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Interview with Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL): Trump Pushes GOP Holdouts on Capitol Hill to Pass "Big, Beautiful Bill"; DOJ Charges New Jersey Rep. McIver with Assault After Scuffle at ICE Facility; Department of Veterans Affairs Weighs Keeping Harvard Contracts Focused on Veteran Suicides, Cancer Screening. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 20, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00]

REP. JIMMY PATRONIS (R-FL): In order to maybe secure health insurance in the private sector, that frees up dollars for disabled, for elderly, for women. So again, this is where my heart is.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Is that person able-bodied? Sir, that's my question though.

PATRONIS: I want those dollars to go to --

KEILAR: But Congressman, you're -- that's my question. Is that an able-bodied person? Someone who is in rehab dealing with addiction, would you consider that an able-bodied person?

PATRONIS: The able-bodied person I'm talking about is the 25-year-old who's sitting on his couch playing Xbox.

KEILAR: And you think there's just a ton of those?

PATRONIS: That's the person that I feel like should -- I don't know how many of them exist, but I know there is going to be a population that are getting that benefit when they really could be out in the workforce and securing it through the private sector, which is better for everybody. I like those dollars to be available to those who most need it, not those that actually have a pathway to get access to healthcare because they're capable of seeking work that provides it for them.

KEILAR: Arkansas tried to implement work requirements for Medicaid in 2018. Over 18,000 people lost coverage before the law was overturned by a federal court. Are you comfortable with those kind of numbers nationwide?

PATRONIS: Well, I think we have got a system that obviously needs to be tighter because what we've got, Medicaid --

KEILAR: Are those acceptable numbers?

PATRONIS: Well, again, I want Medicaid to be sustainable. Making it sustainable, making sure that we take care of those that are most vulnerable.

KEILAR: Well, that may make it sustainable. Are you OK with that kind of number?

PATRONIS: Again, I have no idea what the finances are of Arkansas, if they had some other way to absorb it. But I know this. When it comes to Medicaid, it's the single largest part of the Florida budget. We have got to manage it because it's not getting any smaller.

But if you were able to go out and secure private health insurance because you're able to seek employment, you know what? That's not a bad way to help us make sure those dollars are going to those people who truly need it.

KEILAR: So if you're looking at numbers like that to get to that point, I mean, this is sort of a state case study in terms of populations and in terms of people having, you know, whatever work requirement and health issue or not. And you can expect that in other places there would be a lot of people losing coverage. Is that acceptable?

PATRONIS: No, it's plausible. I'm not a citizen of Arkansas, don't tell me I ever move in there, and don't know what they have had to deal with with that. I'm not familiar with the court case you're speaking to.

But I do know Florida, I knew Florida Medicaid, and I know that we did not expand so we can make sure we had a manageable system on our hands. And what I'm concerned with is in these other states where they have expanded, they have created a monster that is going to be difficult to manage. Look, I don't want to cut anybody's benefits, but I definitely want to make sure that the elderly, our seniors, our women, our children, that they always have a robust safety net that always takes care of them.

That is the purpose of Medicaid.

KEILAR: All right, Congressman Jimmy Patronis, we appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us.

PATRONIS: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: And we'll be right back.

[13:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: New Jersey Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is responding to assault charges filed against her by the Justice Department over the skirmish with federal officers outside an immigration detention center in Newark. The Democrat is accused of assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement officials during this altercation. She was among a group of protesters trying to stop the arrest of Newark Mayor Ross Baraka, who's also been charged with trespassing, though those charges have since been dropped. McIver told CNN that she did nothing wrong and that the federal charges against her are absurd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LAMONICA MCIVER (D-NJ): I think the charges are absurd. You know, it's ridiculous. I was there to do my job along with my other colleagues.

We have done this before. This is our obligation to do. It's in our job description to have oversight over a facility, and the entire situation was escalated by ICE.

They caused the confrontation. Homeland came and, you know, caused this chaos that we see. It was a very tense situation, but it could have been, you know, easily not -- it could have easily not happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Elliot Williams is a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. He also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs at the DOJ and was Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs at ICE, and also he's from New Jersey, so several layers.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The great garden state of New Jersey.

SANCHEZ: Several layers of expertise here. So, Elliot, why is she being charged?

WILLIAMS: Yes, the law on this, Boris, is quite open-ended and really does support at least a charge. So the law says if someone forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates or interferes and makes physical contact with a federal officer during carrying out their duties, they can be charged with a crime. Now, that's the low standard for just getting into court with a charge.

SANCHEZ: So carrying out their duties. What about her carrying out what she says are her duties in visiting in a way that she's allowed to as a member of Congress, showing up and visiting this facility and having access to it being blocked?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely. I was very careful in the words I used there, saying just to bring a charge. I have a hard time seeing how this holds up in court for that reason and others too.

Number one, there are a number of statements from her both before and after, which are very rare from someone who's charged with a crime, making clear the reason why she was there was pursuant to her duties as a member of Congress. And that's going to cause some concern for a jury, I think, number one.

Number two, there's ambiguity in the videos of that scuffle.

[13:40:00] Both sides are using it to their advantage or at least attempting to. And if you're going to put that in front of a jury, it might be challenging to get to that really high burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Number three, they take her on a tour of the facility afterwards. So even after all of that, they still let her in. And so this question of how serious was the scuffle or whatever else.

And finally, at the scene, she shouts, I believe, ma'am, he just assaulted me. All of these things muddy the waters a little bit for the government and might complicate their ability to get a conviction here.

SANCHEZ: I do want to point out just to be as accurate as possible in the way that I was describing it, she didn't just show up. This was a planned visit by these members of Congress. CNN does have reporting that the DOJ tried to negotiate a plea deal that she declined.

Is that the right move legally?

WILLIAMS: Possibly. Now, in order to get a plea agreement, the defendant or the accused has to admit to some form of conduct. Now she says, they wanted me to admit to something that I did not do.

So perhaps they wanted her to admit that she engaged in an act of trespass, that she admit that she had used force to push or shove somebody. And so perhaps she wasn't comfortable with it. Now, again, they can strike some other plea deal that has her not admitting the things that she doesn't want to admit to, but that's between the parties.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we'll see how it shakes out. Elliot Williams, appreciate the expertise.

WILLIAMS: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, man.

Coming up, the WNBA is investigating alleged racial slurs directed at star player Angel Reese during a rivalry game in Indianapolis. Up next, we have new details on the claims and reaction from the other stars in the league.

[13:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. We're learning some new details about that Mexican Navy ship that crashed into the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday.

A source with knowledge of the investigation telling CNN that the ship's propeller was in reverse at the time of the crash, pushing it in the wrong direction. Investigators are looking at whether the vessel was able to steer at the time of the collision, which did kill two crew members.

And after a 22-year-old Colombian model and influencer was shot dead in her home on Thursday, police are investigating security footage that shows a man running away from the scene.

After a loud bang is heard, followed by screaming, you can see in that video and hear in that video, authorities say the suspect was disguised as a delivery man and shot Maria Jose Estupinan when she opened her door. Her death is coming just days after Valeria Marquez, who is also an influencer, was killed in Mexico while she was live streaming from a salon.

And we have new audio into CNN from a close call happening at LaGuardia Airport in New York earlier this month. The FAA says an air traffic controller canceled the takeoff clearance for American Eagle flight 4736 because a United flight was already taxiing down the same runway. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOWER CONTROLLER: Brickyard 47-36, stop!

4736 PILOT: Brickyard 47-36 stopped. Rejected takeoff runway 1-3.

TOWER CONTROLLER: Brickyard 47-36, sorry about that I thought United had cleared well before that.

Uh just stay there for a moment I got to get the other United out of the way and we'll get you off the runway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, the agency, along with the NTSB, are investigating that incident -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: There's new fallout from Saturday's WNBA game that featured a heated clash between two of the sport's biggest stars. The league is now investigating alleged racial slurs from fans targeting Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTER ANCHOR: Well, no one on the Indiana Fever say they heard any hateful comments from their sellout crowd on Saturday, but someone on social media claims there were hateful noises directed at Angel Reese after she was fouled by Caitlin Clark. That foul was upgraded to a flagrant and was the latest episode to the rivalry between Clark and Reese. The WNBA says they are looking into the allegations of a hateful fan behavior during the game in Indianapolis.

And it was Clark when asked about it after practice yesterday.

CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER GUARD: There's no place for that in our game. There's no place for that in society. And you know, certainly we want every person that comes into our arena, whether player, whether fan, to have a great experience.

So I appreciate the league doing that. I appreciate, you know, the Fever organization has been at the forefront of that since really day one and what they're doing. So well, you know, hopefully the investigation will leave that up to them to find anything and take the proper action, if so.

SCHOLES: And the Fever are back on the court tonight hosting the dream.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Andy Scholes for that update.

Still ahead, Home Depot executives say they plan to keep prices stable despite President Trump's tariffs. There is a catch, though.

We'll explain next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Don't go anywhere.

[13:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Today in our Homefront segment, there is a fierce debate that is unfolding right now at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Vital programs focused on the risk of suicide among veterans are facing cuts because the Trump administration has frozen more than $2 billion in federal funding for Harvard University. Now veterans advocates are sounding the alarm.

According to the latest VA statistics, more than 6,400 veterans died by suicide in 2022. We have CNN's Sean Lyngaas here with details on this. And you've got your hands on some important documents here, Sean.

What kinds of veterans programs are we talking about?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN REPORTER: That's right. So, Brianna, the Veterans Affairs Department is looking at a range of programs to say, OK, can we do this in-house? Do we have to contract someone to do this? Can we provide these services on our own without spending money? And a number of people across the department have spoken up and saying, Hey, wait a minute. No, we can't.

And in this case, it was a suicide prevention program. So working with Harvard Medical School to track veterans at risk of suicide and deciding whether they should be discharged from a hospital or kept in the hospital, that program to track that data was under threat, is under threat. The VA hasn't made a formal decision on whether to cancel it.

But CNN obtained internal e-mails discussing the pros -- the strong need for that program, including one person saying more veterans will die if we cancel this program.

[13:55:00] And so the debate is spilling out into the open because people are desperate to get the word out. Because this is, as you said, this is a follow on from the tension with Harvard and the Trump administration.

KEILAR: But aside from that, put that out of the way. This is a life or death issue for veterans. So what's Harvard saying about it?

LYNGAAS: Well, Brianna, they're trying to tell the line. They've put out some statements saying these programs are vital in general. They're trying, I think, privately to fight for them.

But it's a very delicate dance because they're being attacked from a number of different sides by the Trump administration. And I talked to the professor who runs the suicide prevention program yesterday. And he said, you know, I don't know what tomorrow will bring.

They might divorce me tomorrow, but for now the program is still available. I can go and look at the data. But if we lose that data, that is a window into veterans' health and understanding that millions of veterans were at risk of suicide in this country.

KEILAR: So important. Sean, thank you so much for your great reporting. Really appreciate it.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)