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Sources: Trump GOP Sen Cassidy Got into Shouting Match; Trump Refuses to Sign Housing Bill, Cites Stalled Voting Measure; Rep. John Rose (R-TX) Discusses About Housing Bill; Soon: Trump Meets with NATO Chief Rutte at White House; Former Top Adviser to Ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams Arrested 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 24, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... on Scotland in the World Cup here in Miami. Randi Kaye, CNN, Miami.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Record-breaking attendance, but will they get a bigger bat and a bigger ball? We just don't know if that's going to happen. Certainly, there was record enthusiasm that night at the game. A new hour of CNN News Central starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: From a shouting match with one Senate Republican to a potentially tense sit-down with NATO Secretary General, a busy couple of hours for the President. We're following all of it.

Plus, a close call, a new investigation into a near-miss between two planes at Boston's airport, a pilot on one flight taking evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.

And too hot to handle, extreme heat torching records across Europe, leading to questions about the continent's future in an era of climate change.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Today, President Trump met for lunch with Senate Republicans, and apparently it got ugly. Multiple sources telling CNN the meal was very intense. At one point, the President reportedly getting into a shouting match with one senator. Sources saying that he was furious after the Senate voted to limit his war powers yesterday. Very different tone, the President said, though, as he left the room. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we had a really great meeting, and we're very proud of the party. We like our leader. We like everybody, really, in the room. I don't like a few people, but that's okay. I think you know who they are. But we -- I'll -- I'll give you -- I'll give you that information someday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill for us.

So, Lauren, take us behind closed doors. What happened inside that room?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, what we have heard from sources that were in that room and Senator Bill Cassidy himself is that this was an exchange that really escalated with the President. Bill Cassidy telling our colleague Morgan Rimmer just a few moments ago that he lost his temper.

Essentially, the President was asking why these four Republican senators would vote for this War Powers vote last night. And at that point, Cassidy told our colleague Morgan Rimmer that he asked the President, is that a rhetorical question or do you want to actually know the answer?

The President invited him to share why he voted the way that he did. And essentially, Cassidy berated the President for what has transpired in Iran, for not being clear with Congress about his actions in the region, and essentially arguing that until he got a more fulsome briefing of what was transpiring, he was going to continue voting the way that he was voting.

Cassidy said that the President was raising his voice and in response, he continued to raise his. He said he lost his temper, that he's not necessarily proud of that fact, but he joked it was the Irish in him. I mean, obviously, this was an extremely tense exchange. A lot of Republican senators coming out of that meeting noted that it had taken place. Some of them, Senator Tommy Tuberville tried to downplay it to me, arguing that it was a really cordial exchange, that they were just having a difference of opinion on the issue of Iran.

But obviously, there is history here, right, between the President and Bill Cassidy, who recently lost a primary to a Senate-backed -- to a Trump-backed challenger, Julia Letlow, just a few weeks ago. So, Cassidy has been feeling unchained by -- untethered to the President, doesn't feel like he needs to continue walking in lockstep. And obviously, that was something that transpired during lunch.

I would also just point out to you that he was not alone in the vote that he took yesterday. Senator Susan Collins, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Rand Paul all voted with Democrats as well on that War Powers resolution. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Lauren Fox for us on Capitol Hill. Thank you so much for that. Brianna.

KEILAR: One of the Republican co-sponsors of the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act is joining us now. Congressman John Rose of Tennessee serves on the House Financial Services Committee. He helped champion the bill that President Trump suddenly rejected today.

All right, Congressman, let's talk a little bit about this housing bill. It passed with a veto-proof majority. Isn't this bill essential for Americans? REP. JOHN ROSE (R-TX): Well, I wouldn't say necessarily essential, but

I think it's good for Americans. And I think this is a good legislation that will expand the stock of housing in our country and make homeownership more attainable and affordable for literally millions of Americans.

KEILAR: Why is it not essential?

ROSE: Well, I -- I mean, you know, the -- you know, these things don't have to happen. I just think it's good policy to clear hurdles and make it more possible for the stock of house ng to be increased in our country. We all want to see homeownership attainable and affordable.

[15:05:06]

And so, these are policies that I think will help to achieve that, including, you know, my own part of the legislation that it is, you know, aimed at making -- that's increasing the housing supply in the United States. And so,, I, you know, in the case of my part of the legislation, by making it, you know, easier for manufactured housing to be -- to be attainable for American citizens and, you know, allowing innovation to happen. And so, these are all good policies and I think ultimately will become law.

KEILAR: Yes, a lot of people agreed with you on both sides of the aisle this past 358 to 32 in the House of Representatives, which you -- you know of -- of all people that that doesn't happen too often and 85 to five in the Senate. With that in mind, and you've said it, you said buying a home is a fundamental part of the American Dream. Why should Americans who are eager to be able to afford that American Dream wait?

ROSE: Well, I -- you know, these things take time. We've been working on this for quite some time. In the case of my legislation, it's taken five decades to 50 years to get this done.

KEILAR: No, I mean, why should they wait? The President -- the President is -- he -- he scrapped the signing of the bill as it was almost underway because he wants this elections bill passed. Why should this be held hostage to that?

ROSE: Well, it -- well, I don't know that I would say it's being held hostage, but I think the President is making the point that the SAVE America Act, which I very much support, and you know, the House has passed it now three times. I suspect we'll pass it again here. It needs to move on the Senate side. I absolutely agree with the President about that. And I think he's right to underscore the necessity of that. You know, you talk about the virtual consensus around the ROAD to the 21st Century Housing Act that we passed yesterday and that ought to become law, but over 83 percent of Americans want to see the SAVE America Act passed, including over 70 percent of Democrats.

So, that legislation shares the virtual unanimity as far as those things go in this country of the American people's support. And we should safeguard our elections. Americans overwhelmingly agree of both political parties. Unfortunately, Democrats are playing politics with this ...

KEILAR: Well, let me -- no -- let me stop you there.

ROSE: Ignoring (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: They -- they agree -- Republicans also don't -- Republicans are not on board in the Senate on this. There's a -- there's a division even in your party on the Senate side of this. Americans agree with voter ID. This is significantly more than a voter ID bill. This is a bill that when you register to vote complicates mail registration, complicates online registration because it requires a birth certificate or a U.S. passport or a naturalization certificate, which is really, you know, difficult. I will tell you as an American not born in America, that's something that would complicate something for people like me.

This also relies on that voter roll database that has had these false negatives when it comes to finding people as it urges states to verify voter eligibility using the federal verification tool. And Trump also wants to add ending most mail-in voting, which as you're aware of, a lot of Republicans have concerns about.

So, when you actually do ask Americans about those things, I think the support becomes a little murkier than you're characterizing it.

ROSE: Well, I don't think so. I think in fairness, the SAVE America Act, there are certainly other reforms that have been proposed, but the SAVE America Act has two fundamental precepts. One is you ought to be an American citizen and you ought to be able to prove that before you're able to vote. And when you show up to vote, you ought to be able to demonstrate that you're who you say you are. And Americans support that over 83 percent of Americans support that. And note that we can't get any support from Democrats, despite the fact that over 70 percent of Democrats support those two basic precepts.

KEILAR: You're having a problem with Republicans.

ROSE: So, this ...

KEILAR: I mean, we can talk about Democrats all day long, but in the Senate side, you're having problems with Republicans who are not on board with this bill. I want to point out the Heritage Foundation database have confirmed fraud cases shows fewer than a hundred examples of non-citizens improperly casting ballots between 2000 and 2025.

ROSE: Well, so again, if -- if it's not a problem, then it shouldn't be a problem to pass this. We require people to -- to prove who they are every day (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: But that's the point is I'm -- I'm explaining to you why Republicans are opposed to it because they say you're creating a problem with the bill.

ROSE: Well, I don't think that -- I don't think that's the issue. I think there are Republicans who are opposed to ending the filibuster in the Senate. I think that's a mistake because I think it's an excuse that Republicans in the Senate, and -- and with all due respect, I think Leader Thune is -- is not advancing that because they don't want to remove that. They fear that, but I think what they are actually doing is standing in the way of policies that the American people want to see implemented.

[15:10:03]

In the case of Republicans standing in the way of fulfilling the promises that Republicans have made to the American people, and we're using filibuster as an excuse to do that, something that's not in the Constitution, something that's been created as an obstacle in the Senate that was never contemplated by the framers of the Constitution.

And so, we ought to end the filibuster and we ought to pass the SAVE America Act because that's what Americans want to see us do, just as they want to see the ROAD to the 21st Century Housing Act passed and -- and both would be good for this country and both, I think, are entirely defensible and justifiable.

I think there's a lot of pretext and pretense around why we shouldn't do this. Again, you know, we know that you (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: Okay, but let me -- let me ask you about -- if I may interrupt you ...

ROSE: (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: You -- you're -- you're talking about getting rid of the filibuster. I mean, you saw what happened, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani the mayor of New York, his picks just swept in these New York races, you're talking about getting rid of a filibuster, which would mean Democrats also would not have a filibuster. I mean, is this the climate in which you would want Democrats to not have a filibuster? Aren't you afraid when the shoes on the other foot?

ROSE: You know, I -- I would be fearful of that, but they've already promised to do that. So,, I don't think we have to wonder about what their plans are. They tried it the last time they controlled the Senate. Thankfully, there were two Democratic senators at that time that are no longer in the Senate that stood in the way of it. But I think they planned to do it.

And the best way for Republicans to make sure that doesn't happen is to deliver for the American people. And the best way to deliver for the American people is to secure our elections so that we know the true wishes of the American people are known and that Democrats are not able to cheat our elections by allowing people who are not, you know, legally entitled to vote to interfere in our elections. And so, we need to pass SAVE America to help secure future elections in this country.

KEILAR: All right, Congressman John Rose, we'll see where things go from here. We heard it was a very testy lunch between President Trump and Republican senators. So, we'll see what comes out of it. Thanks for being with us. ROSE: Thanks for having me on.

KEILAR: Still to come, President Trump coming face to face with the head of NATO after slamming the alliance for not helping with the war with Iran. So, how will the secretary general handle the President's frustrations? We're going to talk to a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

Plus, it's not a blue wave. It's a tsunami in New York's democratic politics. A look at the resounding victories for progressives challenging the status quo and what it could mean for the party in the midterms.

We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:06]

SANCHEZ: Moments from now President Trump is set to host NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. The meeting happening at a tense moment for the alliance. The President has publicly fumed over NATO allies refusal to get more involved in the war with Iran.

Just last week Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would review the size of the U.S. military's presence in Europe. With us now to discuss, CNN Senior Military Analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis. He's now vice chairman of the Carlyle investment firm.

Admiral, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

What are you anticipating that we're going to hear from the secretary general?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Mark Rutte, the former prime minister of the Netherlands. He was prime minister when I was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and I worked closely with him. He's calm. He's steady. He handles President Trump quite well. I think what we're going to hear from the Secretary General now, Mark Rutte, is that Europe will step up, not dropping bombs over Tehran, but I'm increasingly confident and I'm certainly hopeful that the European members of NATO will be part of opening the Strait of Hormuz, Boris.

And they can do that by mine sweeping. They have excellent mine sweepers. They can provide guided missile frigates and destroyers to escort the merchant ships through. So, look for something tangible from the secretary general. I think that will put Trump in a better place with NATO. And I think we're going to have a pretty good meeting, to be honest.

SANCHEZ: Well, the -- the backdrop of this meeting is the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey set for about two weeks from now. There are concerns, given that the Pentagon has recently been reviewing U.S. force posture in Europe, that there may be some change there, that we may see some form of drawdown or a stepping back of U.S. forces on the continent. What would a shift like that mean, not only for Europe, but also for adversaries like Russia?

STAVRIDIS: Sometimes how you do something is at least as important as what you're trying to do. And what I mean by that, Boris, is it's perfectly acceptable and normal for the United States to review its troop levels. When I commanded European NATO and European command, I had about a hundred thousand U.S. troops, just U.S. troops under my command in Europe. And we were constantly looking at, is that the right number? Do we need to shift some to the Pacific, for example, because of rising tensions with China? In those days, should we put more in Afghanistan?

So, reviewing force posture is fine. What is not fine is simply declaring, by fiat, very abruptly, hey, we're going to pull out thousands of troops.

[15:20:05]

That needs to be done in consultation. Done in the right way, there'll be no problem. If the United States does it in an abrupt, non- consensual, non-coordinated fashion, it'll lead to a lot of tension at that summit. Let's hope we don't end up in the latter situation.

SANCHEZ: I also want to ask you about the Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting with Gulf allies. He says that a -- a key goal of ongoing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which as we've seen have been critical for the broader agreement with Iran, is for the Lebanese army to take control of territory back from Hezbollah. That sounds like it's a lot easier said than done.

STAVRIDIS: That's a perfect way to categorize it. Yes, it is going to be a significant challenge, particularly if Hezbollah continues to be supported, as they have been by Iran. You've really got a very volatile situation there. And as currently constituted, trained, and equipped, believe me, the Lebanese army is not capable of simply taking control from Hezbollah. Perhaps working with Israel, they might be able to take some measure of Hezbollah, push them back away from the border.

Over time, Hezbollah needs to be encouraged to depart Lebanon. They've infected that country for decades, and they will continue to do everything they can to stay there.

Final thought for us, the reason Iran is so supportive of Hezbollah is because by doing so in this moment, they drive a wedge between the United States and Israel, who end up kind of in divergent directions. We need to be smart on the U.S. side, and the Israelis need to be smart and work with us to put pressure to support the Lebanese army.

Ultimately, we can do this. We can overcome the Iranian support, but we need to work together on it.

SANCHEZ: We're seeing that dynamic play out as you speak, the sort of divergent views of how Israel should respond to Hezbollah attacks. Admiral James Stavridis, thanks so much for joining us. STAVRIDIS: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still ahead, a former top advisor to ex-New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrested on corruption charges. What we're learning about this investigation straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:11]

KEILAR: The former chief of staff to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal bribery and money laundering charges. Frank Carone was among four people who were arrested today. Carone's brother and two others are also charged. And according to the indictment, they were part of an alleged scheme to exploit the city's migrant crisis for profit. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is with us now on this story.

Gloria, tell us what you're learning.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, we've had a chance to read through that indictment and the charges against Frank Carone, as you said, a very senior level, former advisor to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. This all appears to stem an alleged bribery scheme involving Carone and hotel operators that the city had to contract during the migrant crisis here a few years ago.

You remember, at one point we were seeing hundreds of daily arrivals of migrants here in New York City. And because New York City has an obligation to provide shelter to people who needed, the city went and contracted with a number of hotel operators. And this indictment says that Carone is accused of taking bribes in order to steer those hotel contracts to specific hotel operators who were essentially giving him a payout.

Frank Carone has been sort of under the eye of federal law enforcement officials for a while now, certainly since Mayor Adams was himself under investigation. And we are hearing from the former mayor today. He issued a statement defending Carone and his career, saying, quote, "Frank Carone has dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York. This is an ongoing legal matter, and my prayers are with his family."

Brianna, I should also mention that we have heard back from attorneys who are representing Carone. They denied the allegations, and they believe that he will be vindicated in court.

KEILAR: There's also, Gloria, a separate investigation underway into former and current NYPD officers, some who worked under the Adams administration. What can you tell us about that?

PAZMINO: That's right. If -- if you could keep up, you know, with all of the news coming out -- coming out of New York City today, you have the former administration, several members of the senior cabinet facing federal charges, this separate investigation being conducted by the Southern District, the U.S. Attorney's Office here in New York, targeting current and former members of the NYPD. This is regarding an alleged bribery scheme involving senior-level officials within the department.

[15:30:06]

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch acknowledged the investigation earlier