What issues to watch as ‘big, beautiful bill' moves to the Senate

Chicago Tribune

23-05-2025

WASHINGTON — House Republicans were jubilant after muscling through President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and immigration package by a single vote. But across the Capitol, senators were more cautious.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose three Republican senators and still pass the bill, and there are more than that, right now, who have problems with it. Like the House, he will have to balance the concerns from moderate and conservative members of his conference.
Republicans' aspirational deadline is July 4, ahead of a potential debt default. Thune said groups of senators had already been meeting to discuss the legislation and that they would want to take some time to review it. 'And then we'll put our stamp on it,' he said.
'We'll see how it goes,' Thune said. 'What does it take to get to 51?'
A look at a few of the potential sticking points in the Senate:
Several Republican senators have said the House's multi-trillion-dollar tax package doesn't have enough savings. Thune said many in his GOP conference favor the tax breaks in the bill but 'when it comes to the spending side of the equation, this is a unique moment in time, in history, where we have the House and the Senate and the White House, and an opportunity to do something meaningful about how to control government spending.'
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a sharp critic of the House bill, wants the United States to go back to pre-pandemic spending levels. He has indicated he would be a no on the bill as it stands now, and he says he has at least three other senators aligned with him.
Senate Republicans are generally on board with stricter work requirements for older Medicaid recipients that make up much of the bill's $700 billion savings from the program. But Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Susan Collins of Maine, among others, have voiced concerns about other changes in the bill that could potentially cut funding to rural hospitals or increase copays and other health care costs for recipients.
The senators could have a powerful ally in Trump, who has frequently said he doesn't want cuts to Medicaid, even as he's endorsed the House bill. Hawley said he talked to Trump this week on the phone and 'his exact words were, 'Don't touch it, Josh.''
Others have been wary of the House bill's effort to shift some costs of the food stamp program to states, potentially a major issue for some red states that have high numbers of food aid recipients. The House bill saves $290 billion from the food aid, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman said the Senate savings will be 'probably be a little bit lower.'
Thune said this week that 'one of the principal differences' between the House and Senate is that Republican senators want to make many of the tax cuts permanent while the House bill has shorter time frames for many of its cuts — including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, car-loan interest and others.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said Thursday that trying to make some of the cuts permanent is 'an objective right now.'
One of the biggest questions for the Senate: whether the tax breaks really need to be offset by cuts elsewhere.
To offset the costs of lost tax revenue, House Republicans have proposed more than $1 trillion in spending reductions across Medicaid, food stamps and green energy program rollbacks. However, Republicans in the Senate do not believe there is a cost associated with permanently extending the existing taxes, setting up a political and procedural showdown ahead.
The House bill includes a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the United States is on track to run out of money to pay its bills as early as August without congressional action.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he won't support the bill if the debt ceiling increase is included. He said he's willing to consider it if it's taken out.
But most Republican senators want it to avoid a separate fight that would require 60 votes in the Senate. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said that if they deal with the debt ceiling outside of the legislation then they would have to 'pay a king's ransom' to Democrats to get enough votes.
Several Republican senators have said they are concerned about House provisions that repeal or phase out clean energy tax credits passed in 2022 that have spurred investment in many states.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Curtis of Utah and Moran wrote Thune a letter last month arguing that removing the credits could 'create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.'
The House bill would ban states and localities from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade, giving the federal government more control over the policy. It's an approach that has been favored by the AI industry but has drawn concern from members on both sides of the aisle.
And even if it has enough support, the provision may not pass muster from the Senate parliamentarian because it's unlikely to have impact on the federal budget.
With a narrow margin for victory and only 53 Republicans in the Senate, every senator's top priority takes on outsize importance. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said he supports the House bill but that the way that it deals with spectrum auctions — selling off telecommunications signal rights — is a 'dealbreaker' for him. He said he's in talks with other senators on the issue.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said one of his main goals is that they include money for certain farm safety net programs and set up passage for a broader farm bill later this year.
'In the end, we have to have 50 plus one supporting it,' Hoeven said. 'So we've got some work to do.'