Vice President JD Vance provided the critical tie-breaking vote to get Trump’s bill across the finish line. It now must be reconciled with the House’s version before it can go to Trump’s desk.
President Trump’s big bill passes Senate with help from JD Vance
President Donald Trump’s amended bill was narrowly passed by the Senate, with Vice President JD Vance’s vote breaking the 50-50 tie.
WASHINGTON – The Senate narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s signature second-term policy bill, a nearly 900-page package packed with tax cuts and other campaign promises, in a major legislative victory for the president that came after a tense debate within his party that stretched on for nearly four days.
The so-called “One, Big Beautiful Bill” passed on July 1 on a 51-50 vote after three Republicans defected, requiring Vice President JD Vance to break the tie in a dramatic flourish and send the bill back to the House for final approval but where the outcome remains uncertain.
Assuming he can muster a majority of votes in the GOP-controlled House, Trump would be in prime position to cement his second-term agenda into law and deliver on promises to cut taxes on tips and overtime, expand immigration enforcement efforts and make permanent his 2017 tax reductions. The legislation also deeply cuts the Medicaid health insurance program while adding a projected $3.3 trillion to the nation’s debt over a decade, which has prompted bipartisan opposition to the measure.
The bill’s passage came after weeks of wrangling by Senate leadership, which grappled with opposition from key Republicans – one of whom opted not to seek reelection in the middle of the debate and blasted the bill. Trump’s efforts also almost fell victim to adverse decisions from the Senate parliamentarian, who ruled key provisions had to be removed or overhauled because the violated the special rules being used to pass the bill with a simple majority vote and avoid a filibuster.
Medicaid cuts in the bill drew some of the most significant opposition, including from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, who said he couldn’t vote for them and was threatened with a primary challenge by Trump. Tillis opted not to seek reelection. Meanwhile, fiscal conservatives said the cuts didn’t go far enough and complained the legislation adds $3.3 trillion to the national deficit over a decade and requires a $5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling.
Politics looms over the entire legislative battle, too. Democrats see a big opening with the bill to campaign against Trump and the GOP during the upcoming 2026 midterms, much the same way Republicans used passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act as a weapon to win back control of Congress during the Obama administration. Republicans counter that any complaints will resolve themselves by the time voters go to the polls in another 16 months.
“The water’s turbulent for a little while, but then it’ll just settle right out,” Sen. Jim Justice, R-West Virginia, told USA TODAY.
House Republican leadership has called the House back to Washington amid a scheduled break to vote on Trump’s tax and spending cuts.
The plan is to begin voting at 9 am on Wednesday. But lawmakers’ journey back to DC has been complicated by thunderstorms in the area, delaying and cancelling flights.
Multiple House members have said they’re road tripping back to Washington or taking alternate routes in order to make it in time for the vote, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin.
-Riley Beggin
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, an ultraconservative member of the House Rules Committee considering the legislation tonight, told the panel that he has “strong concerns and reservations” about the bill.
Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, acknowledged to Roy that the Senate’s version adds an additional $651 billion to the deficit over the House’s version.“Have the courage and fortitude to do what you campaigned on,” Roy said, urging his fellow Republicans to demand deeper spending cuts.“My colleagues in the Senate failed us.”-Riley Beggin
Key House Republican warming to GOP bill
Rep. Nick Lalota, R-New York, is one of a handful of House lawmakers from blue states that fought hard for a state and local tax break benefitting their constituents. There were no similar blue-state Republicans in the Senate to defend the deal, and it was tweaked despite the protests of the so-called House SALT caucus.
But Lalota wrote on X on July 1 that Long Island families would see $5,000 in savings from the higher SALT provision passed through the Senate.
That’s an indicator that he may be willing to fold on the legislation — and a good sign for President Donald Trump and GOP leaders. – Riley Beggin
Johnson says Senate ‘went a little further’ in amending the bill than preferred
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, told reporters that the Senate “went a little further than many of us would have preferred” in amending Trump’s sweeping tax and domestic policy bill.
However, Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, said that they plan on having House lawmakers vote on the bill as-is on July 2.
“As the president said, it’s his bill. It’s not a House bill. It’s not a Senate bill. It’s the American people’s bill. And my objective and my responsibility is to get that bill over the line. So we will do everything possible to do that,” Johnson said.
Scalise told reporters that, “if you’re weighing it all out, at least 85% of the House bill is still in the Senate bill, and so they didn’t make dramatic changes in the sense of the totality of it.” – Sudiksha Kochi
Rep. Ralph Norman pledges to vote against Senate bill
The House Rules Committee is meeting to discuss the Senate’s version of President Donald Trump’s tax bill, which passed in the Senate earlier on July 1. It must pass through the committee in order to be voted on in the House on July 2, as planned.
Two ultraconservative members of the panel, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, have been critical of the bill, which adds $3.3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade.
Norman told the committee that he plans to vote against the Senate’s version and when if reaches the floor, “until we get it right.”
“What the Senate did was unconscionable. what they did to our bill was unconscionable,” he said.
He added that he’s not worried that Republicans will extend the 2017 tax cuts, which are a major priority for GOP leadership and expire at the end of the year.
“My hope is we go back to the drawing board and get something close to what we passed.”
Both Norman and Roy can vote against the Senate version and it would still pass out of the committee, as long as all other Republicans support it. – Riley Beggin
Trump: House GOP should ignore ‘occasional grandstanders’ to pass Senate bill
President Donald Trump celebrated the Senate’s narrow passage of his massive tax and spending bill and warned House Republicans to ignore the party’s “occasional GRANDSTANDERS” to pass the bill by his self-imposed 4th of July holiday deadline.
Trump touted the legislation as neither a House nor Senate bill but “everyone’s Bill” in a post on Truth Social after Vice President JD Vance broke a tie to pass the reconciliation bill by a 51-50 vote.
“We can have all of this right now,” Trump said, listing off measures in the bill including its extension of his 2017 tax cuts. “But only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional “GRANDSTANDERS” (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk.”
The president added: “We are on schedule — Let’s keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4th vacation. The American People need and deserve it. They sent us here to, GET IT DONE!”
Trump noted that the bill, which had three Republican defectors, had “almost all of our Great Republicans in the United States Senate.” For final approval, the House must sign off on the Senate version of the bill.
“To my GOP friends in the House: Stay UNITED, have fun, and Vote ‘YAY.’ GOD BLESS YOU ALL!” Trump said. – Joey Garrison
Thune hopes lawmakers, staffers ‘get some sleep’ after marathon debate
Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Republican lawmakers and staffers began drafting a tax-relief bill began a year ago that eventually became the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative priorities.
As the Senate approached final approval in its marathon debate, staffers worked “a lot of very late nights, early mornings, long afternoons,” Thune said.
The Senate embarked on the debate late June 28, when Democrats forced clerks to read the 940-page bill out loud overnight for the next 16 hours. A voting session nicknamed a “vote-a-rama” began June 30 for another all-night session with a total of 41 votes on the bill.
“I hope everyone manages to get some sleep,” Thune said after the final vote. “I look forward to the House taking up and passing his historic legislation and getting it to the president’s desk.” – Bart Jansen
Sen. James Lankford weighs in on House fight ahead
With the Senate narrowly passing their version of the sweeping tax and policy bill, senators are concluding a days-long debate and over 24-hour session. Now: it’s the House’s turn.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, a former member of the House, was asked immediately after the Senate vote what he was expecting from his former chamber.
“Peace, love and harmony,” he joked.
Even before the Senate wrapped, some conservative House members were already balking at the changes made in the upper chamber and floating opposition. An original version of the bill passed the House in May by the narrowest one-vote margin. – Savannah Kuchar
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters he had his doubts along the way on whether the bill would get passed.
“Vampires are hard to kill. This bill is hard to kill. But there were a couple of times I thought it was slipping away,” he said.
He added that he had a long discussion with Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski behind the scenes before the bill’s passage addressing her concerns. She ultimately voted in favor of the bill.
“She is really smart, and she asked a lot of good questions,” Graham said.
“I just sat and talked with her. I said, I want you to number one, I’m frustrated too. I get, like, popular border security provisions, money for the military, making tax cuts permanent..But are you good? And if you’re not good, tell me why.” – Sudiksha Kochi
Sen. Chris Murphy: Republicans voted for ‘this abomination’
Dems blast GOP Senators for passing ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Democrats sharply criticized GOP Senators for passing President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who has led efforts to combat Trump’s budget bill, blamed Republican colleagues for its narrow passage.
“Final vote. 50-50. VP breaks the tie,” Murphy said in a post on X just before Vice President JD Vance broke the stalemate. “One single GOP Senator could have stopped this abomination.”
While Murphy didn’t single out any Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska had garnered headlines for hesitating in her support of the bill and then tentatively agreeing to it.
If Murkowski or another Republican had voted with Democrats, Murphy said, they would have saved “millions of parents from watching their child go hungry. Saved the lives destroyed when Medicaid disappears. They will all live forever with the horror of this bill.” – Josh Meyer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune: Bill’s passage ‘was a team effort’
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, celebrated the tax bill’s passage during a press conference in the U.S. Capitol soon after the final vote.
“It really was a team effort. Everybody pulled together. And this doesn’t happen easily in this case, and probably a lot less sleep than most people were hoping for, but in the end, we got the job done,” Thune said.
Asked whether he’s worried if the bill can now again pass the House, Thune replied, “We’ll see,” noting how hard it was for the bill to get through the Senate.
“I appreciate the narrow margins they have over there…but I think we gave them a really strong product. I think we took what they sent us and strengthened and improved upon it.” – Sudiksha Kochi
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said deliberations over this bill constituted “probably the most difficult and agonizing” period of career.
“And I’ve been here quite a while,” Murkowski, who has been in the Senate since 2002, told reporters immediately after the vote. “I’ve got a few battle scars underneath me.”
Murkowski was top of the potential swing vote list. Unhappy about how provisions including federal food aid reforms and energy rollbacks would affect her state, she was on the receiving end of pressure from Republican leadership to support Trump’s bill.
Asked why she ultimately voted yes, Murkowski said, “Because we have two options here, right? Kill it. And it’s gone.”
“There is a tax impact,“ she continued. “That’s gonna hurt the people in my state.” – Savannah Kuchar
Key GOP senator urges more changes to the bill in the House
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has been a key swing vote in the Senate’s process to pass President Donald Trump’s tax bill. The marathon session delaying passage was, in part, caused by leadership’s last-minute efforts to secure her vote.
She ultimately cast her vote in favor of the package, ensuring it would succeed.
But Murkowski told reporters Tuesday morning that she wants the House to continue to make changes to the bill, which would require it to once again return to the Senate for a vote.
“My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet,” she said. – Riley Beggin
What’s next for the Trump tax bill? Action in the House
House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated in a statement that he plans to ask his conference to put their concerns aside about the changes made to the GOP bill in the Senate and swiftly pass it.
“The House will work quickly to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill that enacts President Trump’s full America First agenda by the Fourth of July. The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,” he said in a statement. “This bill is President Trump’s agenda, and we are making it law.”
The vote margin in the House is incredibly narrow: Republicans can afford to lose only three votes from their members and still successfully pass it, as all Democrats plan to vote against it.
A key House committee plans to meet Tuesday afternoon to begin advancing the bill in the chamber. – Riley Beggin
Sen. Susan Collins votes no over Medicaid cuts
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, became the third Republican senator to oppose Trump’s legislative package primarily because of its Medicaid cuts, which she said would hurt rural healthcare providers and nursing homes.
She said about one-third of her state – 400,000 people – relies on Medicaid.
“The Medicaid program has been an important health care safety net for nearly 60 years that has helped people in difficult financial circumstances, including people with disabilities, children, seniors, and low-income families,” Collins said. – Bart Jansen
Trump says ‘it would be very wise’ for Republicans to get on board
President Trump said Republicans need to get on board with the GOP spending bill that senators have been struggling to pass.
“I think it would be very wise for them to get on board. It’s a great bill,” Trump told reporters on July 1 after landing in Florida to view the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center. “I would say that they have to do it. If they don’t do it look, they’ll suffer the consequences.”
Trump already threatened to back a primary challenge to Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina for opposing the bill. Tillis announced plans to retire shortly afterward.
On June 30, former Trump advisor Elon Musk warned that he would support primary challenges against Republican lawmakers who vote for the legislation. – Sarah D. Wire
‘Big, beautiful bill’ gets a little skinnier
Trump’s sweeping tax, spending and policy bill was a hefty 1,000-plus-pages when it narrowly passed the House in May.
Now, as the upper chamber prepares to hold a final vote on the legislation, the full text sits at a slimmer 887 pages. That’s following a trimming by the Senate parliamentarian, plus Senate Republican tweaks to settle some initial disputes.
While some provisions were stripped from the bill, including an artificial intelligence regulation ban and deregulation of gun silencers, other language setting up additional Medicaid work requirements and a tax break for tips have weathered the Senate revamp. – Savannah Kuchar
Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, told reporters that he expects Senate voting will begin again shortly and culminate in the much anticipated final passage. There are three rounds of votes expected to preface a final round.
Republicans expect to need Vice President Vance to cast the tie breaking vote, Hoeven added. – Savannah Kuchar
President Trump says he expects Senate passage of mega bill Tuesday
President Donald Trump expressed confidence the Senate will approve his so-called “big, beautiful, bill” on Tuesday, putting the legislation in position for final approval before his self-imposed July 4th deadline.
“I think Senate should be today and then it will be over to the House,” Trump told reporters July 1 on the South lawn of the White House before departing for Florida, where’s he’s set to tour a detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Asked whether there’s any way to earn the support of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the few Republican holdouts, Trump said: “Who knows? You tell me. Is there?”
The president added: “Alaska’s done so well with me. There’s never been a president better to Alaska than me, but it doesn’t mean people appreciate it.”
Trump said he doesn’t want Senate Republicans to alter the bill significantly with amendments.
“I don’t want to get too crazy with cuts. I don’t like cuts.” – Joey Garrison
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, a steadfast Trump ally, said he’s still confident Congress can “deliver for the president” — as debate stretches into days and timing of a final vote remains in limbo.
“I think if anything this shows the House that we’ve done everything we could to get it 51 on it, and it was a tough process,” Mullin told reporters. “Now, what they do over there, it’s going to be tough, too.”
If and when the Senate passes the bill, the House has the task of reconciling changes to their original version. Some conservative members are already signaling trepidation about the Senate alterations. – Savannah Kuchar
Medicaid, food stamp cuts are personal for DNC chair
One of the biggest points of contention orbiting President Trump’s mega-bill is the fate of Medicaid, which according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office will be cut by roughly $1 trillion and dump about 11.8 million recipients over the next decade.
Coupled with a $300 billion cut toward food stamps, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said the proposal is a gut punch for the poor that the party will emphasize in the 2026 midterms.
“This bill is theft in plain sight,” Martin told reporters on June 30. “Not only is it the biggest cut in the history of Medicaid… and despite this, Republicans are trying to push this through because, let’s be honest, they don’t give a sh– about the people who elected them.”
Martin, who hails from Minnesota, ought to know. He was raised by a 15-year-old single mother along with his three other siblings. He said his family lived in shelters while she worked as a maid, but that they got by “because of her strength” and support from the community and federal government.
“Thanks to federal programs like SNAP and Medicaid, a kid like me got a shot at the American dream, a roof over my head, a warm meal, an education, a meaningful career and a family of my own,” Martin said. – Phillip M. Bailey
Trump says he’ll ‘have to take a look’ at deporting Musk as feud reignites
President Donald Trump said he would look at having Elon Musk deported to his native South Africa as their rift reignited and reached new heights amid the billionaire tech entrepreneur’s new wave of criticism over Trump’s tax and budget bill.
Trump made the threat while speaking to reporters on July 1, hours after the president in an early morning post on Truth Social said he might order the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk previously led to review the billions in contracts that his companies receive.
“We’ll have to take a look,” Trump said when asked whether he will deport Musk. “We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies.”
Trump’s attacks came after Musk, the world’s richest man, resumed his criticism of Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” in a flurry of X posts on Monday over the bill’s projections to significantly raise the national debt. It included a warning from Musk that he would boost midterm primary challenges to defeat Republican lawmakers who vote for the legislation. – Joey Garrison
Trump threatens to unleash DOGE on Musk’s companies
Elon Musk threatens Republican leaders set to pass Trump’s bill
As the Senate prepares to vote on Donald Trump’s tax and budget bill, Elon Musk vows to back primary challenges against Republicans who support it.
unbranded – Newsworthy
President Trump said he might order the Department of Government Efficiency that Elon Musk previously led to review the government subsidies that go to Musk’s companies as their rift resurfaced while the Senate took up Trump’s tax and budget bill.
Making the threat personal, Trump said the billionaire tech mogul would probably have to return to his native South Africa without the government’s financial assistance.
Trump’s attack in a 12:34 a.m. ET July 1 post on Truth Social came after Musk, the world’s richest man, resumed his criticism of Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” in a flurry of X posts on Monday. It included a warning from Musk that he would boost primary challenges to defeat Republican lawmakers who vote for the legislation.
“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE,” Trump said. “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has pointed to the bill’s projections to raise the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next decade as the reason for his hostility. But Trump has claimed Musk only opposes the bill because the legislation would end a program under former President Joe Biden that offers consumer tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles.
Musk’s various companies have benefited from billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts over the past two decades, including SpaceX through its relationships with the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In all, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis found. – Joey Garrison
Senate nears a full day of debate, breaks their own record
Senators have carried on debate over amendments to the sweeping legislation for almost 24 hours now.
Throughout June 30 and into the morning of July 1, lawmakers have considered and voted on 45 amendments – a record number in what is known in Washington as a vote-a-rama.
The previous record for this marathon-style series of votes was set in 2008 at 44 amendments. – Savannah Kuchar
Has the ‘big, beautiful bill’ passed yet?
Not yet.
Despite working through the weekend, Senate Republicans continue wading through disputes and sticking points, including over proposed Medicaid reforms.
At least two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are expected to vote no.
Majority Leader Thune met with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, earlier this morning, as she continues to be a key swing vote in the process. – Savannah Kuchar
Who is the Senate parliamentarian?
Republicans have called for Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to be fired after she ruled against several key Medicaid provisions in Trump’s sweeping tax bill.
MacDonough on June 26 ruled against the inclusion of provisions that the GOP wanted to put in Trump’s sweeping tax bill aimed at reducing spending on Medicaid by requiring work from able-bodied adults and denying access to non-citizens – which didn’t go over well with fiscal hawks.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters the GOP had no plans to overrule its parliamentarian, let alone fire her.
MacDonough is the first female parliamentarian of the Senate. When Congress aims to pass budget reconciliation bills, such as the one being negotiated in the Senate, the parliamentarian can strike out any provisions that are extraneous and non-budgetary in nature under a process known as “Byrd Bath,” named after the late-Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia. – Sudiksha Kochi
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