Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer compelled a change in the name of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” just prior to its passage in the upper chamber of Congress.
While Senator Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, presided over the Senate, Schumer raised a point of order against lines three through five on the initial page of the legislative proposal, which stated, “SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act.’”
Schumer asserted that the title of the bill contravened Section 313 B1A of the 1974 Congressional Budget Act, commonly referred to as the “Byrd Rule.”
Ricketts confirmed that the point of order was sustained, indicating that the language would be eliminated from the legislation.
“This is not a ‘big, beautiful bill’ whatsoever. That is why I moved to the floor to eliminate the title. It is now referred to as ‘the act.’ That is its designation. However, it is truly the ‘big ugly betrayal,’ and the American populace is aware of it. This vote will haunt our Republican colleagues for many years. Due to this bill, tens of millions will lose their health insurance. Millions of jobs will vanish. Individuals will fall ill and perish, children will go hungry, and the national debt will soar to unprecedented levels,” Schumer informed reporters.
“This bill is so irredeemable that one Republican actually opted to retire rather than cast a yes vote and devastate his own state,” Schumer further remarked, alluding to Senator Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina.
When asked if he intended to provoke Trump by altering the bill’s name, Schumer replied, “I did not even consider President Trump. I focused on the truth. This is not a beautiful bill. Anyone who loses their health insurance does not perceive it as beautiful. Any worker in the clean energy sector who loses their job does not regard it as beautiful. Any mother who cannot provide for her child on $5 a day does not find it beautiful. We aimed for the American people to understand the truth.”
After an overnight voting session, the Senate narrowly approved Trump’s $3.3 trillion spending bill with a vote of 51-50 on Tuesday.
Vice President JD Vance cast the decisive tie-breaking vote. No Senate Democrats chose to cross the aisle in support of the bill. Tillis, along with Republican Senators Rand Paul from Kentucky and Susan Collins from Maine, opposed the megabill.
Democrats, including Schumer’s fellow New Yorker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., were against the bill’s passage. She has not declared a primary campaign.
“JD Vance was the pivotal vote to reduce Medicaid nationwide. An absolute and complete betrayal of working families,” Ocasio-Cortez stated on the social media platform X.
Vance advocated for the bill, asserting it would secure “significant tax cuts, particularly no tax on tips and overtime. Most importantly, substantial funding for border security.”
“This represents a significant victory for the American populace,” the vice president remarked. He also endorsed an evaluation by veteran GOP strategist Roger Stone.
“The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Trump’s reconciliation bill would increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years by prolonging the president’s tax cuts first enacted in 2017. Indeed, federal revenues surged following the 2017 Trump tax cuts, similar to the increases seen after Reagan and JFK implemented broad tax reductions. The deficit arises from excessive spending, which the administration is addressing through a series of recision bills. PS the CBO is consistently inaccurate,” Stone commented.
Despite her initial reservations, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, supported the proposal after Republicans incorporated Alaska-specific provisions to secure her backing.
The bill is now returning to the House for final approval. Congress must resolve differences between the Senate and House versions of the legislation, particularly regarding Medicaid. Republican leaders aim to present it to the president by Friday, July 4.
