US Senate push to pass Trump's unpopular spending bill enters second day
Spending will be ramped up for the military and Trump's project for mass deportations of undocumented migrants and border security.
To pay for that, Republican senators are seeking to force through draconian cuts to the social safety net and gutting of clean energy and electric vehicle subsidies -- a factor triggering a bitter public feud between Trump and Tesla founder and mega-donor Elon Musk.
Around $1 trillion in subsidized health care would be stripped from millions of the poorest Americans. And even with the spending cuts, the bill would still add more than $3.3 trillion to the nation's already yawning budget deficits over a decade.
Trump wants the package on his desk by Independence Day on Friday.
Its journey through the Republican-controlled Senate has been at a glacial pace, however, as senators held a so-called "vote-a-rama" -- a session allowing members to offer unlimited amendments before a bill can move to final passage.
That began Monday, and was still grinding on Tuesday morning.
"It's tough," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving to visit a migrant detention center in Florida. "We're going to get there."
Even if the bill squeaks through the Senate, it still needs a vote in the House of Representatives, where Democrats are again uniformly opposed and several rebels in the slim Republican majority threaten to oppose.
'Money to be saved'
Trump's insistence on the bill has put the more vulnerable Republicans in a difficult position.
Polls show the bill is among the most unpopular ever considered across multiple demographic, age and income groups. Democrats expect to leverage public anger -- particularly over the health care cuts -- in 2026 midterm elections when they hope to retake the House.
Studies show the bill would ultimately pave the way for a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest 10 percent of Americans to the richest.
Cuts to the Medicaid program -- which helps low-income Americans get coverage -- as well as the Affordable Care Act would see nearly 12 million more uninsured people by 2034 in a country with notoriously expensive health care, independent analysis shows.
Senate Democrats have focused their amendments on highlighting the threats to health care, as well as cuts to federal food aid programs and clean energy tax credits.
Many Republicans have shown discomfort. Fiscal hawks believe that spending cuts should go even deeper, while moderates are alarmed at the impacts in their own states.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune can only lose one more vote to get a win, with conservative Rand Paul and moderate Thom Tillis already on the record as Republican rebels.
The bill has also reignited the feud between Trump and his former adviser-turned-critic Musk, the world's richest person.
Musk -- who already had an acrimonious public falling out with the president this month over the bill -- has repeatedly slammed its cost, and Monday renewed his calls for the formation of a new political party as voting got underway.
Trump, in turn, threatened the government subsidies to Musk's cutting-edge companies SpaceX and Tesla.
"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," he posted on Truth Social early Tuesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Big automakers report US sales jump on pre-tariff consumer surge
Sales were particularly brisk early in the quarter as expectations of US President Donald Trump's coming tariffs dominated the news. Besides the US companies, Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda and South Korean brands Kia and Hyundai all reported increased sales compared with the 2024 stretch. "They were able to capitalize on the tariff-induced fear and that drove sales, especially in the early part of the quarter," said Garrett Nelson, equity analyst at CFRA Research. While the auto industry has been near the center of Trump's efforts to reset global trade, consumers have yet to see significant price increases due to tariffs. That is because companies have relied on existing inventories that include vehicles imported before tariffs took effect. Prices are expected to rise more in the second half of 2025, but market demand and supply forces could constrain such hikes, analysts said. GM notched a 7.3 percent rise in vehicle deliveries to 746,588 behind a continued solid performance in pickup trucks and SUVs, as well as good sales of models geared towards customers seeking affordable vehicles. These include the Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Trax, a lower-priced vehicle imported from South Korea. Ford, meanwhile, scored a 14.2 percent jump in sales to 612,095, reflecting the boon from a popular program that offered customers employee pricing on many models. Most of Ford's leading vehicles saw higher sales, including the best-selling pickup F-series, as well as the Ford Explorer SUV. While Ford had lower sales of its all-electric F-150 Lightning Truck and the Mustang Mach-E, it reported a jump in hybrid vehicle sales. Higher sales had been expected for both companies, but the increases were slightly more than projected by analysts at At Toyota, sales jumped 7.2 percent to 666,470 autos, with double digit gains in several vehicles, including the Toyota Camry sedan and the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. Honda, Kia and Hyundai reported quarterly sales increases of between five and 10 percent. But Nissan reported a 6.5 percent drop in quarterly sales to 221,441, while Jeep-owner Stellantis was projected by Edmunds to have a 12.8 percent drop to just over 300,000 vehicles. Pressure from consumers The United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported finished cars in early April. The Trump administration also enacted a 25 percent tariff on imported auto parts in early May, although White House officials allowed a two-year grace period and stipulated that automakers would not face duplicative tariffs due to a 25 percent levy on imported steel and aluminum. While retail car prices have not risen significantly, analysts at Cox Automotive last week pointed to a recent ebbing in dealer incentives as evidence of a somewhat tighter market. Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke has projected an eight percent rise in prices due to tariffs, adding that "we don't think consumers or fleet buyers are able and willing to accept that added cost," he said at a briefing last week. Smoke predicted that uncertainty about the economy and whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates could lead many buyers to defer purchases. Nelson said automakers have to be "very careful" with price hikes. "Things have cooled off from where they were at the beginning of the quarter," he said. "Everything we're seeing suggests that consumers are still very price sensitive." © 2025 AFP
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Trump visits 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention facility, warns migrants against escape plans
US President Donald Trump said a new immigration detention centre in a remote area of the Florida Everglades, surrounded by alligator-filled swamps, could be a model for future projects as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations. The facility, which Trump toured Tuesday, has swiftly become a symbol of the president's border crackdown. Migrants could start arriving there soon after his visit, which included walking through a medical facility featuring temporary cubicles as areas for treatment. Assembled on a remote airstrip with tents and trailers that are normally used after a natural disaster, the detention centre has been nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz', a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but appeals to the Republican president's aggressive approach to deportations. 'This is not a nice business,' Trump said while leaving the White House. Then he joked that 'we're going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison'. 'Don't run in a straight line. Run like this,' he said, as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. 'And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%." That doesn't seem to be sound advice, though. It's best to dash in one direction in the rare situation when an alligator gives chase, according to a website run by the University of Florida. Ahead of Trump's arrival, local authorities were positioned by the entrance of the airstrip. Media vans and other vehicles were parked along the highway lined by cypress trees. Protestors have often gathered near the facility, which is about 50 miles (80.47 kilometres) west of Miami and which authorities say could eventually house 5,000 detainees. Critics have decried the potential impact on a delicate ecosystem and say Trump is trying to send a cruel message to immigrants — while some Native American leaders have also opposed construction, saying the land is sacred. 'I have a lot of immigrants I have been working with. They are fine people. They do not deserve to be incarcerated here,' said Phyllis Andrews, a retired teacher who drove from Naples, Florida, to protest Trump's visit on Tuesday. 'It's terrible that there's a bounty on their head.' The president's supporters showed up as well. One wore a hat saying, 'Trump was right about everything.' A key selling point for the Trump administration is the site's remoteness — and the fact that it is in swampland filled with mosquitoes, pythons and alligators. It hopes to convey a message to detainees and the rest of the world that repercussions will be severe if the immigration laws of the United States are not followed. 'There's only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight,' said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'It is isolated, and it is surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain.' Crackdowns on the US-Mexico border and harsh immigration policies have long been a centerpiece of Trump's political brand. During his first term in 2019, Trump denied reports that he floated the idea of building a moat filled with alligators at the southern border. 'I may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough," he posted at the time. In his second term, Trump has suggested that his administration could reopen Alcatraz, the notorious island prison off San Francisco. The White House has similarly promoted the political shock value of sending some immigrants awaiting deportation from the US to a detention lockup in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador. Some of the ideas have been impractical. For example, transforming Alcatraz from a tourist attraction into a prison would be very costly, and Guantanamo Bay is being used less often than administration officials originally envisioned. However, the new detention centre in the Everglades came together swiftly. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently told the Associated Press that she felt some contractors were charging the government too much to run facilities, 'so I went directly to states and to ask them if they could do a better job providing this service'. Florida officials 'were willing to build it and do it much quicker than what some of the other vendors were', she said. 'And it was a real solution that we'll be able to utilize if we need to.' Former US Rep. David Jolly of Florida, a former Republican who is now running for governor as a Democrat, called the facility a 'callous political stunt'. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are generally held for reasons like entering the country illegally or overstaying a visa. They are either waiting for ICE to put them on the next flight or bus ride home, or they're fighting their removal in immigration court. If an immigrant is accused of or has committed a violent crime, he or she is tried and held in state or federal criminal jurisdiction, separate from the immigration system. In those cases, they may be transferred to ICE for deportation after completing their criminal sentences. State officials are spearheading construction of the Florida facility, but much of the cost is being covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is best known for responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, whom Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has credited as the architect of the Everglades plan, first debuted the proposal with a slickly produced video, complete with custom graphics featuring red-eyed alligators and a hard rock soundtrack. The Department of Homeland Security posted an image of alligators wearing ICE hats and sitting in front of a fenced-in compound ringed with barbed wire. The Florida Republican Party has fundraised off the facility, selling branded T-shirts and beverage container sleeves. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who challenged Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has also played up the fact that the site will be hard to escape from. 'They ain't going anywhere once they're there, unless you want them to go, somewhere, because good luck getting to civilization," DeSantis said. "So the security is amazing.'
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
US Senate passes Trump's tax bill after turbulent all-night session
Senate Republicans hauled US President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own ranks after a turbulent overnight session. The sudden 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. In the end that tally was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Three Republican senators - Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky - joined all Democrats in voting against it. 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 overhaul what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems ahead. House GOP leaders said they would put it on Trump's desk by his 4 July deadline. It's a pivotal moment for the president and his party, as they have been consumed by the 940-page One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as it's formally called, and invested their political capital in delivering on the GOP's sweep of power in Washington. Trump acknowledged it's "very complicated stuff," as he left the White House for Florida. "I don't want to go too crazy with cuts," he said. "I don't like cuts." What started as a routine but laborious day of amendment voting, in a process called vote-a-rama, spiralled into a round-the-clock slog as Republican leaders were buying time to shore up support. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota worked around the clock desperately reaching for last-minute agreements between those in his party worried the bill's reductions to Medicaid would leave millions more people without healthcare and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax cuts. "In the end we got the job done," Thune said afterward. An analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion (€2.8 trillion) over the decade. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said 'Republicans are in shambles because they know the bill is so unpopular." What's in the bill? The bill includes $4.5 trillion (€3.8 trillion) in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress failed to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide. It would impose $1.2 trillion (€1 trillion) in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states. Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion (€297 billion) boost for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants.
