By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking and Joey Cappelletti Associated Press
Washington – The Senate Republicans voting at a dramatic Saturday session at the end of Saturday erased closely a key procedural step when they ran to advance the Package of President Donald Trump Reductions of taxes, costs cuts and reinforced deportation funds In its fourth term of July.
The Tally, 51-49, arrived after a tumultuous session with Vice President JD Vance, if necessary to break the tie. The tense scenes played in the chamber when the votes were stopped, dragging for hours, while withholding senators became clear for negotiations. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed with debate, joining all Democrats.
It is still a long weekend of work to come.
Republicans use their majorities in Congress to set aside democratic opposition but have encountered a series of political and political mishap. Not all GOP legislators are on board with proposals to reduce spending Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extension about 3.8 trillion dollars in Trump’s tax reductions.
In the face of the expected call, the White House published a statement of administrative policy saying that it “strongly supports the passage” of the bill that “implements critical aspects” of the president’s agenda. Trump himself was on Saturday on his golf course in Virginia, with GOP senators to publish it on social media.
“It’s time to get this legislation on the finish line,” said the leader of most Senate, John Thune, Rs.d.
But as the day was dragged, the billionaire Elon Musk came out, calling the package “totally crazy and destructive”.
“The last Senate bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and will cause immense strategic damage to our country!” Ex -Trump’s awarding said in a post.
It 940 pages invoice It was published shortly before midnight on Friday, and the senators are expected to be upset during the hours of the debate and the amendments overnight in the coming days. If the Senate is able to pass it, the bill would return to the chamber for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House.
With the narrow republican majorities in the House and the Senate, leaders need almost all legislators on board a essentially unified opposition to Democrats. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Senator Rand Paul of the Kentucky voted against.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in New York said that Republicans unveiled the bill “at night” and rushed to finish the bill before the audience fully knows what is there. It is expected to ask for a complete reading of the text in the Senate, which would take hours.
Mike-O moment for GOP
The weekend session could be a time of makeup for Trump’s party, which has invested much of its political capital in its Signature of Domestic Policy. Trump presses Congress to wrap it and warned the “courts” between GOP Holdouts to fall online.
Legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. In its central nucleus, it would permanent many of the Trump’s first tax reductions that would otherwise expire until the end of the year if the Congress does not act, leading to a potential tax increase of the North -Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including -no tax on the advice, and would commit $ 350 million to national security, including Trump Mass deportation agenda.
But medicaid cuts, food stamps and green energy investments, which a superior Democrat, Senator Ronden, of Oregon, said that it would be a “death sentence” for the wind and solar industries in America, also cause dissent within the GOP ranks.
Republicans are based on reductions to offset lost tax revenue, but some legislators say that cuts are too far away, especially for people who receive health care through Medicaid. In the meantime, the conservatives, concerned about the debt of the nation, are pressing for stronger cuts.
Tillis, who said he spoke to Trump on Friday afternoon, explaining his concerns, announced on Saturday that he cannot support the package as it is, largely because he said that changes in health care would force his state to “make painful decisions such as eliminating medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands.”
After the mishap, Republicans review some proposals
The launch of this draft had been delayed as a Senate parliamentary He reviewed the bill to ensure that he complied with the strict “Byrd rule” of the chamber, named for the missing senator Robert C. Byrd, DW.VA. It largely drops the matters of politics from inclusion in budget invoices, unless a provision can obtain 60 votes to overcome objections. This would be a high order in a Senate with a GOP advantage of 53-47 and the Unified Democrats against Trump’s bill.
Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals, including change seal of food Federal Government Costs in States or Budjatge The financing structure of the consumer’s financial protection officeThey were considered to comply with the rules.
But in recent days, Republicans have quickly reviewed these proposals and restored them.
The final text includes a proposal for medicaid provider’s tax cuts that had been found with parliamentary obstacles and objections of several senators concerned about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version expands the start date of these cuts and establishes a fund of $ 25 billion to help rural hospitals and suppliers. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Who had opposed the cuts, promised to “do everything I can” to make sure that the reductions did not come into force.
It Congress Non -Partid Budget Office said that, under the version of the house, of the bill, about 10.9 million more people It would pass without healthcare and at least 3 million less could be welcomed to food aid. The CBO has not yet publicly evaluated the draft of the Senate, which proposes a stronger reduction.
The most important revenue winners would see about a tax reduction of $ 12,000 under the chamber bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $ 1,600, The CBO said.
The salt dispute shakes things
The Senate included a commitment to the so -called Disision Salt, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a maximum priority of New York legislators and other high tax states, but the matter is still restless.
The current salt lid is $ 10,000 a year, and a good handful of Republicans wanted to increase $ 40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $ 40,000 lid but limits it for five years.
Many Republican senators say it’s still too generous. At least one GOP Holdout, Nick Lalota representative in New York, had said it would be insufficient.
Trump’s term is approaching
House Speaker Mike Johnsonwho sent his teammates at home on the weekend with plans to call Washington. But as the Senate draft was revealed, House’s GOP support was uncertain. A Republican, representative David Valado de California, said he opposed.
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Associated Press Writers Ali Swenson and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.