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By Gabe Whisnant
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President Donald Trump's ambitious tax overhaul and spending cuts package—dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"—narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday after a marathon overnight session, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown in the House.
The vote, deadlocked at 50-50, was tipped in favor of passage by Vice President JD Vance, who cast the decisive vote after a turbulent weekend of negotiations and political brinkmanship.
What Happens Next
Now, the bill returns to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has warned the Senate not to stray far from what was already passed. With major revisions—particularly to Medicaid—made by the Senate, the legislation faces an uncertain path forward. Lawmakers are racing against the clock to finalize the package by Trump's self-imposed July Fourth deadline.
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The House Rules Committee has scheduled a meeting for 1:30 p.m.—just over an hour after the Senate narrowly passed President Trump's sweeping tax and spending package, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the 50-50 tie. The committee's role is pivotal: it determines how the legislation will be brought to the House floor, including what amendments may be considered and how long the debate will last.
The full House is set to reconvene Wednesday morning to take up the revised bill. Speaker Mike Johnson, responding shortly after the Senate vote, reaffirmed the Republican leadership's commitment to moving swiftly. "We're ready to finish the job," he declared, signaling a final push to meet the Trump administration's goal of passing the legislation before the July Fourth deadline.
The House had previously passed its own version of the bill in late May, and only by the slimmest of margins—just one vote. Now, lawmakers will weigh in on the Senate-amended version, which includes significant changes, particularly in areas like Medicaid and federal reimbursements.
For some of the GOP's most fiscally conservative members, the updated bill could pose a tough political test. The latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office show that the Senate version would add $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade—nearly $1 trillion more than the House-approved version. That could give pause to budget hawks who have long campaigned on reducing the national debt, potentially jeopardizing the fragile consensus that barely held together during the initial House vote.
Told that some House Republicans have said they cannot support the Senate's changes to the massive bill, Trump said Tuesday the measure has "something for everyone."
"It's a great bill ... and I think it's going to go very nicely in the House," Trump said during a tour of a new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that's been nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz. "I think it's going to go easier in the House."
Three Republican Senators Vote Against Trump's Bill
Senate Republicans, despite holding a narrow majority, faced stiff headwinds from both Democrats and dissent within their own ranks. Three Republicans—Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky—broke ranks to oppose the bill.
"The big not so beautiful bill has passed," Paul quipped after the vote, criticizing the package's inclusion of a $5 trillion debt ceiling hike.
The path to passage was anything but smooth. What began as a grueling day of amendment votes—known as "vote-a-rama"—descended into a chaotic 24-hour push as GOP leaders scrambled to secure support. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota frantically sought a compromise between moderates worried about deep Medicaid cuts and conservatives demanding even deeper spending reductions.
The 940-page bill is central to the GOP's legislative agenda and a signature piece for the Trump administration. As Trump left the White House for Florida, he acknowledged the complexity: "It's very complicated stuff," he said. "I don't want to go too crazy with cuts. I don't like cuts."
Despite that sentiment, the bill contains $1.2 trillion in spending reductions, mainly targeting Medicaid and food stamps. The package imposes work requirements on able-bodied adults—including some parents and older Americans—and tightens eligibility rules for safety net programs. It also alters federal reimbursements to states, raising alarm among senators from rural areas.
Senator Tillis warned the bill could cause "millions of people [to] lose access to Medicaid health care." Collins, another holdout, raised similar concerns and proposed increasing the rural hospital fund from $25 billion to $50 billion, funded by a higher tax rate on those earning more than $25 million annually. Her amendment was rejected.
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Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was another swing vote. She spent more than an hour in tense discussions with GOP leadership, seeking provisions to shield Alaskans from food stamp reductions and improve hospital reimbursements. "Radio silence," she said when asked how she planned to vote—though her requested changes were reportedly accepted.
After voting in favor of the bill, Murkowski told reporters that she wants the House to send the bill back to the Senate to continue the work.
"My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we're not there yet," Murkowski said, Brenden Pedersen of Punchbowl News reported on X, formerly Twitter.
In a dramatic late-night twist, Senator Paul met with Thune and floated a compromise: lowering the proposed increase in the debt ceiling. While the details were unclear, the move underscored the frantic, behind-the-scenes maneuvering required to shepherd the bill forward.
Democratic Response To The Big, Beautiful Bill
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats sought to delay the inevitable. They forced a public reading of the entire bill over the weekend and offered amendments to blunt the legislation's impact. Though most failed, a few garnered limited Republican support.
One notable amendment that passed removed a controversial clause barring states from regulating artificial intelligence if they receive certain federal funds.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer didn't mince words: "Republicans are in shambles because they know the bill is so unpopular." He pointed to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which estimated that 11.8 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2034 if the bill becomes law. The CBO also projected the bill would add nearly $3.3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade, despite its deep cuts to welfare programs.
Democrats also blasted the GOP's accounting practices. Senator Patty Murray of Washington accused Republicans of using "magic math" by claiming the cost of extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts shouldn't count toward the deficit. "That won't fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books," she said.
House Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas posted on X, "Senate Republicans just passed Trump's bullsh*t of a bill—and it's even uglier than before. At least 16 million could lose healthcare. Trillions will be added to the deficit. Hospitals will close. Children will go hungry. Now it comes back to the House. Democrats will be holding the line—because somebody has to fight for the folks they're so quick to leave behind, including their own constituents."
Changes Coming to Tax Rates
Trump's plan extends the 2017 tax rates—set to expire at year's end—while adding new tax breaks, including one eliminating taxes on tips. The bill also rolls back billions in green energy credits, a move Democrats warn could devastate renewable energy investment.
The package includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, and provides $350 billion for border and national security, partly paid for through new immigration-related fees. Still, even conservatives remain divided. A faction led by Senators Rick Scott, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, and Cynthia Lummis pushed for steeper Medicaid reductions and filed into Thune's office near midnight demanding further concessions.
Critics across the political spectrum emerged, including billionaire Elon Musk, who slammed the GOP on social media as "the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" for combining tax cuts with massive borrowing authority.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
Update: 7/1/25, 12:57 p.m. ET: This article was updated with more information and remarks.
Update: 7/1/25, 2:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with more information and remarks.
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