US Senate passes Trump's sweeping tax-cut, spending bill, sends to House

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill on Tuesday, signing off on a massive package that would enshrine many of his top domestic priorities into law while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.

The bill now heads back to the House of Representatives for final approval. Trump has pushed lawmakers to get it to his desk to sign into law by the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Trump's Republicans have had to navigate a narrow path while shepherding the 940-page bill through a Congress that they control by the slimmest of margins.

With Democrats lined up in opposition, Republicans have had only three votes to spare in both the House and Senate as they wrangled over specific tax breaks and healthcare policies that could reshape entire industries and leave millions of people uninsured.

Yet they have managed to stay largely unified so far. Only three of the Senate's 53 Republicans joined with Democrats to vote against the package, which passed 51-50 after Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote.

The vote came after an all-night debate in which Republicans grappled with the bill's price tag and its impact on the U.S. healthcare system. It was not immediately clear what changes had been made to the massive package to resolve those concerns.

The vote in the House, where Republicans hold a 220-212 majority, is likely to be close as well.

'NOT FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY'

An initial version passed with only two votes to spare in May, and several Republicans in that chamber have said they do not support the version that has emerged from the Senate, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will add $800 billion more to the national debt than the House version.

The House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline conservatives who repeatedly threatened to withhold their support for the tax bill, is pushing for deeper spending cuts to reduce its total price tag.

"That’s not fiscal responsibility. It’s not what we agreed to," the group said on Monday.

A group of more moderate House Republicans, especially those who represent lower-income areas, object to the steeper Medicaid cuts in the Senate’s plan.

“I will not support a final bill that eliminates vital funding streams our hospitals rely on,” Representative David Valadao, a California Republican, said during the weekend debate.

Still, House Republicans are likely to face enormous pressure to fall in line from Trump in the days to come.