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The Senate has been working into the night on the “vote-a-rama” surrounding President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which is being subjected to a series of amendment proposals before the chamber casts a final vote.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has warned the bill will add an estimated $3.3 trillion to the $36.2 trillion national debt over the next decade, which Democrats hope will give conservatives cause for concern.
Trump has urged his party to push through the bill regardless as a self-imposed July 4 deadline looms.
Senators began the process at 9am ET on Monday, following a marathon weekend in which the megabill was read aloud in its entirety over 16 hours.
Should it finally pass the Senate, the bill will be returned to the House for approval.
Trump and Musk’s feud: From Jeffrey Epstein allegations to clashes over the Big, Beautiful Bill
Since the world’s richest man and the president are back at each other’s throats, here’s a reminder of exactly how their friendship fell apart in spectacular fashion last month.
Joe Sommerlad1 July 2025 09:55
Trump threatens to use DOGE to investigate Musk as feud reignites over the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
Donald Trump has threatened to use Elon Musk’s own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to investigate federal subsidies received by the tech billionaire’s companies.
Nearly a month after their explosive and very public breakup, Trump reignited his rift with Musk late Monday in response to the Tesla CEO escalating his anti-Republican rhetoric and his scathing criticism of the president’s showpiece tax bill.
The president also suggested that Musk may need to ‘close up shop and go back to South Africa’ without his support.
Here’s James Liddell’s report.
Joe Sommerlad1 July 2025 09:35
No end in sight as voting continues
Good morning!
The Senate has been working through the night on the “vote-a-rama” drama surrounding President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which is being subjected to a series of amendment proposals before the chamber casts a final vote.
Trump’s signature bill, which seeks to lower federal taxes and boost spending for defense and border security by trimming away funding for key welfare programs like Medicaid and food stamps, only narrowly passed the House of Representatives in May and the Senate on Saturday as even Republicans express unease over its potential consequences for Americans living in their districts.
There’s no end in sight, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune concedes that “progressive is a very elusive term,” the expression of a very tired man.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said this morning that Democrats will keep on bringing “amendment after amendment after amendment to the floor, so Republicans can defend their billionaire tax cuts.”
He said the amendments will enable the public to “see once and for all if Republicans really meant all those nice things they’ve been saying about ‘strengthening Medicaid’ and ‘protecting middle-class families’, or if they were just lying”.
Joe Sommerlad1 July 2025 09:10
Another failed Murkowski defection, as GOP rejects SNAP carveout for vets
Senate Republicans have once again rejected an attempt featuring the GOP’s Lisa Murkowski to ally with Democrats to preserve a policy priority.
Late on Monday, the GOP shut down the Alaska senator’s vote, along with fellow Republican Dan Sullivan, to exempt veterans, homeless people, and foster youth from proposed work requirements to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the food program often called food stamps.
Josh Marcus1 July 2025 08:45
Text chains and sneaky cigars: How Congress endures an all-night vote-a-rama
How do a group of mostly silver-haired lawmakers endure an all-night, make-or-break voting session?
Turns out, a bit like university students.
As deliberations wore on after sunset on Monday in the Senate, members of Congress and their staff were reportedly spotted chowing down on pizza, guzzling energy drinks, and even smoking cigars in various corners of the Capitol complex.
Behind the scenes, there was also reportedly some dismay that the all-night amendment session had actually weakened Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill spending package.
“On the text chains, on the phone calls, everyone is complaining,” an anonymous House Republican told The Hill. “There’s a few little provisions people will say something positive about, but no one is happy with the Senate version.”
“It’s amazing to a lot of us — how did it get so much f***ing worse?” the lawmaker added.
Josh Marcus1 July 2025 07:59
Why Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill is a major win-loss for the GOP
Trump had even floated the idea of endorsing a primary challenger against Tillis. But when The Independent caught up with Tillis, he seemed sanguine about the whole affair.
“I respect President Trump, I support the majority of his agenda, but I don't bow to anybody when the people of North Carolina are at risk and this bill puts them at risk,” he told The Independent.
Trump’s decision to bash a senator from a state he won and Republicans need to keep could be seen as reckless. But it also jeopardized Republicans’ chances of holding onto a Senate seat Tillis consistently won by narrow margins.
Josh Marcus1 July 2025 07:00
Why Elon Musk is going nuclear (again) at Trump
Elon Musk promised to bankroll primary challenges against Republican lawmakers who vote to pass legislation representing a sizable portion of Donald Trump’s political agenda on Monday as the Senate debated its final passage.
The Tesla CEO and former DOGE overlord blew up at Trump and the Republican Congress over the bill earlier this year. Musk, along with Republicans like Rand Paul in the Senate, believe that the bill’s spending cuts are insufficient to fund its other provisions and point to projections of trillions added to the national debt over the next decade as reason it should be opposed.
But despite failing to meet the goals of deficit hawks to be deficit-neutral or even cut the national debt, Donald Trump and Republican leadership are pressing forward with the legislation. The bill is set to extend the 2017 GOP tax cuts as well as fund a massive surge of mass deportation measures for the federal government, including the hiring of 10,000 new ICE agents. To fund the plan, the GOP plans to impose work requirements and other cuts on Medicaid and food stamp (SNAP) programs.
On Monday, Musk vowed to fund Republican primary challengers against any senator or House member who voted for the legislation.
John Bowden reports.
Josh Marcus1 July 2025 06:00
Next up for Trump: a Netanyahu visit, a Florida visit, and (hopefully) a Big, Beautiful Bill
Never one to have a dull moment, Donald Trump’s schedule is packed with major news happenings in the coming days.
First, the Senate may pass his Big, Beautiful Bill spending and tax package sometime late tonight or early tomorrow.
Finally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington early next week, the Times of Israel reports.
Josh Marcus1 July 2025 05:00
The Girl Squad blocks Ted Cruz on AI
A compromise deal among Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee to fix the 10-year moratorium on AI ultimately fell through.
Shortly thereafter, Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington State and Cruz's counterpart on the commerce committee, announced a deal with a cosponsorship from Sen. Susan Collins, a crucial swing vote.
The initial 10-year moratorium on states regulating AI caused Republicans, including some House members who voted for the bill, tons of heartburn.
Eric Garcia1 July 2025 03:54
Democratic ex-governor Roy Cooper may jump into race to replace Tillis in North Carolina
Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is reportedly considering jumping into the ring to seek the Senate seat of outgoing Republican Thom Thillis, who announced his decision not to seek reelection over the weekend.
"Governor Cooper continues to strongly consider a run for the Senate and will decide in the coming weeks," Morgan Jackson, Cooper's top political adviser, told Axios.
He could face off against Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, who is also reportedly considering a run.
Josh Marcus1 July 2025 03:00
