After a midnight rewrite and high-stakes hallway negotiations, Senate Republicans narrowly advanced President Trump’s $4.2 trillion “Big Beautiful Bill” over its first procedural hurdle late Saturday. The vote passed 51–49, with Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis defecting and Vice President JD Vance standing by in case of a tie. GOP leaders are now racing to pass the full bill before the July 4 deadline.
‍

The new draft includes a flurry of late concessions to rally support: a $25 billion rural hospital fund to placate Medicaid holdouts like Sen. Susan Collins; an expansion of nutrition waivers for Alaska; a whaling tax break for Murkowski; and a delay of stricter Medicaid provider tax rules to 2032. The SALT cap was temporarily raised to $40,000, and tax breaks for seniors, tipped workers, and car buyers were added—while a previously controversial “revenge tax” on foreign firms was quietly removed after Wall Street pushed back.
‍

Elon Musk blasted the bill as “utterly insane,” warning it rewards “industries of the past” while crushing clean tech and risking “millions of lost jobs.” His ire was aimed at provisions that slash renewable energy incentives and abruptly end the EV tax credit this fall. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are forcing the entire 940-page bill to be read aloud on the floor—an hours-long procedural delay tactic—before debate even begins.
‍

Once that reading concludes, the real showdown begins: a legislative blitz known as a vote-a-rama, where senators can offer unlimited amendments in rapid-fire succession. Though each amendment must be voted on, there’s no debate—just straight up-or-down votes, often stretching deep into the night. Republicans will use the window to patch internal rifts; Democrats aim to weaponize it to extract political pain.
‍

The final vote could come as soon as Monday morning. Until then, the bill remains fluid—and every amendment could tip the fragile majority needed to move it forward.