes are so
massive in, for example, health insurance. You're going to have, by most estimates, between 10 million and 17 million Americans thrown off their
health insurance, thrown off Medicaid. This is a serious matter when you don't have health insurance, people are likely to remember that. Food
assistance is way down. Those who need nourishment and have been used to getting it are going to be shocked that maybe even their local food banks
aren't going to be stocked.
[14:55:00]
So, there are plenty of ways for opponents of President Trump to make these points. But right now, the Republicans have the advantage. Americans love
victory. They love to see a victory march. They've had a lot of parades from Donald Trump. I suspect we're going to have one tomorrow, Independence
Day in America.
SOARES: Yes. And this -- look, regardless of whether you agree with it or you don't agree with it, we've got about a minute left on the show, this is
a major win for President Trump. One of many wins he's had. I'm thinking of other wins on the foreign policy front here.
SABATO: Yes, he's had a big month. There's no way to argue that. He's had a big month. We'll see whether it helps his ratings. He's been remarkably
low throughout the entire terms, starting in January. So, he needs a boost. Will he get it from this bill? I'm doubtful.
SOARES: Larry Sabato, really appreciate you being with us through this busy, busy day, afternoon of breaking news. Thank you, Larry. Appreciate
it.
We'll have much more breaking news of course on President Trump's big beautiful Bill. "What We Know with Max Foster " is up next. Thank you for
your company. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
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[15:00:00]
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