The wildly unpopular “Big Beautiful” reconciliation package continues to face challenges as Senate Republicans prepare for a floor vote later this week.
Several Republican senators, including Josh Hawley (R-MO), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), are worried about the deep Medicaid cuts included in the bill text, specifically the proposal that would curtail provider taxes. Others like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) continue to push back against the bill for not going far enough, claiming it does not cut nearly enough in spending.
On the House side, members of the State and Local Tax (SALT) caucus say they won’t vote for a bill that doesn’t maintain the agreement they reached with the House leadership to increase the tax deduction they’re seeking. And some of the House Freedom Caucus members are not happy with the Senate changes to the clean energy tax credits, expressing dissatisfaction with the slower phase out proposal.
Negotiations are likely to get heated over the next few days, with two key questions looming: can Senate GOP leadership get enough of their caucus to support the megabill? And can the plan survive a House vote with the changes made by the upper chamber?
Amid all the uncertainty, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is insisting the chamber will start voting on Friday and into the weekend so Congress can meet their self-imposed July 4 deadline.
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