Dems call budget bill ‘bureaucratic water torture' as GOP ‘glad to have the ball in our court'
By Charles Creitz
Published May 23, 2025
Senate reaction to the House's passage of its "big, beautiful bill" was sharply divided, with Democrats warning of long-term harm to the working class and Republicans arguing it would help that very group.
"Republicans' reconciliation bill dismantles the American Dream and strips health care, food assistance, and more away from millions of hardworking Americans," Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., fumed in a Thursday statement.
"Republicans are taking a chainsaw to critical services that American families depend on and using them as a piggy bank for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy."
Durbin, who is retiring after a four-decade career in office, quipped that billionaires "win" and American families "lose – all thanks to President Donald Trump."
REPUBLICANS READY LATE-NIGHT SESSION ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' AFTER GOP MUTINY
The number-two Democrat urged four unnamed Senate Republicans to break with their party and have the "good sense to join Democrats" to stop the bill from reaching the White House.
Two Republicans unlikely to heed that call were Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who both offered a "well done" verbal back-pat to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Marshall said the Senate must deliver the bill to Trump for America's betterment, as Graham cited the border security provisions in the legislation and welcomed the bill to his side of the Capitol.
Back in Durbin's camp, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took to the Senate floor to condemn the "dead of night" vote and claimed Republicans hoped "nobody would notice" their "rotten to the core" bill.
Schumer was up late Wednesday, unsuccessfully forcing about a half-dozen motions-to-recess or adjourn as the Republicans held the Senate open to begin the process of undoing California's emissions waivers granted by former President Joe Biden.
DEMS WARN HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL PAY PRICE AT BALLOT BOX FOR PASSING TRUMP'S 'BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL'
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pointed Fox News Digital to recent comments on the bill, in which he said its goal is truly to "make life better for people so they can afford to pay their mortgage, they can afford to put gas in the car, and afford for their groceries."
"That's why we're doing this. This is part of our comprehensive economic plan," Thune said.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., echoed the "cloak of darkness" sentiment to Fox News Digital, saying the bill will "terminate health care for nearly 14 million Americans" and is "not what the people of Wisconsin signed up for."
"You can bet I'm going to fight it," Baldwin said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ronald Wyden – the Oregon Democrat and ranking member of the Finance Committee – called the bill a "full-scale assault on Americans' health and safety."
"This bill means kids will go hungry, seniors will face greater abuse and neglect in nursing homes, people with disabilities will lose care at home, and millions of working Americans will be subjected to humiliation and bureaucratic water torture just to get health care," Wyden said.
"Millions will lose their health insurance, and many more will find it harder to get health care, leading to untold suffering and quiet deaths," Wyden added.
Maryland Democrat Angela Alsobrooks told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Big Beautiful Bill Act will account for the largest food stamp cuts in history.
"[It's] beautiful for whom? Certainly not the millions of Americans who rely on SNAP to feed their children and on Medicaid to get their health care," Alsobrooks said, adding the GOP seems "obsessed" with seeing the "poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer."
Alsobrooks said the majority of her fellow Old Line State residents agree with her sentiments.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., echoed Alsobrooks' concerns about SNAP and Medicaid.
"It's a terrible bill and every senator should reject it," Welch said.
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When reached for comment, fellow Vermonter Bernie Sanders directed Fox News Digital to a 20-minute floor speech the democratic socialist made a few days ago.
"At a time when the richest people have never had it so good, they see Republican leadership working overtime to make the billionaire class even richer," Sanders said.
"At a time when a majority of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and pay for health care, they see Republican leadership making life even more difficult for average Americans."
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said conversely she is grateful to Trump and Johnson for their "diligent work."
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that the Senate will carefully consider the House's final product and work to craft final legislation that meets the chamber's rules and prevents the "biggest tax hike in American history," if the Trump Tax Cuts were to expire.
New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim released a video message to constituents about the passage on Thursday, calling it one of the most dangerous bills in history.
"I want you to pay attention," he told Jerseyans, citing "disastrous things" in the legislation.
Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, are expected to make changes to the bill, but they hope to keep them minimal to preserve the "delicate balance" struck by the House, Thune said.
The upper chamber hopes to have the final product to Trump by Independence Day. Print Close
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