Senate votes 51-49 to advance President Trump’s ‘big beautiful’ spending bill — despite opposition from 2 GOP lawmakers
The Senate voted Saturday to launch into debate on President Trump’s “big beautiful” spending bill, after Republican leaders spent hours working to gain enough support to approve the 940-page document.
The multi-trillion dollar bill narrowly advanced in a 51-49 procedural vote, despite opposition from two Republican lawmakers who joined their Democratic colleagues in an attempt to block the measure from reaching the Senate floor.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Rand Paul (R-KY) were the holdouts after they publicly declared that they wouldn’t be backing the bill in its current form.
Debate will now begin on the spending bill – and that could take hours as New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer has promised to have the nearly 1,000-page measure read before a final vote on passing it can happen.
Trump has lobbied for House and Senate Republicans to fast-track the legislation so it lands on his desk by his self-imposed July 4 deadline.
The measure would make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, end taxation on tips and overtime, boost border security funding and scrap green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration.
The legislation would also have to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $5 trillion in order to cram in all the provisions.
Trump warned potential dissenters earlier Saturday that refusal to support his bill would be an “ultimate betrayal” – later lashing out at Tillis on social media for making a “big mistake” and threatening to primary him for turning his back on the spending bill.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Truth posted on Truth Social as the vote stalled late Saturday night.
“I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”