It's becoming increasingly difficult for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to keep his party in line to pass President Donald Trump's massive spending and tax bill.
From concerns about Medicaid cuts to creating a rural hospital relief fund, the Senate GOP appears to be nowhere close to an agreement on substantial parts of the bill. Some GOP members have threatened to hold out on voting until they get more clarity on certain provisions, which could push the party past Trump's July 4 deadline to pass the bill.
“Well, I mean, everybody’s got their vote,” Thune told Politico about potential holdouts. “We’re working with all of their members to try to get people comfortable with the bill, and hopefully in the end, they’ll be there.”
Trump's megabill, also known as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act," has had a tough time making its way through Congress. It passed the House of Representatives by a one-vote margin in May. Since it arrived in the Senate, it has become a source of frustration for some senators.
For instance, the version of the bill the Senate is debating is $400 billion more expensive than the version passed by the House. That could force Senators to make deeper cuts to popular programs like Medicaid, which could imperil their most vulnerable members' re-election chances.
Some senators have also pushed back against provisions that are still in the bill, like the hospital providers tax amendment. Sen. Tom Tillis (R-NC) told Thune during a meeting on Wednesday that the provision could cost him his seat in the 2026 elections, Politico reported.
“He said...If you proceed on this provider tax like you’re going to do right now, you won’t have a member from North Carolina sitting at this table after next year," an anonymous source who was in the meeting shared with Politico.
Tillis told colleagues he would not vote to take up the bill without more clarity on the Medicaid changes, the report said.
