The push in the Senate to get the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB) to the floor for debate was fraught with wrangling and drama, as our editors Bob Hoge and Becca Lower covered. But at the eleventh hour, it finally happened, despite North Carolina's Thom Tillis' need to play MAGA foil. The Senate held a procedural vote to allow for debate on the OBBB, and it passed, 51-49. There was no need for Vice President JD Vance to make a tie-breaking vote, even though he was in the chamber in order to do just that.
Sen. Ron Johnson saved him the trouble. As of Friday, Johnson was still a firm "NO" vote, despite meeting with President Donald Trump to see if a compromise could be found. But somewhere between the vote and the final tally, Johnson miraculously conceded and voted "YES."
READ MORE: Breaking: US Senate Holds Procedural Vote on Trump 'One Big Beautiful Bill'
Trump Comes Out Swinging Against BBB Opponent Thom Tillis, Meanwhile Murkowski Votes to Advance
As Lower wrote in her piece on the procedural vote:
Where do things go from here? Of course, the Senate will have to finish its work -- the reading of the text, then an (expected) votearama on Sunday, with a floor vote to follow, before sending it back to the House.
In a conference call Saturday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reportedly reassured members that he has been helping Senate Republicans shepherd the bill to make it more closely match the bill the House had passed. There will be some bumps in the road, of course.
It wouldn't be the United States Congress if there were not, but it appears that the Republicans are finally getting serious about taking action on President Donald Trump's signature piece of his agenda. Trump took to Truth Social to praise them.
Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the “GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” but, it wouldn’t have happened without the Fantastic Work of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Ron Johnson, and Senator Cynthia Lummis. They, along with all of the other Republican Patriots who voted for the Bill, are people who truly love our Country! As President of the USA, I am proud of them all, and look forward to working with them to GROW OUR ECONOMY, REDUCE WASTEFUL SPENDING, SECURE OUR BORDER, FIGHT FOR OUR MILITARY/VETS, ENSURE THAT OUR MEDICAID SYSTEM HELPS THOSE WHO TRULY NEED IT, PROTECT OUR SECOND AMENDMENT, AND SO MUCH MORE. GOD BLESS AMERICA &, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
The White House X account quickly distributed the post as well.
"Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the “GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” but, it wouldn’t have happened without the Fantastic Work of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Ron Johnson, and Senator Cynthia Lummis. They, along with all of the other Republican… pic.twitter.com/RHy9tjsr3o
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 29, 2025
Thanks to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the complete text of the bill is now being read into the Senate record. All 940 pages of it, which will take somewhere between 14 and 15 hours.
I’m okay with the Senate reading out loud all 940 pages of the Big Beautiful Bill
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) June 29, 2025
b/c it will be the very first time that many Members of Congress actually had to comprehend an entire bill.
And so the drama and wrangling continue, but for the first time in a long time, the American people are seeing how the sausage is made, and that's not a bad thing.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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