Amid a high-stakes legislative sprint, Senate Republicans unveiled their version of a sweeping domestic policy bill on Monday, intensifying the push to cement former President Donald Trump’s legacy tax breaks and imposing steeper cuts to Medicaid in the process.
Branded by Trump as his “big, beautiful bill,” the Senate GOP draft includes provisions such as expanded work requirements for Medicaid recipients — including for parents of teens — as part of efforts to offset the permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts, according to the Associated Press.
The proposal also keeps intact the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, or SALT— a provision that has drawn sharp backlash from GOP lawmakers in high-tax states.
“We have been crystal clear that the SALT deal we negotiated in good faith…must remain in the final bill,” declared Reps. Young Kim (R-Cali.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.).
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) called the cap “a slap in the face to the Republican districts that delivered our majority.”
Beyond the SALT standoff, the Senate’s plan offers an upgraded tax break for seniors, granting a $6,000 deduction to qualifying households earning under $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for couples.
The proposal, crafted by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho.) and the Senate Finance Committee, touts “significant savings” from cuts to green energy programs and “targeting waste, fraud and abuse.”
However, the bill’s spending cuts — more than $1 trillion in total — have drawn fierce criticism. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned, “Cuts to Medicaid are deeper and more devastating than even the Republican House’s disaster of a bill.”
At the heart of the 1,000-page proposal is an extension of Trump-era tax cuts worth $4.5 trillion, including new breaks like eliminating taxes on tips.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the legislation could add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade and result in 10.9 million more uninsured people — largely due to Medicaid work requirements.
According to CBO analysis, the wealthiest Americans could gain tax breaks of about $12,000 annually, while the poorest would face an increase of $1,600. Middle-income taxpayers would see $500 to $1,000 in relief.
Both House and Senate proposals endorse a dramatic $350 billion surge in Homeland Security and defense spending — including $175 billion earmarked for Trump’s mass deportation initiatives. These efforts include hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley voiced strong objections to plans to reduce the Medicaid provider tax.
“This needs a lot of work…Rural hospitals are going to be in bad shape,” Hawley warned.
While the House had exempted parents from Medicaid work requirements, the Senate version includes those with children over age 14. Critics argue it will burden families, while supporters tout it as a measure to instill “personal responsibility.”
Republicans are also pressing for broader work requirements in SNAP, increasing the eligible age and including parents of children older than 10.
The Senate plan maintains a $35 co-pay for some Medicaid enrollees above the poverty line and proposes a gradual scaling back of provider taxes from 6% to 3.5% by 2031 — though exemptions are made for certain care facilities.
Tax credits for electric vehicles are being immediately cut, but some conservative senators have noted that the legislation doesn’t go far enough and are balking at the provision that raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
