U.S. Senators passed the “Big Beautiful Bill” for federal spending before the Friday deadline Republicans set to get the legislation passed. However, there are still some steps before it can become law.
“The Senate just passed the One Big Beautiful Bill to enact President [Donald] Trump’s agenda—it’s time to unlock the Golden Age of America!” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) said in a Tuesday X post.
Supporters of the legislation wanted to get it through before the Senate goes into recess for the July 4 holiday. While it had support from the president and was passed in the House last month, that goal was tricky to meet since the bill was contentious even among the GOP. In fact, Trump and his former ally Elon Musk even had a public blowout prompted by the bill.
Critics of the legislation – including Musk – have stressed their position that the U.S. government needs to curtail spending and reduce its debt. Those in favor of the bill have praised its tax cuts and funding for border protection.
According to the Associated Press, Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to pass the bill. Along with Democrats, three Republicans voted against the legislation: Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Now, the House and Senate have to agree on a single version of the bill before it can be sent to Trump’s desk. It headed back to the House, since the Senate made some changes to the legislation that was passed there. That means it might not pass by the July 4 deadline the president was aiming for.