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The Situation Room

Awaiting Possible Major Supreme Court Rulings; Iran Framework Deal Prompts Mixed Reactions from GOP Lawmakers; Millions in New York City for Knicks Championship Parade. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 18, 2026 - 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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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, opinion day. The Supreme Court is expected to release decisions for several big cases with their term almost over.

Plus, tornado touchdown, severe weather from Illinois all the way to New Orleans, and it's not over yet.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also happening now, sealing the deal. President Trump signs the Iran agreement to end the war despite criticism at home and abroad. We're live at the White House as the vice president, J.D. Vance, prepares to answer questions.

Plus, empire state of mind, thousands line the streets of Lower Manhattan for the New York Knicks championship parade. We're live from New York City.

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.

Happening now, at any moment, we could hear major decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are some of the rulings that potentially could impact everything, from the power of the president to the definition of being an American. They include the president's authority to fire federal officials, transgender sports bans for student athletes, state power over gun carry laws, and the scope of the birthright citizenship issue.

Let's go live right now to CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Elie, there's no way of knowing what decisions are coming down, at least as of right now, but in the next few minutes we should know. What are you expecting? What is the biggest one potentially we could learn about?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, the biggest case we're watching for, as you said, is birthright citizenship.

Now, this goes all the way back to the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the end of the Civil War, and it tells us that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens. Now, that was our general understanding for the next 150-plus years, that, essentially, if you're born here, you are a citizen, until President Trump, on his first day back in office in January of 2025, issued an executive order that would severely curtail the scope of birthright citizenship. Essentially, under President Trump's order, it would not apply if the parents are here illegally or temporarily. And so if that goes into effect, that will impact millions of people.

Now, Wolf, this case was argued to the court back in April. It seemed at the time as if the justices were leaning against the Trump administration's position, but you never know until you see the opinion. It is one of the 20 that we're waiting on, and we're getting the next batch as we speak.

BLITZER: What are some of the other major decisions potentially that we could learn about?

HONIG: Well, there's a big case about mail-in ballots. So, Mississippi is 1 of about 30 states that will accept and count mail-in ballots if they're received a certain number of days after Election Day in November. In Mississippi, it's five days. Other states allow more or less time. And the question is, are those state laws constitutional?

Now, the Trump administration and others argued that, no, you have to cut it off at Election Day, and any ballots counted after -- received after Election Day should not be counted. That case was argued back in March. That, of course, will impact our elections. We're in election season now.

There also is a big pending case that you mentioned earlier around transgender athletes. So, about half the states in the country have laws that say transgender athletes cannot compete in women and girls' sports. And so this is a case that was argued to the Supreme Court in January. Are those restrictions constitutional? Do they discriminate unconstitutionally on the basis of sex or not? That's another big one we're waiting for.

And then, Wolf, there's a series of cases about the scope of presidential power. One of them has to do with the president's ability and authority to fire the head of quasi-independent federal agencies, like the FTC, the Federal Trade Communication. The court has allowed Donald Trump to fire the head of the FTC. That person has filed a lawsuit challenging that. That's one decision.

And then separate, there's a case about the president's authority to fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The president has tried to fire one of those Federal Reserve governors, Lisa Cook, and so that's pending as well.

All of this is at stake, Wolf, and we'll get the next batch of opinions as we speak.

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BLITZER: We certainly will. Elie, thank you very much. Don't go too far away. We'll be anticipating some major rulings that could come down in the next few minutes. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. New this morning, take a look at this earth- shaking explosion in Russia. This right here is a key oil refinery struck by Ukraine's largest drone attack on Moscow since the war began. And you can see the lid from a storage container blasted into the sky right here. It's the second time this week the refinery has been hit.

And take a look at this scene, black smoke nearly swallowing the skyline. Kyiv is targeting more energy sites deep inside Russia. The refinery is more than 300 miles from Ukraine's border.

Happening now, the framework deal reached between the U.S. and Iran is getting mixed reactions across the world and right here in Washington. President Trump signed a hard copy of the 14-point memorandum of understanding aimed at ending Middle East military operations and opening nuclear talks. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the deal, while Iranian newspapers declared victory for their country.

And here's how one Republican senator, who, by the way, lost his primary last month to a Trump-backed challenger, characterized the agreement.

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SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): This will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder. Iran ends up stronger. Our allies in the region are weaker. And Iran has learned that if they are willing to grab that Strait of Hormuz and choke it off, they can get the western world to dance to their tune. I think it's a deep mistake.

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BROWN: All right. CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House. Betsy, tell us more about how President Trump is responding to criticism of this deal, and what comes next in these negotiations?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, Pamela. Well, the president's reaction at 4:30 this morning is to lash out at his haters who have been critical of the deal, saying in a post to social media, quote, the fools who think I haven't been tough enough on Iran when the stock market just hit a record high and oil prices are tumbling down are either jealous, bad people, or stupid.

As for your question about what comes next, there are going to be so many questions for Vice President J.D. Vance, who's really taken a leading role in these negotiations. He is set to face reporters in the briefing room just about an hour from now. Many questions ahead, and all of that as he prepares to head to Switzerland, where they, according to Swiss officials, are going to begin the first round of negotiations on the more complicated, thorny technical details of this agreement.

Now, the White House has a very challenging job right now, and that is to convince a skeptical American public, including Republicans, that this is, one, different from the Obama-era Iran deal that President Trump has been so critical of, and that it is a good deal for the United States.

Now, President Trump making that case yesterday in France, as he said that it will ensure that Iran cannot procure or produce a nuclear weapon. He says it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil thoroughfare. He also sought to defend criticism that Iran is getting waivers to export oil. He also defended a provision that commits the U.S. and regional partners to develop a $300 billion reconstruction fund.

But it sounds like we're getting some news from the Supreme Court. Back to you.

BROWN: All right. Betsy Klein, thanks so much.

BLITZER: And happening now, a major celebration, the New York Knicks championship parade kicking off right now with millions of fans already lining the streets of New York City. Look at this.

BROWN: Lots going on there. Today's Ticker-tape parade could be the biggest celebration this city has ever seen.

CNN Anchor and Correspondent Omar Jimenez is right outside New York City Hall where the parade will end. Quite the vibe going on there, Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Everywhere you look it is blue and orange today as we're watching live images of the parade underway. That's Mikal Bridges, one of the three former Villanova players alongside Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, who helped bring the Knicks and this city something this place has not seen in more than 50 years.

And that's why this celebration is such a big deal here. When you talk about the sheer scale of it, look, we're talking about the biggest city in the country, but the NYPD has been preparing for millions of people to show up. And these are people, by the way, that -- they showed up at 4:00 o'clock in the morning for a parade that just started officially a few minutes ago, hoping for the chance to get a glimpse of their famed heroes up close.

Again, Mikal Bridges with that video camera out as this parade's been getting underway.

I mean, you talk about the historic nature of this. This is something that has not been done in 50 years. This is something the city for generations has been waiting on. And I asked New York City's Mayor Zohran Mamdani about what this moment meant. Because for those that weren't in the city the night that the Knicks won the championship, it just turned into a citywide celebration, the likes of which New Yorkers tell me they have never seen.

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Take a listen to how he described it in his words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: Had you ever seen a night like that personally in New York City?

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): No.

JIMENEZ: How would you describe it?

MAMDANI: Yes, I've -- it feels like the biggest city in the country became the smallest town in the world. People were walking the streets thinking they were going to one watch party, ending up just gathered around somebody's car. Trunk is open. There's a T.V. playing the game. They're walking, they see a LinkNYC kiosk, they're watching the stream, or, as you said, they just find it being projected on a wall.

I mean, where I was watching the game, we had the game on inside. Outside, it was being projected onto the wall across the street. They were on, like, a maybe two-second delay. And so we would celebrate, you know, Landry Shamet hitting a three, and then you could -- if you wanted to relive it, you could run outside and watch it again.

And I think that it's a beautiful thing, because so often the city unites in moments of tragedy, and to unite in a moment of joy, it can't really be explained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And that's the thing that can't be overstated here. Everywhere you went, I mean, you had a conversation starter to anybody on the streets. You would say, go Knicks. You'd see someone in a blue jersey or an orange hat, and all of a sudden you're striking up a conversation on the subway, as you see people waving to the camera here.

I mean, New York City is a place where you don't look each other in the eyes when you walk by, and all of a sudden that feeling is, as the mayor pointed out, biggest city in the country becoming the smallest town in the world. It's been very much so apparent, and we're expecting that to culminate not just in this parade, but the celebration that'll happen behind me at the end of it. Wolf, Pam?

BROWN: Yes, so much disconnection happening. And you're right. Whenever I visit New York City, you know, you walk down the streets, people are looking down at their phone. They're not looking at you. The Knicks have changed everything. They've changed the dynamic. And as you point out, people started lining up there in the very early morning hours. This means so much to them. It's historic.

And I know, Omar, you are a huge Knicks fan. Tell us what you're looking forward to most.

JIMENEZ: Well, I support the Knicks. I grew up in Atlanta, so, you know, I got a lot of different spots. I'm not going to say that too loudly. But I support the Knicks. You know, I live in New York City. And one of the things that you can't help but get attached to is the magnetic energy of the city. Once they realize, not so much that they were going to win, but that they had the chance to win, entering the finals, going up in that series initially, showing that they could beat the San Antonio Spurs consistently, it was like the energy kept growing and growing and growing.

And on the night of that opportunity of an elimination game, people were out on the streets. They had projectors out on the walls. People were gathering. Police were trying to get them out of the streets because so many people were crowding onto corners itself.

And, again, I've only lived here a few years, and so I haven't seen anything like this. And then you talk to the people that have lived here all their lives, and they can't even remember a time when the energy has been like this for the biggest city in the country.

BLITZER: Every -- all the time I speak with friends or family who live in New York, they are so excited. They just want to talk about the New York Knicks. They don't want to talk about politics or any other major subject. They love the Knicks, and that's certainly coming forward with this huge, huge demonstration of fans emerging today to say thank you, New York Knicks. It's an exciting moment.

And, as you know, Omar, I'm looking forward to the day when my fellow Buffalonians will be doing something like this on the streets of Buffalo when my Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl, and I'm hoping that happens soon.

BROWN: All roads lead back to Buffalo on this show.

BLITZER: Correct.

JIMENEZ: All New York. All New York.

BLITZER: Correct, it would be Buffalo, New York.

BROWN: And it's also worth noting, Omar, 53 years ago when the Knicks won, there wasn't this type of parade, this Ticker-tape parade. I mean, this is truly historic.

JIMENEZ: Yes. This is the first time we're seeing it, and especially at this scale, seeing it at this scale. For example, I mean, you talk about you're seeing obviously fans, you're seeing the players, but you're seeing a lot of police too. Over 10,000 police officers deployed to help keep this safe. And just for perspective, that is almost the size of the entire Chicago Police Department, just to give you an idea, and that is the second largest police department in the country. That's the scale that we are talking about here.

And the fans themselves, yes, we talked about the NYPD expecting millions, but they had to actually close the viewing pens, which is what you're seeing on your screen there, where a lot of these fans are behind those barricades, where you get screened before you come in. They closed those hours before the start of this parade just because there were so many people that had lined up for the early morning hours to get a good seat. I tried to get here at 5:30 in the morning just to, you know, do my job and start covering some of this. I exited the subway. I couldn't even get out of the subway station at 5:30 in the morning. I have never dealt with that in my entire life, and it took me almost 30 minutes to eventually do so and find my way here to City Hall, where, again, we're awaiting the celebration that will come at the end of this parade.

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These fans have been waiting for so long. And, you know, you mentioned the 1970s. One of the things you get the sense of talking to people here is that it really is this generational experience. You know, someone's grandparents might have experienced the runs of the 1970s and those championships, and then someone's parents might remember the '90s and how close the Knicks got there, even the heartbreaking game seven, just getting so close and then not quite getting it done against the Spurs in 1999. And then here you are in 2026, you're that person that's able to now talk about it with your entire family. Maybe talk about how Jalen Brunson would've fared in the 1970s.

And so all of a sudden it's bringing all of these people together in a way that I think is unique to the drought that New York City has had in terms of championship, but also unique to the energy of what has become this city over the past few weeks, culminating now in this parade at a massive, massive scale. Wolf?

BLITZER: And we're about to see, Omar, what, 72 floats start moving down the streets of New York City right now. What do we know about those floats?

JIMENEZ: Yes, those floats are going to be featuring a lot of different people. You're going to see some celebrities as a part of them. You're just really going to get a taste, a sense of the Knicks fandom. That's really the range of what we're going to see as part of these floats.

You saw some of the players that were actually walking on foot. That's going to be a little different from what we're seeing on the floats themselves.

But this route, it's known as the Canyon of Heroes here in New York City. It's a very common route for people who win the championships in their respective sports. But one thing that is unique about the Knicks, I mean, anyone who follows sports knows that this city has multiple teams for every sport. So, you have the Mets and the Yankees in baseball, you have the Jets and the Giants in the NFL. And even though there are the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA, you can't tell that to a lot of people in this city. They are very singularly focused on the Knicks. And so when the Knicks win, it is a very different feeling.

It was something I actually spoke to former Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia about after the game four historic comeback, which was the largest in NBA finals history, and he's won a World Series with the Yankees. And so I asked him, hey -- by the way, the Knicks hadn't even won at that point, but I asked him, how does this energy compare to when the Yankees have won in the past? And he said, there's no comparison.

And so that is what we are talking about here. The floats obviously going to be a major part of this, the players walking through going to be a major part of this, and the setup behind me, they're keeping the run of show a little tight-lipped, but it's obviously -- you can see the jerseys lining City Hall behind me at this point. It is going to kick off sort of a culmination and celebration both verbally, musically, of what this city -- what this team means to this city. And as you can see from the people that have been lined up for hours, it means a whole lot.

BROWN: Yes, that's where they'll be arriving at the end of the parade to get the, quote/unquote, key to the city.

Omar Jimenez, quite the assignment today. Thanks so much. And we have special coverage coming up, by the way, as we talk to fans along the parade route and have a few special guests as well. That's in about 15 minutes.

BLITZER: And still ahead, a soaked Gulf Coast right now, could get even more dangerous flooding as severe weather hits several states. We're tracking the threat.

And we're also live in Chicago for today's opening ceremony of the Barack Obama Presidential Center and Library. We'll have special live coverage coming up. You'll want to see this. That's coming up in our next hour.

You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: We're following breaking news. The U.S. Supreme Court has curbed the power of the federal government to disarm frequent marijuana users.

BROWN: CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid joins us now outside the Supreme Court and CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst Laura Coates joins us as well.

But I want to go to you first, Paula. Tell us about this decision that came down.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, this is one of the big ones we've been waiting for. They just released it, and here, the Supreme Court says that you do not lose your Second Amendment right just because you are a frequent user of marijuana.

Now, here, this case looks at a law that was passed in the 1960s. The goal was to keep weapons out of the hands of frequent drug users, including those who use marijuana.

Now, as we know, over the past 60-some odd years, the country's stance towards marijuana has really softened. So, here, the justices said that this law just is not consistent with the Second Amendment.

But it's interesting because this case really encompasses a lot of the different trends that we're seeing not only in the country, but also at the Supreme Court. This conservative supermajority has a very expansive view of the Second Amendment. But during arguments, it was clear that the majority of justices were skeptical about this law and the restrictions.

I will also note, this is the same law that was used to prosecute former President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, though the drug in that case was, of course, crack cocaine. He was eventually pardoned by his dad. But I'm only holding up one big case because they only gave us three cases today.

Pamela, they still have 17 cases outstanding and only seven business days left in June, so we are still waiting to hear what they decide on a lot of other major questions, many questions about President Trump's executive power, his ability to limit birthright citizenship, which officials he can and cannot fire. Also, really other important questions, other questions about gun rights, and also a major case about transgender students in sports. So, we'll be here for the next few weeks, waiting for those major decisions.

BLITZER: Laura Coates is with us as well.

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What do you think, Laura?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: This is interesting for the reasons that Paula has named, but also, remember, the Supreme Court in 2022 issued a pretty broad ruling, essentially saying that they're not going to continue to uphold the constitutionality of laws that relate to Second Amendment rights that were not at least an analog or similar to the founding of this country, because they want that particular right, the Second Amendment, to be so sacrosanct in many ways.

And the idea of the evolution of thought with respect to drug use, in particular marijuana, and how various states have a patchwork of how they look at the drug, how they view it in terms of the penal code and system, has made it very confusing for lower courts to try to administer consistency. One of the things that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has really criticized over the long haul has been the patchwork of different drug laws that make it inconsistent, and therefore perhaps not uniformly just or objective.

This is another case where they're trying to say, the Second Amendment, it is strong, it remains, and you cannot lose it based on the confusion or lack of guidance from other states.

BLITZER: Interesting stuff. All right, Laura Coates, thank you. Paula Reid, thanks to you as well.

BROWN: All right. And coming up here in The Situation Room, the Knicks faithful are out in full force. The team is making their way to City Hall to celebrate their first NBA championship in over 50 years.

Our special coverage is next right after a short break.

And before we head to break, a new CNN poll shows that Barack Obama is the most popular living president. 57 percent of Americans view Obama positively, while his successor is Donald Trump, received a 34 percent, and Joe Biden received 30.

BLITZER: This poll comes as former President Barack Obama is getting ready to open his presidential center and library in Chicago today. I along with CNN's Sara Sidner will be anchoring our live special coverage of the center's opening ceremony. We'll be hearing from former President Obama, Michelle Obama, and there'll be a lot of musical entertainment as well, including Bruce Springsteen. He'll be performing.

Our special live coverage will begin 11:30 A.M. Eastern.

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