Donald Trump should be celebrating the recent passage of a big, bipartisan legislative deal. He recently did this while making an unannounced visit to a migrant detention facility in Florida. The Senate passed the controversial bill by an even more tenuous margin after an unusual all-night debate that exceeded 24 hours. Vice-President JD Vance had to step in to cast the crucial tie-breaking vote amid howls of anger from every direction.
Senator Lisa Murkowski was instrumental in the bill’s passage. She initially opposed the bill, but after months of negotiation got on board. She raised her concerns over cuts planned by the government to subsidies for renewables including rooftop solar and electric vehicles. Such cuts would have a devastating effect on companies that are pushing the envelope, like Tesla. Murkowski described the legislative process as “probably the most difficult and agonizing legislative 24-hour period” of her career.
In fact, Trump told his House and Senate majorities to have the final bill done in time for the Fourth of July. This demand produced a unique climate of urgency around the legislation. That powerful deadline created tremendous pressure on lawmakers. This urgency led to a rapid and rushed legislative process that Murkowski characterized as “rushed” and constrained by an “artificial timeline.”
Democrats tried to stall the bill with procedural roadblocks, hoping to test the Republicans’ slim hold on the chamber. With the slim GOP majority, in this fraught political atmosphere Republicans could lose no more than three Republican votes for the measure to still pass. Senator Collins, Senator Tillis and Senator Paul voted with all Democrats in opposition.
Within just days of its introduction, the bill’s proposed welfare cuts were met with a chorus of condemnation from Democrats in both chambers of Congress. Murkowski sounded alarms about the adverse effects of these cuts, particularly those affecting Medicaid. Her late support in fact came because she was worried about the fate of the most vulnerable populations in her state.
“I struggled mightily with the impact on the most vulnerable in this country,” – Lisa Murkowski
Though she was unhappy with the bill, Murkowski still voted to move it forward. She expressed hope that this would not be the last version transmitted to the House.
“My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet,” – Lisa Murkowski
Elon Musk — who had backed Trump’s presidential campaign and later worked for him as the administration’s cost-cutting tsar — went apoplectic over the bill. He warned that he would fund primary challengers to any Republican who voted for it. His anger came from the realization that fiscal responsibility had been sold out.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” – Elon Musk
The bill’s provisions are not limited to breaking the red/blue divide. They play a huge role in markets of huge importance – like renewable energy and electric vehicles. Critics warn that these cuts threaten to reverse progress made in these fast-growing industries, possibly strangling innovation and economic expansion at birth.