LIVE NOW: The jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking & racketeering trial reached a verdict on four of the five counts against the rapper around 4:18 PM Eastern Time in New York City.
President Donald Trump is touring “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis and DHS Sec. Noem is on the tour as well.
The United States Senate’s “vote-a-rama” on amendments to President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful, bill” is continuing into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
BACKGROUND: The Senate debated President Trump’s massive tax bill into early Monday. Hours before a tense, near-midnight vote on President Donald Trump’s sweeping package of tax cuts, spending reductions, and increased immigration enforcement funding, a Republican senator urged critics on the Senate floor: “Read the bill.”
Following the dramatic 51-49 vote late Saturday, Senate Democrats did just that.
Though unable to block the bill’s progress before Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline, Democrats are using procedural tactics to delay and prolong the process.
By Sunday afternoon—almost 16 hours later—the Senate clerk finished reading the entire 940-page bill aloud.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the rushed process, accusing Republicans of releasing the bill “in the dead of night” and trying to keep its contents from the public. “If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, Democrats will force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” Schumer said.
A new Congressional Budget Office analysis estimates the Senate version would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over 10 years—$1 trillion more than the House bill. It also projects nearly 12 million more uninsured Americans by 2034 if the bill becomes law.
Republican leaders face a narrow margin: with just a 53-47 Senate majority, they can only afford to lose three GOP votes, and the House majority is similarly tight. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent members home for the weekend amid uncertainty.
Trump, while at times flexible on his deadline, continues to pressure lawmakers to finalize the bill. The voting deadlock exposed internal GOP divisions, with Senators Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) opposing moving forward alongside all Democrats.
Following criticism from Trump—who warned Tillis that his opposition harms North Carolinians—Tillis announced Sunday he will not seek reelection in 2026.
Despite Republican control, the party faces significant policy and political hurdles. Not all GOP senators support the proposed cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and green energy programs, which are key to offsetting $3.8 trillion in tax breaks.
If the Senate passes the bill, it will return to the House for a final vote before heading to the White House, where Trump aims to sign it into law by Independence Day.
At its core, the bill would make permanent many of the tax cuts from Trump’s first term that otherwise expire at year’s end, preventing a tax increase for millions. It also adds new breaks like exempting tips from taxes and commits $350 billion to national security and immigration enforcement.
Republicans rely on these cuts to pay for the tax breaks, but some members believe the cuts go too far—while conservatives pushing for even deeper spending reductions are also vocal.
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