Trump Lands Tax Bill Victory That Risks Voter Blowback

Donald Trump’s $3.3 trillion tax and spending cut bill passed the Senate Tuesday after a furious push by Republican leaders to persuade holdouts to back the legislation and hand the president a political win.

Senators voted 51-50 to pass the bill, with three Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky, defying Trump to oppose the legislation. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. The package, which now goes to the House, combines $4.5 trillion in tax cuts with $1.2 trillion in spending cuts.

“This was a team effort,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters immediately following the vote on Tuesday. “In the end, we got the job done.”

Mike Dorning, Bloomberg News Capital Influence Dewputy Team Leader, joins Balance of Power to report on the Senate passing Trumps' Tax Bill.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed to a session high after the bill passed the Senate. It was falling for six months through the end of June.

The package — informally known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — includes the entirety of the president’s legislative agenda in a single package. Trump personally lobbied lawmakers to quickly move the legislation through Congress.

“It’s a great bill. There is something for everyone,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “And I think it’s going to go very nicely in the House. Actually, I think it will be easier in the House than it was in the Senate.”

Republicans say passing the bill will help them maintain their congressional majorities in the midterms. But polling suggests the bill is not particularly popular. A recent Pew Research survey found that 49% of Americans oppose the bill, while 29% supported it. Some 21% weren’t sure what to think.

“This vote will haunt our Republican colleagues for years to come,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday. “People will get sick and die, kids will go hungry and the debt will explode to levels that we have never seen.”

House Action

The House is expected to vote on the bill this week, but success is not guaranteed. Only a few Republicans can vote “no” in the House for the bill to pass in the face of united Democratic opposition.

Speaker Mike Johnson said the House “will work quickly” to pass the bill by July 4.

Conservatives there say they are still pushing for more spending cuts while moderates have expressed alarm at the Senate bill’s reductions to Medicaid and other social safety net programs.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a GOP holdout who ultimately supported the bill, said she hopes the House makes changes to the bill that prompt further negotiations. The Alaska Republican, who was at the center of GOP leader’s push for votes, has raised concerns about Medicaid and clean energy cuts.

“More process is needed,” Murkowski said after the Senate vote.

It’s unclear whether the Senate bill can make it through the narrow Republican majority in the House, which passed its own version of Trump’s tax bill by a single vote.

The Senate bill would raise the state and local tax deduction from $10,000 to $40,000 for just five years, sparking opposition from one New York Republican who views it as inadequate. Meanwhile, cuts to hospital payments have moved others to declare their opposition.

Any changes in the House would force the Senate to take up the bill again, scuttling Trump’s plans to sign the bill by July 4.

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