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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) Now Five-Plus Hours into Speech to Delay Trump Mega Bill Vote; Trump and Putin Set to Speak By Phone This Hour; High-Income Earners, Businesses Likely to Gain from Trump's Mega Bill. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 03, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, marathon speech. Right now, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is delaying the vote on President Trump's mega bill. So far, he's been speaking for five hours and counting.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, stronger than expected jobs report. We're getting a new look this morning at the strength of the U.S. economy, but there are some possible warning signs.

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 up on Capitol Hill, House Republicans are having to wait to deliver President Trump the biggest legislative victory of his second term. The Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries is holding up the vote by speaking for more than five hours already and counting, and there's no time to limit in this delay. The tactic known as the magic minute rule, Jeffries is railing against the Medicaid cuts that could leave almost 12 million people here in the United States uninsured under this bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): And as a result of the lack of healthcare that will result directly from this one big, ugly bill, people in America will die unnecessary deaths. That is outrageous. It's disgusting. That is not what we should be doing here in the United States House of Representatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're covering all the angles this hour. CNN's Kevin Liptak is over at the White House, but let's begin with our Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox. She's up on Capitol Hill.

So, Lauren, where do things stand right now?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, like you noted, Wolf, Leader Jeffries has now been on the floor for more than five hours. The record for this so-called magic minute, which can go on as long as the leader wants it to, is about 8.5 hours. That is held by Kevin McCarthy, a former speaker of the House. So, does Jefferies try to break that record in this process? I think that remains to be seen.

Right now, the mood on the floor as members are sort of milling about, they're a little bit in and out. On the Republican side, there were about a dozen members on the Democratic side. There were a couple dozen members. It's not a totally full chamber, but obviously as the hours go on and on, it's filling up a little more, in part because members are finally back awake after staying up late into the morning to pass this key procedural vote that Speaker Johnson was able to muscle through the House floor in the early hours of the A.M.

Now, all that we wait is for Jefferies to finish his magic minute for Speaker Johnson to speak briefly. We are told it will not be nearly as long as this, and then the house will vote on final passage of Donald Trump's key agenda bill.

But I think Jefferies is giving a very clear indication of how Democrats want to message this on the campaign trail. He is talking a lot about the cuts to Medicaid, what they mean for Americans across the country, what he is hearing from constituents across the country. And, obviously, that is something that Democrats feel like they can harness in the midterm elections coming up.

And just to remind everyone, the one vote against moving forward with this procedural vote in the middle of the night was Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. He is one of those Republicans who represents more of a swing district in Pennsylvania and he voted against this. He has been outspoken previously about the fact he had concerns about those Medicaid cuts. He has not responded to questions about why he decided to vote no in the middle of the night. Wolf?

BLITZER: A very busy reporter up on Capitol Hill, Lauren Fox, thank you very, very much. We'll stay in very close touch with you. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes, a lot going on in Capitol Hill today. Let's go to CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak because there's a lot going on at the White House as well.

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And you have new reporting, Kevin, on what the president did to flip the holdouts. What have you learned?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And remember, yesterday, we saw that parade of lawmakers coming through the west wing to talk to the president, representing both sides of this divide. You saw some of the centrist Republicans who were concerned about some of the cuts this bill makes to Medicaid. You also saw some of the fiscal hawks who were concerned about the effects on the deficit.

And this morning we're hearing from one former holdout, Ralph Norman, who described some of the conversations that those fiscal hawks had with President Trump, and essentially Trump made this commitment to them that he would use sort of the limits of his executive authority to try and enforce some of the provisions in this bill when it comes to clean energy subsidy. Essentially, the president would really adhere to the letter of the law in enforcing some of the rules and regulations that allow those subsidies to phase out over time. That, at the end of the day, was enough to convince some of those holdouts, including Ralph Norman, to get on board with this bill.

You know, we heard from members yesterday that these sessions in the Oval Office that the president was holding were essentially using honey rather than vinegar. The president taking photos with some of these members, handing out White House swag, that eventually does seem like it was enough to convince these members to get on board.

BROWN: And breaking this morning also, Kevin, President Trump says he'll be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin. What do you know?

LIPTAK: Yes, and he says that that call is happening right now, 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time. You know these two men last spoke in the middle of June. Obviously, it's coming on quite a consequential week for the U.S. role in Ukraine, the White House and the administration announcing that it would pause some of these weapons shipments to Ukraine, citing dwindling supplies in the United States. And so, this will be a topic of conversation between the Russian and the American presidents.

You know, just last week, President Trump was at the NATO summit in the Netherlands. He actually seemed open to sending Ukraine new Patriot missile batteries and pinned the blame on this prolonged conflict directly on Putin, saying that he thinks Putin is misguided. He says that he thinks Putin would like to settle this conflict. But, obviously, after a week of some successes for the president, whether it's on this bill, whether it's in the Supreme Court, whether it's in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine remains an outstanding complication for him that he still very much wants to get a settlement on.

BROWN: All right. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: So, who's going to be better off under President Trump's so- called mega bill? For that, let's go to live right now to CNN Senior Reporter Matt Egan, who's in New York. Matt, what are you learning?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Wolf, the president's argued that this will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation in American history. But like many things, the ultimate beauty in this bill is very much in the eye of the beholder.

But let me run you through some of the groups that should come out ahead. First, big business, right, corporate America. Business groups are cheering the fact that the Senate passed this bill in the House, looks like it will too, because they're betting they're going to benefit from some of the permanent business tax breaks here. Manufacturers are also pleased because this legislation will allow them to fully and immediately deduct the cost of building new manufacturing facilities. Now, small businesses, we're talking about partnerships that include doctors and lawyers and investors, they should come out ahead as well because there's permanent deductions for certain so-called pass- through entities.

And we look at some of the workers who could be better off here. One thing that stands out is tipped workers, right, because they're going to be able to deduct up to $25,000 in tipped income through 2028. Also, overtime workers will be able to deduct up to $12,500 of their extra time pay. Also higher income Americans certainly coming out better here. The Penn Wharton budget model, they're estimating that the top 20 percent of earners should gain $13,000 in yearly after tax income. And look at this, the top 0.1 percent coming out way ahead, benefiting their -- their net income should go up by almost $300,000. Again, that's per year and according to the Penn budget model.

Another impact here for high income Americans is that those who are living in high tax states making up to half a million dollars a year, they will see temporarily their deduction limit increase going up to $40,000 per year on state and local taxes for five years. So, Wolf, clearly some of the big winners here are higher income Americans and some of the big business groups.

BLITZER: Good point. All right, Matt Egan, thank you very, very much. A quick follow-up question for you this morning. We got some new job numbers just released this morning.

[10:10:02]

What did they show?

EGAN: Well, Wolf, we were bracing for them to show some trouble brewing in the jobs market, but they did not. They showed resilience here. So, the big number, 147,000 jobs added in June. That's about 30,000 ahead of expectations. The unemployment rate was supposed to go up. It didn't. It went down to 4.1 percent. That is a low level.

One last point here, if you look at the trend for job growth, definitely slower than last year but not dramatically so. And after a pretty weak start to the year, hiring has picked up a bit. So, look, you put it all together and this does paint the picture of a jobs market that is holding up a lot better than feared. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, that's encouraging. All right, Matt, thank you very, very much, Matt Egan reporting.

And coming up, by the way, in our next hour, Matt will be back with us to break down who will be worse off with this new mega bill. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Still ahead, Wolf, a situation room special report, the dark side of A.I. chatbots, when the search for companionship leads to dangerous consequences.

BLITZER: And we're of course continuing to watch Capitol Hill where House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is hours, hours into a speech on the House floor to delay the vote on Trump's mega bill. We'll speak to House Republican Conference Chair Congresswoman Lisa McClain. That's next right here in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Right now, the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is more than five hours into a speech on the House floor blasting President Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill, as Republicans appear to be on the verge of passing the legislation and sending it to the president's desk just ahead of the self-imposed July 4th deadline.

Here's what the House speaker, Mike Johnson, just said. Listen.

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Yes, we're excited to get this done. If Hakeem will stop talking, we'll get the job done for the American people. It takes a lot longer to build a lie than to tell the truth, so he's really spinning a long tail in there. But we're excited that people will see the effect of this bill to be extraordinary legislation. It's going to get the economy humming again, really, at a record pace, and it will help every American. So, the sooner we can get to it, the sooner the Democrats will stop talking, we'll get this bill done for the people, and we're really excited about it. So I'm ready to roll.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I to discuss this and more right now with the chair of the House of Republican Conference, Lisa McClain. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us.

Republicans appear to have the votes necessary to pass this bill after several holdouts flipped following a meeting with President Trump. Are they getting behind this bill now because of pressure from President Trump or because it's best for Americans?

REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI): Well, I think both. I think what those holdouts were doing was exactly what we were all doing. We are advocating for our districts, right? We live in a republic. We all advocate for our districts. And our districts at times are very different and very diverse.

So, I think we all got together. We all wanted to get to a yes. And then last night in the, you know, I think, what was it, 3:00 in the morning, after having several conversations with each other and the president, we've concluded that this is the best, most conservative bill that we can put on the floor to pass for the American people. And hopefully we're going to get that done soon.

BLITZER: It looks like you will. The president to repeatedly promise though, to not touch Medicaid. Listen to what he said earlier this year. I'll play this clip. Listen to this.

MCCLAIN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We are going to love and cherish Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. We're not going to do anything with that.

The people on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, those people are going to be more secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But despite what he said, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which is, of course, respected by both Democrats and Republicans, projects 12 million more people would be uninsured because of Medicaid provisions in this legislation. Did the president mislead the American public about not cutting Medicaid?

MCCLAIN: Yes, I don't think so at all and here's why I say that. If you are one of the most vulnerable and need Medicaid, you're a pregnant mother, you're disabled, you are elderly, you know, the people who need the Medicaid, the absolute most, you should be extremely excited because what Republicans did and President Trump did is just make sure that that Medicaid program is there for years to come.

See, there's a difference between having Medicaid for people who need it the most versus people when, under Obama, he expanded Medicaid and there's a ton of waste, fraud, and abuse. So, he's cleaning up, we're cleaning up the waste, the fraud and abuse, and we're putting work requirements in Medicaid to make sure that the people who are most vulnerable don't have to wait behind able-bodied adults to keep that, to get their Medicaid, and it is here for years to come.

Not to mention what we're doing with the economy, we're getting more people working. We're energizing the economy, stimulating the economy, so that more people are paying into those programs, not taking from those programs. So, actually, this is a tremendous win for people.

BLITZER: But the Kaiser Family Foundation, Congresswoman, estimated an earlier version of this bill would cause as many as 340,000 people in your state of Michigan to lose their health coverage. And your state's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, says Republicans in Michigan, and I'm quoting her now, need to listen to their constituents.

Let me play a little bit more of what your governor said. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): 17 million Americans could lose healthcare. Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders, hundreds of hospitals and nursing homes could be shut down, forcing Michiganders to travel further just to see their doctor.

This is life or death for millions of Americans.

[10:20:01]

Republicans representing Michigan need to listen to their constituents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Congresswoman, what do you say to your governor and fellow Michiganders who may lose their health insurance as a result of this bill?

MCCLAIN: Yes. What I say is don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, Gretchen. Let's take a look at the facts is we expanded Medicaid, right? If you are able-bodied, Medicaid was never put in place to be a long-term solution for able-bodied people to work. Also, Gretchen, let's clean up our roles. Let's clean up and make sure that we are rooting out the waste, the fraud, and the abuse. That is a good thing to make sure that the people need it most.

But I do agree with her on this. I have listened to my constituents and my constituents applaud us for what we're doing. My constituents want to work. They want to make sure that their disabled child is receiving Medicaid and doesn't have to stand in line behind an able- bodied person. So, we do agree with each other on that.

BLITZER: This legislation includes restrictions, new restrictions on Medicaid recipients. It doesn't include expanding Medicaid, is that right?

MCCLAIN: Right, right. And one of the restrictions is that if you're able-bodied, you have to work or volunteer 20 hours a week. See, most of my constituents believe that if you have a right to something, you also have a responsibility as well. So, most of my constituents don't think that the restriction of working or volunteering to receive Medicaid 20 hours a week is a bridge too far. They actually are excited about that because they're building skills to actually go back into the workforce.

So, that's an exciting point. There's opportunity, there's optimism. You know, fear sells, but at the end of the day, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, Wolf.

BLITZER: An analysis of a near final version of the Senate bill from Penn Wharton, the budget model they estimate that for the top a 0.1 percent, top 1.1 percent of U.S. earners, this bill would amount to an income gain of nearly $300,000 a year. Are you comfortable with a piece of legislation that would make the wealthy even a lot wealthier and low income earners worse off?

MCCLAIN: Well, I don't understand the premise, and I disagree with you on the premise of the low income earners worse off. Because, Wolf, if we didn't pass this if you are in the 12 percent tax bracket making about $48,000, if we didn't pass this piece of legislation, your tax bracket would go up to 25 percent. I think that is making low income earners worse off.

So, again, we got to make sure that we're telling the facts of the story, and that is the fact.

BLITZER: Are you also comfortable with millionaires getting additional tax breaks?

MCCLAIN: Listen, I believe that everybody, whether you're middle income, upper income, it doesn't matter. I believe people are better stewards of their money than the federal government. The federal government is not efficient. It is not effective with taxpayer dollars. Hence, we're $36 trillion in debt, right? I believe in people. I believe that we shouldn't give the government a pay raise. I actually believe we should give people a pay raise. And that's the difference in the strategy between the Democrats and the Republicans.

BLITZER: Congresswoman, Pamela Brown, my co-anchor, has a question for you.

BROWN: Oh, I was going to follow up on your question about the wealthiest, but you talk about how much the country is in debt and how this bill is conservative, but it's going to add trillions to the debt ceiling. And that was a big reason. And the CBO estimated it could add trillions to the debt. I mean, that was a big reason why some of these GOP holdouts have been on the fence. Are you comfortable with adding to the debt and raising the debt ceiling that much?

MCCLAIN: No, I'm not comfortable with the debt. But it's the bottom line that counts provided you know how to count. So, when you take a look at the debt ceiling and when you take a look at a budget, there's two pieces. There's your expenses, right, which we are spending $1.6 trillion less, right, than we did. $1.6 trillion less money we're spending, but there's another piece, and that's the growth or the income piece, what you're receiving in.

The CBO has scored this at 1.8 percent growth rate. The last time we had 1.8 percent growth rate, I think, was during World War II. We haven't had that growth weight in decades.

[10:25:02]

But if we get just 0.1 percent growth difference, from 1.8 to 1.9, historically, growth rates have been about 2.2, 2.3-ish, depending on the period of time you look at, that's over $1.5 trillion in growth rates.

So, if we just get that little growth rate or just get back to 2 percent, we're at even. So, again, it's the bottom line that counts provided you know how to count and you got to look at both ends of the stick.

BLITZER: All right. Republican Congresswoman Lisa McClain of Michigan, thanks so much for joining us.

MCCLAIN: Always good to see you guys. Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you. Pamela? BROWN: Coming up at Idaho family at a crossroads over an A.I. chatbot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's to stop this program from saying, oh, well, since she doesn't believe you or she's not supporting you, you know, you should just leave her and you can do better things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: When the search for companionship goes a step too far, my Situation Room special report is next.

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