Senate Passes Trump’s $3.3 Trillion ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

After a gruelling 24-hour marathon of negotiations and late-night amendments, Senate Republicans on Tuesday narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping $3.3 trillion ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’, tax-and-spending plan, with Vice President JD Vance casting the decisive tie-breaking vote. Now, the legislation faces a high-stakes showdown in the House, where GOP divisions remain sharp and the clock is ticking ahead of Trump’s July 4 signing deadline.

What’s in the Bill?

Massive tax cuts, including breaks for individuals and corporations
Historic cuts to Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other safety net programs
A $50 billion rural hospital fund, doubled from earlier drafts to win key votes
A reshaped provider tax rule, potentially impacting how states fund Medicaid
Rollbacks on climate incentives, including the removal of an excise tax on renewables
Strategic concessions to Senators from Alaska and Hawaii for food stamp waivers and Medicaid carve-outs

The Vote: 50-50 Split, Vance Breaks the Tie

Senate leadership scrambled for days to secure support after three GOP senators — Susan Collins (ME), Thom Tillis (NC), and Rand Paul (KY) — broke ranks. Despite deep policy concerns, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) ultimately sided with the bill after winning targeted amendments for her state.

“It’s in the hands of the people that operate the copy machine,” Murkowski quipped, acknowledging last-minute edits minutes before the vote.

“This was the most difficult and agonizing 24-hour period I’ve encountered,” she later told reporters.

House Battle Begins: Trump’s Victory Not Yet Guaranteed

The Senate version now heads to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed a vote as soon as Wednesday. But storm delays and internal resistance could complicate that timeline.

Reps. Ralph Norman (SC) and Andy Harris (MD) have already pledged to oppose the bill.
House Democrats flooded the Rules Committee with hundreds of amendments — all expected to fail — as a symbolic protest against the bill’s sweeping cuts.
Behind closed doors, some House Republicans are considering blocking the floor vote entirely by tanking the rule that would advance it to debate.

Still, GOP leaders are betting on Trump’s pressure — and the patriotic symbolism of a July 4 signing — to whip votes into place.

Trump’s Role: The Closer

Trump has been personally involved in negotiations, with insiders describing his push to get the Senate bill passed as “relentless.” He now faces a second challenge: rallying enough House Republicans behind a bill many of them had little input on.

“This bill is hard to kill,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC). “We didn’t want to fail. That motivated everybody.”

JD Vance, after casting the tie-breaking vote, was the last to meet with Murkowski: “Thank you for being a team player,” he told her, according to CNN sources.

Critics Sound the Alarm

Democrats and policy experts say the bill’s Medicaid cuts, food stamp changes, and provider tax limits could devastate low-income communities and rural hospitals.

“We owe it to the American people… to withhold our affirmative vote until it’s shown that we’ve done our homework,” Sen. Tillis said in a fiery floor speech.

Edwin Park of Georgetown University added that some changes framed as wins for hospitals are actually “damaging clarifications”.

What’s Next?

Wednesday: House expected to vote on the Senate version of the bill
July 4: Target date for Trump to sign the bill in a televised ceremony

If passed, this would mark Trump’s first major legislative win of his new term, and the biggest overhaul of the federal safety net in decades.

But as one House Republican told CNN: