Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' clears key Senate hurdle after high drama
PresidentDonald Trump's"big, beautiful bill" cleared a key procedural hurdle in the U.S.Senatelate Saturday night, pushing the massivespending packageone step closer to the president's desk.
The vote on a motion to proceed to final debate on the bill passed with 51 yeas and 49 nays. Every Democrat and two Republicans, Sens. Thom Tillis, N.C., and Rand Paul, Ky., voted against it.
The actual voting took hours and the measure only passed after three Republican holdouts — Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida and Cynthia Lummus of Wyoming — folded and voted yes.
Sen.Ron Johnson, Wis., an outspoken critic of the bill, ultimately changed his vote from a "no" to a "yes." That additional Republican vote gave the bill 51 yeas, so Vice PresidentJD Vancedid not need to cast a vote to break a tie.
The ultimate passage was a victory for Republican Majority LeaderJohn Thune, S.D., who has pledged to get thebillto Trump for his signature by July 4.
But the hours of uncertainty and last-minute wrangling underscore the tricky path ahead for the controversial package.
Saturday's procedural vote tees up a final Senate vote on the megabill that will likely happen sometime Sunday or Monday.
Democrats, led by Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer, are forcing the 940-page bill to be read out loud once it heads to full debate on the Senate floor Sunday.
"We will be here all night if that's what it takes to read it," SchumerwroteSaturday on X.
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While the package cannot officially pass the upper chamber until the final vote, the procedural vote was considered a big test for Thune.
The vote comes after weeks of turmoil and tension over the massive package that exposedbitter policy disputesand emboldened some firm Republican holdouts.
The sweeping domestic policy package will also have to be passed again in the House, which justnarrowly passed its own versionof the bill last month.
Some House Republicans have already expressed opposition to key elements of the Senate version of the bill — most notably deep cuts toMedicaid— likely foreshadowing a close vote in the lower chamber.
Both Thune and House SpeakerMike Johnsonhold narrow majorities in their respective chambers, meaning they can only afford to lose the support of a small number of Republican lawmakers to pass the package in a party-line vote.
Meanwhile, Trump continues tourge lawmakersto get the package passed before Republicans'self-imposed July 4 deadline.
"President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal," the White House said in a statement of administration policy on Saturday.
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