Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s megabill on Tuesday after a marathon session of voting overnight and a final scramble to get the necessary votes.
The passage of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” came down nearly along party lines, 51 to 50, with Vice President J.D. Vance breaking the tie.
In the end, GOP Senators Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Thom Tillis joined every Senate Democrat to vote against the legislation tackling Trump’s domestic policy agenda that rewrites tax and health care law while providing more money for immigration.
The updated version of the 887-page bill was released Tuesday morning, but even after that, senators were still making final revisions to the legislation to get it across the finish line.
It was not clear until the actual vote took place whether it would pass in the 53 to 47 GOP-controlled Senate.
The Senate version of the bill extends the tax cuts passed in 2017, costing $4 trillion. It also includes provisions that would temporarily provide a tax deduction that can be claimed by tipped workers and those making overtime.
The bill also includes work requirements for Medicaid while restricting state fees on health care providers that are used to pay for Medicaid. Able-bodied adults under 65 would be required to work 80 hours per month, with exceptions for those with children under 14. A provision in the House bill to prohibit non-citizens from receiving benefits was cut for not meeting Senate rules.
The bill shifts some of the funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) back to states. It also includes work requirements that able-bodied adults under age 65 would have to work 80 hours per month, with exceptions for those with children under 10.
The legislation includes roughly $150 billion for deportations and the border, and another $150 billion for the military.
The Senate version of the bill also increases the debt limit by $5 trillion, a provision that was a red line for Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The bill would increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next decade, with revenues falling by $4.5 trillion while spending is cut by $1.2 trillion, according to the latest projection from the Congressional Budget Office.
That analysis also found 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured over the next decade if the bill passed, not taking into account the last minute changes made to get holdout GOP senators onboard.
Senators stayed through the night for a so-called “vote-a-rama” that started early on Monday as lawmakers introduced a series of amendments and voted on them.
Amendments included one striking the moratorium on state-level AI regulation from the bill. An amendment to further cut Medicaid proposed by Senator Rick Scott was dropped before coming to a vote.
The marathon session stretched on more than 26 hours and was still underway on Tuesday morning as Vice President J.D. Vance arrived on Capitol Hill to prepare to be a potential tie-breaker if the Senate split 50-50.
Republicans were left scrambling to appease GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski’s concerns over Medicaid and food assistance.
Senate leaders were seen huddling with the Alaska lawmaker as they worked to reach an agreement after the parliamentarian said a boost in Medicaid for her state was not compliant with Senate rules.
A separate carveout to exempt some states, including hers, from having to pay more for the SNAP program was also revised to meet Senate requirements.
In the final version of the bill, Senate Republicans boosted a fund for rural hospitals from $25 to $50 billion despite an amendment doing so being rejected during the vote-a-rama hours before. A provision to tax renewable energy, like wind and solar, was also nixed before the final vote.
The bill is now headed back to the House, where Republican leaders are already facing pushback from conservatives. Members of the House Freedom Caucus have blasted its deficit spending and threatened to tank it.
House Republicans can only afford to lose three votes and still pass the bill after their version of the legislation passed last month by just one vote.
The post Vance Saves Trump Bill With Tiebreaker Vote in Senate Drama appeared first on The Daily Beast.
