Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Now, Marathon Senate Voting Session Underway on Trump's Mega Bill; Procession and Salute for Two Firefighters Killed in Ambush; Tomorrow, Key Deadline for Rubio's State Department Overhaul. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 30, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, mega voting on President Trump's mega bill. Right now, a voting marathon session on the president's legislative agenda is underway in the Senate and the clock is ticking. Trump's self-imposed deadline on that bill is just four days away.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Firefighter ambush, officials are now trying to piece together why a man lit a brush fire in Idaho and then opened fire on first responders, killing two and gravely injuring a third.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

We begin with the breaking news from Capitol Hill, lawmakers right now actively working on President Trump's spending and tax cut bill, the cornerstone of his second term agenda. Right now, senators are in a so-called voterama, a marathon series of votes on possible changes. It's all part of the deal-making and the arm twisting to try to win passage later today.

Right now, two Republicans, Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis, are expected to vote no. Senate leaders can afford to lose three Republican votes if no Democrats support the bill. Tillis announced he won't seek reelection next year after President Trump threatened to back a challenger.

Let's go live right now to CNN Correspondent Arlette Saenz, who's joining us from Capitol Hill. Arlette, walk us through how this day will play out.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf senators are currently in that marathon voting session known as voterama. One Republican senator described it as walking into the Thunder Dome. This will allow senators to introduce amendments to President Trump's agenda bill. And it comes as Republicans can only afford to lose three votes on this measure.

Now, as the Senate opened this morning, both the Democratic and Republican leaders laid out their vision of what this bill does. Take a listen,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Senate Republicans have to decide, choose the American people, or bow down to Donald Trump and his coterie of billionaires, because this bill, as we have said for months, steals people's healthcare, jacks up their electricity bill, takes away their jobs, all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires.

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): And so, yes, there are some improvements and reforms to Medicaid to make it more efficient to make sure that the people who are supposed to benefit from Medicaid do and that it doesn't go to people who shouldn't benefit from Medicaid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, this voterama is expected to take several hours. It's unclear when exactly it will end. Democrats are expected to introduce many amendments. They have railed against this bill over the weekend, but there will be some key GOP amendments to watch as well. Senate Majority Leader John Thune this morning asked if they have the votes to pass this in the Senate, and he said, we'll know soon enough.

BLITZER: Arlette Saenz up on Capitol Hill, thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: And, Wolf, as you would expect, President Trump is keeping a close eye on the Senate debate and almost certainly taking note of who's shepherding his second term priorities toward a vote.

So, let's go live now to CNN Senior Reporter Betsy Klein. She's at the White House. Betsy, what is the atmosphere there at the White House as this drama unfolds on Capitol Hill?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: Pam, you can believe that all eyes here are on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue as this voterama gets underway and President Trump really views this bill as key to unlocking his domestic agenda, and the stakes are so high, particularly while Republicans control both the House and the Senate to get this done.

The White House is teeing this up as a loyalty test to the president, saying that voting no on this bill is, quote, an ultimate betrayal. But the president has been closely watching every twist and turn here, making calls, taking calls, and also trying to negotiate on the golf course over the weekend, watching that preliminary vote in the Oval Office late into the night on Saturday.

He's also calling out those two Republicans who voted against it, particularly Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

[10:05:02]

He said that Tillis' decision not to seek reelection is, quote, great news. But the reality is that this bill is so sprawling, there are serious and diverse concerns within the Republican party, and we're going to see all of that play out today.

BROWN: We sure will. Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

BLITZER: I want to go to Idaho right now, where a stunned community paused to honor the firefighters killed in an ambush yesterday. A procession carried their bodies to nearby Spokane, Washington. A third firefighter is in stable condition in the hospital right now. Police say the suspect is dead. His body was found with a gun nearby.

Let's go live to CNN Correspondent Veronica Miracle. Where does the investigation, Veronica, stand right now?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the manhunt is now over, but the work begins to figure out exactly what motivated the shooter to lure in firefighters and to ambush them. This all started yesterday afternoon when investigators say that shooter started a fire deliberately to bring firefighters to the scene and started shooting at them. They said that he was blended into the mountain, into that mountainous terrain. So, for a time, investigators did not know if there were multiple shooters firing at them, if they were taking shots from multiple different people and different angles, or if it was a single shooter.

Eventually, they were able to determine that it was a single shooter, and for 90 minutes, they engaged in a shootout with that shooter. They did -- they were able to find him eventually through a cell phone signal. And when they discovered his body, they found his body with a weapon nearby. They were able to scoop his body up. But they acknowledged they were not able to preserve the scene, like they normally, would because that fire was still raging. Keep in mind, firefighters could not tackle that fire while this manhunt was underway. So, the fire ravaged the scene, but they were able to scoop up his body and now they will determine exactly how this individual died.

Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Veronica. Thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. We are following the latest out of the State Department where tomorrow marks a key deadline set by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio for massive cuts at the department. That overhaul, which is currently in legal limbo, could result in thousands of job cuts as Rubio looks to better align the department's priorities with the president's agenda.

So, let's bring in CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood. Tell us where things stand right now ahead of tomorrow's deadline, Kylie?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, this was in April Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out the plan to overhaul the State Department, but just earlier this month, there was a federal judge who ruled against that and said basically the State Department needed to halt its plan. So, what we're waiting on now is a Supreme Court to rule on that emergency appeal.

But a few pieces in this State Department restructure are really key for our viewers to understand just what is at stake here at the department. The department said that they were planning to carry out a pathway of reducing staff by 15 percent domestically, so that could be upwards of 2,000 people, also a plan to eliminate more than 700 jobs domestically, so not necessarily people, but actual positions, actual jobs. And the third part that's key here is eliminating 132 offices. So, there's a lot at stake here.

And one of the things that the department said when they said that they were going to be putting together this plan is that it would be implemented by July 1st, as you said, that is tomorrow. So, all of these plans are in place. The State Department says it has no plans to violate a court order. So, essentially, they're waiting for the Supreme Court ruling on this, and they could very swiftly put these plans into action or halt them if the Supreme Court doesn't rule in their favor.

BROWN: All right, we shall see. Kyle Atwood, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And, Kylie, let me just point out these are career foreign service officers and civil servants who work at the State Department. A few thousand are about to be told you're out.

ATWOOD: That's exactly right. But they could also be told that they're still in. There are plans to get them out. But if the Supreme Court rules against the Trump administration from being able to do this reduction in force at the State Department, they won't be able to actually go forward with this. But I'll tell you, there is a lot of anxiety right now at the State Department because people who have been working there for their entire careers are worried that their job is on the line.

BLITZER: Yes, good point, Kylie. Thanks for the reporting. I appreciate it very much.

In just a few hours, a federal judge will hold an emergency hearing on President Trump's efforts to try to end what's called birthright citizenship. This comes just days after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting a judge's authority to issue nationwide injunctions.

CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz is here with us. Walk us through what's going on. What are we expecting to happen?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf and Pam, what happened in with the Supreme Court is they said on Friday the trial courts need to figure this out. The way that they were going about putting a stop to implementing the law around birthright citizenship was not the way that courts should work. That was what the Supreme Court decision did.

And so we are in the moment now where the district courts, the trial level courts in this country, the ones that sit over entire states or parts of states, they've got to figure things out.

[10:10:08]

So, today there is going to be a hearing in Maryland because the group of people representing immigrants rights and in this situation representing children born after a certain time in February of this year, and also pregnant mothers, they're going to the court and saying, please do something to stop this birthright citizenship executive order. That group wrote to this court.

The judge is Deborah Boardman in Maryland. She's a Biden appointee. The group wrote, the court, Boardman, should grant relief to this putative class and may do so before certifying the class consistent with the Supreme Court's most recent instructions, the court can protect all members of the putative class from irreparable harm that the unlawful executive order threatens to inflict.

That's a lot of legal language, but what that group is writing there is that they're saying the court -- let us come back to you, the trial judge, and say, do something. We're asking now. Do something. We think you can do this, and here's the specific class of people that we think that you could do something on to stop this birthright executive order.

What I will note though is that the Supreme Court never got to the actual question of whether birthright citizenship is illegal or not, this executive order. And so that is what is going on here. The district courts have to figure it out following the Supreme Court end of term.

BLITZER: We'll see if they do. All right, thanks very much, Katelyn Polantz. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, the fate of Sean Diddy Combs will soon be in the hands of the New York City jury. Right now, the jurors are listening to instructions from the judge before they begin deliberations.

CNN Correspondent Kara Scannell joins us live from right outside that courthouse in Manhattan. Kara, this could be a, a very complicated part of the process. Tell us what's happening now.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Pam. All the details here for this judge's instruction to the jury really matter. So, he's given them a printed copy of the obstruction, and he's also reading it out loud.

So, right now, he's worked through for the past hour describing what the jury should evaluate witnesses and their credibility, discussing now the racketeering conspiracy charge and all those predicate assets (ph) the government has alleged, kidnapping, witness tampering, bribery. Then he will also instruct the jury on what the sex trafficking charges are, and then the transportation for prostitution.

So, this could go on for a bit more. But then once this is completed, the jurors of eight men, four women, will go back into the jury room and start their deliberations. Obviously, a lot at stake for the government and for Sean Combs, he's facing those five counts. And if convicted of the sex trafficking charge, he faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years. That is the most serious charge.

His defense team told the jury last week. That comes as being targeted because of who he is. They alleged that the women were agreeing to participate in these sex acts with male prostitutes, and they urged the jury to acquit him. Prosecutors though say that Combs is not a god among men and it is time to hold him accountable.

These deliberations will start as soon as the judge finishes his charge, which could be in the next hour or so. Pam?

BROWN: All right. Kara Scannell, thanks so much.

And still ahead right here in The Situation Room, we're going to speak to Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke about the debate over Medicaid and if the Senate's version of President Trump's agenda bill has enough support to pass.

BLITZER: And later this hour, a Situation Room special report. I sat down with the father of Sarah Milgrim, one of the two people gunned down after an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum here in Washington more than a month ago. Now, he wants her to be remembered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BROWN: Well, right now, senators are back to work on President Trump's sweeping agenda for his second term. They are now at the what's called the voterama stage of the sausage making. Senators will offer these changes before a final vote that's expected to be close.

And joining us now is Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us again here in The Situation Room.

So, as it stands right now, do you think there is enough Republican support in the Senate and in the House for this bill to pass by President Trump's July 4th deadline?

REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): You know, I do, although I think the vote's going to be narrow, yes, kind of a tongue in cheek, probably too much salt and not enough pepper for some tastes. But I do think it'll pass. I'm thinking probably J.D. Vance is on standby (INAUDIBLE) the Senate. You know, and the argument is for some, it doesn't go further enough as far as, you know, the fiscal discipline. And the argument on the other side, it goes too far.

So, you know, overall, if one side is too much, the other side's too little, I think probably it will pass. The bottom line is on the taxes. I think that's the biggest concern. Look, if Congress doesn't do anything, Americans are going to get saddled the largest tax increase in this nation's history. The economy is not doing well. This bill, you know, relies on growth, a lot of it. And if the economy does grow or it turns around, we get our tariffs into, I would say, our long-term trade deals and interest rates come down, I think we're get in pretty good shape.

BROWN: You say the economy is not doing well. Tell us more about your thinking behind that.

ZINKE: Well, I think a lot of people are struggling. You know, interest rates are high mortgage rates are the point where a lot of people can't buy a home.

[10:20:00]

I think people are living, you know, paycheck-to-paycheck. You see the borrowing rate. So, I think the economy is pretty tough for a lot of people.

Now, can the economy turn around? Absolutely, this bill, at least on taxes, and research and development, there's a lot of good parts to the bill. You know, I hear a lot of about Medicaid and, look, if you're a kid, you're a mom and you're disabled, no problem, your benefits aren't going to change. But if you are able to work and you choose not to work, you know, 80 hours a month of work, it includes, you know, volunteering at a pantry, I don't think that's too much to ask.

You know, the state's probably should pay a little more of their share, because when you have, you know, a deal where you're only paying 5 cents on a on the dollar and the federal government's picking up, you know, so much incentivizing Medicaid expansion. But I think, to a degree, that has been mitigated. Not a lot of changes on the state match.

So, again, for some it doesn't go deep enough on savings. For others, it goes too far. I think it'll pass.

BROWN: Well, as you know, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, he was one of the only two Republicans devoted against advancing the president's signature legislation, he says he couldn't support this because of the cuts to Medicaid and the impact it would have in his state. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding is not there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, estimates that, nationally, the Senate version of Trump's agenda bill would leave 11.8 million more people without health insurance by the year 2034.

Congressman, you just were talking about how the economy is not doing well, that people are living paycheck to paycheck, they're going through a rough time. Democrats argue that this bill is basically taking from the poor to give tax breaks to the rich. How do Republicans explain this to their constituents?

ZINKE: Well, living paycheck-to-paycheck is on the premise that you're working. But, look, if you're an able-bodied male and you choose to sit in the couch and not work and you're getting Medicaid, that's taking benefits from someone else that needs it. And there's 36 trillion reasons why we got to look at fraud, waste, and abuse. And if you're abusing the system where you can work but choose not to, I mean, that's fraud. That's abuse.

So, yes, if a lot of people in North Carolina choose not to work I would say, look, get a job. But, you know, again, if you're a --

BROWN: I just want to -- hold on. I just want to be clear really quick, just so our viewers understand, because this is very fast- moving and there was lots of changes, that -- you know, there was the House version and the Senate made changes as well, and they made changes to the tax provider, like, so what states can levy on the providers that then the federal funds match.

And so his concern is that now states won't be getting as much federal funding for Medicaid and that people are going to lose out on Medicaid coverage as a result. Are you comfortable with that?

ZINKE: Well, okay, so if you're getting -- if the federal government's picking up 95 percent of a bill for insurance, the states need to pay their share. You know, there has to be an incentive at the state level to make sure that you don't expand it beyond what our budget can sustain. So, yes, I think the state should pick up more. So, if that means, if North Carolina has to pick up more of their share, then I think they should.

But, you know, remember we have Obamacare. That was supposed to be the end all for insurance. That didn't work. And so a lot of people choose not to work and they're still getting Medicaid. And then the states, they should pick up their share.

Now, is it as much as what the House would like? Not even close. You saw Lisa Murkowski say, you know, no, Alaska's going to get hurt. But I think the states also have a burden in this. And, look, when the federal government's picking up the tab at little from the states you, what's going to happen is you're going to expand, expand, expand. That's why we have the budget we do. So, I think it's the correct move.

BROWN: Just to follow up, a small percentage of those receiving Medicaid don't work. And so, you know, a majority work at least part- time when it comes to Medicaid. So, can you say for certain that no one who is eligible for Medicaid, who might be -- who works or works part-time will not be impacted by this? Are you comfortable with that? Do you feel that for certain?

ZINKE: Well, part-time is you have -- the standard is you have to do 80 hours a month. So, by definition of part-time is, if it's five hours a month, yes, you're not going to be able to have access to Medicaid.

BROWN: But there's reasons, because people are caregivers --

ZINKE: We haven't seen what the Senate -- yes, we haven't seen amendments in the Senate, you know, should offer, but the House version, which I understand, is going to be pretty close to what the Senate is.

[10:25:07]

That was the standard is, 80 hours. But, look, you can work at a food pantry and get 80 hours.

BROWN: Right. Just let me follow up with you very quickly, because, obviously, you know, what matters here is what the everyday American thinks about what's happening here in Washington. I know you've been listening to your constituents. You had concerns about a provision that was in the Senate version that then was taken out. There was recent polling that shows across the board the net favorable rating of president's big, beautiful bill act is deeply underwater. I mean, it's negative across the board, but your party is still plowing ahead. Does that concern you?

ZINKE: Well, I think that's a lot of disinformation too. You saw the opposition saying, oh, it's going to gut Medicaid, it's going to cut Medicare, people are going to get kicked off.

BROWN: This is polling across the board.

ZINKE: That's simply not the case. But I can tell you what I think is important though is the bond market doesn't lie. And we're going to have to bring interest rates down, which is no one is talking about. Because, remember, interest rates affect not only the government over a trillion dollars, but also how much you pay in your mortgage.

So, a lot of this exercise, the bond market doesn't lie. At the end of the day, do we show that we have any savings? Is growth going to be enough? Because if interest rates continue to rise, that's a tax on everybody and that's a tax on the economy, mortgage rates consider more expensive. That means you're not going to have a chance to buy the house or your car loan's going to be more expensive. Your credit card is going to get more expensive.

So, if this bill results, and I think it will, higher growth and the economy turns around, I think it's a good thing.

BROWN: All right. Congressman Ryan Zinke, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

ZINKE: My pleasure. Come on to Montana.

BROWN: I'd love to do that. I've never been, would love to, to go vacation there. Thanks so much. We'll see if your prediction that this will pass by July 4th comes true. We'll be watching it closely.

ZINKE: Well, never vote against a SEAL on a mission. I think it's going to pass.

BROWN: All right, we shall see. Thank you. Wolf?

BLITZER: Coming up, activity at Iran's Fordow nuclear site, we're learning more from new satellite images that could tell us about Iran's timeline for restarting uranium enrichment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]