Senate Republicans Vote to Advance Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

TPP
Jun 29
3 min read

Updated: Jun 30

Senate Republicans Vote to Advance Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

The United States Senate, controlled by Republicans, has voted to advance President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cut and spending package—formally titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—clearing its first major procedural hurdle. The bill, which represents Trump's top legislative priority, was approved in a 51 to 49 vote on Saturday. Two Republican senators joined all 47 Democrats in voting against the measure.

The procedural vote, which sets the stage for a full Senate debate on the nearly 1,000-page bill, came after hours of delay and intense behind-the-scenes negotiations. Republican leaders, along with Vice President JD Vance, engaged in closed-door talks to win over last-minute holdouts.

The bill was released shortly before midnight on Friday, and senators are still working to digest its sweeping implications. Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, D.C., noted the massive scale of the legislation, describing it as a 940-page document that combines deep tax cuts with sweeping changes to government spending.

What Are the Key Features of Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’?

Among its more controversial provisions, the bill proposes:

$150 billion in additional military spending
Increased funding for mass deportations and for construction of the southern border wall
Deep cuts to Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people aged 65 and older
Cuts to the Clean Energy funding programme, which was originally introduced under President Joe Biden to incentivize renewable energy development

To fund these initiatives, the bill relies heavily on spending reductions, including what would be the largest cuts to Medicaid in U.S. history—nearly $1 trillion, according to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. He warned that the cuts would impact millions of Americans, particularly those reliant on public healthcare programs and rural hospitals.

Why Are Senate Republicans Divided Over the Bill?

President Trump has been pushing aggressively for the bill’s passage, aiming to sign it into law by July 4, coinciding with Independence Day. According to a senior White House official, Trump monitored the late-night Senate vote from the Oval Office.

However, internal Republican divisions complicated the path forward. Senators Thom Tillis, Ron Johnson, and Rand Paul initially opposed the legislation. After prolonged negotiations, Johnson switched his vote to yes, leaving only Paul and Tillis voting against the bill among Republicans. Meanwhile, other GOP senators—Rick Scott, Mike Lee, and Cynthia Lummis—held out until late into the night, seeking deeper spending cuts before agreeing to support the measure.

With 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats in the Senate, every single GOP vote is essential, as Democrats remain united in opposition.

Senator Schumer strongly criticized the Republican strategy, pointing out that the bill was “unveiled in the dead of night” and rushed through before the public or many lawmakers could fully understand its content. He demanded a full reading of the bill, which would take an estimated 15 hours, aiming to delay proceedings and draw attention to the bill’s implications.

What Could Be the Economic and Social Impact of the Bill?

Democrats and nonpartisan analysts argue the bill would worsen the already massive U.S. national debt, which currently stands at $36.2 trillion. Critics say the bill would drive a historic redistribution of wealth—from the poorest 10% of Americans to the richest—all while raising everyday costs for average citizens.

“Debt is abstract, but what does it mean for the average American?” Schumer asked. “It means raising your costs to buy a home, raising your costs to buy a car, and raising your credit card bills.”

Moreover, the Medicaid cuts are likely to affect dozens of rural hospitals and leave an estimated 8.6 million Americans without healthcare.

Why Is Elon Musk Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’?

The bill faces continued uncertainty in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority and cannot afford many defections. Intra-party divisions, particularly over Medicaid cuts, pose a serious challenge to final passage.

Public opinion appears to be against the bill. Recent polling shows that the legislation is unpopular across multiple demographic, age, and income groups.

Among the most vocal critics is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who has had a public falling-out with Trump over the bill. On Saturday, Musk intensified his criticism, calling the bill "utterly insane and destructive" and warning that it would "destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country."

He added that the legislation offers “handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,” and concluded that passing the bill would be "political suicide for the Republican Party."