Vance breaks tie, as Senate passes 'big, beautiful bill'

Senate Republicans rallied July 1 to send President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" back to the House, notching a major victory in getting the legislation signed into law.

Nearly every Republican in the upper chamber voted to advance Trump’s megabill, save for Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. 

No Senate Democrat crossed the aisle to support the bill.

In the end, the vote was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.

According to www.whitehouse.gov today, "Under the One Big Beautiful Bill, the vast majority of senior citizens — 88% of all seniors who receive Social Security — will pay NO TAX on their Social Security benefits, according to a brand new analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers. A senior who files as a single taxpayer and receives the current average retirement benefit (approx. $24,000) will see deductions that exceed their taxable Social Security income.

"Married seniors who both receive the average $24,000 Social Security income — a total of $48,000 in annual income — will also see deductions that exceed their taxable Social Security income. This amounts to the largest tax break in history for America’s seniors — and makes sure that after years of earning their Social Security, seniors can save more of their money."