SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Senate Republicans are working around the clock this weekend to pass the massive tax and spending bill that includes the bulk of President Trump's agenda. GOP leaders are still trying to lock in the votes to pass the package and to meet the president's goal of signing a bill into law by July 4. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh joins us now from the Capitol. Hi, Deirdre.
DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: So last night, Republicans had some trouble even starting debate on the bill. What's the latest?
WALSH: Right, that first procedural vote lasted more than 3 hours last night as leaders huddled with some of these holdouts. But right now the Senate's debating the bill. Late tonight, they'll start another long process of considering an unlimited number of amendments. But even some of the Republicans who voted last night to move forward with the bill, like Maine Republican Susan Collins, aren't saying how they're going to vote on the final version. Remember, Republican leaders can only afford to lose three votes. The two Republicans who voted last night were Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who opposes the provision to add $5 trillion to the debt limit, and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who warns the Medicaid cuts in this bill are going to shift billions in costs to his home state.
DETROW: The biggest leverage that President Trump has to pressure people to vote in favor with him is, of course, challenging them in primaries. And on that end, Tillis made a surprise announcement today. Tell us about it.
WALSH: He did. After insisting for months that he could win what was expected to be a really competitive reelection race, Tillis announced today he's not running for reelection. And as you noted, I mean, this comes the day after Trump lashed out at him on social media for opposing the bill and talked about backing a primary challenge. Tillis put out a pretty scathing statement. He said that leaders, quote, "who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species."
DETROW: Interesting. So the president keeps calling it a Big, Beautiful Bill. That's its official name. What's the best way to think about how big this actually is?
WALSH: Well, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office put out a report today that says that the Senate bill adds $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The bill makes the tax cuts that were enacted in 2017, in Trump's first term, permanent, also adds new tax breaks like no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. But to pay for those tax cuts, the bill makes a bunch of changes to the Medicaid program, the health care program for low-income, disabled, elderly people. It changes the way states finance their own Medicaid programs. It adds work requirements for some recipients in the program. And the CBO analysis shows that almost 12 million people could lose their health care coverage under this proposal.
DETROW: So as far as we know at this moment, where the final vote could be at some point - at any point in the next day or so, what do we know about what issues Republican leaders are still hammering out?
WALSH: It's still Medicaid. I mean, that issue has been splitting Republicans up here throughout this debate. Conservative holdouts said that leaders last night agreed to an amendment that would add major cuts for the Medicaid expansion program that was part of the Affordable Care Act. But there's a group of Republicans, like Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, who I mentioned, who oppose any more changes to Medicaid or restructuring the program. And how that issue gets resolved is probably going to determine whether this passes.
DETROW: And real quick, Deirdre, say it does pass, what are the chances it passes the House identically?
WALSH: It's going to be a rough road. House Speaker Mike Johnson has a really slim majority, and some House conservatives are already complaining about the changes in this bill.
DETROW: That is NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Thank you so much.
WALSH: Thanks, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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