A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Senate approved President Trump's mega bill yesterday. In a few minutes, we'll hear from Maine Governor Janet Mills on how she believes it could effect residents in her state. But first, we have more details on what's in the bill's latest version as it returns to the House.
LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: The bill includes tax cuts and boosts border security and defense programs. Here's Senate majority leader John Thune after the vote.
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JOHN THUNE: With this legislation, we're fulfilling the mandate we were entrusted with last November and setting our country and the American people up to be safer, stronger and more prosperous.
FADEL: But it's expected to add $3.3 trillion to the U.S. budget deficit through 2034. The House is planning to vote today as Republicans try to get the package to the president's desk by July 4.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh is here now. So, Deirdre, how do the Senate GOP leaders finally get this thing over the finish line?
DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: You know, it really came down to the wire. Vice President JD Vance had to break a tie to pass it. GOP leaders could only lose three votes - and they did. Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina all voted no. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski was the deciding vote. She supported the tax cuts in this bill. It makes the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, adds new temporary breaks like no tax on tips or overtime. But Murkowski raised big concerns about some of the spending cuts, especially the cuts to nutrition programs, and then nearly 1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid. That's the health care program for low-income, elderly and disabled. This bill adds work requirements and changes tax provisions for states that's going to impact how much states get from the federal government.
MARTÍNEZ: So what did leaders do to convince Senator Murkowski to vote yes?
WALSH: They doubled a fund to help rural hospitals from 25 to 50 billion over five years. They made changes for nutrition benefits targeted just to help Alaska. Plus, Murkowski got a tax break for whalers. She called the decision agonizing. She said she didn't like the bill, but said she did what she thought helped Alaskans.
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LISA MURKOWSKI: I needed help. And I worked to get that every single day. And did I get everything that I wanted? Absolutely not.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So the House now, Deirdre, will this pass the House? I mean, they were aiming for - what? - later today?
WALSH: Right. House Speaker Mike Johnson can't afford to lose more than three votes. He admitted last night weather is a factor. Flights have been delayed and canceled last night as members come back into D.C. for a vote expected today. Conservatives are threatening to vote no because the bill, as you said, adds more to the deficit. Moderates oppose the deeper Medicaid cuts. But as we've seen before, House Republicans tend to get in line behind Trump under pressure.
MARTÍNEZ: OK, but they're rushing to pass this bill. Public opinion polls, though, show it's unpopular. So is this a political risk for all Republicans?
WALSH: It really could be, you know. So far, the message from Republicans is Congress has to pass this to avoid a tax hike, since these tax cuts expire at the end of this year. But that's really a complicated message. Most people won't see big changes in their paychecks, but a lot of working-class voters who voted for Trump could potentially lose their Medicaid coverage. The president argues that it's waste, fraud and abuse that's being cut, but a nonpartisan scorekeeper estimated that close to 12 million people could lose their health care coverage. Democrats are already making this issue the central issue in the upcoming 2026 midterms. They say Republicans campaigned on lowering costs, but independent analysis of this bill found that the benefits of the tax breaks are much bigger for those at the higher income levels than for working- and middle-class people.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Thanks a lot.
WALSH: Thanks, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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