After hours of gridlock, Senate Republicans have successfully pushed through Donald Trump’s substantial tax and spending bill, marking a significant milestone in the legislative process. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act received a tie-breaking vote from Vice-President JD Vance after over 24 hours of spirited debate.
The legislation now returns to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to face further resistance. An earlier version squeaked by with just a single-vote margin from House Republicans. Trump has set a deadline of July 4 for Congress to deliver a finalized version for his approval.
However, ongoing disagreements over deficit issues, social programs, and spending levels may lead to delays. The president acknowledged on Tuesday morning that meeting the deadline would be “very hard.” Despite his attempts to rally party support, Senate Majority Leader John Thune lost three Republican votes—Maine’s Susan Collins, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, and Kentucky’s Rand Paul—who joined Democrats in opposing the bill. On the flip side, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who had earlier voiced her reservations, was persuaded to support the legislation.
This resulted in a tied vote of 50-50, necessitating Vice-President Vance’s decisive vote. The proposal, a key element of Trump’s agenda for a second term, aims to make permanent the significant tax cuts that were initially introduced during his first term. To counterbalance the anticipated revenue loss, Republicans are proposing cuts across various programs, including food subsidies and healthcare for low-income Americans.
The vote concluded a fast-paced session on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning. In an effort to showcase their influence, Democrats attempted to impose procedural obstacles to slow the bill’s progression. This included requiring Senate clerks to read all 940 pages of the bill aloud and engaging in a prolonged debate process over proposed amendments—a procedure known as a “vote-a-rama.”
House Republicans now face the task of approving the Senate’s revisions before the president can formally sign the bill into law. However, the bill’s future is uncertain, facing opposition from various quarters.
A faction of fiscal conservatives has voiced concerns over the potential increase to the U.S. national deficit that the Senate’s proposal could bring. This deficit represents the gap between government expenditures and annual revenue. The House Freedom Caucus has indicated that the Senate’s plan might add as much as $650 billion (£472 billion) to the deficit each year. In a recent social media update, Caucus members expressed their discontent, stating, “That’s not fiscal responsibility. It’s not what we agreed to.”
Meanwhile, other House Republicans are worried that the Senate’s legislation may enforce deeper cuts to the Medicaid program than they initially sanctioned for lower-income Americans. Additionally, Democrats in both chambers of Congress have also criticized the proposed reductions in welfare support.
As Republican members work towards a self-imposed July 4 deadline from the president, the timeline appears challenging. Trump, while heading to Florida, remarked, “I’d love to do July 4th but I think it’s very hard… I would say maybe July 4th or somewhere around there.”
Prominent critics of the legislation include tech mogul Elon Musk, who was instrumental in Trump’s election last year and took on a role aiming to cut costs during his administration. Musk is now making moves to undermine Trump’s flagship legislation, even suggesting the formation of a new political party should the bill pass Congress. He has declared he will support challengers to any Republicans who vote in favor of it, stating on X, “Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!”
The proposed deep cuts to government assistance for renewable energy and electric vehicles could adversely impact Tesla, a company where Musk has made significant profits.