Trump hails ‘great victory’ as major tax-cut and spending bill clears Senate hurdle

The Republican-controlled US Senate has advanced President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill in a key procedural vote, raising the odds that lawmakers will be able to pass his “big, beautiful bill” in the coming days.

The measure, Trump’s top legislative goal, passed its first procedural hurdle in a 51 to 49 vote, with two Republican senators voting against it.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump hails several Republican lawmakers, including one who initially opposed the bill, for what he calls a ” GREAT VICTORY.”

The president was monitoring the vote from the Oval Office late into the night, a senior White House official says.

The vote came after several hours of negotiation as Republican leaders and Vice President JD Vance sought to persuade last-minute holdouts in a series of closed-door negotiations.

The procedural vote, which would start debate on the 940-page megabill to fund Trump’s top immigration, border, tax-cut and military priorities, began after hours of delay.

It then remained open for more than three hours of standstill as three Republican senators — Thom Tillis, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul — joined Democrats to oppose the legislation. Three others — Senators Rick Scott, Mike Lee and Cynthia Lummis – negotiated with Republican leaders into the night in hopes of securing bigger spending cuts.

In the end, Wisconsin Senator Johnson flipped his no vote to yes, leaving only Paul and Tillis opposed among Republicans.

The megabill is set to extend 2017 tax cuts that were Trump’s main legislative achievement during his first term as president, cut other taxes and boost spending on the military and border security.

Critics say it will add trillions to the national debt.