MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Senate worked through the weekend as Republicans try to pass President Trump's domestic agenda by a self-imposed deadline of July 4. The massive bill cuts taxes, limits Medicaid coverage and makes big spending increases on border security and the military. If all 53 Republicans vote together, they can pass what the president calls his big, beautiful bill under a process called reconciliation. But it's not so easy. In order to get enough support for Trump's agenda, GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune has to strike the right balance between two opposing factions within his own caucus. NPR's Luke Garrett has more.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: On one side stand fiscal hawks, like Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky, among others. The Congressional Budget Office estimated Trump's domestic policy bill will add nearly $3.3 trillion to the national debt. On the Senate floor Sunday, Senator Paul called Trump's legislative agenda the big, not-so-beautiful bill.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RAND PAUL: That doesn't sound at all conservative to me, and that's why I'm a no.
GARRETT: Fiscal hawks, like Paul, see the United States' ballooning deficit as an existential threat to the nation and its future. They've threatened to vote against the president's bill unless cost cuts are made. Their biggest target is Medicaid, the expensive but popular health care program for disabled, elderly and low-income Americans. But here's where the other side comes in. A separate group of Republican senators, from states that rely heavily on Medicaid, want to protect the program from cost-saving cuts. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina is one of them. Tillis tells me the bill isn't right for his constituents, and he won't support it.
THOM TILLIS: I'm against the bill because the Medicaid policy is not well-thought-out.
GARRETT: On Sunday, Tillis announced he will not be running for reelection in 2026, after Trump blasted him for not supporting his bill. With both GOP fiscal hawks and Medicaid advocates working in opposition over spending and where to cut federal money, Leader Thune is walking a political tightrope. So far, among Republicans, only Senators Paul and Tillis have committed to vote against this bill. Senate Republicans can only afford one more defection as Democrats unite against it.
Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
