President Donald Trump speaks at an event to promote his domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Nearly every Republican, except Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., all voted to unlock a marathon 20-hour debate on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could only afford to lose three votes.
Though successful, the 51-49 party line vote was not without drama. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., flipped his vote from a ‘no’ to ‘yes’ in dramatic fashion, as he and Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, made their way to the Senate floor accompanied by Vice President JD Vance.
Vance was called in case he was needed for a tie-breaking vote, but only his negotiating services ended up being used.
No lawmaker wanted to be the fourth and final decisive vote to kill the bill. Republican leadership kept the floor open for nearly four hours while negotiations, first on the Senate floor and then eventually in Thune's office, continued.
The bill won't immediately be debated thanks to Senate Democrats' plan to force the reading of the entire, 940-page legislative behemoth on the Senate floor – a move that could drain several hours and go deep into the night.
The megabill’s fate, and whether it could pass its first test, was murky at best after senators met behind closed doors Friday, and even during another luncheon on Saturday.
Lingering concerns in both chambers about Medicaid — specifically the Medicaid provider tax rate and the effect of direct payments to states — energy tax credits, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and others proved to be pain points that threatened the bill’s survival.
ANXIOUS REPUBLICANS TURN TO TRUMP AMID DIVISIONS OVER 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc )
Lee announced that he withdrew his open lands sale provision, which proved a sticking point for lawmakers in Montana and Idaho.
Still, Republicans who are not satisfied with the current state of the bill will use the forthcoming "vote-a-rama," when lawmakers can offer an unlimited number of amendments, to try and change as much as they can before final passage.
Democrats, however, will use the process to inflict as much pain as possible on Republicans.
Once the amendment marathon concludes, which could be in the wee hours of Monday morning, lawmakers will move to a final vote to send the bill, which is an amendment to the House GOP’s version of the "big, beautiful bill," back to the lower chamber.
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From there, it's a dead sprint to get the package on the president’s desk by July 4.
In a statement of administration policy obtained by Fox News Digital, Trump signaled that he would sign the bill.
"President Trump is committed to keeping his promises," the memo read. "And failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republicans-ram-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-through-key-test-vote