𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

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.:

• 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.

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.

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.

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.”

“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:

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.