The Senate outcome remains slightly uncertain, but sent the bill back to the House, where Trump asked lawmakers to send it to him by July 4th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izou1ewhtiu
WASHINGTON – The Senate will begin voting for President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, Medicaid and border security bills after caustic debate and political manipulation over the marathon weekend, but the results are certainly unknown.
The finish line comes after a dozen revisions and a predicted whirlwind of votes called “Rama’s Voting.”
The outcome is slightly uncertain as Republicans, who are 53-47 majority, face opposition from the United Democrats and the exile of at least two members.
If the Senate approves the bill, it will return to the House of Representatives, which is scheduled to begin at 9am on July 2nd.
Senator Rand Paul of R-Kentucky and Thom Tillis of R-North Carolina even voted against discussing the bill. The third GOP opponent forces Vice President JD Vance to destroy the tie. The fourth could kill the bill.
Trump welcomed the vote to discuss “big victory” on social media, saying the legislative package would drive economic growth. He threatened to find a major opponent to challenge Tillis next year, and welcomed the Senator’s decision on June 29th.
Senate leaders eased concerns about issues such as Medicaid cuts and negotiated whether government-wide spending was down sufficiently. The bill is projected to add $3.3 trillion to the country’s debt over the next decade. This is estimated to be $800 billion more than the House version, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Here’s what we know about the discussion:
Senate marathon voting is underway before votes
The senators have officially launched a multi-hour vote on Trump’s mega bill amendments, known as the llama vote in Washington Ringo.
The marathon will feature a final vote on the expected legislative package on July 1st.
Typical votes – Lamas looks to see a series of amendments proposed by the opposition parties, and Democrats are poised to increase their share this time.
However, some Republicans are still wary of the bill, but are expected to raise their own amendments for consideration as well.
-Savannah Kuchar
House proposals not mentioned by the Senate: Plans to surge money for the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE’s parent agency and the Border Patrol are supposed to win $169 billion under the current bill, with the department’s current budget more than double the $68 billion.
The surge in resources will fund Trump’s deportation campaign, paying thousands more deportees and new detention centers.
“We will provide enough money to be the largest federal law enforcement agency and the largest guard in the country by 2029,” said Aaron Reichlin Melnick, a senior fellow at the U.S. Immigration Council.
The new money would give state and local governments billions to work with US immigration and customs enforcement, he said.
$45.6 billion for “big and beautiful walls” because Trump likes to call the 30-foot steel boundary barrier built on the US-Mexico border in DHS’s appropriations.
R-Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson had previously questioned the need for a lot of money for border fencing. He told the committee in May that for an estimated $14 million per mile, DHS could build more than 3,000 miles of border fences with such money.
The US-Mexico border runs only 1,950 miles from California to Texas. The approximately 700 miles of border is already surrounded by fences.
–Lauren Villagran
When the sloppy senator worked through the massive GOP bill, Trump warned Republicans to go overboard for unpopular cuts.
The bill calls for a $1.1 trillion cut in Medicaid, which would result in 11.8 million people losing health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Earlier on June 30, Trump called attention, suggesting that future economic growth would compensate for the deficit.
“Remember, you still have to be re-elected to cut all the costs of a Republican I am alone,” he wrote of the Truth Society. “Don’t go too crazy! We’ll make it all come out.
– and Morrison
One of the first votes determines the cost of Trump’s 2017 tax cut extension, which is central to the law (at least for legislative debate).
According to the Congressional Budget Office, senators are divided into ways to count the projected $4 trillion costs to extend the cuts.
Republicans ignored the costs by claiming that no one expected the tax cut to expire at the end of the year as planned. They argue that the overall bill will cut $500 billion through economic growth.
The Democrats challenged that interpretation and called it “fake mathematics.” However, Republicans are expected to win the vote and debate as they hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber.
– Defeat Janssen
Tillis announced he would not seek re-election in 2026 after Trump threatened to find a major Republican opponent against him in North Carolina due to his opposition to his legislative package.
“A lot of my colleagues noticed last year and sometimes joked, so I wasn’t exactly excited to run another semester,” Tillis said.
Trump welcomed the decision.
“Great news!” Senator “Tom Tillis won’t ask for reelection,” Trump said in a social media post.
– Defeat Janssen
In addition to extending the 2017 tax cut, Trump has also campaigned for provisions of the law until 2028 on tips from employees, including waiters, for overtime salaries. The Senate concluded the deduction at $25,000, weakening the break for individuals earning more than $150,000.
For border security, the bill would increase approximately $150 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The bill approves $45 billion for the new detention center as Trump has increased arrests and increased $27 billion in a massive deportation campaign.
The important provisions would increase the amount the country could borrow $5 trillion. The country’s debt is already nearing $37 trillion, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent warning that current borrowing restrictions will be reached in August.
– Defeat Janssen
