Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top. Among those Republicans opposing the bill were Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
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 is not 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.
Wasting little time ...
The House Rules Committee, which sets the terms for how the legislation will be debated, including amendments and length of time for debate, scheduled a meeting barely an hour after the Senate approved the measure with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
The House is returning Wednesday morning and Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated that after the Senate vote that Republicans are “ready to finish the job.”
The House had approved an earlier version of the bill in late May with only one vote to spare. Now, they’ll be voting on the version amended by the Senate.
It could be a difficult vote for some of the GOP’s fiscal hawks. Namely, it is projected to increase federal deficits by $3.3 trillion, nearly $1 trillion more than the House-passed bill.
But the outcome in the House is uncertain. With the slim GOP majority and few votes to spare, they have a narrow path to pass the bill over Democratic opposition. Told that some House Republicans have said they cannot support the Senate’s changes to the massive bill, Trump said the measure has “something for everyone.”
“It’s a great bill … and I think it’s going to go very nicely in the House,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to go easier in the House.”
Speaker Mike Johnson and House leadership say they’ll immediately consider the package as lawmakers return to Washington late Wednesday. “This bill is President Trump’s agenda, and we are making it law,” said the GOP leadership in a joint statement.
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.
Dems target Sen. Collins even after she votes no
GOP Sen. Susan Collins ultimately voted against Trump’s big bill on Tuesday, but Democrats are arguing she paved the way for its advancement and should be held accountable at the ballot box next year in Maine.
“Susan Collins made the deliberate choice to advance this bill, and she’ll be held accountable for it in 2026,” said Tommy Garcia, spokesperson for the Maine Democratic Party.
