Senate Republicans are racing against time to pass a budget bill crucial to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, with a key vote scheduled for Saturday. The “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sprawling tax and spending measure, narrowly passed the House of Representatives two weeks ago and now faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described a possible Saturday vote as “aspirational,” indicating uncertainty about the bill’s prospects.
The latest version of the bill, totaling 940 pages, was released shortly after midnight, prompting party leadership to twist arms for an initial vote on Saturday.
Rank-and-file Republicans remain divided over welfare program cuts to cover the cost of extending $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks. The White House has endorsed the latest revisions and urged passage, warning that failure to approve the budget “would be the ultimate betrayal”.
The bill includes significant changes to taxes, Social Security, and Medicaid. Notably, it raises the State and Local Taxes (SALT) deduction limit to $40,000 for married couples with incomes up to $500,000, but this provision sunsets after five years, reverting to the current $10,000 cap.
The legislation also extends tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017 and adds new cuts, such as tax deductions on Social Security benefits and eliminating taxes on overtime work and tips.
However, the bill’s Medicaid restrictions have sparked intense debate. Democrats argue that these measures will limit access to affordable healthcare for millions of Americans, citing Congressional Budget Office estimates that 7.8 million people would become uninsured due to Medicaid cuts. Senator Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, condemned the bill, saying it contains “the largest healthcare cuts in history”.
Not all Republicans support the bill. Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin announced he would vote “no,” citing insufficient time to read the bill. “We just got the bill,” Johnson said. “I got my first copy at about 01:23 in the morning.” Despite these challenges, Senate Republicans aim to pass the bill by July 4, a deadline set by President Trump.
If the motion to proceed succeeds, leaders hope to pass the legislation as early as Sunday, keeping alive their goal of sending the measure to Trump before the July 4 recess. The strategy anticipates up to 20 hours of debate followed by a vote-a-rama of amendments that could push deliberations deep into the weekend.