Welcome to our live coverage of President Donald Trump’s push to advance his agenda through Congress in one “big, beautiful bill” — and do so in time for a self-imposed July 4 deadline.
If you’re just catching up, here’s what to know:
Senate Republicans clear a hurdle: After an hourslong push by Senate GOP leaders yesterday, the giant tax cuts and spending bill advanced from a key procedural vote in the upper chamber, 51-49.
In a late-night post on social media, Trump declared a “GREAT VICTORY,” offering praise to four Republicans who shifted their votes.
What happens next: Republican leaders must now satisfy numerous holdouts in the party still demanding changes to the bill.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are forcing a major delay tactic, forcing clerks to spend an estimated 10 to 15 hours reading aloud the entire bill. After the reading, there would be debate on the bill, followed by a marathon “vote-a-rama” before a vote on final passage.
The vote-a-rama is another headache for GOP leadership: The open-ended, hourslong series of votes on amendments will be offered mostly by Democrats and put Republicans on the spot. At least one Republican holdout, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, has signaled she will offer her own amendments to the bill in an unusual move for a GOP bill.
What’s in the bill: Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill would lower federal taxes and infuse more money into the Pentagon and border security agencies, while downsizing government safety-net programs including Medicaid.
Read a fact check on some of Trump’s claims about the measure, and compare what we know so far about the House and Senate versions of the bill.
The timeline is extremely tight: Trump has demanded to sign the bill on the Fourth of July, but the measure must still go back to the House if it passes the Senate.
Saturday’s vote allows the Senate to begin debating Trump’s bill, teeing up a final passage vote in that chamber as soon as Monday.
CNN’s Nicky Robertson and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
