Plans are afoot by moderate U.S. senators to severely water down President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax cuts bill, passed this week by the U.S. House.
The bill, which represents the largest series of tax cuts in American history, is now in the hands of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who reiterated this week that his caucus has substantial plans to mark up the bill before sending it back down to the House for final passage.
“The Senate will have its imprint on it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune declared. “They’ve got to do what they can get 218 for, and we’ve got to do what we can get 51 for.”
Central to the cross-chamber debate is consternation over hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, a program used by nearly 80 million Americans, many of whom are low-income, disabled, or otherwise out of the workforce. During the House debate, Trump emphasized that he does not wish to dramatically reduce the program but supports the House bill, which implements work requirements for able-bodied individuals receiving benefits.
Still, that’s too far for moderates like Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who warned that they will withhold support unless the estimated savings of nearly $800 million are rolled back. If both Republicans refuse to endorse any cuts at all, that would likely leave Thune with just two votes to secure passage of the bill.
Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), considered a populist conservative, has called the cuts “a real risk to rural hospitals” in his home state of Missouri.
Nor is Medicaid the only sticking point. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection next year, has publicly expressed his fear that cutting Biden-era green energy tax credits will produce a “chilling effect” on future investments in North Carolina, Politico reported.
In a letter to Thune this week, Tillis, Murkowski, John Curtis (R-UT), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) defended elements of the 2021 Inflation Reduction Act, asking Thune to weigh the merits of each cut based on whether they “spur new manufacturing and investment.”
“The United States produces some of the cleanest and most efficient energy in the world, and an all-of-the-above approach—including support for traditional and renewable energy sources—has long been a hallmark of our energy strategy,” the senators wrote. “To that end, many American companies have made substantial investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure based on the current energy tax framework. A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.”
Thune, an establishment figure mentored by former leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), has reportedly stressed to President Trump the importance of allowing the Senate to deliberate legislation without adding his own voice. So far, Trump appears to be affording the new Senate leader the freedom to manage talks but has expressed his demand that the One Big Beautiful Act make it to his desk by the Fourth of July.
