After a grueling all-night session and a 50-50 split, Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding vote early Tuesday morning to push through one of the most sweeping conservative bills in years—President Trump’s so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”
The bill is massive: $5 trillion added to the debt ceiling, $160 billion for the border, $150 billion more for the Pentagon, and a full extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. It also permanently locks in corporate tax breaks. But the trade-offs are huge—deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs, especially affecting states with high poverty rates.
The bill nearly collapsed in the Senate when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) threatened to vote no, citing the impact of gutting federal health and food aid. As she paced the Capitol, avoiding reporters, Murkowski was overheard on the phone saying the bill would harm “the vulnerable.”
Republican leaders scrambled to win her back. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) tried carving out exemptions for Alaska. But the Senate parliamentarian shot those down, ruling the carve-outs violated the Byrd Rule, which restricts what can go into budget bills.
GOP negotiators spent all night rewriting the bill so the slower phase-out of benefits applied to ten states, not just Alaska and Hawaii. Murkowski eventually got on board.
Thune declared victory: “It’s one of the most successful economic policy pieces of legislation in history.” He said not passing it would lead to $2.6 trillion in tax hikes for families earning under $400,000 and $600 billion more for small businesses.
He also defended the more than $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid, saying the bill would “make sure that the people who are supposed to benefit from Medicaid do, and that it doesn’t go to people who shouldn’t.”
But the backlash is loud—even within the GOP.
To ease blowback, Republican leaders added a $25 billion fund to help rural hospitals stay afloat. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) tried to double that fund to $50 billion by taxing ultra-wealthy Americans—those making over $25 million. Her amendment failed badly, 22-78, though 18 Republicans, including Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), surprisingly voted for it.
The bill also kills off renewable energy tax credits from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, allows deductions on interest for U.S.-made car loans, and creates “Trump savings accounts” for kids under 18.
Senate Democrats used every trick to stall the bill. They even forced clerks to read the entire bill aloud for 16 hours over the weekend. But in the end, they couldn’t stop it.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed the bill: “It is destructive for Republicans to pass a bill like this at a time when people pay more for groceries, when people pay more for rent, pay more for child care, pay more for medication. It makes no sense to reward the billionaire class and special interests at the expense of everyone else.”
The bill now heads to the House, where it faces more problems. At least six Republicans have said they’ll vote no, citing the massive spending cuts. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is also expected to oppose it, calling out the $3 trillion addition to the debt.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is working the phones to hold his conference together.
A Fox News poll found only 38% of voters support the bill. A full 59% oppose it.
Still, after lost sleep, missed flights, and a holiday recess cut short, Senate Republicans scored their win. Whether the House follows remains uncertain.
