Republicans pushed the bill forward this summer after over a year of backroom planning, late-night huddles, and intense floor debate. After months of quiet negotiations, President Donald Trump’s $3.3 trillion legislation finally cleared the Senate. It includes key Republican priorities like border security, energy expansion, defense spending, and extensions to the 2017 tax cuts.
Senate Republicans began planning the bill during a closed-door policy retreat in early 2024. Sen. John Barrasso led that meeting, urging his colleagues to prepare for a possible GOP sweep in November. Trump later met with Republican senators to align their goals and strategy. Barrasso described the plan as a roadmap to “get America back on track.”
In January, Senate leaders started shaping the bill into real legislation. Majority Leader John Thune decided to bypass the House and push the Senate’s version first. That move added pressure on House Republicans to draft their own plan. For months, both chambers worked in parallel, but the Senate acted faster.
By early June, the Senate received the House version. Republicans then raced to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline. Leaders set that date to keep lawmakers focused and force final votes. However, internal disagreements quickly surfaced, especially over proposed cuts to Medicaid. Senators clashed over provider taxes and rural hospital funding.
To resolve the dispute, lawmakers added a $50 billion rural hospital fund. Even so, some Republicans, like Sen. Josh Hawley, remained critical. Hawley argued the bill betrayed working-class Americans. “You can’t cut health care and call yourself a working-class party,” he said.
As debate continued, fiscal conservatives like Sens. Ron Johnson and Rick Scott demanded deeper cuts. They wanted to change how the government funds Medicaid in Obamacare states. Though their proposed amendment never reached the floor, negotiations eased their concerns. Sen. Cynthia Lummis also backed their effort, pushing for long-term savings.
Late-night meetings between Thune’s office and the Senate floor helped win final votes. Leaders eventually convinced Sen. Lisa Murkowski to join, knowing others like Sens. Susan Collins and Thom Tillis might defect. Only three Republicans opposed the bill.
Republicans pushed the bill forward despite these obstacles, eventually sending it to the House. After their own dramatic debate, House Republicans passed the measure. Lawmakers then left Washington to promote the legislation back home.
Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters that the bill avoided a tax hike. He stressed that without it, Americans would have faced major increases. “This continues what we started,” Tillis said. “And the economy we built was strong enough to survive COVID.”
In the end, Republicans pushed the bill forward, proving that internal divisions could not stop their legislative agenda.
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