Kathmandu. US senators began debating Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful’ spending bill on Saturday.
It is a highly divisive proposal that would deliver key parts of the US president’s domestic agenda but make huge cuts to social welfare programs. Trump is hoping to cement his legacy with the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, which would extend his first-term tax cuts by $4.5 trillion and strengthen border security.
But Republicans are divided over the package, with the 2026 midterm elections in mind. The package would strip health care from millions of poor Americans and add more than $3 trillion to the national debt. The Senate formally began debate on the bill Saturday night after Republican opponents delayed a procedural vote.
The delay in a procedural vote by Republican opponents has fueled Trump’s anger on social media. Senators passed a motion to begin debate 51-49 after Vice President J.D. Vance joined his own party’s opponents in negotiating.
Ultimately, two Republican senators joined 47 Democrats in voting “no” in early debate. Trump has been pressing his party to pass the bill and sign it into law by July 4, the United States’ Independence Day. Democrats are fiercely opposed to the legislation and Trump’s agenda and have vowed to block debate.
They began by insisting that the entire bill be read aloud to the House before debate begins. The bill is nearly 1,000 pages long and is expected to take 15 hours to read. “Republicans won’t tell America what’s in the bill,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, “so Democrats are forcing it to be read from start to finish on the floor. If it has to be read, we’ll be here all night.”
If it passes the Senate, the bill will return to the House for approval. Republicans in the House could lose only a few votes and face stiff opposition from within their own ranks.
Divisive cuts
Republicans are struggling to cover the cost of Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax relief. The proposed cuts would come primarily from eliminating funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans. Republicans are divided on the Medicaid cuts. They would endanger rural hospitals and leave an estimated 8.6 million Americans without health care.
The spending plan would also roll back many of the tax incentives for renewable energy put in place under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. On Saturday, Trump’s top aide Elon Musk called the current proposal “absolutely crazy and destructive.” President Trump has publicly clashed with Musk this month over criticism of the bill.
“It gives a handout to the industries of the past while severely harming the industries of the future,” Musk said. Musk is the world’s richest person and owns electric vehicle company Tesla and space flight firm SpaceX. Independent analysis also shows the bill would pave the way for a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest 10 percent of Americans to the richest.
The bill is unpopular across multiple demographic, age and income groups, according to recent polls. Although the House has already passed its own version, both chambers must agree on a single text before it can be signed into law.
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