The Senate has stagnated a tense overnight session that was dragged in Tuesday, with Republican leaders buying time by dodging proposed amendments from Democrats who are primarily trying to beat the package, looking for ways to secure support for President Donald Trump’s massive tax credits and spending cuts.
Endgame was not visible anytime soon. South Dakota Senate Majority Leader John Tune has reached out to a last-minute agreement with people in his party.
Thune declared at one point that she was at “Homestretch.” He jumps over the Capitol hall and backtracks a little later, suggesting that progress is “elusive.”
At the same time, House Speaker Mike Johnson has pointed out more potential issues ahead, and the Senate package warns that skeptical lawmakers are being called back to Washington ahead of the July 4 deadline, so issues could arise if sent home for a final vote.
“I was happy to win my Senate colleagues. House Republicans had already passed the version last month.
It’s a pivotal moment for Republicans who are taking control of Congress and compete to put together their work in a few days to go before Trump’s holiday deadline on Friday. As officially titled, the 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” consumed Congress to share priorities with the President.
In a midnight social media post, Trump called the bill “probably the greatest and most important.” Vice President JD Vance summarised his series of posts and begged the senators to “pass the bill.”
GOP leaders don’t have the room, and both rooms have a small majority. Thune could lose less than three Republican senators, already two — North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis warns people will lose access to Medicaid healthcare, while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who opposes raising debt restrictions, has opposed.
The main senators, Lisa Murkovsky of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, also attracted attention. Maine’s Susan Collins is also concerned about healthcare cuts, but has also become a loose coalition of four conservative GOP senators seeking a sharp cut.
Murkowski in particular was the focus of GOP leadership attention as Thune and others sat beside her in conversation. Paul then caught his eye after visiting Tune’s office and then returning.
And on social media, billionaire Elon Musk has once again denounced Republicans as “Porky Pig Party!!” It is necessary to allow ongoing borrowing to pay the bills to include a clause that increases the country’s debt limit by $5 trillion.
New York Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his side is working to show “how bad this is.”
“Republicans are in a hellish situation because they know that the bill is very unpopular,” Schumer said, walking down the hall.
A new analysis from the Non-Participation Congressional Budget Office found that 11.8 million Americans would be uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade.
What do you have on a big bill?
According to the latest CBO analysis, the Senate bill includes a $4.5 trillion tax cut. This expires at the end of the year if Congress fails to act.
The Senate package rolls back billions of dollars of green energy tax credits. Democrats warn that they will wipe out wind and sun investments across the country. By imposing job requirements on healthy people, including some parents and older Americans, it will impose a $1.2 trillion cut, primarily on Medicaid and food stamps, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal rebates.
Additionally, the bill provided $350 billion infusions for border and national security, some of which were paid at new fees charged to immigrants.
Democrats fight day and night
Democrats are using the tools freely to delay and pull out the process as they were unable to stop the march towards passing.
Democrats have a flow of revision, forcing a full reading of the text, which took 16 hours.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, raised special concerns later Sunday when he began debating the accounting methods Republicans use.
She said that things like “magic mathematics” won’t fly with Americans trying to balance their homebook.
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Associated Press authors Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein, Michelle L. Price, Kevin Freaking, Matt Brown, Seung Min Kim and Chris Megarian contributed to the report.
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