Senate Republicans Advance Trump Tax Bill on Crucial Test Vote

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. President Donald Trumps signature tax bill narrowly passed the House Thursday morning, overcoming fierce Republican infighting and advancing a sprawling multi-trillion dollar package that would avert a year-end tax increase at the expense of adding to the US debt burden. Photographer: Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg Photo by Annabelle Gordon /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax cut bill prevailed in a crucial Senate test vote, a sign that Republican leaders are resolving the infighting over portions of the legislation and moving toward meeting a July 4 deadline the president has set for passage.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his lieutenants may still need to tweak portions of Trump’s signature economic legislation in order to win the 50 votes it needs to pass the Senate. 

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But the Senate voted Saturday to begin debate on the legislation just hours after party leaders unveiled the latest version of the massive tax and spending package. The measure advanced by a 51 to 49 vote, with just two Republicans voting to stall consideration.

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Democrats are now planning to demand a full reading of the bill text, which could push a final vote into Monday.

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The bill includes nearly $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation. But Republicans are aiming for only $693 billion of those tax reductions to count in the official bill cost — assuming they are able to successfully use a budget gimmick that wouldn’t count the extension of Trump’s first-term cuts in the price tag.

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Despite broad Republican support for the tax cuts and spending increases for immigration enforcement and defense at the core of the package, party leaders have struggled to balance competing demands from the GOP’s discordant ideological factions.

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Conservatives are demanding larger spending cuts to offset the tax cuts. Moderates are worried about the scale of proposed cuts to safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. And some senators from states with significant renewable energy industries are trying to soften the rapid phase-out of green energy tax credits. 

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Thune and other party leaders also have been trying to resolve lesser skirmishes such as one on a provision to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. 

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A new draft of the bill unveiled early Saturday morning attempted to win over moderates on the Medicaid issue and conservatives on renewable energy.

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Green Energy

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The latest version accelerated a phaseout of wind, solar and electric vehicle tax credits to win over conservatives. 

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Senate Republicans moved up a cut-off of tax credits used for wind and solar projects even earlier then they initially proposed, amid pushback from Trump on the credits. The measure would require those projects to be “placed in service” by the end of 2027 to receive the incentives, as opposed to simply being under construction by that time.

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The new Senate legislation also would end a popular $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicles earlier than in the prior drafts. While the initial proposal would have ended the incentive at the end of 2025 for most EV sales, the new version would terminate the credit after Sept. 30, 2025. Tax credits for the purchase of used and commercial electric vehicles would end at the same time.