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- Senate Republicans ram Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' through key test vote</p>
<p>Alex MillerJune 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM</p>
<p>Senate Republicans rammed President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" through a procedural hurdle after hours of tense negotiations that put the megabill's fate into question.</p>
<p>Speculation swirled whether Republicans would be satisfied by the latest edition of the mammoth bill, which was released just before the stroke of midnight Saturday morning.</p>
<p>Nearly every Republican, except Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., all voted to unlock a marathon 20-hour debate on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could only afford to lose three votes.</p>
<p>Though successful, the 51-49 party line vote was not without drama.</p>
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<p>President Donald Trump speaks at an event to promote his domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Washington.</p>
<p>Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., flipped his vote from a 'no' to 'yes' in dramatic fashion, as he and Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, made their way to the Senate floor accompanied by Vice President JD Vance.</p>
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<p>Vance was called in case he was needed for a tie-breaking vote, but only his negotiating services ended up being used.</p>
<p>No lawmaker wanted to be the fourth and final decisive vote to kill the bill. Republican leadership kept the floor open for nearly four hours while negotiations continued – first on the Senate floor and then eventually in Thune's office.</p>
<p>The bill won't immediately be debated thanks to Senate Democrats' plan to force the reading of the entire, 940-page legislative behemoth on the Senate floor, which could drain several hours and go deep into the night.</p>
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<p>The megabill's fate, and whether it could pass its first test, was murky at best after senators met behind closed doors Friday, and even during another luncheon on Saturday.</p>
<p>Lingering concerns in both chambers about Medicaid — specifically the Medicaid provider tax rate and the effect of direct payments to states — energy tax credits, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and others proved to be pain points that threatened the bill's survival.</p>
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<p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is seen after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.</p>
<p>However, changes were made at the last-minute to either sate holdouts or comply with the Senate rules. Indeed, the Senate parliamentarian stripped numerous items from the bill that had to be reworked.</p>
<p>The Medicaid provider tax rate was kept largely the same, except its implementation date was moved back a year. Also included as a sweetener for lawmakers like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and others was a $25 billion rural hospital stabilization fund over the next five years.</p>
<p>Collins said that she would support the bill through the procedural hurdle, and noted that the rural hospital stabilization fund was a start, but whether she supports the bill on final passage remains to be seen.</p>
<p>"If the bill is not further changed, I will be leaning against the bill, but I do believe this procedural vote to get on the bill so that people can offer amendments and debate it is appropriate," Collins said.</p>
<p>Tillis, who is also concerned about the changes to Medicaid and would like to see a return to the House GOP's version, said that he would not vote in favor of the bill during final passage.</p>
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<p>The SALT deduction included in the House GOP's version of the bill also survived, albeit the $40,000 cap will remain intact for five years. After that, the cap will revert to its current $10,000.</p>
<p>Other sweeteners, like expanding nutrition benefit waivers to Alaska and a tax cut for whaling boat captains, were thrown in, too, to get moderates like Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on board with the bill.</p>
<p>Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025.</p>
<p>Lee announced that he withdrew his open lands sale provision, which proved a sticking point for lawmakers in Montana and Idaho.</p>
<p>Still, Republicans who are not satisfied with the current state of the bill will use the forthcoming "vote-a-rama," when lawmakers can offer an unlimited number of amendments, to try and change as much as they can before final passage.</p>
<p>Democrats, however, will use the process to inflict as much pain as possible on Republicans.</p>
<p>Once the amendment marathon concludes, which could be in the wee hours of Monday morning, lawmakers will move to a final vote to send the bill, which is an amendment to the House GOP's version of the "big, beautiful bill," back to the lower chamber.</p>
<p>From there, it's a dead sprint to get the package on the president's desk by July 4.</p>
<p>In a statement of administration policy obtained by Fox News Digital, Trump signaled that he would sign the bill.</p>
<p>"President Trump is committed to keeping his promises," the memo read. "And failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal."</p>
<p>Original article source: Senate Republicans ram Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' through key test vote</p>
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