The US Senate has embarked on a marathon voting session for President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill, dubbed the ‘Big Beautiful Bill‘, which has stretched overnight into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The vote-a-rama, an open-ended series of votes on amendments, began around 9:35 a.m. on Monday and is still ongoing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune informed reporters at 4:30 a.m. that they are “close” to concluding the voting process, with only “a few amendment votes” left until final passage.
The bill, which aims to lower federal taxes and increase funding for the Pentagon and border security agencies, has sparked intense debate. Democrats have expressed concerns about the proposed cuts to government safety-net programs, including Medicaid.
According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, the Senate version of the bill would leave 11.8 million more people without health insurance in 2034, surpassing the 10.9 million projected under the House-passed version.
During the vote-a-rama, the Senate adopted its first amendment, offered by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, which bars federal funds from being used for unemployment benefits to individuals whose wages are at least $1 million.
Another amendment, led by GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, was overwhelmingly adopted, striking language from the bill that would have blocked state and local governments from enforcing their own artificial intelligence regulations for 10 years.
The bill proposes historic cuts to Medicaid, with the Senate version calling for a reduction of $930 billion in federal support over a decade. In contrast, the House version would reduce federal spending on the program by about $800 billion.
Both chambers would require certain able-bodied adults to work to maintain their Medicaid benefits, but the Senate version would impose this requirement on parents of children ages 14 and older, while the House version would exempt parents of dependent children.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine offered an amendment aimed at raising more money for rural health care providers by increasing taxes on individuals making over $25 million annually or couples making over $50 million.
However, the amendment failed to advance after a procedural vote. Collins expressed surprise at the Democrats’ opposition to the amendment, stating, “I was surprised at the hypocrisy of the Democrats on it. Had they voted for it, it would have passed easily.”
The Senate’s bill is projected to add nearly $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade, largely due to bigger tax cuts and reduced spending cuts and revenue raisers. Using an alternative scoring method, the bill would cost roughly $508 billion over the next decade.
The final vote on the bill is yet to be scheduled, and its fate remains uncertain. Trump has demanded that Congress deliver the bill to his desk by the Fourth of July, but the measure must still go back to the House if it passes the Senate.