U.S. Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s significant tax-cut and spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that aims to slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs, and enhance military and immigration enforcement spending, all while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for potential final approval, although a few Republicans there have already expressed opposition to certain provisions from the Senate.
Trump desires to sign it into law before the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated he aims to meet that timeline.
The measure would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, introduce new tax breaks for income derived from tips and overtime pay, and increase military and immigration enforcement spending. Additionally, it would cut approximately $930 billion in spending on the Medicaid health program and food assistance for low-income Americans, while also repealing many of former President Joe Biden’s green-energy incentives.
Impact on healthcare
This legislation, which has highlighted divisions among Republicans regarding the nation’s rapidly growing $36.2 trillion debt, would raise the federal government’s self-imposed debt ceiling by $5 trillion, Reuters reported.Â
The Senate passed the measure with a vote of 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie after three Republicans—Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky—joined all 47 Democrats in opposing the bill.
The vote followed an all-night debate during which Republicans grappled with the bill’s total cost and its implications for the U.S. healthcare system. Much of the late negotiations were focused on persuading Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who had indicated she would oppose the bill without significant changes.
The final Senate bill included two provisions that helped secure her vote: one that allocates more food-aid funding to Alaska and several other states, and another providing $50 billion to assist rural hospitals in coping with the sweeping cuts to Medicaid.
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Benefits for high earners
The upcoming vote in the House, where Republicans hold a 220-212 majority, is expected to be closely contested. Johnson stated during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Republican leadership would aim to move the legislation through the Rules Committee on Wednesday morning and present it to the entire House before Friday’s holiday, unless travel plans were disrupted by thunderstorms threatening the Washington area.
“Hopefully we’re voting on this by tomorrow or Thursday at the latest, depending on the weather delays and travel and all the rest—that’s the wild card that we can’t control,” Johnson remarked.
A White House official informed reporters that Trump would be “deeply involved” in urging House Republicans to approve the bill.
“It’s a great bill. There is something for everyone,” Trump stated at an event in Florida on Tuesday. “And I think it’s going to go very nicely in the House.”
The Senate bill would provide some of its largest benefits to the top 1 percent of U.S. households, earning $663,000 or more in 2025, according to the Tax Foundation. These high earners are expected to gain the most from the bill’s tax cuts, as noted by the CBO.
The bill’s increase in the national debt effectively acts as a wealth transfer from younger to older Americans, as reported by Reuters, citing nonpartisan analysts.
Republicans dismissed the cost estimate generated by the CBO’s established methodology and argued that the Medicaid cuts would only eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse” from the system.
