United States Senate video screengrab
After a 27-hour amendment marathon, the Senate passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Big Beautiful Bill” on July 1 by a razor-thin 51-50 margin, with Vice President JD Vance casting the decisive vote.
Every Democrat opposed the landmark legislation, which cements major pillars of Trump’s second-term agenda. Three Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Susan Collins of Maine — also voted no, citing concerns over entitlement reform and the national debt.
“With this legislation, we’re fulfilling the mandate we were entrusted with last November and setting our country and the American people up to be safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said after the bill’s passage.
The bill makes Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, eliminates taxes on Social Security and service workers’ tips, and promises to boost take-home pay by over $10,000 per year for the average American family. It also creates newborn savings accounts for all citizens and permanently expands the Child Tax Credit.
On immigration, the bill allocates funding for 3,000 new Border Patrol agents and 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, fulfilling a central Trump campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
It also imposes a one-year ban on federal funding to Planned Parenthood by restricting Medicaid reimbursements. The original draft proposed a 10-year ban, but negotiations pared it down.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was among the final holdouts, according to Politico. GOP leaders reportedly added a niche tax break for whaling boat captains to secure her vote, though several of her proposed amendments were struck down by the Senate parliamentarian. She ultimately voted yes.
At an event in Florida celebrating the opening of the new “Alligator Alcatraz” illegal immigration detention facility, Trump hailed the Senate vote as a landmark win.
“Wow, thank you,” Trump said, as the crowd applauded. “I’m listening to these wonderful words, and they are music to my ears.”
The bill now heads to the House, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pledged that the House will pass it by the Fourth of July.
“The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,” Johnson said in a statement.
“Republicans were elected to do exactly what this bill achieves: secure the border, make tax cuts permanent, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength, cut wasteful spending, and return to a government that puts Americans first.”
If the House passes the bill, Trump will sign it into law, marking a defining moment for his second-term agenda.
