The Senate is staring down a key four-week stretch to make changes to measures in Trump’s budget bill. With a Fourth of July deadline being imposed by Trump, members of the U.S. House of Representatives are combing through the provisions in the bill that would add $2.4 trillion to the debt over 10 years.
The controversial bill is garnering criticism from members as the sprawling 1,000-page-plus package features numerous measures that will give trillions of dollars to billionaires, while taking food and health care away from hardworking Americans.
The House bill is full of good-for-billionaires policies; extending and expanding Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the country’s wealthiest. To help pay for the costs, Trump is stripping away funding from healthcare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, an estimated 8.6 million people would no longer have health care, and 4 million people would no longer have food stamps each month due to the bill’s proposed changes to Medicaid and other programs.
Cutting the size of SNAP and other programs would also hurt farmers. SNAP cuts could cost farmers around $30 billion in lost income and imperil 400,000 jobs, according to recent analysis.
For North Carolina alone, more than 300,000 people across the state could lose their health care coverage.
According to The Hill, GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-M.O.) are facing off against conservatives such as Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) over Medicaid, renewable energy incentives and other measures.
These Senate Republicans could hold up the passage of the harmful bill; however, leaders like Sen. Tillis are known for caving into pressure from the far right.
Recently, it was reported that Sen. Tillis hired several campaign advisers tied to Trump, including Trump’s pollster, Trump’s chief data consultant, and the leader of the Trump campaign’s fundraising efforts. This move alone signals that Tillis is allying himself with the more extremist side of the Republican party, ahead of the 2026 primary.
In just the past few days, Sen. Tillis has already changed up his tune, sounding generally positive about the direction of the bill, according to NBC News.
For Democrats, additional measures, such as one to make it easier for Trump to defy the courts, blocking states from passing AI regulations, and making low-income Americans work harder to receive food assistance, among others, are receiving heavy pushback.
“There are a variety of issues that distinguish Democrats from Republicans. And as we emerge from the debate around the one big, ugly bill that Donald Trump and his sycophants in Congress are trying to jam down the throat of the American people,” stated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y).“We will have the opportunity to draw a clear contrast between our values-based vision for making life better for all Americans and the Republican vision that is designed to benefit their billionaire donors like Elon Musk.”
With all Democrats expected to vote against the dangerous bill, Republicans will need at least 50 votes to pass the legislation, as JD Vance could break a tie.
For now, Senate committees are drafting their own versions of the bill, with members hammering out less controversial sections and leaving programs such as Medicaid and energy off the table.
If the Senate approves an amended version of the budget bill, it must still clear the House once again, where it barely passed the first time around.
