Senate passes Trump's Big, Beautiful bill

Senate Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cuts and spending reduction package through the chamber on Tuesday by the thinnest of margins, overcoming unified Democratic opposition and dissent within their own ranks after a chaotic overnight session.

The dramatic outcome followed a tense weekend marathon on Capitol Hill, with Trump’s top legislative priority swinging between passage and collapse. The final vote came in at 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.

Three GOP senators—Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky—joined all Democrats in opposing the measure.

“In the end, we got the job done,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota after the vote.

The uphill battle to pass the bill, despite the GOP’s control of Congress, isn’t over. The legislation now returns to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had previously warned senators not to revise what the lower chamber had already approved. Still, the Senate inserted key changes, including controversial provisions affecting Medicaid, potentially triggering another clash. House Republican leadership insists they’ll get the bill to Trump’s desk before his self-imposed July 4 deadline.

The vote marks a critical juncture for Trump and the Republican Party, who have thrown their political weight behind the 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—its formal title before Democrats successfully amended it to remove the name. For the GOP, it represents the legislative cornerstone of their dominance in Washington.

“It’s very complicated stuff,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House en route to Florida. “I don’t want to go too crazy with cuts. I don’t like cuts.”

What began as a typical, grinding round of amendment votes—known as a vote-a-rama—quickly devolved into a nonstop push through the weekend as GOP leadership scrambled to solidify votes.

Amid the ceaseless roll calls in the chamber, frantic negotiations unfolded behind the scenes. Sleep-deprived and visibly strained, Republicans scrambled to rescue the bill from collapse.

Thune led last-ditch efforts to bridge the gap between party moderates, who feared Medicaid rollbacks would deprive millions of healthcare coverage, and hardline conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts to offset the soaring deficit driven by the tax breaks.

With a razor-thin margin for error, GOP leaders could afford no more than three defections. But two had already signaled they were out: Tillis, citing fears about Medicaid fallout, and Paul, opposing the bill’s $5 trillion debt ceiling increase.