Washington — The Senate plans to hold a key test vote on President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” later Saturday, even as it’s unclear whether the tax and spending measure has enough support to lift it over the hurdle.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Friday he wasn’t certain he had the votes to advance the bill, as the upper chamber awaited decisions on whether a number of provisions complied with the Senate’s reconciliation rules, which allow Republicans to pass the bill with a simple majority. Major policy disputes also remained.
Senate Republicans did not release the final version of their bill until late Friday night, giving senators little time to digest it before taking an initial procedural vote that’s necessary to move toward final passage.
Mr. Trump has pressured Congress to send him the sprawling package — which includes tax cuts and funding for his immigration and defense priorities — by the Fourth of July holiday.
In the bill, Republicans proposed slashing funding for Medicaid, which provides health insurance to low-income individuals and people with disabilities, and food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or food stamps — to help pay for those priorities.
Over the last week, the Senate parliamentarian determined that some of the most controversial provisions in the package violated a rule that governs the reconciliation process, which requires that the legislation only include provisions that have a direct impact on federal spending. The rulings directed Republicans to either drop those sections from the package or rewrite them.
Meanwhile, in the leadup to the vote, disputes over Medicaid spending cuts, the state and local tax deduction and a planned debt ceiling increase still lingered among Republicans.
House Republicans narrowly passed a version of the bill in May. and the lower chamber is expected to be called back to Washington to vote on the Senate version if it survives the upper chamber in the coming days. But House Republicans have warned that any major changes made by the Senate put its ability to make it through the House again at risk.
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