Trump asserts dominance with 'big, beautiful bill' Senate passage: 5 takeaways

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a day ago

President Donald Trump eked out a nail-biting finish line to achieve his most significant legislative victory since returning to the White House with the Senate giving a thumbs up on Tuesday to his sweeping mega-bill.
After a weekend of caustic debate the massive proposal − dubbed the "big beautiful bill" by Trump − passed the Senate 51-50. It preserves the 2017 tax cuts; invests billions into the military and border security; and fulfills a major 2024 campaign promise by extending federal tax breaks for low-wage tipped workers, such as waiters and hairstylists.
Even with congressional majorities, however, the Trump administration had to twist a few arms of Republican holdouts and other allies who questioned if government spending was reduced enough.
Elon Musk, the world's richest person, reignited his beef with the Trump administration on Monday when he torched the bill will for increasing the national debt by a projected $3.3 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Some GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in airing their misgivings about an estimated $1 trillion cut to Medicaid over the next decade, for instance. But in the end the president crossed the finish line with much of the measure left in tact after a marathon of votes and series of negotiations.
Here are the key moments from Trump's legislative accomplishment and what the fallout could be going forward.
The biggest point of contention orbiting Trump's mega-bill was Medicaid, which provides health insurance to more than 71 million low-income Americans.
Conservative supporters of the bill defend the reforms as much-needed cost savings that won't hurt the most vulnerable. They spotlighted efforts to keep states from spending health care funds on undocumented immigrants and defended imposing an 80-hour per month work requirement for able-bodied recipients aged 19 to 64, who don't have dependents.
But political observers of various stripes have called out how reductions to the program are unprecedented and estimated to remove millions from receiving its benefits.
"What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding is not there," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, asked during a fiery June 29 Senate floor speech.
Progressive religious leaders were among the most outspoken and they demonstrated on Capitol Hill, carrying more 50 caskets covered with statistics of how many people would lose Medicaid and food stamps, which the CBO estimates will receive its own $300 billion cut over the next decade.
"This bill is theft in plain sight," Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told reporters Monday. "...And despite this, Republicans are trying to push this through, because, let's be honest, they don't give a sh-- about the people who elected them."
Speaking of Tillis, the Tar Heel State Republican was a key holdout on the bill and over the weekend announced he was forgoing his reelection bid in the critical swing state next year.
It was "not a hard choice" given that lawmakers who pursue bipartisan solutions are an "endangered species" in Washington, he said.
Republicans understand the ramifications.
"Sen. Tillis is one of the most effective and collegial members that I have ever served with in the United States Senate," Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-K.y, a former Senate majority leader who is also retiring next year, said in a June 30 post on X. "His announcement is a big setback for the Senate and the Republican conference."
For years North Carolina has been a razor-thin state in multiple statewide contests and next year's Senate race was already forecasted to be a toss-up by reputable prognosticators such as Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, at the University of Virginia, and the Cook Political Report.
Democrats are now salivating at the chance of flipping the seat blue without the battle test Tillis in the race, saying his departure is an early start to "midterm backlash" in 2026.
"Now Tillis isn't even running because he saw how extreme this bill was and refused to stand by and support it, which earned him the wrath of Donald Trump," Martin, the DNC chair, told reporters this week.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had his hands full.
He wasn't the MAGA movement's first choice but the 63-year-old Republican leader kept most of the GOP herd together through a thorny debate to deliver Trump his defining legislative win.
In the final hours, Thune reportedly was working behind the scenes all night to strike deals on amendments that could secure Republican holdouts, such as Sens. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, who are considered moderates in the 53-member caucus.
Murkowski ultimately voted for the measure, but Collins did not. She joined Tillis and Rand Paul, of Kentucky, among the three Republicans who voted against the bill, forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast the tiebreaking ballot.
Thune also had to keep Trump's allies from causing too much trouble after facing pressure from MAGA activists who demanded he fire the parliamentarian for being a roadblock to some of their more ambitious plans in the bill.
Viewed by Washington insiders as a more affable conservative, the 6-foot, 4-inch all-state basketball player has been a Trump critic in the past. He condemned the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol rioters; opposed Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results; and supported Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to be the 2024 Republican nominee for president.
But with the help of Vice President JD Vance's tie-break vote, Thune bought himself some credit with the White House and perhaps some in the MAGA movement at a time when both are pushing traditional Republicans out.
The Musk-Trump relationship continues to deteriorate as their war of words escalated amid the final hours of Senate debate.
Musk, the world's richest person, unleashed a series of posts on X trashing the bill for adding trillions to the national debt. He called out Republican lawmakers, some by name, who voted for the bill after campaigning on cutting government spending.
The former White House adviser went further, vowing to use his deep pockets against GOP incumbents in the 2026 midterms.
"It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people," Musk said in a June 30 post.
Trump didn't hesitate in returning fire with threats to sic the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE − which Musk previously led − on his former adviser's companies. He mocked Musk for receiving government subsidies and alluded that he might send the South African-born tech entrepreneur packing.
"We'll have to take a look," Trump said Tuesday when asked whether he will deport Musk. "We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn't that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies."
Time will tell if the remarkable public spat between the two will have any significant political fallout, or result in another apology by Musk, who in June expressed regret for a flurry of personal attacks against the president.
The Senate made plenty of changes, which means Trump's agenda must go back to the House where it could face further hurdles among hardline Republicans.
"The biggest one is just the deficit increase. I mean, we're already at $37 trillion in debt," Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Indiana, told CNN on Tuesday. "Our deficits are at all time highs, and it just doesn't seem like the Senate is serious about keeping the deficit flat."
The proposal barely passed the House in May, by a 215-214 vote which gives more conservative-leaning fiscal hawks a negotiating advantage should they choose to force Trump's hand.
Stutzman said that he sides with Musk in terms of the deficit concerns, saying other business leaders -- such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon -- have expressed the same thing.
"That's why this really is a great opportunity for us to reduce our debt and deficits," he said.
Whether this can all happen before Independence Day, which is Trump's imposed deadline for Congress, remains up in the air but he isn't letting up.
"I think it would be very wise for them to get on board. It's a great bill," Trump said of remaining GOP holdouts during a press gabble on July 1 after landing in Florida to view the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center.
"I would say that they have to do it," he added. "If they don't do it look, they'll suffer the consequences."
Contributing: Sarah Wire, Lauren Villagran, Joey Garrison
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate gives Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' a thumbs up: 5 takeaways