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The Situation Room

Republicans Target Medicaid Cuts; Tips to Help Lower Back Pain; Rapper Testifies in Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial; Two People Killed Outside Capital Jewish Museum. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 11:30   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 HOST: We are following breaking news this morning.

Israel says that it is bolstering security at its missions around the world after a deadly attack on two embassy staffers here in Washington. Witnesses say a man was seen pacing outside the Capital Jewish Museum and then opened fire as people walked out.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: The victims, a young couple. The Israeli ambassador to the United States says they were about to be engaged next week.

And just a short time ago, we heard from a colleague of one of the victims praising how special the American woman was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. COCHAV ELKAYAM-LEVY, COLLEAGUE OF VICTIM: As a colleague, that she was a very vibrant young woman, wanted to help to everyone, wanted to make sure we are doing our work in the best way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now, Eric Fingerhut, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America.

Eric, thanks so much for joining us.

I want to first of all, get your thoughts, your reaction to this horrifying attack on these two young people just outside the Capital Jewish Museum here in Washington.

ERIC FINGERHUT, PRESIDENT AND CEO, JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA: Well, unfortunately, Wolf, what we witnessed yesterday experienced, which is so awful and traumatic, is but yet another example in this growing problem of domestic terrorism of which the Jewish community is the target. They clearly targeted a Jewish institution, where a Jewish crowd would

be. Whether they knew specifically these were embassy employees or not, we don't know. But they clearly -- he clearly targeted this Jewish institution. And, of course, we have Jewish institutions and gatherings like this every night in every community all around the country.

And the incitement that is leading to this terrorism and then the terrorism itself is something that simply has to be tackled as the crisis in America that it is. Our Jewish communities, as always, are responding by caring for the victims and coming together.

We have been working on our own security for years, ever since the Tree of Life shootings in 2018. We have built security programs in every community. We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars, 10 times increasing the private philanthropy and cost of security.

But this is a national crisis. And we need the focus to be of the federal government and on this national crisis so that we can protect our community and all communities.

[11:35:09]

BROWN: You know, the cruel irony here too is that this was an interfaith event that talked about aid for Gaza. What's your reaction to that?

FINGERHUT: Well, what we know is that the incitement, the language, look, whether it's the encampments on campus or, in our case, we have seen city council meetings disrupted and school board meetings disrupted and other civic centers, spaces disrupted and harassment, and the language of incitement obviously helps contribute to this.

We know that the incitement on the Internet helps contribute to this as well. So it doesn't bear any relationship to what's actually happening or the facts on the ground. This is pure incitement to hatred. And, sooner or later, it leads to violence.

There have been dozens of these incidents. Thank God many of them are discovered and are stopped, but this is a -- this really is a crisis. And when you have literally the threat of violence when a Jewish community wants to gather together, and they have to take these extraordinary measures for security to protect themselves, and, even then, something like this can happen, really, we have a crisis that must be addressed.

All of our Jewish communities are working together. We need support from the federal government. The costs of bearing this security burden, personnel, the security is for camps and faith schools and preschools and synagogues is just so overwhelming.

We -- our FBI has to be empowered like this is the war that it actually is and resourced. We spend a trillion dollars in our defense budget to fight wars overseas. We need to -- and terrorism overseas. We need to have an equal effort in our fight against terrorism here at home. And our local law enforcement needs help, so that they can patrol these institutions and protect these institutions in a way that, unfortunately, we need to have right now. And we all have to stand up and not say that any of this inciting language is OK. It is not OK. It has to stop now.

And everyone in our community, not just the Jewish community, has to play a role in saying, enough is enough.

BROWN: How would you describe then what you just laid out, the threat level in the Jewish community right now?

FINGERHUT: Well, I would say that we understand. I mean, this isn't about knowing that there is a specific person threatening somebody else.

If you wait for that to happen, then that we're -- that we have already -- we're all going to suffer from the incidents. We have to understand that the culture that has been created of incitement on -- in public spaces in America and on the Internet is inevitably going to cause some people who are part of different extremist organizations to be activated and to take these kinds of actions.

So we have to stop the incitement at its source, but we also, because we know that that's a very difficult challenge to do -- to do completely and totally, we must have the kind of law enforcement at the federal and local level, and we must have the kind of security support that will protect our community, because, otherwise, people will not continue to feel safe to participate in Jewish life.

And we're doing the very best we can. Every Jewish federation, every community has taken responsibility for security. They have built community security initiatives. We have national support from Security Community Network and other groups that we support. And every synagogue, every day school is spending inordinate amounts of money, JCCs, on security.

But at the end of the day, it is the government's responsibility to protect its citizens in its places of worship, its places of communal gathering, and, certainly, and certainly -- and when they choose to come together as a faith-based community.

And so we need that kind of attention and that kind of help. We're obviously heartened to hear their comments from the president, from members of Congress and others, but we need really strong action.

BLITZER: Eric Fingerhut, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, thanks so much for joining us.

And, by the way, in just a few moments, the mayor of D.C., Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, will give an update on this shooting. We will bring that to you live.

We will be right back after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [11:44:17]

BROWN: Happening now, Kid Cudi is on the stand in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Prosecutors are questioning the rapper about his relationship with Combs' former longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

Kid Cudi testified that Ventura was distressed when Combs found out she was dating him back in 2011.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is right outside the courthouse in New York.

Leigh, what else is the jury hearing from Kid Cudi?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pam, good to be with you.

So, cross-examination of Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, has just started. But in his initial testimony, he was telling the jury and telling prosecutors about the distress that Sean "Diddy" Combs allegedly felt after learning that him and Cassie Ventura started dating, even testifying that Combs, along with some other of his associates, had broken into Kid Cudi's home in December 2011.

[11:45:07]

Just a month later, he said he got a call from his dog watcher that his car was on fire in his driveway. He said that it appeared that someone cut open the top of his Porsche and a Molotov cocktail was placed inside, completely destroying that car.

At that point, Kid Cudi said that he had reached out to Combs, saying -- quote -- "I reached out to Sean Combs after my car caught fire and finally told him that we needed to meet up to talk. He had been wanting to talk to me. So, after the fire, I felt like this was getting out of hand. I needed to talk to him."

Now, in that meeting, he said it was a very calm meeting between him and Combs, and Combs denied having anything to do with his vehicle that caught fire. And they went their separate ways. He testified that he had seen him again in 2015 and that Combs had pulled him aside and apologized for everything that had previously happened between the two of them, saying -- Kid Cudi saying on the stand that he had found peace with this whole incident between the two of them.

BROWN: All right, Leigh Waldman, thank you -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And up next: President Trump got his sweeping domestic policy bill through the House of Representatives. How does he get it through the U.S. Senate now?

But, first, a simple lifestyle change could be key for treating or preventing lower back pain.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more in today's "Chasing Life."

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's "Chasing Life" podcast.

Lower back pain, it affects hundreds of millions of people. And new research suggests there's an easy way to possibly prevent it. And that's by simply walking, simply moving. A recent study linked walking to fewer flare-ups and backaches. And we know that walking is good for the entire body. It strengthens muscles and improves metabolism, among other things.

Don't try and do too much at first. Make sure to vary your pace and distance throughout the week, especially if you're in pain. Also, consider adding resistance training and stretching, particularly back exercises, to your routine. Experts also recommend getting proper- fitting shoes with good arch support, very important for your hips and your back.

You can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcasts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[11:52:09]

BROWN: On Capitol Hill, Speaker Mike Johnson delivering a major win to President Trump this morning, as House Republicans narrowly passed the president's sweeping tax and spending cuts bill.

Now the bill heads to the Senate with some key changes to Medicaid. It has been at the center of some big claims from both parties, so we wanted to ask, how do those claims stack up?

BLITZER: Good question.

CNN senior reporter Daniel Dale joining us now for a fact-check. That's what he does.

Daniel, let's start with Republicans right now. Here's some of what President Trump has said in recent days. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No cuts to Medicaid. We're not touching anything. All I want is one thing, three words. We don't want any waste, fraud, or abuse. Very simple, waste, fraud, abuse. Other than that, we're leaving it.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can you guarantee that your voters who supported you in the election, particularly working-class voters, will not lose health insurance under this bill?

TRUMP: Oh, they won't lose health insurance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So what's the reality here?

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: The reality, Wolf, is that this bill does cut Medicaid and would result in some Americans, undoubtedly including some Trump supporters, losing health insurance.

Now, precisely how many, we don't know. We should be cautious. We're dealing with estimates here. But we do have an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that this bill would result in 7.6 million additional uninsured people in 2034.

And I should note that estimate came out before Republicans made a last-minute change to accelerate the introduction of work requirements for Medicaid. That could result in additional uninsured people. So how big are the cuts we're talking about?

Well, about $700 billion in Medicaid savings to the government, CBO estimates. Now, President Trump says waste, fraud, abuse, vague terms. But if the impression he's trying to create is that you can get to $700 billion by cutting out some phony billing or something, you just can't.

Expert after expert has told our excellent policy reporter Tami Luhby that these savings would primarily be achieved by having fewer people enrolled in the program. Now, why would some -- so many additional -- so many fewer people be enrolled? Well, this bill would introduce those work requirements, requiring people to have a job or be volunteering, be enrolled in job training or be in school.

It would cut funding to certain states. It would impose additional administrative paperwork burdens, requiring people to prove their eligibility more frequently. It would require some enrollees to pay for part of their coverage for the first time.

So, of course, I'm not taking a position this. You could argue these are good or bad, necessary or not necessarily -- but yes, these are cuts. Yes, some people would lose their insurance.

BROWN: And Democrats have been hammering the Republicans on this as well. They have been using a big number. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The largest cut to Medicaid in American history; 14 million Americans, at least 14 million, would be ripped off, ripped off of their health insurance under this proposal.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Thirteen-point-seven million people, 13.7 million Americans will be cut off from their health care and made completely uninsurable by the bill that Republicans are presenting today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:55:16] BROWN: So what are the facts?

DALE: So, this 13.7 million number, this 14 million number involves some slight of hand, kind of fun with numbers from the Democrats.

Again, we're talking about estimates. Need to be cautious, but that number is not about this bill itself. It takes the CBO estimate for people becoming uninsured from this bill and adds an additional CBO estimate for what would happen if the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies passed by President Joe Biden were allowed to expire on schedule at the end of the year.

So Democrats are saying, well, this Republican bill doesn't extend those enhanced subsidies, but it also doesn't kill the subsidies. We're not at the end of the year. Their -- the fate of these subsidies is up in the air. They could be extended.

So, yes, again, this bill does result in millions -- probably millions of people losing their insurance, but it would be great if people were more precise about how many millions the estimates say we're talking about.

BLITZER: CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Daniel Dale with his fact-checking, as he does excellently, thank you very, very much.

DALE: Thank you.

BLITZER: And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We will see you back here tomorrow 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

BROWN: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" is next after a short break.