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Trump To Sign His Mega Bill Into Law At Major July 4 Ceremony; Trump Talks To Zelenskyy After Disappointing Call With Putin; Trump Says, Hamas Response To Ceasefire Should Be Known In Next 24 Hours. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 04, 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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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, President Trump is celebrating this 4th of July with a major legislative victory. In just hours, his so-called big, beautiful bill will be signed into law.

Plus, a warning now from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security about so-called lone wolf attacks just ahead of your 4th of July celebrations.

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

Today at the White House, Independence Day is the backdrop for President Trump celebrating the biggest legislative victory of his second term. He will sign his newly passed spending bill for his very ambitious agenda. And minutes ago, he completed a phone call with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It comes after what President Trump described as a very disappointing phone call with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, yesterday, President Trump says Putin is not interested in ending the war. And after that phone call, Russia actually escalated its strikes, launching a record number of drone attacks at Ukraine.In Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, the terrifying buzz of a Russian drone outside a residential window, followed by a massive explosion.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, what can you tell us, first of all, about this Trump- Zelenskyy phone conversation?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, we understand it has just wrapped up. And certainly that barrage of missiles and drones that hit Ukraine overnight will be an important backdrop to this conversation. The president just this week announcing that the administration would halt shipments of defensive weapons to Ukraine, citing concerns about dwindling stockpiles in the United States. And, in fact, some of the missiles that Russia fired into Ukraine overnight can only be intercepted by U.S. Patriot missiles. And so I think for Zelenskyy, a key objective of this conversation was trying to get more clarity on what exactly this pause would entail. Just last night, President Trump essentially denied that the U.S. has stopped shipping weapons to Ukraine, which I think is an interesting data point. You know, there has been some confusion among the agencies about where exactly this pause originated. Zelenskyy, I think, adamant that Ukraine still needs those weapons in order to protect himself and his country as this war grinds on.

We also understand that the president spoke this morning with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. There has been some discussion about Germany potentially buying U.S. Patriot missiles and then transferring them to Ukraine, trying to bolster Kyiv's defenses as this war persists.

Yesterday, President Trump did speak with Vladimir Putin. He described it as not a particularly optimistic conversation. Listen to more of what the president said.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin because I don't think he's there. I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed. Well, it is not -- I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTA: So, the president saying he made no progress whatsoever with Putin, clearly frustrated that this conflict in Ukraine grinds on.

BLITZER: Kevin, this afternoon, the president will be holding a signing ceremony for what he calls his big, beautiful bill. What can you tell us about the expectation for that?

LIPTAK: Yes. This is a victory lap for the president, after this, the most decisive legislative victory of his second term so far. He's essentially turning the traditional July 4th picnic into a celebration of this win.

Aside from the signing itself, the big highlight will be a flyover by those B-2 bombers that dropped the bunker-busters on Iranian nuclear sites last month, which I think kind of underscores what a consequential stretch of time this has been for the president, starting with what happened in the Middle East, that consequential NATO summit last week, the Supreme Court decision that kind of expanded his executive power and now this decisive victory in Congress.

[10:05:10]

The president himself says that he is now more powerful this term than he was the first time around in office. But, of course, the real test now is to sell this bill to the American people at task, just beginning now for the President. Wolf? BLITZER: We'll see how that goes. Kevin Liptak at the White House for us, thank you very, very much.

And on this 4th of July, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are both reminding celebrators to be on alert for the possibility of attacks by lone individuals.

I want to bring in CNN Reporter Mark Morales who's joining us right now from New York. Mark, they say the lone actors are the biggest terrorism threat to this year's festivities. What else do we know about their latest assessment?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Right, Wolf. And now as you say, it's the biggest threat. And it's possibly the biggest threat because they're the hardest to defend. But it's not just those lone wolf attacks. It's how recent events that have transpired, how they are creating other people to become those lone wolves.

So, obviously, since October 7th, we've all been in a heightened sense of alert, but we're looking at the Israel-Hamas in Gaza, and how that has inspired other people to want to do some of these lone wolf attacks. And it's also been the assassination attempts in Minneapolis. We're talking about the civil unrest that's happened in L.A. and New York and how that might inspire other people to want to do something.

And if that's not enough, there's also a very specific warning about somebody wanting to actually mimic the attack that we saw in New Year's Day, that ramming attack in New Orleans, and even something as far as using drones as part of some sort of terror attack.

Now, in response to this in New York City, the NYPD is really ramping u. he how their -- what their security plan is going to be. There's going to be more officers on the ground. More plain-clothed closed officers are going to be mixed in with crowds.

There's going to be an increase in technology, which means they're going to have their own drones in the air. They're going to have their aviation units. They're going to have their counterterrorism boats in the harbors that are going to be patrolling the area where the revelers are going to be and where they're actually going to be shooting off these fireworks.

And I spoke yesterday with the head of counterintelligence and head of counterterrorism and intelligence for the NYPD. And she tells me that this is sort of like the everywhere, all at once model, meaning that it's all of these events that are happening, and usually they deal with them individually one by one. But the difference now is that they're dealing with them all at the same time. Wolf?

BLITZER: And security is very intense here in the nation's capital in Washington, D.C., as well, as I witnessed earlier this morning.

Mark Morales in New York for us, thank you very, very much.

Also new this morning, President Trump says we should know within the next 24 hours how Hamas will respond to, to the latest ceasefire proposal with Israel. And today, families of the remaining hostages continue their calls for a ceasefire by protesting outside the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv, let's go live to Jerusalem.

Right now, our Jerusalem Bureau chief or Lieberman is watching all of this unfold. Oren, I understand we're getting new details about the timeline of the latest proposal. What can you tell us?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, if we have learned more about how this would play out, if it's agreed to by Hamas over the 60 days.

As opposed to previous versions of the proposal that had the hostage releases packed at the beginning of those 60 days, here, you can see the dates here and it's much more spread out. I'll point out a couple of those first on day one, eight of the ten living hostages would come out. The other two are much later as part of the 60 days, they come out on day 50. And then there are 18 deceased hostages that would come out as part of this latest proposal. The last eight of those would come out on day 60. That has been a demand of Hamas to make sure Israel sticks to the agreement throughout the entire period.

And then in terms of withdrawals and movement, on day one, we would see Israeli forces withdraw from parts of Northern Gaza as agreed to in what would be proximity talks that have to take place before the ceasefire goes into effect, though those in principle can move quite quickly. On day one, you would also see the immediate beginning of negotiations towards a permanent ceasefire.

That is a key element here that Hamas has demanded from the beginning and what they have demanded is a stronger guarantee to get to a permanent ceasefire, even if negotiations aren't done in the 60 days. And that, from what we've learned from sources familiar with the negotiations, comes directly from President Donald Trump.

After those first hostages begin coming out, we would also see Israel release Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of this broader agreement. On day seven, then we would see Israel withdraw from parts of Southern Gaza. Again, that's agreed to by the maps that both sides have to effectively work out once we have the framework agreed to.

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Crucially though, Wolf, we are now waiting for Hamas' response. Qatar put forward this proposal earlier this week. Israel agreed on Tuesday, and now again we wait for Hamas.

BLITZER: On another sensitive issue, what can you tell us, Oren, about Israel's most recent strikes against various targets in Lebanon?

LIEBERMANN: Israel has carried on a number of strikes in Southern Lebanon and south of Beirut. We have seen a fairly steady if infrequent cadence of Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Israel says it's going after members of Hezbollah, terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, this after the ceasefire that we've seen in place for several months. And although these strikes can be seen and have been criticized as violating that ceasefire, it has not broken down. One of the conditions in the ceasefire is that the only security forces in Southern Lebanon, south of the Litani River, are the Lebanese Security Forces, essentially their official military and not Hezbollah. And that's what Israel says they're targeting.

BLITZER: All right. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem for us, Oren, thank you very, very much. We'll stay in close touch with you.

Also happening today, a group of migrants is expected to arrive in South Sudan after being held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti for weeks. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can deport certain migrants to places that are not their native countries with little notice.

CNN Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is here with me in The Situation Room. Priscilla, this is another major Supreme Court win for the Trump administration. What more can you tell us about this latest move?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, and it is a huge deal for the president's immigration agenda because it will also allow them, pave the way for them to send migrants who may not have ties to certain countries to those countries critical to their mass deportation campaign.

Now, to understand what happened yesterday, you have to understand what happened in May. And at that time, the Trump administration had tried to deport a group of migrants with criminal convictions to South Sudan. But a judge put those deportations on hold, essentially saying that they had to be provided some notice to contest their removal.

So, in the interim, they were held in a military base in Djibouti, and that is where they happen over the last several weeks as this case has been ongoing. But what the Supreme Court said yesterday is that, in fact, these migrants can be sent to South Sudan, and that is exactly what we are expecting to happen very shortly.

Now, there was a very sharp descent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and I'll read that to you. It says, what the government wants to do concretely is send the eight non-citizens it illegally removed from the United States, from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death. She went on to say, today's order, referring to yesterday, clarifies only one thing. Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial. So, again, sharp words from the justice on this.

The administration, however, is taking this as a win, the Department of Homeland Security calling it a win for the rule of law, safety, and security of the American people.

Wolf, if we zoom out here, this, again, paves the way for the administration to send migrants to countries that are not their own as they deport them. And when you pair that with the amount of monies in the bill that was passed by Congress yesterday and is expected to be signed by the president today, unprecedented number of amount of money for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, together, this really does put them leaning toward doing the mass deportation that they have so often talked about. So, the two -- these two things happening yesterday were quite critical to their agenda.

BLITZER: It seems to me that the administration wants to send a message to potential migrants coming to the United States. If you come here and we find you, you could wind up in South Sudan.

ALVAREZ: To potential end to those in the United States, Wolf. I have talked to undocumented immigrants in the United States who say, we're not just worried about being deported to our home country anymore, we're worried we could be sent anywhere else and with very little notice. And South Sudan is, of course, an example of how terrifying that may be. So, yes, it is a deterrent, but it is also something that is weighing on the people in the United States already, and the administration has been encouraging them to voluntarily depart.

BLITZER: No matter who you are, you don't want to necessarily wind up in South Sudan. I think that's for sure. All right thanks very much, Priscilla, for that update.

Meanwhile, five Florida state lawmakers were denied entry into a controversial new detention center in Florida just hours after the first group of detainees actually had arrived. One of the lawmakers says they were told it was due to a safety concern, which they say prompted the question if it's unsafe for them, how is it safe for the detainees?

Joining us now, CNN Correspondent Rafael Romo. Rafael, what more do we know about the conditions in this new detention center?

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's very little information, Wolf. There's very few people that have actually been there, and these lawmakers say they were worried about humanitarian concerns at the facility, and that's why they wanted to assess conditions inside by personally visiting the side. But they didn't get too far, Wolf. The lawmakers say they weren't even able to see the outer perimeter of the tent facility known as Alligator Alcatraz only hours after the arrival of the first group of detainees.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the detention center, later cited a safety concern for the denial without offering specific details, according to one of the lawmakers. President Donald Trump toured the facility on Tuesday, as we reported, along with his Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, their host, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Shortly after their visit, Wolf, summer storms flooded part of the facility. Video from CNN-affiliate Spectrum News 13 shows wires submerged in pooling water across the floor, high winds made the floor and walls of the facilities tremble. And Florida officials later said that vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water in tradition during the heavy storm, calling it minimal.

Florida State Representative Anna Eskamani, one of the lawmakers trying to visit the facility, referred to the detention center as a political stunt. Let's take a listen.

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STATE REP. ANNA ESKAMANI (D-FL): based on reports that we've been able to glean. The site is already experiencing flooding. The first individuals who have been detained with no due process have arrived. And it's so essential when you have hundreds of millions of public dollars being spent on a political stunt that we have the ability to see for our own eyes what is happening, and to be the voices of our constituents.

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ROMO: And, Wolf, it's not clear how many detainees there are this morning at the facility. What we know is that Florida officials say it has a capacity for 3,000. Now back to you.

BLITZER: All right, Rafael Romo with the latest on that, thank you very much.

Still ahead, I'll speak with Republican Congressman Chuck Fleischmann about the passing of President Trump's agenda bill and what it will mean for his constituents in Tennessee.

Plus, 16 time champion Joey Chestnut makes his big return to Nathan's famous hotdog eating contest, how he's preparing for today's big event. We'll update you on that as well.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room

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BLITZER: We're following the latest developments out of the White House where today, President Trump will sign his massive spending bill into law later this afternoon. It's the biggest legislative win of his second term and follows a narrow House vote. In the end, only two House Republicans voted no on this sweeping agenda.

I want to discuss what's going on with Republican Congressman Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee. You voted for this bill, Congressman. Democrats are blasting the legislation, as you well know, saying it takes away health care for needy people to fund tax breaks for millionaires. How do you respond to the criticism that you're getting from your Democratic colleagues?

REP. CHUCK FLEISCHMANN (R-TN): Well, really, it's not much of a criticism at all. It doesn't hold much weight. The reality is, in this big, beautiful bill, Wolf, we have seen something accomplished that was not even done in the first term. We've addressed, not only keeping tax cuts, permanent tax cuts for hardworking Americans in place. We've seen border security, we've seen energy, we've seen so many different things that we could just not get done singularly throughout the legislative process.

I really wish we could have more bipartisan buy-in because there's a lot in this bill, no tax on tips. This bill does what I'm glad to see Republicans do that I've been pleading for, for years that Donald Trump has fulfilled. We are the party now of the working class, of hardworking Americans. We've protected seniors. We've actually secured Medicaid. Social Security and Medicare are safe, not even touching this bill. As a matter of fact, Social Security benefits for many of our senior citizens in terms of taxation has actually been more beneficial.

So, a big bill tremendous, tremendous win for the president in the Senate. I actually voted for the House bill twice when it came back from the Senate. I preferred the original tax bill in the House, but I voted for the Senate version, only two defections. A big, big win for the president.

BLITZER: Having said all that, Congressman, we did some checking, and I know you've long said you're very, very concerned about the nation's national debt. I want to place some things you've said over the years. Listen to this and then we'll get your reaction.

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FLEISCHMANN: We must fix our debt crisis before it's too late.

So, my commitment to you and where I stand is to work hard to get our fiscal house in order.

REPORTER: What do you believe is the number one threat to the United States where you and I sit today?

FLEISCHMANN: National debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Congressman, the latest estimate, as you know, from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says this bill would increase the nation's national debt by more than $3 trillion over the next decade. How do you square your longtime support for cutting the national debt when this bill substantially adds to it?

FLEISCHMANN: Well, I stand by those earlier comments. I said, gee whiz, I know that guy that you just played. The reality is, Wolf, that the drivers of our national debt are not discretionary spending plans.

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They are actually the mandatory spending programs. Of the three, the only one that was really touched in this bill was Medicaid.

And, ultimately, I believe that if we can grow the economy and these tax cuts, whether it was Jack Kennedy, whether it was Ronald Reagan, or now Donald Trump, we have a situation that if we reduce taxes on corporations, on hardworking Americans, on senior citizens, they will go out and work harder, and as an aggregate, we will actually see more money come into the treasury. I fundamentally believe that then and now, because I believe it's the people's money and not the government's money.

But having said that, at some point in time, when we look at what's on mandatory spending, one of the big things is actually interest on the national debt. These are things that even as an appropriator, 75 percent of the federal budget is mandatory spending programs, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, interest on the national debt, about 85 percent of the Affordable Care Act and other programs, they automatically recur.

So, am I still concerned about the national debt? Yes. When I went to Congress, it was 15 trillion. It's 36 trillion now. We still need to do that. But this bill so fundamentally changed so many things for hardworking Americans. I do think we're going to see growth, we're going to see prosperity, and we're going to see border security, so many different things that we could not have done singularly in legislation just by the nature of the numbers in the House and the Senate and the way that we have to legislate right now in Congress.

BLITZER: But, Congressman, this bill dramatically increases the national debt by the trillions over the next ten years. You'll agree with me on that?

FLEISCHMANN: Well, not necessarily it. If we have the growth and growth of revenue because of reduced taxes, remember, in my ethos, reduced taxes on hardworking Americans will ultimately mean more money for the treasury because people will be incentivized to go out and work more.

But until America, and we are not ready right now, whether it's Republicans, Democrats, or independents, or in any of the branches to address the real drivers of our debt, which is mandatory spending, we will not see any type of abatement.

The numbers, people my age are going on Social Security at $10,000 a day. At some point in time, the baby boomers will, will age out and will have a situation where younger people, the dynamics will change. But for right now, for the next decade or so, we're going to see increased deficits just based on mandatory spending, unless we're willing to make some type of reforms to that, the political will is not there. It was not going to be there in this bill.

If you heard, my Democratic colleagues at first said, we're screaming about Medicare. It was not touched. It is safe. It is going to be safe for our seniors. This is not scare tactics. The reality, Wolf, is we're going to grow this economy. We're going to move our country forward, but we do need to all work together, I think at some point to get us in a better place fiscally for our long-term debt.

BLITZER: But a lot of folks in Tennessee are going to lose Medicaid right now. You know that, right?

FLEISCHMANN: Well, not necessarily. A lot of illegals will and a lot of people who perhaps all across the country who can actually work. What this bill does, and I fervently believe this, it actually makes a situation where if somebody is truly needy, it actually protects their benefits, whether they're in Tennessee, California, New York, or Vermont. But the reality is the American people don't want people who can work, should work or illegals to be getting these benefits, whether they're SNAP or whether they're Medicaid and the like. States are going to have to get their fiscal house in order.

I live in a state Tennessee that has no state income tax that actually is fiscally responsible, balances its budget every year by constitutional amendment. We're in good shape. These blue states that have been run horribly for years will never get out of debt. We don't want that in Washington, D.C. And what I told people is we need to bring Tennessee values to Washington, fiscal responsibility. I think this bill is a big step in the right direction.

But Speaker Johnson is right, and Donald Trump is right. We're still going to have to do more. This is part one of a several phase project. What I hope and pray is that Democrats will join us on some path towards fiscal sustainability and fiscal responsibility.

BLITZER: Congressman, we're out of time, but I just want to point out that the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that this bill that you supported and is about to be signed into law by the president will leave nearly 300,000 people in your state of Tennessee without health coverage, health coverage that they have right now. And that's a serious issue and, politically, it could be very, very damaging to the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.

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I assume you're worried about that.

FLEISCHMANN: I'm not.