The Senate passed a comprehensive Republican-designed economic framework which contains tax incentives and spending reductions while advancing Donald Trump’s economic agenda. The 51-48 vote took place after two GOP senators Collins and Rand Paul joined Democrats against the bill. The Republican Party continued their support for the tax cuts despite the growing economic doubts caused by Trump’s tariff measures.
The multitrillion-dollar package contains more than $5 trillion worth of tax reductions together with disputed spending reduction measures. The Democratic opposition through numerous amendments during the “vote-a-rama” tried to eliminate Medicaid and Social Security funding and Trump’s tariffs but their attempts were unsuccessful. A Republican amendment which protected both Medicare and Medicaid programs received passage.
The Senate plan allocates $175 billion for deportation operations and another $175 billion for Pentagon expansion. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described the plan as the “big beautiful bill” but Democrats under Chuck Schumer’s leadership cautioned that the proposal benefits the wealthy class at the expense of social safety nets.
The House maintains its own version with $4.5 trillion tax breaks and $2 trillion in cuts before it needs to merge with the Senate version. The final bill will be available by Memorial Day. The plan is expected to increase the national debt by $5.5 trillion during the next ten years according to projection models.
