The US Senate entered a marathon amendment session on Tuesday as Republicans made a final push to pass former President Donald Trump’s flagship spending package — a bill that would dramatically cut social welfare programs while adding an estimated $3 trillion to the national debt.
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” aims to extend his expiring first-term tax cuts, costing $4.5 trillion, alongside plans to increase military funding and finance sweeping mass deportations and stricter border security measures.
However, with the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, Republican senators remain divided. The bill would strip approximately $1 trillion in subsidized health care from millions of low-income Americans and expand the national budget deficit by over $3.3 trillion in the next decade.
Trump has made it clear he wants the bill on his desk before Independence Day celebrations begin on Friday.
Senate Progress Stalls in Lengthy Session
Progress in the Senate slowed dramatically on Monday as the “vote-a-rama” — a process allowing unlimited amendments before a final vote — dragged into its 17th hour with no clear end in sight.
Trump defended the spending package in a series of Truth Social posts early Tuesday, calling it “perhaps the greatest and most important of its kind in history.” He warned that failure to pass the bill would result in a “whopping 68 percent tax increase, the largest in history.”
With the Senate still locked in debate, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt urged Republicans to remain “tough and unified.”
Vote-a-rama sessions have historically concluded within 9 to 10 hours, but Democrats accused Republicans of deliberately stalling.
“They’ve got a lot of members who were promised things they may not be able to deliver on, and so they’re just stalling,” said Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “But we’re pushing forward amendment after amendment. They don’t like these amendments. The public is on our side in almost every one.”
Despite the delays, Trump is expected to prevail in the Senate, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority and unified Democratic opposition is unlikely to block the bill.
House Showdown Looms
Securing Senate approval would mark a major victory for Trump, who has frequently faced criticism for bypassing Congress through executive orders. Still, the fight is far from over — the 940-page bill must also pass a separate vote in the House of Representatives, where several Republican lawmakers are threatening to oppose it.
Trump’s intense push for quick passage has put moderate and vulnerable Republicans in a politically risky position.
Independent analyses reveal that the bill would trigger a significant shift in wealth, moving resources from the nation’s poorest to its wealthiest citizens. Cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act could leave nearly 12 million additional Americans without health insurance by 2034.
Public polling indicates the bill is among the most unpopular legislative proposals in recent history, drawing disapproval across diverse age, income, and demographic groups.
Senate Democrats have focused their amendments on protecting health care, federal food assistance programs, and clean energy tax credits.
Republican Majority Leader John Thune faces a tight margin, as conservative Senator Rand Paul and moderate Senator Thom Tillis have already voiced opposition.
The House is expected to vote on the Senate bill as early as Wednesday.
