[Global Times correspondents in the United States, Yang Zheng and Du Tianqi] “On the 28th local time, amidst a marathon-like weekend meeting filled with political drama, divisions, and prolonged delays, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate managed to slightly advance President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill.” According to reports from CNN and Reuters among other media outlets, the U.S. Senate narrowly passed the motion to initiate the bill on the 28th local time, with 51 votes in favor and 49 against. It is reported that after this procedural motion is approved, the massive tax and spending bill will undergo reading, debate, amendment voting, and final vote, expected to take several days. With less than a week left until Trump’s designated July 4th “final deadline,” the debate on this 940-page expansive bill has begun.
According to multiple American media reports, on the 28th local time, the U.S. Senate began its debate on this 940-page extensive bill with a slight advantage. Trump praised his “great, vast, beautiful bill” as having achieved “a great victory” on social media. A senior White House official mentioned that Trump was still monitoring the progress of the vote in his office late into the night. This so-called “big and beautiful” tax bill sparked intense debate between the two parties, even within the Republican Party itself where there were disagreements—despite the fact that the Republican Party holds 53 out of 100 seats in the Senate, not all Republicans support the bill. In response, Republican leader and Vice President Mike Pence personally negotiated with dissenting Republican lawmakers, achieving results after hours but still resulting in two Republicans casting their opposition votes.
After Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican, cast his vote against it, Trump took to social media to threaten that many people are eager to compete with him in the next year’s congressional elections. “I will meet with these people in the coming weeks to find someone who can truly represent the people of North Carolina and the United States,” he stated.
On the other hand, Democrats are also striving to block the final passage of this bill. According to Reuters, Democrats have requested that the massive bill be read out loud in both the House and Senate—a task that could delay the start of debate. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer spoke in the Senate, stating: “Senate Republicans are rushing through an aggressive bill that was only made public late at night. They pray that the American people won’t realize the true content of the bill.” He also mentioned, “Democrats will force the House and Senate to read the bill from beginning to end.” “If necessary, we are willing to stay here all night to read it,” Schumer wrote on social media platform X. The Hill reported that reading the bill would take 12 hours.
Democrats also expressed that the tax cuts in the bill would disproportionately benefit the wealthy, at the expense of low-income Americans’ social welfare programs. Democrats will focus their amendments, aiming to overturn Republican efforts to cut government support for elderly, poor, and disabled individuals, as well as food assistance for low-income families. Reuters noted that once the bill is read, lawmakers will begin a lengthy 20-hour debate. This will lead into what is known as the “vote marathon,” before the Senate votes on the bill. Some lawmakers expressed their hope to finish the work related to the bill as soon as possible.
On the 28th local time, American entrepreneur Elon Musk once again criticized the “big and beautiful” tax and spending bill pushed by Trump.
Musk, on social media, stated that the latest bill draft under consideration by the US Senate “will destroy millions of American jobs and cause significant harm to our country.” He harshly criticized the bill as “extremely crazy and destructive,” stating that it provides handouts to declining industries while severely damaging future ones. Musk added, “This bill will raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, the largest increase in history, paving the way for the United States to be enslaved by debt.”
According to previous reports, Musk has repeatedly criticized the “Big Beautiful” bill for weakening his efforts to reduce the US budget deficit, even going so far as to call the bill “disgusting” and accusing lawmakers who voted for it of “shame.” Some American media believe that certain provisions of the bill are closely related to Musk’s personal interests, and his criticism of the bill is one of the main reasons for the deterioration in his relationship with Trump. However, according to recent polls, the bill is unpopular across different age groups, income levels, and racial/ethnic groups.
According to Reuters, the so-called “Big Beautiful” bill is a simplified term used by Trump to refer to the large-scale tax and spending bill he introduced. This bill is seen as an extension and upgrade of Trump’s first term tax cuts policy, as well as a reduction and adjustment of policies such as Biden’s “Green New Deal” and welfare and spending. The bill will provide new tax relief for tipping and car loans, increase defense spending, and provide more funds for combating illegal immigration. An independent joint tax committee released an analysis predicting that the tax provisions in the Senate bill will reduce government revenue by $4.5 trillion over the next decade, further increasing the US government’s debt.
Some commentators suggest that with strong support from Trump, the “Big Beautiful” bill narrowly passed the House on May 22, barely missing a vote, and was passed through a procedural vote in the Senate on June 28, making its way through the process with difficulty.
Moreover, in order for the bill to pass the Senate, members of Congress have made amendments to the provisions. The changes made must then be resubmitted to the House of Representatives for a vote. The struggle between factions will continue.