US Senate Republicans have passed President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut and spending bill by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending while adding $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) to the national debt.
The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval, though a handful of Republicans there have already voiced opposition to some of the Senate provisions.
Trump wants to sign it into law by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said he aimed to meet that deadline.
The measure would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, give new tax breaks for income from tips and overtime pay and increase spending on the military and immigration enforcement.
It also would cut about $US930 billion ($A1.4 trillion) of spending on the Medicaid health program and food aid for low-income Americans, and repeal many of Democratic former president Joe Biden’s green-energy incentives.
The legislation, which has exposed Republican divides over the nation’s fast-growing $US36.2 trillion debt, would raise the federal government’s self-imposed debt ceiling by $US5 trillion. Congress must raise the cap in the coming months or risk a devastating default.
The Senate passed the measure in a 51-50 vote with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie after three Republicans – Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky – joined all 47 Democrats in voting against the bill.
The vote followed an all-night debate in which Republicans grappled with the bill’s price tag and its impact on the US healthcare system.
The vote in the House, where Republicans hold a 220-212 majority, is likely to be close.
A White House official told reporters that Trump would be “deeply involved” in pushing House Republicans to approve the bill.
“It’s a great bill. There is something for everyone,” Trump said at an event in Florida on Tuesday. “And I think it’s going to go very nicely in the House.”
Republicans have struggled to balance conservatives’ demands for deeper spending cuts to reduce the impact on the deficit with moderate lawmakers’ concerns that the Medicaid cuts could hurt their constituents, including service cutbacks in rural areas.
A group of more moderate House Republicans, especially those who represent lower-income areas, have objected to the steeper Medicaid cuts in the Senate’s plan.
The legislation has also drawn criticism from billionaire Elon Musk, the former Trump ally who has railed against the bill’s enormous cost and vowed to back challengers to Republican lawmakers in next year’s midterm elections.
House Democrats are expected to remain unanimously opposed to the bill.
“This is the largest assault on American healthcare in history,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters. “It’s the largest assault on nutrition in American history.”
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