Vice President JD Vance could deliver the tiebreaking vote in the U.S. Senate for President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful, bill» should it fail to receive enough support from Republican lawmakers. 

Republicans are scrambling to reform and pass the measure ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s determination Thursday that several Medicaid reforms in the sweeping tax and domestic policy package did not follow Senate rules and must be removed. 

As president of the Senate, the vice president casts a tiebreaking vote when a measure fails to receive majority support.

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There are 53 Republicans in the Senate, meaning three Republican senators could opt out of voting for the bill, and it could still pass with Vance’s support. 

Vance has previously cast tiebreaking votes in the Senate, including in January to confirm Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and on a measure in April to curb Trump’s ability to impose global tariffs. 

Vance’s office declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Republican lawmakers who’ve historically voiced concerns about certain Medicaid provisions included in the «big, beautiful, bill» include senators Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. These lawmakers have cautioned that the reforms would prove detrimental to rural hospitals in their states. 

Spokespeople for Collins, Hawley and Murkowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Sen. Josh Hawley (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The domestic policy package also included provisions to beef up border security and would also make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from Trump’s first term.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told lawmakers earlier this month failure to pass the measure would result in a 60% tax hike for Americans and would trigger a recession. 

As a result, Matt Wolking, who previously served as the deputy communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said Senate Republicans will ultimately band together to approve the legislation to prevent the tax cuts from expiring. 

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«Senate Republicans don’t want to be responsible for the massive tax increase on the middle class that will occur if they fail to extend President Trump’s tax cuts. So, ultimately, they will get this done,» Wolking, currently with GOP consulting firm Axiom Strategies, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

«President Trump has a big asset in these negotiations with JD Vance, and whether he is needed to break a tie or not, the administration will have another major win under its belt heading into the midterm elections where the strength of the economy will be a big factor,» Wolking said. 

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, with supporters outside the Kittery Trading Post, where she was greeted by KTP Vice President Fox Keim. (Rich Beauchesne/Seacoastonline)

Earlier this month, Vance met with Republican senators to discuss the measure during a closed-door lunch and said afterward he was hopeful about the odds of passing the legislation on time. 

«I mean, look, I can’t make any promises. … I can’t predict the future, but I do think that we’re in a good place to get this done by the July 4 recess,» Vance told reporters June 17. 

Vance also told reporters that despite concerns from lawmakers, including Collins, regarding certain Medicaid provisions included in the measure, he would work to address any issues raised. Still, he said there was broad agreement within the party on reforming Medicaid to block access for illegal immigrants.

«They’re all very confident we’re eventually going to get there,» Vance said.

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President Donald Trump holds a photo of Katie Abraham as her father, Joe Abraham, left, watches during an event to promote Trump’s domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The House narrowly passed its version of the measure in May by a 215-214 margin, with two Republicans voting against the legislation. 

Trump urged lawmakers to get the legislation to the finish line Thursday, labeling the measure the «single-most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress.» 

«This is the ultimate codification of our agenda to — very simply, a phrase that’s been used pretty well by me over the past 10 years, but maybe even before that — make America great again,» Trump said at a «One, Big, Beautiful Event» at the White House Thursday. 

Al menos dos personas murieron y seis resultaron heridas este sábado en la ciudad de Odesa, en el sur de Ucrania, tras un ataque con drones rusos contra zonas residenciales, según informaron autoridades locales. Las víctimas mortales son un matrimonio que convivía en una de las viviendas alcanzadas por los proyectiles.

“Los servicios de rescate acaban de encontrar los cuerpos de una pareja que falleció cuando un dron enemigo impactó su apartamento. Mi más sentido pésame a la familia y seres queridos de los fallecidos. Continúan los trabajos para eliminar las consecuencias del ataque”, declaró el alcalde de Odesa, Gennadi Trujanov, a través de su canal en Telegram.

El ataque ocurrió pocas horas después de que Trujanov alertara sobre la entrada de artefactos no tripulados en la región. Poco después, confirmó el impacto sobre edificios residenciales y varios vehículos, provocando la muerte de la pareja y lesiones en otros civiles.

El gobernador regional, Oleg Kiper, informó que seis personas resultaron heridas, entre ellas dos niños de siete y tres años. “Actualmente, dos niños heridos en el ataque ruso se encuentran en centros médicos: un niño de 7 años en estado moderado y un niño de tres años que resultó intoxicado por productos de combustión”, afirmó Kiper en su cuenta de Telegram. Todos los heridos se encuentran hospitalizados, la mayoría en estado leve.

Este nuevo ataque se produce en un contexto de intensificación de los bombardeos rusos sobre el territorio ucraniano.

Horas antes, las autoridades ucranianas habían reportado la muerte de al menos cinco personas en la ciudad de Samar, en la provincia de Dnipropetrovsk, como consecuencia de otro ataque. En esa misma región, los bombardeos de esta semana acumulan ya una veintena de víctimas mortales.

Las autoridades locales de Odesa mantienen en curso las labores de rescate y desescombro, mientras continúa la vigilancia ante nuevos posibles ataques aéreos. La ciudad, situada a orillas del mar Negro, ha sido blanco frecuente de ofensivas rusas, en especial con el uso de drones y misiles de largo alcance dirigidos a infraestructuras civiles.

Ucrania acusó el viernes a China, India, Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Armenia, entre otros países, de colaborar indirectamente con Rusia al facilitar el acceso a componentes militares utilizados en el conflicto, que ya supera los tres años de duración.

El director adjunto del Servicio de Seguridad de Ucrania (SBU), Serguí Naumiuk, afirmó que estos países operan como intermediarios en una cadena que permite al Kremlin sortear los paquetes de sanciones internacionales impuestos desde el inicio de la invasión a gran escala en 2022.

“Una cadena de intermediarios como China, India, los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y algunos países de la antigua Comunidad de Estados Independientes, principalmente Kazajistán y Armenia, ayudan a la Federación de Rusia a eludir las sanciones para comprar componentes militares”, aseguró Naumiuk.

El funcionario detalló que esta red facilita el acceso ruso a tecnología avanzada, necesaria para mantener su capacidad bélica. En el caso de los misiles de crucero Kh-101, ampliamente utilizados por el Ejército ruso, Naumiuk explicó que se han identificado hasta 250 componentes electrónicos de origen occidental en su estructura.

También señaló que “otros sistemas parecidos pueden tener medio centenar” de estas piezas, lo que demuestra —según Kiev— la persistente dependencia tecnológica de Rusia respecto a mercados internacionales.

Además, el representante de inteligencia ucraniano destacó el caso de los drones iraníes Shahed, utilizados por Moscú en numerosos ataques. Según explicó, dependiendo de la serie y el modelo, estos aparatos pueden incluir hasta 400 componentes importados procedentes de empresas localizadas en países de distintas regiones.

Entre las naciones mencionadas en relación con el suministro indirecto de estas piezas se encuentran Austria, Bulgaria, Dinamarca, Brasil, España, Italia, Malasia, Países Bajos, Alemania, Portugal, Serbia, Estados Unidos, Finlandia, Francia, República Checa, Suiza y Suecia.

(Con información de Europa Press)

Senate Republicans unveiled their long-awaited version of President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill,» but its survival is not guaranteed.

Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., revealed the stitched-together text of the colossal bill late Firday night.

The final product from the upper chamber is the culmination of a roughly month-long sprint to take the House GOP’s version of the bill and mold and change it. The colossal package includes separate pieces and parts from 10 Senate committees. With the introduction of the bill, a simple procedural hurdle must be passed in order to begin the countdown to final passage.

When that comes remains an open question. Senate Republicans left their daily lunch on Friday under the assumption that a vote could be teed up as early as noon on Saturday.

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Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital that he had «strongly encouraged» Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to put the bill on the floor for a vote Saturday afternoon. 

«If you’re unhappy with that, you’re welcome to fill out a hurt feelings report, and we will review it carefully later,» Kennedy said. «But in the meantime, it’s time to start voting.»

But Senate Republicans’ desire to impose their will on the package and make changes to already divisive policy tweaks in the House GOP’s offering could doom the bill and derail Thune’s ambitious timeline to get it on Trump’s desk by the July 4 deadline.

However, Thune has remained firm that lawmakers would stay on course and deliver the bill to Trump by Independence Day. 

When asked if he had the vote to move the package forward, Thune said «we’ll find out tomorrow.»

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But it wasn’t just lawmakers who nearly derailed the bill. The Senate parliamentarian, the true final arbiter of the bill, ruled that numerous GOP-authored provisions did not pass muster with Senate rules.

Any item in the «big, beautiful bill» must comport with the Byrd Rule, which governs the budget reconciliation process and allows for a party in power to ram legislation through the Senate while skirting the 60-vote filibuster threshold. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on June 17, 2025, in Washington. (Getty Images)

That sent lawmakers back to the drawing board on a slew of policy tweaks, including the Senate’s changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate, cost-sharing for food benefits and others. 

Republican leaders, the White House and disparate factions within the Senate and House GOP have been meeting to find middle ground on other pain points, like tweaking the caps on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.

While the controversial Medicaid provider tax rate change remained largely the same, a $25 billion rural hospital stabilization fund was included in the bill to help attract possible holdouts that have raised concerns that the rate change would shutter rural hospitals throughout the country. 

On the SALT front, there appeared to be a breakthrough on Friday. A source told Fox News that the White House and House were on board with a new plan that would keep the $40,000 cap from the House’s bill and have it reduced back down to $10,000 after five years. 

But Senate Republicans are the ones that must accept it at this stage. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., has acted as the mediator in those negotiations, and said that he was unsure if any of his colleagues «love it.» 

«But I think, as I’ve said before, I want to make sure we have enough that people can vote for than to vote against,» he said. 

Still, a laundry list of other pocket issues and concerns over just how deep spending cuts in the bill go have conservatives and moderates in the House GOP and Senate pounding their chests and vowing to vote against the bill.

Republican leaders remain adamant that they will finish the mammoth package and are gambling that some lawmakers standing against the bill will buckle under the pressure from the White House and the desire to leave Washington for a short break.

Once a motion to proceed is passed, which only requires a simple majority, then begins 20 hours of debate evenly divided between both sides of the aisle.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on April 1, 2025, in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Democratic lawmakers are expected to spend the entirety of their 10 allotted hours, while Republicans will likely clock in well below their limit. From there starts the «vote-a-rama» process, when lawmakers can submit a near-endless number of amendments to the bill. Democrats will likely try to extract as much pain as possible with messaging amendments that won’t actually pass but will add more and more time to the process.

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Once that is complete, lawmakers will move to a final vote. If successful, the «big, beautiful bill» will again make its way back to the House, where House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will again have to corral dissidents to support the legislation. It barely advanced last month, squeaking by on a one-vote margin. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hammered on the importance of passing Trump’s bill on time. He met with Senate Republicans during their closed-door lunch and spread the message that advancing the colossal tax package would go a long way to giving businesses more certainty in the wake of the president’s tariffs. 

«We need certainty,» he said. «With so much uncertainty, and having the bill on the president’s desk by July 4 will give us great tax certainty, and I believe, accelerate the economy in the third quarter of the year.»