Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says he thinks he has a deal with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to pass President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — a major breakthrough more than 25 hours after lawmakers began considering the measure on the Senate floor.
But Thune also cautioned he’s a “realist,” indicating that he’s not counting anything as finished until the final vote is cast.
Support from Murkowski had emerged overnight as the key to the bill’s passage, amid concerns that cuts to safety net programs will imperil her state’s residents, and GOP leadership spent hours courting her. Vice President Vance arrived at the Capitol as the sun rose, in case a tiebreaker is needed.
President Trump, headed to Florida early Tuesday, told reporters outside the White House that he believed the Senate could pass the bill in its second day of consideration.
Trump is traveling to the Everglades to visit a new migrant detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” He will be joined by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, a source familiar with the plans confirmed to NewsNation.
Catch up here:
- Vance arrives at Capitol as GOP short votes to pass Trump megabill
- Thom Tillis sent a signal of retirement: His bolo tie
- House fumes over Senate’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
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