Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Clears Key Senate Hurdle

The GOP-led Senate narrowly advanced on Saturday night the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” championed by President Donald Trump.

By a 51-49 vote, the upper chamber passed a motion to proceed, ending an hours-long standoff on the legislation that features many of Trump’s spending and tax priorities.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) flipped from a “no” to a “yes” in the final moments as Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) cast their votes in support of pressing ahead.

All the Democrats, the independents who caucus with them, and Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) voted against the motion.

Vice President JD Vance had travelled to the U.S. Capitol to be a tiebreaker, but he was not ultimately needed to cast a vote.

While Senate Republicans are trying to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline to get the bill to his desk, Democrats are employing tactics that will slow down the process.

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After the procedural vote concluded on Saturday night, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) immediately asked for a reading of the legislation, which is more than 900 pages long and will likely take over 10 hours to get through.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) noted on X that further steps lie ahead.

“Remember: we still have to read the bill on the floor, hold up to 20 hrs of debate, and ‘vote-a-rama’ where we’ll wear the libs down on amendment votes. Then, House passage. Busy weekend,” he said.

The Republican-controlled House already passed a version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” a little more than a month ago, however the Senate has made some changes.

Ultimately both chambers will have to agree on a final version. Because the legislation is being considered through the reconciliation process, the Senate can bypass the filibuster and pass the measure with a simple majority.

Lee voted to move the bill forward after he announced the withdrawal of his provision to sell off public lands, which had irked some other GOP senators from Western states.

Earlier, Trump criticized Tillis after the North Carolina Republican voted against proceeding with the bill while objecting to Medicaid cuts. Trump later asked what is “wrong” with Paul, who has raised debt-related concerns about the bill.

October 7th Mastermind ‘ELIMINATED,’ Israel Defense Forces Say

Israel Defense Forces announced on Saturday that Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa — one of the Hamas terrorists who helped to plan the October 7 massacre and train those who carried it out — had been “eliminated.”

“ELIMINATED: eliminated Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa — one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing. Issa led Hamas’ force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre,” read the X post announcing the news. “As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis. The IDF & ISA will continue to locate and eliminate all terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre.”

🔴 ELIMINATED: eliminated Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa—one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing.

Issa led Hamas’ force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre. As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis.

The IDF & ISA will… pic.twitter.com/pzf7DgQc19

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 28, 2025

The post included a photo of Issa and several key details about who he was and what he did for the terrorist organization that was based in Gaza.

According to the post, he “was a key source of knowledge and one of the last remaining senior Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip,” and he had “played a significant role in the planning and execution of the October 7th massacre.”

The IDF also noted that Issa “was one of the founders of the Hamas military wing” and had been instrumental in building up the forces in Gaza, where he also “served as the Head of the Training Headquarters” and was working to help rebuild operational capabilities that had been compromised by the ongoing war.

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A longer statement from the IDF read, in part, “Yesterday (Friday), in a joint activity, the IDF and ISA struck and eliminated the terrorist Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa in the area of Sabra in Gaza City. Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa was a senior figure in Hamas’ military wing and was considered one of the founders of the terrorist organization. His current role was Head of Combat Support Headquarters in Hamas’ military wing.”

“Throughout the war, and over the past few days, Issa served as Head of the Combat Support Headquarters, and advanced aerial and naval terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip,” the statement continued.

“The IDF and ISA will continue to operate to locate and eliminate all terrorists from the different terrorist organizations who took part in the brutal October 7th massacre,” the IDF concluded.

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