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Fox News
an hour 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
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Last-minute changes appear to be making Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' more expensive by the day
Major pieces of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" have been reshaped over the past week and many of the edits appear to have at least one thing in common: They are putting upward pressure on the bill's price tag. A complete accounting won't be available for days, but recent changes have signaled that the question may not be whether the projected $3 trillion-plus price tag will move upwards, but by how much. The changes are coming from a variety of directions and for different reasons, from Senate parliamentarian advisements on the rules to last-minute inducements for intransigent lawmakers to changes at the behest of the Trump administration. One major stumbling block appeared to be resolved Friday — but in a way that could add new costs. Republicans announced a tentative deal on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, with Senator John Hoeven telling reporters that the agreement will raise the limit to $40,000 a year for five years — from a level of $10,000 in the prior Senate version. Another major change came Thursday morning when the Senate's parliamentarian said that provisions around Medicaid provider taxes, which are projected to save hundreds of billions of dollars if enacted, couldn't be included in the bill. Also on Thursday, congressional Republicans removed another potential $100 billion-plus revenue source by striking a so-called revenge tax provision following a request from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The changes add more challenges to the goal of getting legislation to Trump's desk by July 4, especially as these changes are already getting noticed by fiscal conservatives even before everything is tallied up. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Trump are applying maximum political pressure to finalize the bill with the president posting Friday that Senators would be "working all weekend." The first votes could also begin this weekend. On Friday morning, President Trump acknowledged that the back and forth was having an effect, saying "the parliamentarian has been a little difficult" and adding that he disagrees on some of the decisions but that it will be fine in the end. The president also said that meeting his current July 4 deadline for finishing the bill could slip, saying it's important to him to finish the bill by then "but not the end-all." "Several things are getting knocked out of the bill, which makes the budget math even harder and which makes the negotiations with the House even harder," Erica York of the Tax Foundation said in a recent interview. "Certainly, there are a lot of challenges to overcome if this is gonna get done" by the current July 4 deadline, she added. Thursday's developments came after another key cost savings — a "pay for," in Washington parlance — was called into question earlier this week by another parliamentarian ruling that found Republicans won't be able to make certain cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with the bill as written. But perhaps the central question when it comes to the final price tag will be the final shape of proposed Medicaid cuts. This portion of the bill has long been the biggest cost saver, with the Congressional Budget Office previously estimating that the healthcare provisions in the House version would cut spending by over $1 trillion over 10 years. Those complex provisions are currently under debate, with the Senate offering more stringent ideas in some cases, but with the Senate parliamentarian advising this week that some of those changes around provider taxes don't pass muster with the Senate's reconciliation rules process. There's also talk of a new $15 billion stabilization fund for rural hospitals impacted by the Medicaid cuts to offer an inducement for GOP lawmakers balking at the cuts — a change that could eat into the cost savings. It's also the latest key "pay for" to be called into question after the Senate parliamentarian advised earlier this week that some of the cuts to the SNAP program around state matching funds needed to change. These provisions were previously estimated to save roughly $128 billion. Both the Medicaid and SNAP pieces of the bill appear to be in the process of being rewritten in an attempt to add them back into the final package. Meanwhile, the White House shifted course on another projected $100 billion-plus revenue raiser with the removal of the so-called revenge tax after many companies raised concerns that new taxes there could dampen investment in the US. Republicans are even going back and forth on a fourth key cost saver in the bill: the rollback of green energy credits. The Senate version offered a slower timeline for the phaseout of these credits, which would likely save less money, but House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told PunchBowl News on Thursday that the idea is "going to need to get reversed" and that "liberalizing it is not the direction to go." This story has been updated with additional developments. Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. 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Fox News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
Anxious Republicans turn to Trump amid divisions over 'big, beautiful bill'
Republicans in the House and Senate are anxiously watching whether President Donald Trump will take a more aggressive approach in corralling GOP lawmakers in favor of his "big, beautiful bill." "President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, isn't he? I think it's incumbent upon him to make sure everybody in the Senate understands that this is a signature piece of legislation that essentially 77 million Americans voted for," Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. The Senate is working through a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump's agenda on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt — which the president has said he wants on his desk by the Fourth of July. Trump has been pushing Republicans on the bill in public, addressing it at back-to-back events on Thursday and Friday while also posting on his Truth Social platform. Congressional leaders have said they've been in near-constant contact with Trump or his White House staff about the legislation. Indeed, numerous White House officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance, to push Senate Republicans to stay on course. But some House Republicans want him to be as forceful as he was when their chamber passed the bill by just one vote in May. Trump summoned multiple groups of Republicans to the White House on several occasions in the lead-up to that vote, and even made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to gin up support within the House GOP. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that when the House was going through the motions of advancing the mammoth legislation, it "looked all but impossible" to get it across the finish line. But it was because of Trump, he said, that the bill succeeded. "He's our closer in the bullpen right now," he said. "His arm is getting warmed up, and we'll bring him in here in the ninth inning, and he's going to throw heat. And so far, he's pitched a no-hitter." It's worth noting that several senators who have expressed concerns about the bill have spoken individually with Trump. But Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital showed varying degrees of enthusiasm when asked whether the president should repeat the intense involvement he had in the House. When asked by Fox News Digital whether it's time for the president to get involved, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas., said, "That's up to the White House. It's up to the president." But Roy added, "I think the Senate needs to deliver, and I think the Senate ought to make good on the agreement that the majority leader had with us and with the speaker to work with us to achieve that level of spending cuts." Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., said Trump is "always involved, so he'll stay involved because we do want to get it done by July 4th." Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said he was not being kept aware of how involved Trump was, but said the president's deal-making skills would likely be needed. "I mean, I think it's gonna take that type of horsepower to kind of bring everybody together," Fitzgerald said. But some Republicans in the upper chamber are resistant. "It doesn't matter what he says, of course not," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. "I mean, I'm not voting for something unless I know what I'm voting on." Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wouldn't say whether he believed that Trump should put a finger on the scales more. But he told Fox News Digital that he was appreciative of the effort that Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, had put into getting feedback from Senate Republicans, but said that at a certain point, lawmakers just needed to vote on the bill. "We have cussed and discussed this bill for a long, long time, and at some point you move from careful, rational deliberation into the foothills of jackassery," Kennedy said. "And that's where we are now. It's time to vote. If people are unhappy, they can offer amendments." Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
JD Vance poised to clinch victory for Trump's landmark bill as GOP finalizes strategy
Vice President JD Vance could deliver the tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate for President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful, bill" should it fail to receive enough support from Republican lawmakers. Republicans are scrambling to reform and pass the measure ahead of Trump's July 4 deadline after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough's determination Thursday that several Medicaid reforms in the sweeping tax and domestic policy package did not follow Senate rules and must be removed. As president of the Senate, the vice president casts a tie-breaking vote when a measure fails to receive majority support. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate, meaning three Republican senators could opt out of voting for the bill, and it could still pass with Vance's support. Vance has previously cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate, including in January to confirm Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and on a measure in April to curb Trump's ability to impose global tariffs. Vance's office declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. Republican lawmakers who've historically voiced concerns about certain Medicaid provisions included in the "big, beautiful, bill" include senators Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. These lawmakers have cautioned that the reforms would prove detrimental to rural hospitals in their states. Spokespeople for Collins, Hawley and Murkowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The domestic policy package also included provisions to beef up border security and would also make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from Trump's first term. The White House's Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told lawmakers earlier this month failure to pass the measure would result in a 60% tax hike for Americans and would trigger a recession. As a result, Matt Wolking, who previously served as the deputy communications director for Trump's 2020 campaign, said Senate Republicans will ultimately band together to approve the legislation to prevent the tax cuts from expiring. "Senate Republicans don't want to be responsible for the massive tax increase on the middle class that will occur if they fail to extend President Trump's tax cuts. So, ultimately, they will get this done," Wolking, currently with GOP consulting firm Axiom Strategies, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "President Trump has a big asset in these negotiations with JD Vance, and whether he is needed to break a tie or not, the administration will have another major win under its belt heading into the midterm elections where the strength of the economy will be a big factor," Wolking said. Earlier this month, Vance met with Republican senators to discuss the measure during a closed-door lunch and said afterward he was hopeful about the odds of passing the legislation on time. "I mean, look, I can't make any promises. … I can't predict the future, but I do think that we're in a good place to get this done by the July 4 recess," Vance told reporters June 17. Vance also told reporters that despite concerns from lawmakers, including Collins, regarding certain Medicaid provisions included in the measure, he would work to address any issues raised. Still, he said there was broad agreement within the party on reforming Medicaid to block access for illegal immigrants. "They're all very confident we're eventually going to get there," Vance said. The House narrowly passed its version of the measure in May by a 215-214 margin, with two Republicans voting against the legislation. Trump urged lawmakers to get the legislation to the finish line Thursday, labeling the measure the "single-most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress." "This is the ultimate codification of our agenda to — very simply, a phrase that's been used pretty well by me over the past 10 years, but maybe even before that — make America great again," Trump said at a "One, Big, Beautiful Event" at the White House Thursday.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Very close to a final product': Senate GOP version of Trump's bill near finish line
With a week until a July Fourth deadline for Congress to get President Donald Trump's megabill passed, Senate Republicans are going over the final sticking points -- with the end in sight and a potential vote this weekend. On Friday afternoon, Senate Republicans met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called the passage of the bill the "single most important economic thing we're going to do this year." House Speaker Mike Johnson chewed over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with Senate Republicans at the closed-door lunch on Friday, telling reporters afterward that the Senate's version of the legislation is almost done. "We had a great discussion about a lot of important issues, and I feel like we're getting very close to a final product," Johnson said as he left the meeting. MORE: Senate GOP 'frustrated' by parliamentarian's Medicaid ruling in Trump's bill -- but won't overrule her While the Senate grapples with the state and local tax provision, Johnson said he believes senators are "very, very close to closing that issue out." The Senate version of the bill is expected to hit the Senate floor on Saturday afternoon. It begins with a procedural vote on the motion to proceed to the bill, which requires a simple majority of votes to pass. Assuming the bill gets the necessary votes to proceed, there are up to 20 hours of debate, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans will likely yield back most of their ten hours. Democrats will likely use close to all of it. After an unlimited series of amendment votes, the Senate could vote on the final passage of the bill at some point on Sunday. Still, some roadblocks remain. The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday rejected a Medicaid provision in the bill, which is a major blow to Senate Republicans' efforts. Also, Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose only three Republican votes when the bill goes to the Senate floor, given unified Democratic opposition in the Senate. "All of it depends on…we've got a few things we're waiting on, outcomes from the parliamentarian on, but if we could get some of those questions issues landed, and my expectation is at some point tomorrow, we'll be ready to go," Thune said Friday. Johnson and Thune met with Trump Thursday night in the Oval Office about the tax and immigration bill as Congress barrels toward its self-imposed Fourth of July deadline. "We had a long discussion about … where the bill stands and its status. And they are -- we are very, very close, and Leader Thune has confidence that they could get the job done by this weekend, and we certainly are hopeful for that," Johnson said about the Thursday meeting. Earlier Friday, Johnson suggested the Fourth of July deadline could slide, saying "it's possible" that the deadline could change -- although he said he wanted to remain committed to the July Fourth goal. However, later in the day, Johnson stuck to Independence Day. "That's been our goal all along, and it hasn't changed," the speaker said, adding that "the House is ready to act as soon as the Senate does." MORE: Trump admin live updates: Trump says he's ending trade talks with Canada After fudging his long-standing, self-imposed July Fourth deadline for Congress to pass his massive immigration and tax bill, Trump later doubled down on the date in a social media post. "The House of Representatives must be ready to send it to my desk before July 4th -- We can get it done," the president wrote. Earlier, when asked about the deadline during a news conference in the White House briefing room, the president said "it's not the end all" and that "it can go longer." On Thursday, congressional leaders and the administration touted the benefits of the package during a celebration in the East Room of the White House. MORE: Trump says no vacations until Congress passes his megabill As the Senate aims to move forward this weekend with the megabill, House leaders told members in a formal notice "pending Senate action on H.R. 1, votes on the One Big Beautiful Bill are expected in the House next week" -- interrupting a planned weeklong Independence Day recess. "Further information regarding the timing of votes will be provided as soon as possible, and Members will be given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any votes in the House," the notice states. Earlier this week, Trump told members of Congress that they would have to forgo vacations to get the bill to his desk. "To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don't go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK," Trump posted on his social media platform. "Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT'S DONE."
