Senate Republican holdouts leave Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' hanging in balance
Senate Republicans are racing to pass a budget bill that is pivotal to President Donald Trump's second-term agenda ahead of a self-imposed 4 July deadline.
Party leadership have been twisting arms for an initial vote on the "Big Beautiful Bill" on Saturday, following the release of its latest version - all 940 pages - shortly after midnight.
Rank-and-file Republicans have been divided over how much to cut from welfare programmes in order to cover the cost of extending some $3.8tn (£2.8tn) in Trump tax breaks.
The sprawling tax and spending measure passed the House of Representatives by a single vote last month.
In a memo sent on Saturday to Senate offices, the White House endorsed the latest revisions to the bill and called for its passage.
The memo reportedly warned that failure to approve the budget "would be the ultimate betrayal".
But Senate Majority Leader John Thune called plans for a Saturday vote "aspirational".
A Republican senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, told the Fox & Friends programme on Saturday he will be voting "no", saying he still needed time to read it.
"We just got the bill," Johnson said. "I got my first copy at about 01:23 in the morning."
Two other Republican senators are holding out.
Thom Tillis of North Carolina raised objections to the legislation on Saturday, a day after Rand Paul of Kentucky said no.
All eyes are now on centrist Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.
Collins has indicated she may support a vote to advance the bill to the debate stage, but that she remains undecided on whether she will vote "yes" to passing it.
A look at the key items in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
The woman who could bust Trump's 'big beautiful bill'
The bill needs a simple majority to clear the Senate. With Republicans holding 53 seats out of 100, plus a tiebreaker from Vice-President JD Vance, the party can only afford three defections.
The latest version was designed to appease some backbench Republican holdouts.
Other amendments incorporate input from the Senate parliamentarian, an official who reviews bills to ensure they comply with the chamber's procedures.
It includes an increase in funding for rural hospitals, after some party moderates argued the original proposal would harm their constituents.
Another tweak was made to State and Local Taxes (Salt) - a bone of contention for representatives from high-tax states such as New York.
There is currently a $10,000 cap on how much taxpayers can deduct from the amount they owe in federal taxes.
In the new bill, Senate Republicans have raised the Salt limit to $40,000 for married couples with incomes up to $500,000 - in line with what the House of Representatives approved.
But the latest Senate version ends the $40,000 cap after five years - when it would drop back to $10,000.
There are also changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which provides food benefits to low-income Americans.
Under the latest bill, Alaska and Hawaii would be temporarily exempt from a proposed requirement for some states to start footing the bill for the programme, which is currently fully funded by the federal government.
The revision comes after Alaska's two Republican senators pushed for an exemption.
The legislation still contains some of its core components, including extending tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017, as well as the addition of new cuts that Trump campaigned on, such as a tax deduction on Social Security benefits and the elimination of taxes on overtime work and tips.
More contentious measures are also still in place, including restrictions and requirements on Medicaid - a healthcare programme used by millions of elderly, disabled and low-income Americans.
Democrats have heavily criticised this piece of the bill, saying it will limit access to affordable healthcare for millions of Americans.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 7.8 million people would become uninsured due to such Medicaid cuts.
Senator Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, took to social media on Saturday to argue the bill contains "the largest healthcare cuts in history".
Another critic of the bill is Elon Musk, who wrote on X on Saturday that the latest iteration of the bill "will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harms to our country".
Musk took issue with taxes the bill proposes on solar and wind energy projects.
Senate Republicans are pushing a procedural vote for the latest version of the bill on Saturday. If the vote is successful, the bill can move to the Senate floor to be debated, where it can be revised further.
If it successfully passes a final vote in the Senate, it will then make its way back to the House of Representatives, which will consider all the changes made and vote again before sending it to Trump's desk for final approval.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Marshall Monteagle Full Year 2025 Earnings: EPS: US$0.017 (vs US$0.10 in FY 2024)
Revenue: US$85.2m (up 2.6% from FY 2024). Net income: US$615.0k (down 83% from FY 2024). Profit margin: 0.7% (down from 4.4% in FY 2024). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses. EPS: US$0.017 (down from US$0.10 in FY 2024). AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Marshall Monteagle's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago. Before we wrap up, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Marshall Monteagle that you should be aware of. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Germany's Volkswagen to increase stake in US electric carmaker Rivian
German car giant Volkswagen is set to increase its stake in electric vehicle maker Rivian with a planned second payment of $1 billion due this Monday, after the US-based company recently achieved key financial targets in early May. The payment will increase Volkswagen's stake in the company, which stands at 8.6% after an initial $1 billion investment last year. The cash injections are part of a broader cooperation agreement under which Volkswagen has pledged up to $5.8 billion to Rivian. This strategic investment gives Volkswagen access to Rivian's advanced electric vehicle (EV) architecture - technology the German carmaker hopes will help resolve persistent software development challenges that have delayed its own EV launches in the past. Rivian, founded in 2009, has faced financial difficulties in recent years but has now reported gross profits for two quarters in a row. This allowed Volkswagen to release the latest $1 billion payment. However, Rivian still recorded a net loss of $541 million in the last quarter, though this was much lower than the $1.445 billion loss previously reported. Future payments from Volkswagen will depend on the achievement of additional technological milestones, with the next $1 billion trance scheduled for mid-2026 and a final $500 million expected in 2027 when Volkswagen plans to launch its first vehicle featuring Rivian's technology. Of Volkswagen's total $5.8 billion commitment, $3.5 billion is earmarked for acquiring Rivian shares, which could eventually make Volkswagen the company's largest shareholder, surpassing current majority stakeholder Amazon. The remaining $2.3 billion will be invested in the joint venture Rivian Volkswagen Technologies, launched in late 2024. This venture will focus on developing a new electronic architecture and software platform for electric vehicles, which will be shared by both partners. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Senate Republicans advance Trump's tax and spending cuts bill after dramatic late-night vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late Saturday session 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 Fourth deadline. The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed, joining all Democrats. There'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. 'It's time to get this legislation across the finish line,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Ahead of roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it 'strongly supports passage' of the bill. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about the visit on social media. But by nightfall, Trump was lashing out against holdouts, threatening to campaign against one Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had announced he could not support the bill because of grave Medicaid cuts that he worried would leave many without health care in his state. Tillis and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against. The president was working the phones from the Oval Office late Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Pressure was mounting from all sides — billionaire Elon Musk criticized the package as 'utterly insane and destructive.' The 940-page "One Big Beautiful Bill Act was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through 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. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the Senate bill would increase by 11.8 million the number of people without health insurance in 2034. 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 immediately forced a full reading of the text late Saturday 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. 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, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said would be a 'death sentence' for America's wind and solar industries, are also causing dissent within GOP ranks. The Republicans are relying on the reductions to offset the lost tax revenues but some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper cuts. Tillis said he spoke with Trump late Friday explaining his concerns. Paul of Kentucky had been opposed to the bill's provision to raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion. And GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who initially voted no, switched hours later after private talks to agree to advance the bill. As the roll call teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted to proceed. A short time later, Thune drew conservative holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office, with Vance and Johnson also joining. Talks dragged on. Then swiftly, Vance led them all back in to vote. Later, Scott said he had met with the president, adding, 'We all want to get to yes.' Lee said the group "had an internal discussion about the strategy to achieve more savings and more deficit reduction, and I feel good about the direction where this is going, and more to come.' After setbacks, Republicans revise some proposals The release of the bill's draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the measure to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict 'Byrd Rule,' named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump's bill. Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals, including shifting food stamp costs from the federal government to the states or gutting the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, were deemed out of compliance with the rules. But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them. The final text includes a proposal for cuts to the Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary hurdles and objections from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers. The CBO had said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The budget office has started releasing initial assessments of the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions. Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said. SALT dispute shakes things up The Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled. The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but limits it for five years. Many Republican senators say that is still too generous, but House Republicans are not fully satisfied either. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington. ___ Associated Press writers Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein, Michelle L. Price and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.
