What issues to watch as 'big, beautiful bill' moves to the Senate
[May 24, 2025]
By MARY CLARE JALONICK, MATT BROWN and JOEY CAPPELLETTI
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans were jubilant after muscling through
President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and immigration package by
a single vote. But across the Capitol, senators were more cautious.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose three Republican
senators and still pass the bill, and there are more than that, right
now, who have problems with it. Like the House, he will have to balance
the concerns from moderate and conservative members of his conference.
Republicans’ aspirational deadline is July 4, ahead of a potential debt
default. Thune said groups of senators had already been meeting to
discuss the legislation and that they would want to take some time to
review it. “And then we’ll put our stamp on it,” he said.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Thune said. “What does it take to get to 51?”
A look at a few of the potential sticking points in the Senate:
Spending
Several Republican senators have said the House’s multi-trillion-dollar
tax package doesn't have enough savings. Thune said many in his GOP
conference favor the tax breaks in the bill but “when it comes to the
spending side of the equation, this is a unique moment in time, in
history, where we have the House and the Senate and the White House, and
an opportunity to do something meaningful about how to control
government spending.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a sharp critic of the House bill, wants the
United States to go back to pre-pandemic spending levels. He has
indicated he would be a no on the bill as it stands now, and he says he
has at least three other senators aligned with him.
Medicaid and food stamp cuts
Senate Republicans are generally on board with stricter work
requirements for older Medicaid recipients that make up much of the
bill’s $700 billion savings from the program. But Republican Sens. Josh
Hawley of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Susan Collins of Maine,
among others, have voiced concerns about other changes in the bill that
could potentially cut funding to rural hospitals or increase copays and
other health care costs for recipients.
The senators could have a powerful ally in Trump, who has frequently
said he doesn’t want cuts to Medicaid, even as he’s endorsed the House
bill. Hawley said he talked to Trump this week on the phone and “his
exact words were, ‘Don’t touch it, Josh.’”
Others have been wary of the House bill’s effort to shift some costs of
the food stamp program to states, potentially a major issue for some red
states that have high numbers of food aid recipients. The House bill
saves $290 billion from the food aid, and Senate Agriculture Committee
Chairman John Boozman said the Senate savings will be “probably be a
little bit lower.”
Permanent tax cuts
Thune said this week that “one of the principal differences” between the
House and Senate is that Republican senators want to make many of the
tax cuts permanent while the House bill has shorter time frames for many
of its cuts — including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, car-loan
interest and others.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said Thursday that trying
to make some of the cuts permanent is “an objective right now."
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters at
the Capitol, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel
Balce Ceneta)
How to pay for it all
One of the biggest questions for the Senate: whether the tax breaks
really need to be offset by cuts elsewhere.
To offset the costs of lost tax revenue, House Republicans have
proposed more than $1 trillion in spending reductions across
Medicaid, food stamps and green energy program rollbacks. However,
Republicans in the Senate do not believe there is a cost associated
with permanently extending the existing taxes, setting up a
political and procedural showdown ahead.
Debt limit
The House bill includes a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the United States
is on track to run out of money to pay its bills as early as August
without congressional action.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he won’t support the bill if the debt
ceiling increase is included. He said he’s willing to consider it if
it’s taken out.
But most Republican senators want it to avoid a separate fight that
would require 60 votes in the Senate. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said
that if they deal with the debt ceiling outside of the legislation
then they would have to “pay a king’s ransom” to Democrats to get
enough votes.
Energy tax credits
Several Republican senators have said they are concerned about House
provisions that repeal or phase out clean energy tax credits passed
in 2022 that have spurred investment in many states.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North
Carolina, John Curtis of Utah and Moran wrote Thune a letter last
month arguing that removing the credits could "create uncertainty,
jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job
creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.”
Artificial intelligence
The House bill would ban states and localities from regulating
artificial intelligence for a decade, giving the federal government
more control over the policy. It’s an approach that has been favored
by the AI industry but has drawn concern from members on both sides
of the aisle.
And even if it has enough support, the provision may not pass muster
from the Senate parliamentarian because it’s unlikely to have impact
on the federal budget.
Other issues
With a narrow margin for victory and only 53 Republicans in the
Senate, every senator’s top priority takes on outsize importance.
South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said he supports the House bill but
that the way that it deals with spectrum auctions — selling off
telecommunications signal rights — is a “dealbreaker” for him. He
said he’s in talks with other senators on the issue.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said one of his main goals is that they
include money for certain farm safety net programs and set up
passage for a broader farm bill later this year.
“In the end, we have to have 50 plus one supporting it,” Hoeven
said. “So we’ve got some work to do."
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this story.
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