‘Big beautiful bill’ passes in Senate: What’s in it and what comes next

Trump's Big Beautiful, Bill passes Senate

The Republican-led Senate narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s broad domestic policy package on Tuesday morning, moving it one step closer to becoming law. The final vote was 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans sided with all Democrats in opposing the measure.

President Donald Trump’s "big beautiful bill" passed the Senate Tuesday after more than 24 hours of voting.

Many Republicans in Congress were racing to meet Trump’s Fourth of July deadline to pass the bill, while the Democrats in the minority were united in opposition and ready to challenge it.  

But the outcome was never guaranteed, as the bill lacked support from even some GOP Senators and barely passed a procedural vote over the weekend.

By the numbers:

Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie on Tuesday to secure the win.

What's next:

The bill returns to the House for a new vote, which it must pass before Trump can sign it into law.

GOP Senators who opposed Trump’s bill

• Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
• Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
• Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky

What’s in the new ‘big, beautiful’ bill? 

FILE - The U.S. Capitol Building is seen at sunset on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

In short:

The 940-page "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," as it is now formally titled, cuts spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

Big picture view:

The legislation would make permanent many of the tax breaks and tax brackets from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would temporarily add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, the ability to deduce interest payments for some car loans, along with a $6,000 deduction for older adults who earn no more than $75,000 a year.

Aside from tax breaks, the bill would commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda, a border wall and the Golden Dome. 

To pay for the above, it proposes $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states.

Medicaid and food stamps:

The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, including older people up to age 65. Parents of children 14 and older would have to meet the program’s work requirements.

There's also a proposed new $35 co-payment that can be charged to patients using Medicaid services.

More changes:

There are scores of business-related tax cuts, including allowing businesses to immediately write off 100% of the cost of equipment and research.

A tax break for people who buy new or used electric vehicles would expire on Sept. 30 of this year, instead of at the end of 2032 under current law.

The Senate provided $40 million to establish Trump’s long-sought "National Garden of American Heroes" near Mount Rushmore. 

There's a new excise tax on university endowments. A $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns was eliminated. One provision bars money to family planning providers, namely Planned Parenthood, while $88 million is earmarked for a pandemic response accountability committee.