Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Hits GOP Roadblock as Senate Pushes for July 4 Deadline

Senate Republicans have finally unveiled the much-hyped text of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” a sprawling legislative package that’s been stitched together like a political Frankenstein’s monster. But don’t pop the champagne yet—its path to passage is rockier than a mountain trail in a thunderstorm.

Led by Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, the Senate’s version emerged late Friday night after a month-long scramble to reshape the House GOP’s original blueprint. This beast of a bill, cobbled together from 10 Senate committees, now faces a procedural gauntlet and a ticking clock, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune gunning for a July 4 delivery to Trump’s desk. Good luck with that.

The Senate’s tweaks have sparked a Republican family feud fiercer than a reality TV showdown. House conservatives are fuming over changes to their pet policies, and the Senate’s own revisions—like fiddling with Medicaid provider tax rates and food benefit cost-sharing—had to be redrawn after the Senate parliamentarian ruled they didn’t pass the Byrd Rule sniff test. That’s the arcane Senate rule that lets a majority party bulldoze legislation through without a 60-vote filibuster hurdle, but only if it plays by the budget reconciliation playbook.

A $25 billion rural hospital stabilization fund was tossed in to sweeten the deal for holdouts worried about hospital closures, while a compromise on state and local tax (SALT) deductions—keeping the $40,000 cap for five years before dropping it to $10,000—has folks like Sen. Markwayne Mullin playing mediator. Nobody loves it, but Mullin’s hoping it’s just palatable enough to scrape by.

Yet, the bill’s fate hangs by a thread. Senate Republicans are itching to vote as early as Saturday afternoon, with John Kennedy quipping that dissenters can file a “hurt feelings report” if they’re not on board. Meanwhile, conservatives and moderates in both chambers are digging in their heels over spending cuts and a laundry list of side issues. Thune’s betting some will cave under White House pressure and the lure of a holiday break, but it’s a gamble.

Once the procedural vote clears, a 20-hour debate kicks off, split evenly between parties. Democrats are poised to milk their 10 hours, while Republicans will likely breeze through theirs. Then comes the vote-a-rama, where lawmakers can hurl amendments like confetti, with Democrats ready to drag things out with symbolic jabs that won’t pass but will burn time.

If the Senate pulls it off, the bill heads back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson faces the herculean task of rallying his fractious GOP crew—last time, it passed by a single vote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is banging the drum, arguing that passing this tax package by July 4 will steady businesses rattled by Trump’s tariffs and juice the economy. But with GOP infighting and a tight deadline, this bill’s journey is less a victory lap and more a political obstacle course.