Trump's trillion-dollar tax cut bill faces a tug-of-war! The US Senate debates through the night with no results.

According to reports, Republican senators in the United States Senate were still working hard in the early hours of Tuesday to push through President Trump's proposed large-scale tax cuts and spending bill, despite internal disagreements over the bill that could increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion. Senators engaged in a nearly 18-hour "vote-a-rama," during which Republicans and a minority of Democrats proposed a series of amendments. This special procedure allowed Republicans to bypass the Senate's regular legislative requirement of 60 votes for approval. The duration of this marathon vote that began on Monday morning was difficult to predict, as legislators indicated that progress was partially hindered by the need to confirm whether amendments complied with special budget rules. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters after midnight, "We're hoping that we're getting into the final stretches here, and we'll see what the final vote looks like." However, hours later, there was still no sign of a vote on the final passage of the bill. With unanimous opposition from Democrats, Republicans can only afford to lose three votes in both chambers. A bipartisan evaluation by the Congressional Budget Office last Sunday showed that the Senate version of the bill would increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion, totaling $36.2 trillion, surpassing the House version passed last month by $800 billion. While some Republicans argued that continuing with existing policies would not worsen the debt burden, international bond investors have already begun seeking alternatives in the U.S. bond market. Democrats hope that this staggering figure will raise concerns among fiscal conservatives, prompting them to break away from the Republican-led Congress in both chambers. "As we have been saying for months, this bill strips health care rights from the people, raises electricity bills, only to cut taxes for millionaires," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized in a speech. Thune defended the tax cuts as benefiting families and small businesses, and advocated for cutting social safety net spending, pointing out that the Medicaid program's growth is unsustainable and needs reform for efficiency. The Senate narrowly voted 51-49 on Saturday to begin debate on the 940-page comprehensive bill (covering tax cuts, immigration, border, and military spending). Trump hopes the bill will be approved before Independence Day on July 4. Political Maneuvering Amendments proposed by Democratic senators to limit cuts in health care assistance were mostly rejected by the Republican majority. The Republican bill includes several sensitive political issues, such as banning the use of health care funds for nearly 30 gender reassignment procedures; increasing appropriations for criminal and gang background checks on unaccompanied immigrant children (including checks for "gang tattoos" on 12-year-olds). In the early hours of Tuesday, both parties jointly rejected an amendment by Republican Senator Susan Collins the amendment aimed to mitigate the impact of the health care cuts on rural medical facilities by increasing federal support funds by $500 billion over five years (funded by raising the highest federal tax rate), but it only received support from 18 Republicans. Elaine Musk, who was previously appointed to lead government cost-cutting measures by Trump and later had a public fallout over the budget, warned on Monday about targeting Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. "All those who promised cuts during the campaign, but voted for the largest debt increase in history, should be ashamed!" he wrote on X platform, while reaffirming his intention to form a new party, mocking both parties as part of the "PORKY PIG PARTY" that squanders public funds. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, claiming to represent a majority of small businesses, supported the bill. However, representative John Arensmeyer of the "Small Business Majority" organization pointed out that current tax breaks mainly benefit the richest 5% of small businesses. Debt Ceiling Crisis The Republican proposal includes a $5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling (an additional $1 trillion compared to the House version). However, if no version is passed before the summer, the Treasury Department risks running out of borrowing authority, potentially leading to a disastrous debt default. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul joined the opposition camp for this reason, while colleague Tom Tillis condemned the bill's cuts to health care and clean energy programs. The Congressional Budget Office analysis shows that the Senate bill would result in 11.8 million people losing health insurance, exceeding the House version's estimate. If the Senate passes the bill, it will face debate in the deeply divided House, with some members dissatisfied with its massive spending, while others are concerned about the cuts to health care assistance. This super bill aims to extend one of Trump's major accomplishments during his first term the 2017 tax cuts, while also cutting other taxes and increasing military and border security spending. Republicans reject the legislative cost estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office and persist in using a special accounting method that does not calculate the cost of continuing the 2017 tax cuts. External tax experts like Andrew Lautz from the bipartisan Policy Center label it as a "magic trick." According to the Center's analysis, this method can significantly reduce the apparent cost of the bill, seemingly saving $500 billion.