WASHINGTON − The next hurdle to clear for President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax, spending and policy bill is to win the sign off from at least 51 Senate Republicans.
When that will happen remains unclear – even to the senators themselves.
Members of the upper chamber are divided on a handful of provisions, including reforms to Medicaid, along with the legislation’s trillion-dollar price tag. As Senate Republican leadership tries to settle disputes and get everybody on board, there is a lack of consensus as to when a vote will even happen – and a fast-approaching and self-imposed July 4 deadline that suggests everyone could be working this weekend.
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“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, told reporters on June 25.
Johnson has been a public critic of the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” citing concerns about how much it would add to the federal deficit.
Asked whether disagreements might be ironed out by the end of the week, Johnson said, “I can’t imagine it would be.”
Some of his colleagues are more optimistic they can get those t’s crossed in the coming days.
“We’re going to get the bill across the finish line by Saturday,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said, adding that his prediction is, “Saturday at 3 o’clock!”
Saturday, 3 p.m., he clarified, as the Senate is not a stranger to twilight votes.
Trump and members of his administration have said they want the bill on the president’s desk come Independence Day. The president plans to rachet up pressure on senators at a June 26 event at the White House. The event will feature firefighters, law enforcement officials, tipped workers and other every day Americans that stand to benefit from provisions of the bill, a Trump official said.
But there are more steps than just Senate approval needed between now and July 4.
If and when the Senate passes their version of the spending bill, the legislation must be reconciled with the House − where lawmakers narrowly approved the first version.
Questions remain as to whether, once the Senate does their part, House Speaker Mike Johnson can once again herd his conservative-heavy crew to get this bill out of Congress.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, said he thinks lower chamber Republicans would struggle to say no − and as a result, disappoint the president.
“There’s so many great things in this bill,” he told reporters, “I think it’s going to be hard for the House to vote against it.”
Contributing: Francesca Chambers
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Unsure when Trump’s big bill will move forward? So are the senators
