US Senate passes Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ after turbulent all-night debate
The controversial package of tax breaks and spending cuts now heads to the House, as Republicans rush to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline
Senate Republicans hauled US President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage on Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own party ranks after a turbulent overnight session.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top. The three Republicans opposing the bill were senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval, or collapse.
The difficulty it took for Republicans, who have the majority hold in Congress, to wrestle the bill to this point is not expected to let up.
The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s July 4 deadline.
The outcome is a pivotal moment for president and his party, which have been consumed by the 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, as it is formally titled, and invested their political capital in delivering on the Republican Party’s sweep of power in Washington.