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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Oliver O'Connell and Joe Sommerlad

Trump bill latest: ‘Vote-a-rama’ to be held for Big, Beautiful Bill after Musk calls plan ‘utterly insane’

Donald Trump Elon Musk

President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will be subjected to an unlimited series of amendment votes in the Senate on Monday.

The 940-page tax and spending bill, which maps out Trump’s domestic agenda, narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and scraped through the Senate 51-49 Saturday after Majority Leader John Thune and Vice President JD Vance persuaded most Republican dissenters to fall in line.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has warned that passage of the bill will add an estimated $3.3 trillion to the $36.2 trillion national debt over the next decade, which Democrats hope will give conservatives cause for concern.

Trump has urged his party to push through the bill regardless and ignore objections raised by the Senate parliamentarian as its July 4 deadline looms.

His appeal did not stop former ally Elon Musk calling the bill “utterly insane and destructive” on Saturday.

Senators began the “vote-a-rama” at 9 a.m. ET, following a marathon weekend session that saw Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer call for the full text to be read aloud, which lasted from Saturday night through Sunday afternoon.

Should it finally pass, it will be returned to the House for approval.

Key Points

  • Senate to vote on ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ amendments on crucial day
  • Tax and spending legislation will ramp up national debt and kick 11.8m off Medicaid
  • Trump rejoices in ‘grandstanding’ rebel senator revealing he will not seek re-election
  • Musk calls megabill 'utterly insane'
  • These 5 GOP lawmakers threaten McCain-like ‘thumbs-down’ moment on Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill'

What you need to know

15:53 , Oliver O'Connell
  • The Senate is holding an unlimited series of amendment votes on Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill," a 940-page tax and spending package.
  • The bill, which narrowly passed the House and then the Senate, faces strong opposition due to concerns about its cost and impact.
  • The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt and cause 11.8 million Americans to lose health coverage by 2034, with significant cuts to Medicaid.
  • Democrats and some Republicans criticize the bill for benefiting billionaires while cutting essential services, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to introduce amendments to block provisions that increase costs for working families.
  • Donald Trump has urged his party to pass the bill despite objections and has threatened Republicans who oppose it, while figures like Elon Musk have publicly condemned the legislation.

White House and senators in communication as bill enters final phase

17:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Senators are in close communication with the White House as a key Republican spending bill enters its final, critical phase, signalling a concerted effort to secure its passage.

Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, confirmed to the Associated Press that some senators have "kind of" established siloed chats to ensure their message aligns with the White House.

Despite anticipated conservative objections, Cramer expressed confidence that final pitches from Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rick Scott of Florida would not ultimately hold up the bill. However, the North Dakota senator conceded that the legislation is likely to lose the support of at least three of his Republican colleagues.

This narrow margin suggests that Vice President JD Vance may be called upon to cast a tie-breaking vote, underscoring the delicate balance of power as the bill approaches its decisive moment.

Watch: Rep. Zinke asked to justify tax breaks for rich

16:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Buttigieg calls for Americans to speak up about Trump's bill

16:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg implores Americans to speak up about Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

He wrote on X: “If there was ever a time to call your Senator, this is it.

“Voting has begun on the GOP plan to cut off health care for working-class Americans and slash taxes for the wealthiest. This bill would kick millions off their health insurance, and thousands will even lose their lives - unless we stop it in its tracks.

“Some Republicans are breaking ranks, showing it's not too late. Time to speak up!”

‘Vote-a-rama’ drama: These 5 GOP lawmakers threaten McCain-like ‘thumbs-down’ moment on Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ bill

16:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The beginning of the Senate’s marathon “vote-a-rama” session is underway as the upper chamber debates final passage of the so-called “one big, beautiful bill” addressing several of Donald Trump’s legislative priorities.

It was still unclear by Monday morning whether the vote would pass.

Republicans have only 53 seats in the Senate, which is not enough to overcome a filibuster by the Democrats. As a result, they plan to use a process called budget reconciliation. This would allow them to pass the legislation with a simple 51-vote majority as long as the bill relates to the federal budget. Vice President JD Vance can cast a tie-breaking vote.

Eric Garcia and John Bowden report from Washington, D.C.:

‘Vote-a-rama’ begins as 5 in GOP threaten to tank ‘Big Beautiful’ bill

Sen. Collins has amendment to raise taxes on highest earners

16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

States brace for impact from 'Big, Beautiful Bill'

15:33 , Oliver O'Connell

President Donald Trump’s big bill to cut taxes and reduce federal spending on some social safety net programs could have large implications for states, but for many it’s too late to do much about it this year.

Tuesday marks the start of a new budget year in 46 states. Though some legislatures are still working, most already have adjourned and finalized their spending plans without knowing whether federal funding will be cut and, if so, by how much.

Continue reading...

States brace for impact as Trump's big bill nears completion in Congress

15:13 , Oliver O'Connell

All 53 Senate Republicans voted in support of using the “current policy” baseline, which Democrats say obscures the true cost of the $4 trillion reconciliation bill.

Democrats challenge GOP 'magic math'

14:59 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate has started its first vote of the day, and it’s somewhat wonky.

It challenges the Republicans’ approach to budgeting for the big bill that Democrats criticize as “magic math” and are trying to remove from the process.

GOP senators have argued that Trump’s 2017 tax cuts are considered “current policy,” and extending them indefinitely shouldn’t be included in the total cost of the bill.

Democrats contend that the Trump tax cuts, which are set to expire if Congress doesn’t act this year, are adding to the national deficit.

14:35 , Oliver O'Connell

I’m optimistic, but I’m also a realist. We got a long ways to go.

John Thune, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, on whether the reconciliation bill could pass today

Senate begins long day as Republicans try to pass Trump’s big bill

14:26 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate has commenced an all-day session of amendment votes, setting the stage for a final vote on Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax cut bill. The contentious proceedings are expected to extend late into the night.

Democrats are poised to introduce numerous amendments, including proposals to eliminate tax breaks for the wealthy and reverse cuts to the Medicaid programme.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed his intention to initiate the debate with an amendment designed to block any provisions that increase costs for working families or small businesses “to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”

Trump cheerleaders out early to rally support for ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

14:20 , Joe Sommerlad

“Time to get it done!” says Speaker Johnson and he’s not alone in trying to drum up some GOP enthusiasm and brush aside the doubts.

Here’s a counterpoint from North America's Building Trades Unions:

Tillis: ‘The facts matter. The people matter’

14:00 , Joe Sommerlad

We’ve about to get underway on today’s “vote-a-rama” drama but, in the meantime, here’s Republican Thom Tillis explaining on the Senate floor why the impact on the “Big, Beautiful Bill” is a dealbreaker for him, whatever the president says.

Trump claims to have mystery buyers for TikTok

13:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The president claims a “group of wealthy people” are ready to buy TikTok, ensuring the popular video-sharing app owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance avoids a looming, thrice-delayed U.S. ban.

But he won’t say who wants to take ownership just yet.

Josh Marcus has more.

Trump claims to have mystery buyers for TikTok

Mamdani says we shouldn’t have billionaires after Trump branded him ‘communist lunatic’

13:25 , Joe Sommerlad

New York Democrat Zohran Mamdani, who looks all but certain to be his party’s nominee in the city’s mayoral race, has said there should be no billionaires.

Mamdani made the comments on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday after the president, himself a billionaire, tore into the mayoral hopeful and branded him a “communist”.

Here’s more.

Mamdani says we shouldn’t have billionaires after Trump branded him ‘communist’

Trump leaves Fox host speechless after suggesting US is hacking China: ‘You don’t think we do that?’

12:45 , Joe Sommerlad

As we build up to today’s action on Capitol Hill, here’s a look at one of the key moments from the president’s interview with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures in which he told her the U.S. is every bit as aggressive a cyber combatant as China: “That’s the way the world works. It’s a nasty world.”

Gustaf Kilander has more.

Trump leaves Maria Bartiromo speechless after suggesting US is hacking China

Markwayne Mullin on being held to ransom by Trump: ‘I don’t have time’

12:25 , Joe Sommerlad

CNN’s Omar Jimenez pushed the Oklahoma Republican senator yesterday on whether the president’s ordering the GOP to comply with his wishes or face a primary challenge constituted a problem that placed their professional integrity on the line.

He tried to duck the question, leading to this awkward exchange:

Rand Paul says Trump bill ‘doesn’t sound at all conservative to me and that’s why I'm a no’

12:05 , Joe Sommerlad

We’ve heard from Thom Tillis, so here’s a look at what the other Republican holdout, Kentucky’s Rand Paul, had to say yesterday about why he could not support the president’s signature legislation in its current form:

‘The single most expensive bill in US history to give tax breaks to billionaires’

11:45 , Joe Sommerlad

“Republicans are doing something the Senate has never, never done before, deploying fake math and accounting gimmicks to hide the true cost of the bill,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said as debate about the “Big, Beautiful Bill” opened on the Senate floor on Sunday.

“Republicans are about to pass the single most expensive bill in U.S. history, to give tax breaks to billionaires while taking away Medicaid, SNAP benefits and good paying jobs for millions of people.”

Here’s a look at how his fellow Democratic senators Patty Murray, Gary Peters, Brian Schatz, Ron Wyden and Raphael Warnock attacked the bill over the course of a long and drawn-out session yesterday.

Trump insists bill 'moving along nicely'

11:25 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the latest Truth Social post on today’s upcoming “vote-a-rama”:

Senate parliamentarian’s role under scrutiny over as Trump, Republicans call for her firing

11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The president last night attacked the upper chamber’s top legal adviser, Elizabeth MacDonough, for blocking provisions in his signature legislation on budgetary grounds.

Steube, whom he quotes, last week called MacDonough, “an unelected swamp bureaucrat.”

Here’s what other Republican loyalists have had to say on the same issue.

Republicans attack Senate parliamentarian over ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ intervention

Heckler shouts over Senate debate on Trump’s megabill: ‘You people are awful’

10:35 , Joe Sommerlad

An unidentified interrupter burst onto the Senate floor just after 7pm last night, just as independent Sen. Bernie Sanders had concluded his speech opposing the bill during a marathon day of debate.

“This bill is not what the American people want, and I hope very much we can defeat it,” Sanders said in his concluding speech, in which he also branded the bill “probably the worst piece of legislation in modern history,” claiming “it attacks the most vulnerable people while giving massive tax breaks to billionaires.”

Just as he finished, a livestream of the debate caught a muffled voice in the background yelling: “You people are awful. You’re awful. You’re awful.”

Presiding officer Sen. Dave McCormick quickly interjected and told the sergeant at arms to “restore order in the gallery.”

However, the heckler continued to yell out as officials raced to restore calm.

Here’s more from Madeline Sherratt.

Heckler shouts over Senate debate on Trump’s megabill: ‘You people are awful’

Elon Musk calls megabill 'utterly insane and destructive'

10:10 , Joe Sommerlad

As Trump attempted to marshall his forces, his former pal once more poured scorn from the sidelines.

“It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,” Musk warned.

Here’s more from Gustaf Kilander, Eric Garcia and Rhian Lubin.

Elon Musk lashes out at Senate’s take on Trump’s ‘beautiful’ megabill

Trump rejoices in ‘grandstanding’ rebel senator revealing he will not seek re-election

09:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Despite the CBO’s warnings, the president has urged his party to push through the megabill as its July 4 deadline looms and has threatened to primary any Republican “grandstanders” who disobey.

That led to his attacking North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis over the weekend, who stressed he could not support the bill because of its likely impact on his constituents.

“What do I tell 663,00 people in two years, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore?” he asked from the Senate floor.

The holdout also announced his plan not to seek re-election…

…which drew this gloating response from Trump:

Tillis could not resist responding with a sarcastic crack at the president and a reminder of his ill-advised decision to endorse Mark Robinson for North Carolina governor last year, which did not end well.

Here’s Eric Garcia on what Tillis had to say for himself.

Republican Tillis won’t ‘bow to anybody’ after Trump falling out over Senate megabill

Senate megabill would explode debt and kick 11.8 million off Medicaid: ‘Our fiscal house is basically on fire’

09:30 , Joe Sommerlad

New estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have revealed that Senate Republicans’ version of Trump’s spending package would lead to more Americans losing health coverage than the version of the president’s flagship legislation that passed the House last month.

The legislation would push 11.8 million Americans off insurance by 2034, according to the report from the nonpartisan CBO.

Over the same period, federal spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare would be cut by $1.1trn. More than $1trn of the cuts would be made to Medicaid.

The estimates confirm the concerns of some Republicans who are worried about cuts to Medicaid, which amount to the steepest cuts to the federal healthcare program in history.

Some Republicans, worried about the deficit and national debt, have pressed for further cuts, while others fear what deep cuts mean for their constituents.

The estimates also clash with Trump’s promise not to cut Medicaid apart from removing what he describes as fraud and waste.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander’s report on the megabill’s potential impact.

Senate megabill would explode debt and kick 11.8 million off Medicaid, analysis finds

Senate to vote on ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ amendments on crucial day for Donald Trump’s presidency

09:10 , Joe Sommerlad

President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will be subjected to an unlimited series of amendment votes in the Senate on Monday in what promises to be a defining moment for his second term in the White House.

The 940-page tax and spending bill, which maps out much of the president’s domestic legislative agenda, narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier this month and scraped through the Senate on Saturday night 51-49 after Majority Leader John Thune and Vice President JD Vance managed to persuade most Republican dissenters to fall in line.

Senators will start voting on amendments to the contentious megabill from 9am ET (2pm GMT) on Monday, a process that could well run long.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (AP)

Good morning

08:52 , Joe Sommerlad

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Capitol Hill as the United States Senate reconvenes to vote on an unlimited series of amendments to Donald Trump’s signature “Big, Beautiful Bill” on what promises to be a very long day indeed.

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