Trump declares victory as Big Beautiful Bill clears first Senate hurdle… and fires brutal warning at Republican rebel

Trump praised the three holdout Senators who ultimately agreed to progress his Big Beautiful Bill in a late-night victory post on Saturday.

Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ he wrote.

‘But, it wouldn’t have happened without the Fantastic Work of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Ron Johnson, and Senator Cynthia Lummis.’

Scott, Lee and Lummis voted as a bloc and withheld their decisions for four hours as they negotiated with key Trump allies to secure the best outcomes for their states.

Johnson, however, had initially voted against progressing the bill to the debate stage, but ultimately reversed his decision, giving Trump the numbers he needed to secure victory.

Even if Johnson hadn’t switched his vote, Vice President JD Vance would have provided the tie-breaker vote.

‘They, along with all of the other Republican Patriots who voted for the Bill, are people who truly love our Country,’ Trump wrote.

‘As President of the USA, I am proud of them all, and look forward to working with them to GROW OUR ECONOMY, REDUCE WASTEFUL SPENDING, SECURE OUR BORDER, FIGHT FOR OUR MILITARY/VETS, ENSURE THAT OUR MEDICAID SYSTEM HELPS THOSE WHO TRULY NEED IT, PROTECT OUR SECOND AMENDMENT, AND SO MUCH MORE. GOD BLESS AMERICA &, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’

In a follow up message to North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, Trump has vowed revenge on the Republican for going against him.

‘Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against “Senator Thom” Tillis,’ he wrote.

‘I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.’

Majority Leader John Thune said ‘Republicans are united in our commitment to what we’re doing in this bill.

‘Fifty-three members will never agree on every detail of legislation, let’s face it… It’s time to get this legislation across the finish line.’

Thune was locked in tense negotiations with holdouts and No voters in an effort to secure the successful vote.

Senate clerks will not have to read the 490-page bill aloud after Democrats refused to skip the procedure.

This will take at least several hours and drag throughout the night.

Once completed, the Senate can begin a debate which must last no longer than 20 hours.

This will be followed by a marathon series of votes to amend the bill.

While the Big Beautiful Bill overcame Saturday night’s procedural hurdle, Trump is still not yet out of the woods.

Senators who agreed to pass the bill onto the debate stage are not yet necessarily sold on it and may yet still vote against it come crunch time.

Senator Susan Collins had earlier stated she would support the bill through the procedural vote on Saturday, but has not yet committed to support its final passage.

‘If the bill is not further changed, I will be leaning against the bill, but I do believe this procedural vote to get on the bill so that people can offer amendments and debate it is appropriate,’ Collins said.

Others are in a similar position.

It is unclear whether Trump has done enough to win over backflipping voter Ron Johnson, or the trio of holdouts who came to his aid in the last minutes, during the final vote.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans unveiled the bill “in the dead of night” and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what’s in it.

He is expected to call for a full reading of the text in the Senate, which would take hours.

JD Vance had been brought in to the Capitol to deliver the tiebreaking vote if it was needed, but Wisconsin Senator Johnson’s decision to change his vote has meant that this is no longer required.

The trio of holdout Senators who have been locked in tense meetings with Trump allies all evening have agreed to vote in favor of opening debate on the bill.

This gives Trump the victory he needed. The Senate has voted 51 to 49 to open debate on his Big Beautiful Bill.

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has changed his vote, reducing the ‘No’ camp to just two Republicans.

Trump issued another statement on Truth Social late Saturday night in an effort to bring his party together to pass the crucial vote.

‘Republicans must remember that they are fighting against a very evil, corrupt and, in many ways, incompetent (Policywise!) group of people, who would rather see our Country “go down in flames” than do the right thing and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,’ he wrote.

‘Democrats would LOVE to see the Biggest Tax Hike in History (68%!), No Border Spending (Open Borders!), and a weak, underfunded Military, so we wouldn’t be able to do things like we did just one week ago in Iran.’

Trump then lamented that Democrats stick together more than Republicans.

‘The one thing they do have is an ability to stick together, and vote as one group (They don’t have GRANDSTANDERS!),’ he wrote.

‘They also have House and Senate Rules that give Great Power to their Leaders – Committee Chairmanships, etc. Republicans don’t have that, have never been able to get it, BUT THEY SHOULD!

‘What we do have is wonderful people and phenomenal Policy, and that should win Elections every single time!’

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee on Saturday night withdrew a controversial provision from the Big Beautiful Bill which would have allowed public lands to be sold for development.

The provision was vehemently opposed by politicians representing western states, and some had vowed to vote down the entire bill if it was not written out.

At a whopping 940 pages, Trump’s legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities.

It would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump’s first term that would otherwise expire by year’s end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans.

The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

But the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments are causing dissent within GOP ranks.

The Republicans are relying on the reductions to offset the lost tax revenues but some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid.

Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation’s debt, are pushing for steeper cuts.

Tense scenes were playing out in the chamber as senators huddled in negotiations, and then broke off for private meetings.

Trump has imposed a deadline of July 4th for the Big Beautiful Bill to be on his desk, warning senators there would be no vacations until it was a done deal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told lawmakers last week to keep their schedules ‘flexible’ ahead of bringing them back in for the Saturday vote.

‘We can get it done,’ Trump said. ‘It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country.’

Elon Musk reignited his feud with Donald Trump as he tore into the president’s spending bill in a blistering social media tirade.

‘The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,’ Musk wrote in one of his X posts.

‘Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.’

Trump’s massive spending bill was notably the trigger for Musk and the president’s dramatic fall out just three weeks ago, with Musk taking issue with the bill’s estimated $2.8 trillion spending increases.

Trump slammed Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina in a furious Truth Social post on Saturday night after he voted down his Big Beautiful Bill.

‘Looks like Senator Thom Tillis, as usual, wants to tell the Nation that he’s giving them a 68% Tax Increase, as opposed to the Biggest Tax Cut in American History,’ he wrote.

‘He loves China made windmills that will cost a fortune, ruin the landscape, and produce the most expensive Energy on Earth.

‘I can’t believe that the Great People of North Carolina, a State that I love and won all three times, and a State that I just brought back with money, blood, sweat, and tears, from the recent tragic floods, when Sleepy Joe Biden let them DROWN, right up until the end of that Administration, without doing anything.

‘I was given an A+ Rating for the job we did in bringing it back, and Tillis, despite being a Republican, was MISSING IN ACTION.

‘North Carolina will not allow one of their Senators to GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself, for a possible, but very difficult Re-Election.

‘America wants Reduced Taxes, including NO TAX ON TIPS, NO TAX ON OVERTIME, AND NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY, Interest Deductions on Cars, Border Security, a Strong Military, and a Bill which is GREAT for our Farmers, Manufacturers and, Employment, in general.

‘Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!’

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have all voted against progressing Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill to be debated.

Tillis earlier said: ‘I did my homework on behalf of North Carolinians, and I cannot support this bill in its current form.

‘It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities. This will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population.

‘We can and must do better than this.’

Meanwhile, Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Rick Scott of Florida are still holding out on delivering their final decision.

They are believed to vote as a bloc.

Trump can only afford to lose three votes, meaning if the trio of holdout senators vote against the bill, it will be – at least temporarily – over.

If the trio vote in favor, Vance will be the deciding vote.

Pictured: Holdout Senator Cynthia Lummis

Pictured: Holdout Senator Mike Lee

Pictured: Holdout Senator Rick Scott

Vice President JD Vance was rushed into the Capitol about 8pm on Saturday as it emerged that the Big Beautiful Bill would not have overwhelming support during the Senate vote.

It is looking increasingly likely that he could be a tie breaker.