Why Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' could get gutted in the Senate

Washington D.C.: President Donald Trump is facing resistance from within his own party as Republican fiscal hawks warn they will block his proposed tax-cut extension unless he commits to reducing the national debt.

Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rand Paul (R-KY), prominent Tea Party conservatives, have demanded deeper spending cuts, arguing the current plan—dubbed the "big, beautiful bill"—would add $4 trillion to the deficit.

The bill, a centerpiece of Trump’s agenda, would extend his 2017 tax cuts while slashing $1 trillion from safety-net programs like Medicaid and food stamps (SNAP). But with Republicans holding a slim Senate majority, even a few defections could derail the legislation. Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose only three GOP votes, and hardliners are refusing to budge without stricter fiscal controls.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson urged Senate Republicans to minimize changes, citing his "delicate balance" with the House GOP’s fractured caucus. However, Johnson and Paul dismissed the bill’s current spending reductions as "wimpy" and "immoral", with Paul warning it would "explode the debt".

The proposed Medicaid cuts also risk alienating Trump’s base, as an estimated eight million low-income Americans—including some MAGA supporters—could lose coverage. While Speaker Johnson claimed 1.4 million beneficiaries were "illegal aliens," fact-checkers noted undocumented immigrants are ineligible for federal Medicaid.