WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax, spending and policy bill is heading for a climatic weekend showdown on the Senate floor after Republicans near midnight on June 28 released more text of a plan that calls for cuts to Medicaid, increases in immigration spending and the end of taxes on tips and overtime wages.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been working to deliver Trump a major legislative win, while navigating conflicting concerns from some of his fellow Republicans about how the bill could impact the federal deficit, health care coverage for low-income constituents and their own political popularity.
The South Dakota senator told reporters as he left the U.S. Capitol on June 27 that he hopes to begin a marathon floor debate on June 28 but also acknowledged he may not have yet cobbled together the necessary support from inside his GOP ranks to officially begin the process.
Thune and Trump face complications after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s rulings on what was and was not within the scope of legislation that the president and Republicans have dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.” MacDonough over the last several days has found several Senate GOP provisions in violation, including attempts to repeal federal food aid for noncitizens, multiple measures softening environmental regulations and restrictions on federal judges’ ability to block government policies.
Addressing many of those rulings, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released significant portions of the new bill near midnight. “If you like higher taxes, open borders, a weak military and unchecked government spending, this bill is your nightmare,” the South Carolina Republican said, adding that the legislation “contains all of President Trump’s domestic economic priorities.”
Thune’s next hurdle will be rounding up enough support to meet the 51-yes-vote threshold to begin debate, with numerous members of his Republican conference expressing reservations as of late June 27 and no Democrats signaling he’ll have their support. In the Capitol heading into the weekend, several Republicans said they were itching to get going with the debate.
“We’re gradually going from thoughtful, rational deliberation into the foothills of jackassery,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-Lousiana, told reporters on June 27. “We’re talking about the same things over and over and over. It’s clear we’re not going to (have) unanimity on some of this. That’s why God made votes.”
For now, the timing of the first vote remains unclear but the Senate is scheduled to convene at 2 p.m. ET for a rare Saturday session on June 28. If and when the Senate does approve the legislation, it will need to be reconciled with the House, which narrowly passed a first version in May.
Trump has pressed Senate Republicans to stay on his ambitious timeline to complete their work and get it back through the House in time for the measure to be on his desk for signature into law by July 4.
But the president and House Speaker Mike Johnson also are acknowledging their immediate ambitions might not become reality amid deep internal GOP policy disputes and complex Senate rules that have sent the mega bill through the legislative shredder.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate readies for weekend work on Trump’s mega tax and policy bill
