It needed a tie-breaking vote to get there, but the “Big, Beautiful Bill” is headed home.
Senate Republicans barely approved President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts package Tuesday, using a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance to nudge it over the goal line in a 51-50 vote
Vance’s vote was necessary after Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – all for different reasons – sided with every Democrat against it.
The vote comes after marathon sessions first to get the the measure to the floor, and then a 25-hour session through the night Monday and into Tuesday to get it passed.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, decried the measure – as most Democrats did – as a way for Republicans to give “the wealthiest among us … a tax break.”
“After more than 25 hours on the Senate floor, I voted no on the so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’” Slotkin said in a statement. “No matter which way you slice it – health care, energy, housing – the President just rammed through a bill that will make Michiganders pay in every part of their lives.
“History will not be kind to this bill, but it is important to remember it is not a done deal,” she added. “It still has to be passed in the House. So, raise your voices about how it will impact you or your business or your community. Call your representatives. Keep pushing.”
Congressman Tim Wahlberg, a Republican from Michigan, called the Senate-passed bill “an important step” to knocking down costs for students, families and taxpayers.
“Under the Biden-Harris administration, Americans bore the brunt of high taxes, exorbitant student loan costs, and crushing inflation,” Wahlberg said in a statement. “Thankfully, Republicans … administration are taking decisive action to lower costs and promote opportunities for Americans to thrive. I look forward to passing the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act as it returns to the House for a vote and helping get more Americans back on the road to prosperity.”
The bill now heads back to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it reportedly faces more angst. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for instance, was quoted Tuesday saying House Republicans “don’t have the votes” to get it through.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have been working toward getting the legislation – which would give Trump the first legislative victory of his second term – to Trump’s desk by a self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.
The multitrillion-dollar bill would unlock tax cuts and increase funding for national security, partly paid for by the biggest cut to the federal social safety net in decades, according to a report from CNN.
The House Rules Committee set the process in motion Tuesday afternoon, taking up the Senate’s version of the bill.
What’s in the bill
Key provisions of the Senate-passed version of the bill include:
- Making permanent the 2017 tax cuts from Trump’s first term. While it will cut taxes on average, it’s a move that will benefit high-income households the most, according to an analysis from USA Today.
- The Senate bill would permanently increase the child tax credit and create “MAGA” savings accounts for children under eight.
- The bill adds some $170 billion for immigration enforcement, including nearly $52 billion to build a wall on the southern border and another $45 billion to build detention centers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion from 2026 to 2034.
- Under the Senate version, an estimated $1 trillion would be cut from Medicaid, an issue that has caused much contention in the House and Senate. The CBO esimates changes to Medicaid could cause as many as 7.6 million Americans to lose health insurance over the next 10 years.
- The bill also cuts $267 billion in federal spending for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, according to the CBO. It would impose work requirements on those age 55 to 64 who benefit from the program, which provides food assistance to about 42 million Americans.
- Like the House bill, the Senate’s version also includes provision for no taxes on tips or overtime.
In the House bill, no tips would be taxed through 2028. In the Senate bill, the first $25,000 of tips are tax-deductible through 2028 with a $150,000 income limit.
Similarly, the House bill would make it so no overtime wages would be taxed, but the Senate bill would make only the first $12,500 of extra overtime pay tax-deductible through 2028 with $150,000 income limit.
