WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans aren’t on board with the tax and spending cuts their House counterparts passed Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said his conference would seek changes to the tax side of the bill and the Medicaid side as well.
“We want to do things that are meaningful in terms of reforming programs, strengthening programs, without affecting beneficiaries,” Thune told reporters in response to a question about Medicaid. “So it’s, I would say, right now, still a very active discussion.”
The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act would cut spending on federal health and nutrition programs by $1 trillion to offset part of the cost of nearly $4 trillion in tax cuts intended to be the core of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda.
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It’s no surprise that Senate Republicans differ from their House counterparts. From the outset, GOP senators wanted to do the tax part of the legislation as its own bill instead of piling it all into one gigantic piece of legislation. Some senators are still talking about doing separate bills.
“Break it up. Break it up and focus on the areas of agreement,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters on Thursday.
Republicans agree on increased border spending, extending tax cuts that will expire next year and cutting spending, Johnson said. He suggested leaving new tax provisions, which would include Trump’s tax breaks on tips and overtime, for a separate bill. Johnson also said an increase in the nation’s borrowing limit, which the House bill included at Trump’s urging, should be done separately.
“I’m not for continuing the Biden spending levels or the Biden deficits. Once the Republicans vote for this, the Republicans are going to own the deficit.”
– Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blasted the House Republican bill for its fiscal imbalance. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the bill would add more than $2 trillion to federal budget deficits over 10 years.
“The project afoot isn’t going to fix the deficit at all,” Paul said. “I’m not for continuing the Biden spending levels or the Biden deficits. Once the Republicans vote for this, the Republicans are going to own the deficit.”
Still, it’s entirely possible Senate and House Republicans will reconcile their differences and agree on one bill. After all, conservative and moderate House Republicans were miles apart on the legislation up until the minute almost all of them voted for it Thursday morning after an all-night session. Thune can lose three Republicans and still move the bill through the Senate without any Democratic support.
Another senator to watch: Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has been outspoken about his opposition to any Medicaid cuts. An earlier version of the House bill included roughly $700 billion in Medicaid cuts, with much of the savings resulting from more frequent eligibility checks and “work requirements” that would deny benefits to unemployed able-bodied adults without dependents. To appease conservatives, House Republican leaders changed the bill to make the work requirements start in 2026 instead of 2029; Hawley said Thursday he was fine with the change.
Democrats, for their part, noted that according to the budget office, the legislation’s tax cuts will leave the richest households with more resources, while the spending cuts will leave the poorest households with a worse safety net.
“Republicans are stealing from hungry kids, stealing from low-income families, to give trillions in tax giveaways to the wealthy,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “This is not beautiful. It’s ugly. It’s revolting.”
