Senate Republicans have just pulled off a legislative feat with President Donald Trump's $3.3 trillion megabill, a sprawling package that’s as ambitious as it is contentious.
According to Fox News, the bill, laden with priorities like border security, defense, and energy, faced fierce internal debates before finally passing after marathon voting sessions. Its centerpiece, extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, became the rallying cry for GOP lawmakers determined to shield Americans from looming tax hikes.
The journey to this victory kicked off over a year and a half ago, long before the GOP secured full control in Washington. It started with a policy retreat led by then-Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso of Wyoming, where the seeds of a bold agenda were planted.
During that retreat, Senate Republicans brainstormed a plan to counter what they saw as damaging Democrat policies on inflation and energy. Barrasso’s words at the time, after a meeting with Trump, summed up the mission: "Republicans will get America back on track."
By January, those ideas morphed into concrete legislation, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota bypassing the House to craft a Senate budget framework. This move put pressure on the lower chamber to align, though months of waiting followed as the House refined its own version.
Thune, alongside Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, worked tirelessly to bridge gaps between the chambers. Their goal was clear: deliver a unified bill that could withstand the inevitable pushback from both sides of the aisle.
When the bill reached the Senate floor in early June, tensions boiled over proposed Medicaid cuts, especially to the provider tax rate. A $50 billion rural hospital fund eventually eased concerns, but not without sharp criticism from within the party.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri didn’t mince words, calling the cuts a "huge mistake" and urging the GOP to soul-search on representing working-class families. If the party wants to champion everyday Americans, he argued, it can’t afford to slash healthcare access in the process.
Fiscal hawks like Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida pushed for even deeper Medicaid reductions, targeting federal contributions in Obamacare states. Though their amendment never made it to a vote, a compromise in Thune’s office kept them from derailing the entire package.
As the bill faced procedural gauntlets, including a full reading forced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Republicans scrambled through a grueling vote-a-rama. Late-night huddles in Thune’s office became the norm, with lawmakers like Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming advocating for cost-saving measures.
Lummis told Fox News Digital that her push for savings wasn’t a dealbreaker for her vote, but she saw a missed opportunity in not tackling mandatory spending more aggressively. Meanwhile, negotiations with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, alongside concerns over potential no-votes from Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, kept the outcome on a knife-edge.
In those final hours, Sen. Mullin emphasized the need to force a resolution, telling Fox News Digital that sometimes debates must be put "on a clock" to end. The strategy worked, though three Republicans—Rand Paul of Kentucky, Collins, and Tillis—ultimately voted against the bill before it moved to the House for its own dramatic passage.
Now, with the bill signed by Trump, Senate Republicans are fanning out across their states to pitch its merits to constituents. Tillis, despite his opposition, highlighted a key talking point: the legislation averted a massive nationwide tax increase.
He told Fox News Digital that while the Medicaid provision remains a sore spot, the broader bill’s support shouldn’t be overshadowed by one flaw. Reminding voters that without this action, they’d face a historic tax burden, he framed the effort as a continuation of an economy strong enough to weather past crises like COVID.
This megabill, for all its warts, stands as a testament to Republican resolve in the face of internal rifts and external obstruction. Yet, as they tout this achievement, the party must heed voices like Hawley’s, ensuring that future policies don’t leave working families caught in the crossfire of fiscal battles.
