Senate passes Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill as Vance breaks 50-50 tie
Jul 1, 2025, 9:44 AM
Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session. (Photo: Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
(Photo: Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.
Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top. The three Republicans opposing the bill were Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
What to know about the Big Beautiful Bill Act
The bill is a sprawling collection of GOP priorities: Tax breaks, spending cuts and new money for national defense and deportations are among the top concerns for Republicans. Democrats worry the bill’s reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care.
The bill still needs to go back to the House: The bill has to pass the House again before Trump can sign it into law, and the difficulty for Republicans is not expected to let up. Speaker Mike Johnson warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.
Congressional Budget Office review: The nonpartisan CBO said Sunday the bill would pile nearly $3.3 trillion onto the nation’s debt load from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed version of the bill. The analysis also found that 11.8 million Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill passed.
‘We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination’
With three Republicans voting no on Trump’s big bill, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski provided a critical yes vote that got Republicans to their required 50 votes. Murkowski called the decision-making process “agonizing.”
“I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first,” Murkowski said. “We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called her an “independent thinker.”
“I think that she obviously came to her conclusion,” Thune told reporters after. “I’m just grateful that, at the end of the day, she concluded what the rest of us did.”
Rand Paul reacts
“The big not-so-beautiful bill has passed,” he told reporters.
Collins secured $50B in rural hospital funds and still voted no
The Maine senator said she’s happy the bolstered funding was, “but my difficulties with the bill go far beyond that.”
Collins was among several GOP senators who have worried that the bill’s Medicaid provider cuts would hurt hospitals, particularly in rural regions.
While her amendment to beef up the fund was rejected, the provision was inserted into the final bill.
Thune worked around the clock to secure the votes
“In the end we got the job done, and we’re delighted to be able to be partners with President trump and his agenda,” Thune said after the vote.
Dems make displeasure known in roll call vote
Tensions were high on the Democratic side of the aisle during Tuesday’s final vote on the big tax and spending cut bill.
Several yelled their “No” as the roll call ensued. Others filtered out almost immediately and before a final tally could be announced.
Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, walked over to the Republican side of the chamber upon exiting and could be heard from the gallery admonishing GOP colleagues: “Shame on you guys,” he said in a loud voice.
These GOP senators opposed Trump’s bill
- Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
- Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
- Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky
Senate Republicans haul Trump’s big bill to passage after a turbulent all-night session
Senate Republicans hauled President Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.
Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top.
The outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval, or collapse.
The difficulty it took for Republicans, who have the majority hold in Congress, to wrestle the bill to this point isn’t expected to let up. The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.
