The Senate approved President Donald Trump's signature budget legislation dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill" after Vice President JD Vance provided the tiebreaking vote at the U.S. Capitol midday Tuesday.
Three Republican senators joined all 47 Democrats in opposing the bill.
Prior to its passage on Tuesday, the Senate voted on a series of proposed amendments to the bill starting early Monday, which extended well into Tuesday morning. The Senate considered 46 different amendments in what was being dubbed as a "vote-a-rama."
Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Thom Tillis and Susan Collins voted against the bill. Collins and Tillis both were opposed to cuts the bill makes to Medicaid. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski was considered the swing vote on Tuesday. Like Collins and Tillis, she expressed concern over potential cuts to Medicaid. The bill would make over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.
"I strongly support extending the tax relief for families and small businesses. My vote against this bill stems primarily from the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes," Collins said.
Paul said his opposition was due to projections showing the bill would add to the federal government's deficit.
Now the bill goes to the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Over the weekend, Senate Republicans cleared significant hurdles to advance the bill, despite efforts by Democrats to stall it.
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Senate Democrats forced a 16-hour reading of the bill, using the delay to criticize proposed cuts to Medicaid and public food assistance programs.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate's version of the bill would add more than $3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. While Republicans argue that tax cuts in the bill will fuel economic growth, the legislative path forward remains politically uncertain.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that a heavily modified bill could take more time to finalize in that chamber.
"I have prevailed upon my Senate colleagues to please, please, please keep it as close to the House product as possible," Johnson said.
President Trump has said he wants the bill on his desk by the Fourth of July. But on Tuesday, he acknowledged it might take more time for the bill to reach the finish line.
"Nothing's easy because we made a great big bill. We added everything in there for everybody and it's also a beautiful economic development bill, great for the border, great for low taxes," he said.
The bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts as it would extend tax cuts previously approved by Congress in 2017 during President Trump's first term. Those rates would expire at the end of the year without an extension.
It would also bolster border security and enforcement by $350 billion, a point Vance made to senators imploring their support for the bill.
