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The Republican-led Senate voted to advance President Donald Trump's "big beautiful" spending bill Saturday (June 28) evening following a dramatic hours-long vote, NBC News reports.
The vote resulted in a 51-49 margin with Republicans Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky voting along with the Democrats in opposition. The procedural vote was delayed for hours as party leaders worked to resolve internal disputes with Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming having all withheld their votes before other Republican leaders eventually swayed them over, leading to a vote on final passage in the next few days.
Vice President JD Vance was also reportedly present at the U.S. Capitol in case he needed to break a potential 50-50 tie Saturday evening, but Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin ultimately voted to advance the bill after initially opposing the motion to proceed.
“We’ve been working to deliver on our promise of a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America. Now we have the opportunity to pass a bill that advances all of these priorities and sets our country up for better days ahead,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on the floor via NBC News. “We’ve worked hard on this, and now it’s time to deliver."
The 940-page bill includes tax cuts, a funding boost for immigration enforcement and Medicaid cuts, as well as other provisions and is being raced by Republican politicians aiming to meet a self-imposed July 4 deadline.