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Heckler arrested for shouting over Senate debate on Donald Trump’s megabill: ‘You people are awful’
President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” returns to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a drastically revised version was narrowly voted through the Senate on Tuesday.
Republicans in the upper chamber of Congress required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance to push through the mammoth tax and spending legislation, which aims to boost defense and border security funding at the expense of welfare programs while driving up the national debt.
Three members of the GOP held out against the bill – Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine – effectively nullifying their party’s majority in the Senate and leading to a 50/50 split that required Vance’s intervention to overcome.
Before that, lawmakers had worked through the night on passing the bill, engaging in a “vote-a-rama” on an unlimited series of amendments.
The House only just passed an earlier draft of the bill in May and, should it do so again, it will finally arrive on Trump’s desk for signing. The president has set Congress a loose deadline of July 4 but further opposition is strongly anticipated.
The president cheered yesterday’s win-that-very-nearly-wasn’t in the Senate and since has been attempting to rally his troops in the House on Truth Social.
Joe Sommerlad2 July 2025 10:45
Joe Sommerlad2 July 2025 10:25
The president’s signature tax and spending bill returns to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a drastically revised version was narrowly voted through the Senate on Tuesday.
Republicans in the upper chamber of Congress required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance to push through the mammoth legislation, which aims to boost defense and border security funding at the expense of welfare programs while driving up the national debt.
Three members of the GOP held out against the bill – Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine – effectively nullifying their party’s majority in the Senate and leading to a 50/50 split that required Vance’s intervention to overcome.
Before that, lawmakers had worked through the night on passing the bill, engaging in a “vote-a-rama” on an unlimited series of amendments.
The House only just passed an earlier draft of the bill in May and, should it do so again, it will finally arrive on Trump’s desk for signing. The president has set Congress a loose deadline of July 4 but further opposition is strongly anticipated, much more on which shortly.
President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (Getty)
Joe Sommerlad2 July 2025 10:05
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” as it returns to the House of Representatives in a heavily revised form after narrowly passing the Senate on Tuesday following more than 24 hours of exhausting debate.
Further opposition is expected in the House but the president hopes to sign off on his signature tax and spending legislation by Friday July 4 when the United States celebrates Independence Day.
Joe Sommerlad2 July 2025 09:45
