A Saturday start date for the voting process is “aspirational,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters.
Trump urges lawmakers to pass ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
President Donald Trump touted the “Big, Beautiful Bill” at a White House event, urging lawmakers to pass the legislation.
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump is trying to blame Democrats for the potential failure of his “big, beautiful bill” as it inches closer to its first votes in the Republican-controlled Senate as the second-term president and his GOP allies push forward on campaign promises to eliminate taxes on tips and spend more money on border enforcement.
“The problem we have is that it’s a great bill, it’s a popular bill,” Trump said during a June 27 White House press conference of the sweeping piece of legislation that is not polling well with many Americans. “But we’ll get no Democrats only because they don’t want to vote for Trump.”
Trump has pressed Senate Republicans to stay on his ambitious timeline to complete their work and get it back through the House in time for the measure to be on his desk for signature into law by July 4. But the president and House Speaker Mike Johnson are also acknowledging their immediate ambitions might not become reality amid deep internal GOP policy disputes and complex Senate rules that have sent the mega bill through the legislative shredder.
Among the many concerns Republicans are still trying to work through are their own proposed cuts for Medicaid eligibility, which Democrats already see as a winning political message for them in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections where they’re looking to retake majorities in both the House and Senate.
Trump has said previously he wants Congress to pass the sweeping bill and get it to his desk by Independence Day. But for that to happen the Senate still needs to finalize and pass its version, before then sending it back to the GOP-led House to reconcile any differences with their efforts that previously won approval with the slimmest of majorities in May.
As the Senate continues to grapple with concerns including the legislation’s high cost and the Medicaid language, Trump is hedging his own deadline. “It’s important,” but, “it’s not the end-all,” Trump told reporters during the mid-day White House press conference on June 27.
“We’d like to get it done by that time, if possible,” Trump said.
About an hour later, Trump posted on Truth Social urging the Senate to stay in session through the upcoming weekend to keep working on the bill. “We can get it done. It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country, which is right now, ‘The Hottest Country anywhere in the World’ — And to think, just last year, we were a laughingstock,” the president wrote.
Senators want to get voting
As Trump was speaking in the White House, some GOP senators said they were only guessing when asked when they would receive a full and finalized bill that will be brought to the floor for debate. Several said they’re eyeing late on June 27 or early June 28.
Once that happens, multiple senators said the hours-long process of debate that culminates in a vote could begin midday on Saturday, June 28 and stretch through into June 29, a Sunday.
The Medicaid issue appears to still be dragging the process, as Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said discussions were ongoing as of the afternoon of June 27.
While some disagreements remain unresolved, Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said he would like to move on from discussions and into action.
“We’re gradually going from thoughtful, rational deliberation into the foothills of jackassery,” Kennedy told reporters. “We’re talking about the same things over and over and over. It’s clear we’re not going to (have) unanimity on some of this. That’s why God made votes.”
A Saturday start date for the voting process is “aspirational,” Thune said.
“We’ve got a few things we’re waiting on, outcomes from the parliamentarian on,” Thune said. “But if we can get some of those questions and issues landed then my expectation is at some point, yeah, tomorrow we’ll be ready to go.”
“It’s, uh, nothing certain,” he added.
Asked if he has enough Republicans on board to succeed in an eventual vote, Thune said, “We’ll find out tomorrow.”
Trump calls Senate parliamentarian ‘a little difficult’
Further complications in the Senate have come in the form of Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s ruling on what is and is not within the scope of a spending bill.
MacDonough, a nonpartisan official, found several Senate Republicans’ provisions in violation, including attempts to repeal federal food aid for noncitizens, multiple measures softening environmental regulations and deregulation for gun silencers.
“The parliamentarian’s been a little difficult,” Trump said. “I would say that I disagree with the parliamentarian on some things, and on other ways, she’s been fine.”
Trump did not go so far as to call for her termination, though, unlike some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The president is instead laying the groundwork to pin the blame on his congressional opponents. “The Democrats won’t approve it only because politically it’s so good for the Republicans,” Trump said.
“If I were a Democrat, I would vote for this bill all day long,” he added.
Polling has shown Trump’s bill is not scoring well with in public opinion. Fewer than 30% of voters support the bill in three recent surveys by Pew, Quinnipiac and the Washington Post-Ipsos.
The bill is doubtful to get support from any Senate Democrat, but under special Senate rules, only 51 Republicans are needed to sign-off and avoid a filibuster.
Speaker Johnson says July 4 deadline could slip
Across Capitol Hill, Speaker Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said he recognized the deadline for sending the final legislation to Trump could slip beyond their July 4 deadline.
“It’s possible but I don’t want to accept that as an option right now. I’m going to try to push it through,” Johnson told reporters. “I still want to get done by July Fourth.”
Johnson said it would be best if the Senate version stayed “as close as possible” to the House version. He said lawmakers would get three days to review the bill text once the Senate completes it.
“The House will not be jammed by anything,” Johnson said. “I have been doggedly determined to get this done by July 4, as has the president.”
(This story and its headlines have been updated with more information.)
