Senate Republicans late Friday night unveiled most of the legislative text for their mammoth tax and spending package as the GOP pushes to pass it in the coming days and have it on President Trump’s desk before July 4.
The bill, which checked in at 940 pages, was released shortly before the stroke of midnight and included a number of key changes in order to win the OK from both a set of key holdouts and the Senate parliamentarian, who forced the GOP to scrap a number of provisions they had hoped to use as key savings for the package.
“If you like higher taxes, open borders, a weak military and unchecked government spending, this bill is your nightmare,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement.
“The Big Beautiful Bill contains all of President Trump’s domestic economic priorities. By passing this bill now, we will make our nation more prosperous and secure,” he added.
One of the key changes centered on the chamber’s planned alterations to the federal cap on Medicaid provider taxes, which marked a deeper cut to the program than the freeze in the initial House-passed measure.
The Senate’s initial plan was to cut the provider tax from 6 percent to 3.5 percent over a five-year stretch starting in fiscal 2027. That cut was pushed back until 2028 after complaints from a number of members, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who said on Friday night he was a “no” without changes.
Tillis has told members throughout the week that his state is set to lose out on more than $30 billion in funding over the coming years, calling it “devastating.”
The package also included a $25 billion fund for rural hospitals amid concerns from numerous GOP moderates that they could be decimated by the provider tax changes without an uptick in funding. Some $20 billion of that spending will take place in fiscal 2028 and 2029 — the first two years of the fund.
The initial plan had set that fund at $15 billion. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and others called for $100 billion for that purpose.
Finally, changes to the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap were included.
The planned $40,000 deduction cap that House members hailing from high-tax states stuck in the final bill, though it will only last for five years. The cap would then drop to $10,000 for the following five years.
One thing not fully included is the Finance Committee’s full updated language as it awaits final rulings from the parliamentarian before a GOP leaders move to kick off floor consideration later on Saturday.
