Senate Irresistible Forces Meet Immovable Objects

[Passages]

In our first installment of ‘Trump’s Beautiful Disaster,’ we tee up the battle over the giant tax and spending bill in the Senate.

by David Dayen June 2, 2025

Welcome to the inaugural edition of “Trump’s Beautiful Disaster,” our pop-up newsletter covering what has improbably been labeled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (really, “Bill Act”), agenda-spanning legislation that would radically overhaul the tax code, the social safety net, and the relationship of Americans to their government. Between now and the final outcome of the bill—either its passage or its demise—the Prospect will bring you up-to-the-minute coverage on what’s included in the legislation, why it matters for you, and whether it can navigate the House and Senate successfully.

Eye on the Senate
We come to our story in the middle. The House has passed OBBBA (let’s just go with that as a shorthand) and the action has shifted to the Senate. After the Memorial Day break, this is the first week that the Senate has had an opportunity to look at the legislation.

Normally, with a bill of this magnitude, that would trigger committee work and markup hearings and a drawn-out process. But there are literally only 13 legislative days between now and the July 4 “deadline” for final passage. So having Senate Republicans actually doing their jobs as lawmakers isn’t in the cards. There are indications that the Senate will not engage in any committee work on the most potentially impactful legislation of the past few decades.

SNIP
Alas, what seems to be the actual direction among the loudest Senate Republican dissenters is that the bill doesn’t cut spending enough. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who’s usually on an island when it comes to fiscal policy, is a known problem that doesn’t threaten the bill. But Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) seems to actually mean business, and with Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) at his back, the deficit hawks have the numbers to stop the legislation short of a majority. And there are House Freedom Caucus hard-liners who are backing the Senate hawks up, to say nothing of former special government employee Elon Musk.
https://prospect.org/politics/2025-06-02-senate-irresistible-forces-meet-immovable-objects/