Debate is underway in the Senate on Trump's big bill, but overnight voting is delayed
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
But other Senate Republicans, along with conservatives in the House, are pushing for steeper cuts, particularly to health care, drawing their own unexpected warning from Trump.
Advertisement
'Don't go too crazy!' the president posted on social media. 'REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected.'
All told, the Senate bill includes some $4 trillion in tax cuts, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips.
Advertisement
The Senate package would roll back billions in green energy tax credits that Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide, and impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements and making sign-up eligibility more stringent.
Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants.
If the Senate can pass the bill, it would need to return to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson has told lawmakers to be on call for a return to Washington this week.
Democrats ready to fight all night
Unable to stop the march toward passage of the 940-page bill, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress is using the tools at its disposal to delay and drag out the process.
Democrats forced a full reading of the text, which took some 16 hours. Then senators took over the debate, filling the chamber with speeches, while Republicans largely stood aside.
'Reckless and irresponsible,' said Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan. 'A gift to the billionaire class,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump's first term are now 'current policy' and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits.
'In my 33 years here in the United States Senate, things have never — never — worked this way,' said Murray, the longest-serving Democrat on the Budget Committee.
Advertisement
She said that kind of 'magic math' won't fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books.
'Go back home and try that game with your constituents,' she said. 'We still need to kick people off their health care — that's too expensive. We still need to close those hospitals — we have to cut costs. And we still have to kick people off SNAP — because the debt is out of control.'
Sanders said Tillis' decision not to seek reelection shows the hold that Trump's cult of personality has over the GOP.
'We are literally taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids,' Sanders said, while giving tax breaks to Jeff Bezos and other wealthy billionaires.
GOP leaders unfazed
Republicans are using their majorities to push aside Democratic opposition, and appeared undeterred, even as they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks.
'We're going to pass the 'Big, beautiful bill,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Budget Committee chairman.
The holdout Republicans remain reluctant to give their votes, and their leaders have almost no room to spare, given their narrow majorities. Essentially, they can afford three dissenters in the Senate, with its 53-47 GOP edge, and about as many in the House, if all members are present and voting.
Trump, who has at times allowed wiggle room on his deadline, kept the pressure on lawmakers to finish.
He threatened to campaign aginst Tillis, who was worried that Medicaid cuts would leave many without health care in his state. Trump badgered Tillis again on Sunday morning, saying the senator 'has hurt the great people of North Carolina.'
Advertisement
Later Sunday, Tillis issued a lengthy statement announcing he would not seek reelection in 2026.
In an impassioned evening speech, Tillis shared his views arguing the Senate approach is a betrayal of Trump's promise not to kick people off health care.
'We could take the time to get this right,' he thundered. But until then, he said he would remain opposed.
Democrats can't filibuster, but can stall
Using a congressional process called budget reconciliation, the Republicans can rely on a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome objections.
Without the filibuster, Democrats have latched on to other tools to mount their objections.
One is the full reading of the bill text, which has been done in past situations. Democrats also intend to use their full 10 hours of available debate time, now underway.
And then Democrats are prepared to propose dozens of amendments to the package, a process called vote-a-rama. But Republicans late Sunday postponed that expected overnight session to early Monday.
GOP senators to watch
As Saturday's vote tally teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted 'yes.'
Several provisions in the package are designed for her state in Alaska, but some were out of compliance of the strict rules by the Senate parliamentarian.
A short time later, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., drew holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office. Vance joined in.
Later, Scott said, 'We all want to get to yes.'
Associated Press writers Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate GOP tax bill includes largest cut to U.S. safety net in decades
The Senate Republican tax bill speeding to passage includes the biggest reduction of funding for the federal safety net since at least the 1990s, targeting more than $1 trillion in social spending. Although the legislation is still estimated to cost more than $3 trillion over the next decade, the Senate GOP tax bill partially pays for its large price tag by slashing spending on Medicaid and food stamps, which congressional Republicans maintain are rife with fraud. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The tax bill centers on making permanent large tax cuts for individual taxpayers, extending the cuts that Republicans first enacted under President Donald Trump's first term. The bill includes an increase to the standard deduction claimed by most taxpayers, rate reductions for most U.S. households, and a partial version of Trump's plan to end taxes on tipped wages, among many other provisions. But it offsets these expensive tax cuts in part through what several experts said may prove to be the most dramatic reductions in safety net spending in modern U.S. history. While last-minute changes to the bill text makes precise estimates impossible, the legislation appears on track to cut Medicaid by about 18 percent and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by roughly 20 percent, according to estimates based on projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Previously, the biggest recent cut to food stamps was a roughly 14 percent cut approved by Congress during President Bill Clinton's administration in the 1990s, according to Bobby Kogan, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, a center-left think tank. (Food stamp benefits also sharply increased, and then fell, after the expiration of covid benefits.) The biggest prior cut to Medicaid was during President Ronald Reagan's term in the 1980s, when Congress and the White House approved a roughly 5 percent reduction to the federal health insurance program that primarily benefits low-income households during his first two years in office, Kogan said. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Senate tax bill will lead to roughly 12 million fewer people receiving Medicaid and more than 2 million fewer people receiving food stamps. 'This is not only the biggest ever - it's by a mile the biggest ever,' Kogan said. 'You can very safely say this is the biggest cut to programs for low-income Americans ever.' The legislation achieves these steep reductions by imposing a slew of new requirements and restrictions on low-income Americans who rely on government assistance, although it includes some revisions sought by nonpartisan experts as well. On Medicaid, the bill institutes new federal work reporting requirements for the first time in the program's history - forcing millions of people to regularly prove they are working at least 80 hours a month to keep their health insurance. The bill provides exemptions for certain groups of people, including those who are pregnant, some caretakers and those with disabilities. But it also imposes burdensome paperwork requirements that experts say states are ill-equipped to take on, and they warn that both those who are meeting the requirements and who qualify for exemptions could lose coverage because they will struggle to submit proper documentation. The bill also mandates that people just above the federal poverty line begin paying out of pocket for Medicaid services, such as some doctor's visits or lab tests. States would be allowed to charge these enrollees up to 5 percent of their income in cost-sharing - a fee that could amount to hundreds of dollars annually. While Democratic-led states might opt for modest co-pays, Republican-led states could impose substantially higher fees, potentially pricing out many low-income residents, experts said. Although it's unclear if this measure will survive final passage, the legislation has also sought to crack down on loopholes that raise what the federal government is reimbursing hospitals for Medicaid services, said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group. The changes to Medicaid could also force already struggling rural hospitals to close or significantly pare back their services, hospital groups have said. Between a rise in uncompensated care and smaller federal reimbursements through states because of changes to what is called the provider tax, hospitals are expected to take a significant hit. 'No question - this is definitely the biggest cut. It's the biggest rollback in federal support for health care ever,' said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF. On food stamps, the bill rolls back decades of long-standing policy by tightening work requirements. Parents of children have generally been exempt from work rules, but under the new proposal, single mothers of teenagers as young as 14 would be required to work or lose benefits. The bill also raises the upper age for able-bodied adults without dependents who are subject to work requirements from 49 to 64, sweeping in millions of older Americans previously shielded from the rules. Additionally, it would make it harder for states to waive work requirements during times of high unemployment, effectively limiting assistance unless a generationally severe recession hits. The legislation also changes how poverty and household budgets are calculated for the purposes of food stamp eligibility, potentially reducing benefits for millions. Under President Joe Biden, internet access was recognized as a basic necessity for modern life and factored into cost-of-living calculations that help determine eligibility and benefit levels. The new bill reverses that. Conservatives and Republicans have defended these changes as necessary to arrest the rising cost of safety net programs. Robert Rector, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said U.S. food stamps are rife with fraud, saying the federal government's spending on welfare programs has risen from about $1 trillion per year before the covid pandemic to $1.69 trillion now. Rector said stricter limits in particular made sense for the food stamps program. 'Welfare spending is out of control. Fraud is out of control,' Rector said. 'There's extensive massive fraud. There's massive fraud in food stamps in particular.' Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) on Sunday argued on 'Meet the Press' that the legislation was only 'getting out the ones that should never be' on Medicaid and was focused on 'able-bodied' individuals. 'We don't pay people in this country to be lazy. We want to give them an opportunity, and when they're going through a hard time, we want to give them a helping hand,' Mullin said. 'That's what Medicaid was designed for, and it's unfortunately, it's been abused.' But Republicans may face political blowback if the changes to the safety net programs result in significant reductions in benefits. The cuts also fly in the face of prior promises made by party leaders: Vice President JD Vance has long been critical of cuts to Medicaid, and Trump has repeatedly promised not to reduce benefits in the program. Even as the bill moves toward passage, some congressional Republicans from rural states have also expressed concern about the political impacts of cuts to Medicaid. 'Let's watch and be careful that we don't cut into bone, don't hurt our rural hospitals,' Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia) said late last week. 'If we do that, it's going to be a bad day.' Others had hoped large spending cuts would at least be used to reduce the nation's $36 trillion federal debt. Goldwein, of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said it is a shame that Republicans are using funding from spending cuts only to partially mitigate the more than $3 trillion cost of their tax bill. 'What bothers me is there are really hard savings to find in here. But all the money is being used not for deficit reduction, not to fully pay for tax cuts, but to reduce the amount of money we're borrowing,' Goldwein said. 'We're going in the wrong direction.' - - - Yasmeen Abutaleb and Jacob Bogage contributed to this report. Related Content Lights! Camera! But not enough action in a fading, worried Hollywood. Facing entry-level job crunch, new grads question the value of a degree Dynamite outside a synagogue: Civil rights stories imperiled by federal cuts
Bloomberg
19 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump, Republicans Rush to Overcome Internal Clashes on One Big Beautiful Bill
By and Jamie Tarabay Save Republican party leaders are rushing to overcome lingering internal fights over President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending package as Democrats launch attacks to exploit the divisions. Senate Republicans were still at odds Monday over how much to cut Medicaid and other social safety-net programs and how rapidly to end Biden-era clean energy tax breaks as Democrats gained the chance Monday to force votes on amendments to the package.
Newsweek
19 minutes ago
- Newsweek
'Free America': Anti-Trump Protests Taking Place Nationwide on 4th of July
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. "Free America" events protesting President Donald Trump's administration are set to be held across the country throughout the July Fourth weekend. Why It Matters The events follow other nationwide protests against the Trump administration and its policies organized by the 50501 Movement (50 protests, 50 states, one movement) and other groups since he returned to office in January. Millions of people took to the streets for "No Kings" protests on June 14, targeting Trump's military parade marking the Army's 250th anniversary that coincided with his 79th birthday. People take part in a "No Kings" protest at Liberty Plaza in Atlanta on June 14, 2025, as President Donald Trump presides over a military parade in Washington. People take part in a "No Kings" protest at Liberty Plaza in Atlanta on June 14, 2025, as President Donald Trump presides over a military parade in Washington. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images What To Know "Free America Weekend" is being organized by Women's March, which was launched in 2017 as a grassroots group of women outraged over Trump's 2016 presidential win. Women's March is urging people to host or join community events during the holiday weekend. "This July 4th, while the U.S. marks Independence Day, we'll gather across the country—on porches, in town squares, backyards, and streets—to stand for real freedom and build a vision of a Free America brick by brick," Women's March says on its website. "Free America is wherever we are. Free America is whatever we make it. Host or join a July 4th Free America action—rallies, BBQs, marches, art builds, community block parties, and more to celebrate real freedom." At least 170 "Free America" events are being planned for the holiday weekend in numerous states, including several in New York, California, Texas and Florida, according to Women's March. The full list of events can be found on the Women's March's website here. Newsweek has contacted Women's March for further comment via email. What People Are Saying Women's March wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 28: "Protest is the patriotic way to spend the 4th of July; it's in the heart of Independence Day and paves our path forward! If you're hosting a block party or a BBQ this 4th of July, help us protect democracy with joyful resistance!" What Happens Next In addition to the "Free America" events, some local chapters of Indivisible have planned "No Kings 2.0" protests for July 4. The protests will be followed by another day of nationwide demonstrations—billed as "Good Trouble Lives On," a reference to the late congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis—on July 17. "Good Trouble Lives On" is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration," according to organizers.
