The fate of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda now rests with the U.S. Senate, where a handful of Republicans are pushing for changes to the massive $5 trillion GOP tax and spending bill.
The legislation, officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, slashes spending on social programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, while proposing trillions in tax cuts and billions in investments to strengthen defense and border security. According to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation would kick nearly 8 million people off their Medicaid health insurance over 10 years, in part by making it more difficult to qualify for the program. It would also result in an estimated 3.2 million Americans losing their food assistance due to stricter eligibility requirements.
Republicans are rushing to pass the bill in both chambers of Congress and send it to Trump’s desk by the July 4 holiday, an ambitious timeline given outstanding concerns raised by several Republican senators over its significant impact on the deficit, its repeal of renewable energy tax credits passed by Democrats in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and its severe cuts to Medicaid, a program relied on by 70 million Americans, including many Trump voters.
