Finance Minister Scott Bessent speaks to reporters in the midst of negotiations with the Republicans of the Senate on reconciliation on Friday, June 27, 2025 (photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
Washington – The Republicans of the US Senate seem to be ready to give up a first voice on Saturday about their “large, beautiful bill”, which would set up the final passage within a few days – although the majority leader John Thune described the timeline as “aspiration”.
GOP senators have been negotiating the comprehensive tax and expenditure ropet package for weeks to ensure that the dozens of provisions correspond to the convoluted rules for writing a reconciliation law and can receive the support that is necessary to actually become a law.
“We continue to examine options for all outstanding questions,” said Thun on Friday afternoon. Several Republican senators who left a worked lunch in the closed door with which more than two hours lasted, reporters said that they are expecting the final bill by Friday evening before taking Eastern on Saturday at 12 noon.
When the Senate postponed on Friday evening, the time to meet again was at 2 p.m. to the east at 2 p.m. – and no voice was planned.
The Republicans still went back and forth with the parliamentarian of the Senate all Friday when they tried to revise numerous political changes that did not consider them to comply with the guardrails for a reconciliation calculation.
With the special legislative process, the Republicans are killed in the 60-voting legislative filibuster of the Senate, but means that the successful political provisions on federal income, expenditure or the debt limit must have an impact.
Among the GOP senators there were still various outstanding disputes about how exactly the bill should be structured. If these are not solved before the amendment debate begins, this could lead to the Republicans publicly divided into questions related to medicaid, tax policy and several other questions.
Public areas, Medicaid provider tax
Montana’s senator, Steve Daines, said he is still waiting for the parliamentarian to accept a revised proposal From Utah Senator Mike Lee, who would lead to a sale of some public properties.
Daines did not want to comment on whether he would stimulate a change application from the invoice if it made it into the final version of the package.
“He has to bring it into the bill first. So at this point it is a hypothetical,” said Daines. “I think there are some problems to bring it through Parl. I think that’s the most likely scenario.”
The Senator of North Dakota, John Hoeven, said that he believes that the Republicans have successfully revised the language in order to discuss a change in the maximum percentage, in which the states could determine their tax rate of Medicaid providers. A previous version that reduced this rate from 6% to 3.5% over time was blocked by the parliamentarian.
“We think we repaired it, yes. It’s like a number of these problems. We believe that we repaired it. We don’t have the last word,” said Hoeven. “We talked about that earlier. We think we will have the last word about it until today so that we can start tomorrow.”
The tax rate for medicaid providers would normally be regarded as in-the-we-weeds, but has become a central debate within the GOP
The Republicans may also have one last number for a rural hospital fund, which should aid to compensate for the effects of Medicaid changes in the legal template. This number will probably be higher than a previously floating $ 15 billion, but Hoeven didn’t say what the compromise will look like.
“The number you have all seen is $ 15 billion. It will be bigger,” said Hoeven. “But I don’t have a specific number yet.”
The Republican Senator of Maine, Susan Collins, has urged that this fund is at least 100 billion US dollars.
Salt talks
Hoeven said that the spokesman Mike Johnson, R-La. The problem, also somewhat shadowy, is crucial for the Senate’s draft law, which writes it back by the house, where the GOP legislators from tax states have been determined that the law must aid their voters.
Hoeven said the goal was to achieve the Republicans into a final agreement and to clarify these changes with the parliamentarian so that the Senate can hand over its procedural vote on the draft law at around 12 noon.
Oklahoma’s senator, Markwayne Mullin, said he thinks both chambers come over the state and local tax deduction shortly before a final deal.
“We still have some talks in the Senate, but I think we’ll be getting closer,” said Mullin and refused to get into numbers.
Senatorers, he said, plan to take off the procedural vote around 12:00 p.m. and to set up a change mood meeting that can take more than 12 hours and can start later on this day or on Sunday morning.
“There is a discussion about starting it earlier in the morning than in the middle of the night,” said Mullin. “So who knows?”
The legislation that the house deletes could be shortly after the Senate passed its version of the package, since the 72-hour rule of this chamber begins after the Senate’s draft law has been published.
“I don’t even have to be used here because we have to change the invoice that has already been made,” said Mullin. “But I think what spokesman Johnson wants to do is a reasonable time to go through what would be a kind of 72-hour rule anyway.”
Artificial intelligence
The Senator of Texas, Ted Cruz, also said that he would expect the chamber to lose the procedural vote around 12 noon on Saturday.
Cruz explained the trust that a section in the legislative proposal of his committee, which prevents state and local governments from regulating artificial secret services if they wish part of a 500 million dollar fund, will survive a possible soil change.
“The provision lies in the law and I think it will be in the final legislation,” said Cruz and seemed to brush critical criticism from GOP lawyers for weeks.
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno was hopeful that both chambers could pass the package before the party self -imposed on July 4th.
“Look, in the end we will be in good condition at the end of the day. We will get an invoice for the finish line,” said Moreno. “The sausage production can be ugly, but the end product is delicious.”
Senator Ron Johnson was not as hopeful as some of his colleagues and stormed the steps right in front of lunch with closed doors and did not want to speak to reporters.
“Note that I don’t really want to speak now,” said Wisconsin’s Republican.
“Go back down,” he told a enormous group of reporters.
After the time of the procedural vote this weekend, Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley said: “It is addressed … there is no question about that.”
“The question is that we need the vice president in the last passage?” Said Grassley. “And I am glad that he is a Republican, but we have to die.”
