【Text by Observers Network, Xiong Chaoran】After narrowly passing the U.S. House of Representatives in mid-May with a one-vote margin, on July 1 local time, the U.S. Senate was deadlocked at 50-50. Thanks to the pivotal vote from U.S. Vice President Vance, President Trump's large-scale tax and spending reform bill finally succeeded in passing through the Senate.
According to reports from The Hill and BBC on the same day, after 27 hours of debate and voting on amendments, Vance's decisive vote brought a significant "legislative victory" for Trump. However, the bill, which Trump boasted as the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill," will still be sent back to the House of Representatives for further challenges due to several modifications made to it.
Trump had requested that the Republican-controlled Congress submit the final version of the bill to him before July 4, which he would sign into law. Before that, the House must approve the amendments made by the Senate. Now, after going through this process, Trump has hinted that it is "difficult" to pass the bill on schedule, saying "it may be around July 4th."
On July 1 local time, The New York Times reported that the "One Big Beautiful Bill" pushed by Republicans eliminated many generous tax credits for solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and other green technologies included in the Inflation Reduction Act signed by former President Biden in 2022. This voting result indicates that the Democrats' efforts to give the bill lasting effect have failed.
The report mentioned an article published the day before by the newspaper, which argued that Trump and the Republicans' "One Big Beautiful Bill" could cause the United States to fall further behind China, giving China a greater advantage in the race to develop renewable energy technologies.
On July 1 local time, in the U.S. Senate, the vice president Vance broke the 50-50 deadlock during the Senate vote, pushing Trump's large-scale tax cut and spending reduction bill to pass. Visual China
According to the report, the "One Big Beautiful Bill" is considered the cornerstone of Trump's agenda for his second term in office. The bill will permanently reduce taxes significantly, a policy previously implemented temporarily during Trump's first term.
Previously, Senate Democrats tried to block the passage of the bill by setting procedural obstacles, including requiring Senate clerks to read the full text of the 940-page bill live and initiating extended debate procedures on amendments. As a result, staff members started reading the bill overnight from last Saturday and finished around 3 p.m. on Sunday, taking a total of 16 hours.
The Senate began a marathon series of votes starting at 9:30 a.m. local time on June 30. During the vote, apart from all Democrats voting against it, three Republican senators—Tom Tillis, Rand Paul, and Susan Collins—also "defected" and cast their votes against the bill.
In the final stage, Senate Republican leaders spent several hours trying to reach a compromise with Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska. A independent-minded Republican, Murkowski was concerned that the bill's significant cuts to Medicaid and federal food assistance funds would harm her home state, which put the bill on the brink of failure.
Later, Republican negotiators revised the provisions related to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for Alaska late on the evening of July 1 to gain Murkowski's support.
On July 1 local time, at the U.S. Capitol, after the Senate passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" earlier that day, critics of the bill, U.S. Representative Chip Roy (Republican from Texas), a member of the Freedom Caucus, talked with Indiana Republican Representative Erin Houchin during a hearing of the House Rules Committee. Visual China
When Murkowski finally cast her vote in favor, the final Senate vote count reached 50-50. Subsequently, Vice President Vance, who also serves as the President of the Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote in a 50-50 vote, allowing the amendment to pass with a final vote of 51-50.
"The bill with the amendment has passed," Vance said at around 1 p.m. local time on July 1. At that moment, the Senate Republicans applauded enthusiastically, while the Democrats sat in their seats, shaking their heads in disapproval.
Later that day, President Trump celebrated the passage of the bill during a visit to an immigration detention center in Florida. He said, "This is a great bill, there is something for everyone."
However, The Hill pointed out that the "One Big Beautiful Bill" still faces challenges in the House of Representatives due to further cuts in federal Medicaid spending, accelerated phase-out of clean energy tax credits, and changes in the content regarding the cap on state and local tax deductions.
Because the Senate made modifications to the version passed by the House, at least six House Republicans have threatened to oppose the Senate version of the bill. For example, Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky, is believed to possibly vote against it because the amendment would increase debt by over $3 trillion.
It is reported that the bill provides $16 billion for border security and immigration enforcement, $15 billion to increase the Pentagon's budget, and raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. It extends the expiring 2017 Trump tax cuts, making the popular corporate tax cuts permanent, and provides new tax breaks for working-class Americans by protecting tips and overtime pay for hourly workers. It also allows people to deduct interest on loans for purchasing American-made cars and creates "Trump Savings Accounts" for newborns and children under 18. The bill gradually eliminates tax credits for renewable energy, which were the core of the Inflation Reduction Act under former President Biden.
BBC noted that the controversies surrounding fiscal deficits, social welfare programs, and spending levels have posed numerous obstacles for Republicans, causing legislative stagnation and forcing Trump to admit that it is "difficult" to pass the bill on schedule. "I really want to sign it on July 4, but I think it's difficult... I would say it might be around July 4," Trump previously told reporters when leaving the White House to head to a detention facility in Florida.
The report stated that Elon Musk, the billionaire who helped Trump return to the White House last year, is a strong critic of the bill and is actively trying to undermine Trump's opportunity to sign it. Previously, Musk has repeatedly criticized Trump's tax reform bill and expressed the need for a new party.
On June 30 local time, Musk again posted on social media, criticizing the "One Big Beautiful Bill" proposed by Republicans. He wrote, "It's clear that the bill's reckless spending will increase the debt ceiling by a record $5 trillion." He also criticized the Republicans, implying they are the "PORKY PIG PARTY." "It's time to establish a new party that truly cares about the people," Musk wrote.
"Every member of Congress who claims to want to cut government spending and then immediately votes to increase the debt to the highest level in history should be ashamed!" Musk wrote on the social media platform X.
On July 1 local time, Trump also openly criticized Musk's companies on his own social media platform, Truth Social, and proposed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) conduct an investigation.
On May 30, Trump and Musk held a press conference at the White House. Visual China
Trump wrote on his self-created social media platform, "Elon Musk knew long before he strongly supported my presidential campaign that I strongly opposed the 'electric vehicle mandate.' That's too absurd; it's been part of my campaign agenda. There's nothing wrong with electric vehicles, but they shouldn't force everyone to own one."
He continued, "So far, Musk has received more subsidies than anyone in history. Without subsidies, he might have gone bankrupt and returned to South Africa. No more rocket launches, satellites, or electric vehicle production, and our country can save a lot of money. Maybe we should let DOGE do a thorough and serious investigation? That could save a lot of money!"
Responding to Trump's remarks, Musk quickly replied on X, "Cut it all now." Musk also stated that his demand was "don't let America go bankrupt," and "if we keep increasing the debt ceiling, what's the point?"
As the conflict between the two escalated, according to a report by The Independent, on July 1, when Trump left the White House to visit an immigration detention facility in Florida, a reporter asked whether Musk would be deported for his criticism of the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
"I don't know," Trump answered, "I have to think about it."
"We might have to use DOGE to deal with Musk, you know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to turn around and eat Elon (Musk). Is that scary?" Trump said.
Soon after, responding to Trump's comments, Musk replied to a related post on X, "I really want to add more, I want it so much, but I have to restrain myself for now."
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7522281961247851051/
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