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Fox News
3 hours ago
- Health
- Fox News
Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' faces Republican family feud as Senate reveals its final text
Print Close By Alex Miller Published June 28, 2025 Senate Republicans unveiled their long-awaited version of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," but its survival is not guaranteed. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., revealed the stitched-together text of the colossal bill late Firday night. The final product from the upper chamber is the culmination of a roughly month-long sprint to take the House GOP's version of the bill and mold and change it. The colossal package includes separate pieces and parts from 10 Senate committees. With the introduction of the bill, a simple procedural hurdle must be passed in order to begin the countdown to final passage. When that comes remains an open question. Senate Republicans left their daily lunch on Friday under the assumption that a vote could be teed up as early as noon on Saturday. HOUSE CONSERVATIVES GO TO WAR WITH SENATE OVER TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital that he had "strongly encouraged" Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to put the bill on the floor for a vote Saturday afternoon. "If you're unhappy with that, you're welcome to fill out a hurt feelings report, and we will review it carefully later," Kennedy said. "But in the meantime, it's time to start voting." But Senate Republicans' desire to impose their will on the package and make changes to already divisive policy tweaks in the House GOP's offering could doom the bill and derail Thune's ambitious timeline to get it on Trump's desk by the July 4 deadline. However, Thune has remained firm that lawmakers would stay on course and deliver the bill to Trump by Independence Day. When asked if he had the vote to move the package forward, Thune said "we'll find out tomorrow." TOP TRUMP HEALTH OFFICIAL SLAMS DEMOCRATS FOR 'MISLEADING' CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAID REFORM But it wasn't just lawmakers who nearly derailed the bill. The Senate parliamentarian, the true final arbiter of the bill, ruled that numerous GOP-authored provisions did not pass muster with Senate rules. Any item in the "big, beautiful bill" must comport with the Byrd Rule, which governs the budget reconciliation process and allows for a party in power to ram legislation through the Senate while skirting the 60-vote filibuster threshold. That sent lawmakers back to the drawing board on a slew of policy tweaks, including the Senate's changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate, cost-sharing for food benefits and others. Republican leaders, the White House and disparate factions within the Senate and House GOP have been meeting to find middle ground on other pain points, like tweaking the caps on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. While the controversial Medicaid provider tax rate change remained largely the same, a $25 billion rural hospital stabilization fund was included in the bill to help attract possible holdouts that have raised concerns that the rate change would shutter rural hospitals throughout the country. On the SALT front, there appeared to be a breakthrough on Friday. A source told Fox News that the White House and House were on board with a new plan that would keep the $40,000 cap from the House's bill and have it reduced back down to $10,000 after five years. But Senate Republicans are the ones that must accept it at this stage. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., has acted as the mediator in those negotiations, and said that he was unsure if any of his colleagues "love it." "But I think, as I've said before, I want to make sure we have enough that people can vote for than to vote against," he said. Still, a laundry list of other pocket issues and concerns over just how deep spending cuts in the bill go have conservatives and moderates in the House GOP and Senate pounding their chests and vowing to vote against the bill. Republican leaders remain adamant that they will finish the mammoth package and are gambling that some lawmakers standing against the bill will buckle under the pressure from the White House and the desire to leave Washington for a short break. Once a motion to proceed is passed, which only requires a simple majority, then begins 20 hours of debate evenly divided between both sides of the aisle. 'BABY STEPS': LEADER THUNE DETAILS HIS WORK TO CORRAL REPUBLICANS BEHIND TRUMP'S LEGISLATIVE VISION Democratic lawmakers are expected to spend the entirety of their 10 allotted hours, while Republicans will likely clock in well below their limit. From there starts the "vote-a-rama" process, when lawmakers can submit a near-endless number of amendments to the bill. Democrats will likely try to extract as much pain as possible with messaging amendments that won't actually pass but will add more and more time to the process. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Once that is complete, lawmakers will move to a final vote. If successful, the "big, beautiful bill" will again make its way back to the House, where House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will again have to corral dissidents to support the legislation. It barely advanced last month, squeaking by on a one-vote margin. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hammered on the importance of passing Trump's bill on time. He met with Senate Republicans during their closed-door lunch and spread the message that advancing the colossal tax package would go a long way to giving businesses more certainty in the wake of the president's tariffs. "We need certainty," he said. "With so much uncertainty, and having the bill on the president's desk by July 4 will give us great tax certainty, and I believe, accelerate the economy in the third quarter of the year." Print Close URL
Politico
3 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
Senate Republicans release updated text for most of their megabill
Republicans' 'big, beautiful bill' is in tatters. President Donald Trump still wants it on his desk by July 4. Here's everything that will have to go right to make that happen: GOP senators and staff now believe Saturday is the earliest voting will start on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged Thursday that parliamentarian rulings forcing Republicans to rewrite key provisions of the bill are throwing his timeline into chaos. A Saturday vote would assume no more major procedural issues, but that is not assured: Republicans could run into trouble with their use of current policy baseline, the accounting tactic they want to use to zero out the cost of tax-cut extensions. Other adverse recommendations from Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough could force additional redrafts of Republicans' tax plans. Even if Republicans resolve every outstanding issue with the parliamentarian in the next 24 hours, Thune needs to firm up his whip count. The cap on state provider taxes remains among the thorniest issues, with senators threatening to block debate on the megabill until the Medicaid financing issue is resolved. If the Senate does vote Saturday to proceed, expect Democrats to use the bulk of their 10 hours of debate time, while Republicans forfeit most of theirs. Then comes the main event — vote-a-rama — which would set up likely final passage for sometime Sunday. That starts the timer for the House. GOP leaders there have pledged to give members 48 hours' notice of a vote — and they have already advised the earliest that voting could happen is Monday evening. Republicans will have to adopt a rule before moving to debate and final passage. But the House's timeline depends wholly on what condition the megabill is in when it arrives from the Senate. Groups of House Republicans are already drawing red lines on matters ranging from SALT to clean-energy tax credits to public land sales. The hope is that the Senate will take care of those concerns in one final 'wraparound' amendment at the end of vote-a-rama. If they don't, House GOP leaders are adamant that there will need to be changes — likely pushing the timeline deep into July, or perhaps beyond. For one, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Thursday the Senate's slower phase-out of clean-energy tax credits 'will need to be reversed,' or else. 'If there are major modifications that we cannot accept, then we would go back to the drawing board, fix some of that and send it back over,' Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday. 'So we should avoid that process, if possible.' What else we're watching: — Senate war powers vote: Senators are expected to take an initial vote at 6 p.m. on Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-Va.) resolution that would bar the president from taking further military action in Iran without congressional approval. Kaine believes Republicans will support the measure but won't say who or how many. — House Iran briefing: House members will receive a briefing on the Iran conflict from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe in the CVC auditorium at 9 a.m. This comes as some House lawmakers are mulling two competing war powers resolutions, which Johnson could attempt to quash in advance using a rule.
Politico
4 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
Senate Judiciary's updated megabill text omits provision limiting judicial powers
Republicans' 'big, beautiful bill' is in tatters. President Donald Trump still wants it on his desk by July 4. Here's everything that will have to go right to make that happen: GOP senators and staff now believe Saturday is the earliest voting will start on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged Thursday that parliamentarian rulings forcing Republicans to rewrite key provisions of the bill are throwing his timeline into chaos. A Saturday vote would assume no more major procedural issues, but that is not assured: Republicans could run into trouble with their use of current policy baseline, the accounting tactic they want to use to zero out the cost of tax-cut extensions. Other adverse recommendations from Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough could force additional redrafts of Republicans' tax plans. Even if Republicans resolve every outstanding issue with the parliamentarian in the next 24 hours, Thune needs to firm up his whip count. The cap on state provider taxes remains among the thorniest issues, with senators threatening to block debate on the megabill until the Medicaid financing issue is resolved. If the Senate does vote Saturday to proceed, expect Democrats to use the bulk of their 10 hours of debate time, while Republicans forfeit most of theirs. Then comes the main event — vote-a-rama — which would set up likely final passage for sometime Sunday. That starts the timer for the House. GOP leaders there have pledged to give members 48 hours' notice of a vote — and they have already advised the earliest that voting could happen is Monday evening. Republicans will have to adopt a rule before moving to debate and final passage. But the House's timeline depends wholly on what condition the megabill is in when it arrives from the Senate. Groups of House Republicans are already drawing red lines on matters ranging from SALT to clean-energy tax credits to public land sales. The hope is that the Senate will take care of those concerns in one final 'wraparound' amendment at the end of vote-a-rama. If they don't, House GOP leaders are adamant that there will need to be changes — likely pushing the timeline deep into July, or perhaps beyond. For one, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Thursday the Senate's slower phase-out of clean-energy tax credits 'will need to be reversed,' or else. 'If there are major modifications that we cannot accept, then we would go back to the drawing board, fix some of that and send it back over,' Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday. 'So we should avoid that process, if possible.' What else we're watching: — Senate war powers vote: Senators are expected to take an initial vote at 6 p.m. on Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-Va.) resolution that would bar the president from taking further military action in Iran without congressional approval. Kaine believes Republicans will support the measure but won't say who or how many. — House Iran briefing: House members will receive a briefing on the Iran conflict from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe in the CVC auditorium at 9 a.m. This comes as some House lawmakers are mulling two competing war powers resolutions, which Johnson could attempt to quash in advance using a rule.
CNN
6 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Senate barrels toward weekend vote on Trump agenda as GOP support still in limbo
President Donald Trump's push to pass his massive agenda in the Senate is hanging by thread as GOP leaders barrel toward a critical vote this weekend that, as of Friday night, is still short of the support to pass. Just hours after Senate Majority Leader John Thune informed senators they would take a critical first vote on Saturday, a key GOP centrist senator warned he would vote against proceeding to the package unless there are major changes – and several other holdouts are uncertain on how they'll land. That warning shot came from Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is up for reelection next November and has been one of the most vocal critics of the Medicaid cuts used to help pay for Trump's tax cuts and spending cuts package. Speaking to reporters Friday, Tillis again raised concerns over the bill's 'fundamentals' and cuts to Medicaid and suggested his vote wouldn't change unless the measure 'transforms radically overnight.' Losing Tillis on Saturday's expected procedural vote – which will be closely watched by Trump – would be a major blow to Senate GOP leaders, who can only afford to lose three Republican votes to advance the bill. Thune and GOP leaders have spent months building to this moment, racing to draft the bill as quickly as possible in an effort to ensure Trump's agenda is on his desk by the Fourth of July. If the bill fails its first procedural vote on Saturday, GOP leaders will have to retool the package, amounting to a huge setback for Trump. And it's not just about that Independence Day timeline: GOP leaders fear that any delay in passing Trump's agenda would embolden the party's critics to seek more changes – which could lead their fragile coalition to fall apart. Already, outspoken fiscal hawk Sen. Rand Paul is planning to vote against it over the plan's inclusion of a $5 trillion debt-limit increase. And Tillis is not the only Republican threatening to oppose the bill over the proposed cuts to Medicaid. Sens. Josh Hawley, Lisa Murkowski, Jerry Moran and Susan Collins have all made similar remarks as they've worked with leadership to trim those provisions. But simply restoring that Medicaid funding may not be enough to win Thune those votes on the floor – it could also cost him votes among Senate GOP hardliners. Sen. Ron Johnson has railed on how the bill is projected to balloon the budget deficit, and another fiscal hawk, Sen. Mike Lee, has suggested he and Johnson along with Sen. Rick Scott could vote as a bloc on Saturday. None have yet to say how they'll vote on the key initial procedural vote Saturday. If all goes to plan, Senate leaders will land the 51 GOP votes to formally begin debating Trump's agenda and then tee up one of the chamber's storied traditions: a series of round-the-clock amendment votes known as vote-a-rama. Democrats will use this overnight session to push on any number of GOP weak points on the bill, particularly Medicaid and other safety net programs. The Senate could then vote on final passage sometime in the middle of the night Saturday or Sunday morning. And if successful, the House would return mid-week to take up the bill with the hope of Trump signing it at the White House on July 4. One of the biggest hurdles for Republicans is the race to rewrite text in compliance with the Senate's complex budget rules, which are governed by the nonpartisan parliamentarian. In recent days, the parliamentarian has ruled against key GOP provisions – from the so-called provider tax, which helps states fund their Medicaid programs to some provisions of a government spectrum auction. That forces the Senate GOP to dial back those provisions, or else Trump's bill would be subject to a Democratic filibuster. Several Republicans said Friday night they need to see the final bill text – which has not been released – before judging whether they would open debate on the sweeping measure. 'I don't have the bill, how can I vote on something I don't know' what's in it, Johnson said. Hawley, who has been deeply concerned about Medicaid cuts, also said the vote hinges on what's in the bill: 'Got to see the text.' Senate GOP leaders hope to release a mostly final version of the bill Friday night or Saturday morning, but the full version may not be ready before the anticipated Saturday vote to open debate, since the Senate Finance Committee is still furiously working to make sure its language complies with the budget rules. The Finance provisions are key because of both tax and health provisions – specifically, Medicaid. 'I still don't have final language from Finance yet, which obviously is of tremendous concern to me given the Medicaid provisions,' Collins said. Multiple GOP senators dismissed concerns about speeding ahead with the vote without final text in hand. 'We discussed this thing ad nauseam,' Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno said, estimating that Republicans have met on this bill for 'thousands' of hours so far this year. 'The final tax is not out. But we know where we are going.' Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri added: 'When you have legislation like this, you're going to have things you need to work through until the very end.' This story has been updated with additional details.
Axios
7 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Senate plunges into do-or-die moment on "big, beautiful bill"
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is about to make GOP holdouts decide if they're really willing to torpedo President Trump's signature legislative agenda ahead of his July 4 deadline. Why it matters: Each hard-fought deal at this point risks blowing up another. But leaders are getting ready to force holdouts' hands and get this thing done. The Senate wants to start voting on the " big, beautiful bill" at noon Saturday, said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). It had hoped to vote on Friday. "We'll find out tomorrow," Thune told reporters when asked if he has the votes to start the debate on the bill. Complicating the whip count: As of Friday evening, the Senate parliamentarian was still making rulings. "It's clear we're not going to have unanimity on some of this," Kennedy said. "That's why God made votes." Zoom in: The Senate also has yet to agree on a tentative deal with the House GOP's SALT crew, which was presented to them at lunch on Friday. There were some skeptics, notably Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), per two attendees. There are lingering concerns about Medicaid. Senators leaving lunch told reporters that they plan to delay lowering the provider taxes. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told us he did not see any substantial changes to Medicaid that would alter his analysis of the impact on his state. Asked about a vote tomorrow, he said, "It doesn't matter to me, if the baseline doesn't change, I'm a no." What to watch: There also is a growing possibility of floor fights — with senators seeking to strike unpopular parts of the bill via amendments.
