WASHINGTON — The Senate is moving full steam ahead to pass its version of President Donald Trump’s massive tax package, possibly pushing their House counterparts in a corner as GOP leaders scramble to meet their July 4 deadline.
Senate Republicans are moving ahead with plans to vote on the massive reconciliation package sometime this week, although the timeline remains unclear as party members remain divided on key provisions included in the bill — and conservatives in the House warn they won’t accept major changes.
Once the Senate votes to proceed on the resolution, the chamber will schedule 20 hours of debate, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. After that, senators will be permitted to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, resulting in an hourslong process colloquially known as a vote-a-rama.
The process gives Democrats an opportunity to introduce dozens of amendments, all of which have little chance of being included but could force Republicans into an uncomfortable position to vote against certain proposals that could later be used against them.
A vote-a-rama is also designed to test lawmakers’ patience. Because senators can introduce an unlimited number of amendments, Democrats can hold up the process for hours.
Senate proposal faces uphill battle in the House
Senate leaders are hoping to begin the vote-a-rama as soon as Thursday or Friday, then sending the proposal over to the House for approval before it can be signed by the president.
However, there remain several outstanding disagreements on key changes made by the Senate on Medicaid, green energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and other tax-related measures.
A handful of fiscal conservatives have railed against proposed changes by the Senate, arguing they don’t go far enough to reduce the deficit or cut government waste. At least five other House Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Andy Harris, R-Md., Eric Burlison, R-Mo., and Chip Roy, R-Texas — have already said they would vote against the Senate version, putting it in peril if it’s brought up for a vote next week.
“THE SENATE CHANGES ARE A NONSTARTER ESPECIALLY IF THE IRA PROVISIONS ARE WATERED DOWN!!” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a key holdout, told the Deseret News in a text message on Tuesday. “THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS ARE COUNTING ON REPUBLICANS TO DELIVER TRUE DEFICIT SPENDING REDUCTIONS ALONG WITH TAX RELIEF.”
But Republican leaders are adamant they want to pass the bill and get it to Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July, a deadline top Republicans set for themselves earlier this year.
The Senate could vote on the package as early as Friday, although that timeline could drag on later into the weekend. The House is scheduled to adjourn for a weeklong recess, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has indicated he could keep lawmakers in Washington if the Senate gets their portion of the package passed by the weekend.
“I’ve told our members … to ‘keep your schedules flexible,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “There’s nothing more important that we should be involved in, or can be involved in, than getting the one big, beautiful bill to the president’s desk. So if the Senate does its work on the timeline that we expect, we will do our work as well. And I think everybody’s ready for that.”
It’s possible the Senate could pass its package over the weekend and leave town for recess, effectively forcing the House to accept that version of the reconciliation bill without any chance for changes.
And some of the most unyielding Republicans in the House are warning they’ll tank the measure if that happens.
“Rumor is Senate plans to jam the House with its weaker, unacceptable OBBB before 7/4,” Roy said in a post on X. “This is not a surprise but it would be a mistake. The bill in its current Senate form would increase deficits, continue most Green New Scam subsidies, & otherwise fail even a basic smell test... I would not vote for it as it is.”
Trump tells Congress not to leave town until agenda passed
Meanwhile, Republicans are facing increasing pressure from Trump not to leave for recess until the tax bill, a key component of his agenda, is passed and ready for his signature.
“To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. “Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE.”
Both Thune and Johnson have supported those plans, noting they would stay in session as long as it takes to pass the bill. Thune acknowledged two or three Senate Republicans could vote against the package, telling reporters “we’ve got a lot of very independent-thinking senators who have reasons and things that they’d like to have in this bill that would make it stronger.”
Johnson said he’s engaged in conversations with several Republican senators currently against the bill, telling reporters on Tuesday “they’re going through the five stages of grief on their individual preferences, as (the House) did over here.”
“I’ve been talking to individual senators ad nauseum and sharing with them the conversations and the deliberations and negotiations and the conclusions that we reached together here in the House,” he said.