Senate GOP struggles to pass Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is working to pass President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" despite a recent Senate parliamentarian ruling that certain provisions, including key Medicaid reforms, don't qualify for filibuster-avoiding status, requiring the bill to be rewritten to gain GOP support and avoid Democratic opposition. The bill's passage is crucial for Republicans to prevent a massive tax hike, fund border enforcement, and avoid a debt-limit crisis, with failure potentially leading to significant electoral losses in 2026 and 2028.

President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" has hit a significant roadblock in the Senate after a Senate rules referee struck down key provisions, citing the bill's failure to meet the chamber's strict budget rules, and senators are now scrambling to make changes to meet a July 4th deadline.

Senate Republicans are pushing to slash federal food assistance to the poor as part of a plan to pay for their tax cuts, despite warnings from Democrats and some states that this could result in millions of lower-income Americans losing access to aid. The proposal, which would shift some of the costs of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.) to states, was initially blocked by the Senate's parliamentarian due to procedural issues, but Republicans have since made changes to the plan that have earned the parliamentarian's approval. The Congressional Budget Office previously found that similar changes to S.N.A.P. in the House version of the bill could result in 1.3 million poor Americans losing benefits, and 23 states have urged Republicans to preserve existing federal funding for food stamps.