Senate Races Rare Weekend Clock On Trump Tax Bill/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Senators brace for a rare weekend session as Republicans rush to meet Trump’s July 4 tax bill deadline. Internal GOP divisions over deep spending cuts threaten the bill’s passage. The legislation extends Trump-era tax breaks and slashes safety net programs.
Quick Look
- Bill Size: 940 pages, $3.8 trillion in tax breaks
- Deadline: July 4th, Trump’s self-imposed goal
- Flashpoints: Medicaid cuts, food aid reductions, SALT deduction disputes
- Next Steps: Senate debate, amendments marathon, House final vote
- Potential Impact: Millions could lose health coverage, higher taxes for low-income Americans
Senate Poised for Weekend Push on Trump Tax, Spending Bill
Deep Look
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are bracing for a rare weekend session as Republicans scramble to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending package by his self-imposed July Fourth deadline.
The massive 940-page legislation, released just before midnight Friday, seeks to extend roughly $3.8 trillion in Trump-era tax cuts while slashing federal spending on Medicaid, food stamps, and other safety net programs to help offset costs. It also includes new tax breaks, like exempting tips from taxation, and allocates $350 billion toward national security, including Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
But GOP leaders are battling internal divisions, as some Republicans balk at the deep spending cuts while fiscal conservatives push for even steeper reductions. Senate passage could still take days, with procedural votes, at least 10 hours of debate, and a marathon vote-a-rama on amendments ahead. The legislation would then have to return to the House for final approval.
“It’s evolving,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., late Friday.
Trump has publicly urged swift passage, recently chiding “grandstanders” among GOP holdouts and touting the bill as a celebratory win for the country.
“We can get it done,” Trump posted on social media. “It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country.”
Among the flashpoints is the proposed reduction in Medicaid funding and cuts to food aid, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that the House-passed version would leave about 10.9 million more Americans without health coverage and at least 3 million fewer people eligible for food assistance.
Top income earners would gain an average $12,000 tax cut under the House version, while the poorest Americans could see a $1,600 tax increase, the CBO said. The Senate’s draft, which proposes even deeper cuts, has yet to be fully analyzed by the budget office.
Meanwhile, disputes persist over the deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. While the House and White House tentatively agreed to raise the deduction cap to $40,000 for five years, several Senate Republicans have resisted, calling the figure too high.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced Friday he would oppose advancing the bill, citing fundamental concerns with the package. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he was still reviewing the final text.
Parts of the bill were delayed by the Senate parliamentarian, who ruled that certain provisions violated the chamber’s budget reconciliation rules. Republicans revised some controversial proposals, including cuts to Medicaid provider taxes that worried senators fearing harm to rural hospitals. The revised plan delays those cuts and creates a $25 billion fund to help rural health providers.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York slammed Republicans for pushing the bill forward under a tight timeline, warning the public hasn’t had a chance to absorb its sweeping changes.
“There’s no good reason for Republicans to chase a silly deadline,” Schumer said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home for the weekend but kept them on standby in case the Senate wraps up work sooner than expected.
“We would still like to meet that July Fourth, self-imposed deadline,” said Johnson, R-La.
With narrow GOP majorities in both chambers, Republican leaders and the White House are working in lockstep, relying on Trump’s influence to sway holdouts and secure one of the president’s biggest legislative priorities.
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