Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late session on Saturday, June 28, narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July 4 deadline.
The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous session with Vice President JD Vance on hand if needed to break the tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed to debate, joining all Democrats.
It’s still a long weekend of work to come. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks .
Ahead of the expected roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it “strongly supports passage” of the bill that “implements critical aspects” of the president’s agenda. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about it on social media.
“It’s time to get this legislation across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota. But as the day dragged, billionaire Elon Musk lashed out, calling the package “utterly insane and destructive”: “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!”
The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through the hours of all-night debate and amendments in the days ahead. If the Senate is able to pass it, the bill would go back to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. With the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board in the face of essentially unified opposition from Democrats. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans unveiled the bill “in the dead of night” and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what’s in it. He is expected to call for a full reading of the text in the Senate, which would take hours.
Make-or-break moment for GOP
The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump’s party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up and has admonished the “grandstanders” among GOP holdouts to fall in line.
New
Le Monde’s app
Get the most out of your experience: download the app to enjoy Le Monde in English anywhere, anytime
Download
The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump’s first term that would otherwise expire by year’s end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump’s mass deportation agenda .
But the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments − which a top Democrat, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, said would be a “death sentence” for America’s wind and solar industries − are also causing dissent within GOP ranks.
