Rebecca Downs contributed to this report.
After a marathon vote-a-rama that lasted more than 24 hours, where both Republicans and Democrats submitted amendments to the One Big Beautiful Bill, the Senate voted 51-50 to pass the megabill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had announced a deal had been reached earlier on Tuesday. Vice President JD Vance was there to break the tie on the bill's final passage and on amendments being voted on up until the last minute.
All Democrats voted against the bill, as did Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME). Tillis made headlines over the weekend not only for his opposition to advancing the bill on Saturday, but also for his Sunday announcement he would be retiring.
🚨NEW — Senate Majority Leader John Thune tells reporters that Republicans "HAVE A DEAL" on President Trump's OBBB! pic.twitter.com/EobGg8PRVz
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 1, 2025
🚨NEW — There were three Senate Republicans who voted against President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 1, 2025
Thom Tillis
Rand Paul
Susan Collins pic.twitter.com/cVCJ419S8q
Trump had urged lawmakers early Tuesday morning to bring the measure across the finish line, as the OBBB “gives the largest Tax Cuts and Border Security ever, Jobs by the Millions, Military/Vets increases, and so much more,” while cautioning that failure to pass the bill would result in a “whopping 68% Tax increase, the largest in history!!!”
Trump’s message came after the White House spent Monday making a final push for its passage during a White House event, online, and in the media, emphasizing the bill is the only chance Republicans have to enact the president's domestic agenda and spending priorities.
Watch EVERY SECOND of this 🔥 from @StephenM!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 1, 2025
"I've spent my entire life in the conservative movement...This is the most far-reaching border security proposal...in my LIFETIME!" pic.twitter.com/X8G7cKj7bm
The One Big Beautiful Bill is the ultimate codification of the Make America Great Again agenda – that’s why the Democrats are lying through their teeth in a last-ditch effort stop it.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) June 30, 2025
But the American people see right through it and overwhelmingly support the critical and… pic.twitter.com/E6AupomzSW
With a narrow majority in the upper chamber, Republicans could only afford to lose three GOP senators. With that opposition from Tillis and Paul, Thune turned his attention to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) early Tuesday morning. She ultimately went along with most of her Republican colleagues to vote for the bill.
The Alaska senator has been the subject of an intense whip effort by GOP leaders over the past couple of hours as they try to offer her reassurances on Medicaid and food assistance. Thune, Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso talked to Murkowski on the floor for roughly an hour overnight. Thune and Murkowski huddled briefly in his office, and they were mum on details when they emerged shortly before 4 a.m. Just moments ago, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that proposed SNAP carve-outs for Alaska and other states are compliant with the Byrd rule. But Republicans have struggled to get approval for a Medicaid provision also aimed at Murkowski’s home state. […]
In a potential sign of just how dire Thune’s whip count was looking in the wee hours, the majority leader huddled in his office with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who’s long said he would be a “no” on the bill over its debt-ceiling hike. (Politico)
Why do they think a $500 billion debt limit hike is a bad idea?
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) July 1, 2025
1. Trump will hate it. He wants the debt limit done away with entirely.
2. We’d be right back here in a few months — and Dems would have leverage because of the filibuster.
Though the OBBB narrowly passed, the bill will face headwinds in the House, with Rep. Greg Steube of Florida cautioning passage will be a challenge, since Republicans in the lower chamber can only afford to lose three votes.
“You’ve got 218 you got to get to, we can only lose three, if we lose four the bill’s dead, and you’ve got things in here that moderates don’t like, and you’ve got things in here that conservatives don’t like. So, it is certainly going to be a challenge," he said.
The Rapid Response 47 X account posted over X shortly after Vance cast the tie-breaking vote, noting that Vance’s vote is "moving it back to the House and one step closer to President Trump's desk."
✅ PASSED: @VP casts the deciding vote as the Senate approves the One Big Beautiful Bill — moving it back to the House and one step closer to President Trump's desk. pic.twitter.com/zAcMgrxS0z
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 1, 2025
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