The US Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending proposal — the 940-page ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’, marking a major legislative victory for the White House ahead of the July 4 deadline.
The bill cleared the Senate following a dramatic 50-50 vote, which was broken in favor of the legislation by Vice President JD Vance. According to AFP, the deadlock came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune managed to flip two moderates who had previously leaned toward siding with Democrats.
The legislation, dubbed Trump’s flagship economic reform package, now heads back to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to face renewed opposition from both Democrats and some Republican lawmakers.
What is the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’?
The bill proposes a $4.5 trillion extension of Trump’s first-term tax cuts and allocates an additional $150 billion in military spending, including funding for the administration’s controversial mass deportation program.
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However, it has drawn sharp criticism for slashing $1.2 trillion from Medicaid, potentially stripping 8.6 million low-income and disabled Americans of health coverage. Environmental groups have also raised alarm over the rollback of green energy tax incentives, including tax credits for electric vehicles.
Opposition to the bill has not been limited to Democrats. Republican Senators Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Susan Collins (Maine), and Rand Paul (Kentucky) voted against the measure, voicing concerns over its impact on healthcare, fiscal responsibility, and energy policy.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, once a close advisor to Trump, has fiercely criticized the bill. In a post on X, Musk declared, “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day… Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
Musk went further, vowing political retribution against lawmakers who supported the bill despite campaigning on reducing government spending. “They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” he wrote.
As the bill moves to the House, significant resistance is expected, particularly from Democrats and Republican lawmakers wary of its impact on healthcare and food aid programs. The final outcome will determine whether Trump’s vision of economic restructuring becomes law or faces a legislative deadlock ahead of the Independence Day deadline.
