Republicans in the US Senate, the upper house of Congress, narrowly approved a key procedural step towards considering US President Donald Trump's massive budget bill late last night, which includes tax cuts, spending cuts and increased funds for deportations.
Trump wants the law passed by the national holiday of July 4th.
Late Saturday, the Senate formally began consideration of the bill, passing a motion to open debate by 51 votes to 49 (including two Republicans). It followed a turbulent night during which US Vice President J.D. Vance was in Congress in case of a potential deadlock, when his vote would be decisive.
Tense scenes were recorded throughout the night, with the vote delayed for more than three hours as senators who opposed the bill gathered in groups to negotiate and held private meetings outside the chamber. In the end, two Republicans remained who opposed the proposal to move forward with the bill, joining all Democrats.
A lot of work is still needed on this law this weekend, writes the AP agency.
Republicans are using their majorities in both houses of Congress to overcome Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political obstructions. Not all Republicans support proposals to cut spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs to help cover the cost of Trump's proposed $3.800 trillion tax cuts.
Trump took to social media late on Tuesday to attack Republicans who oppose the bill, and threatened to campaign against Republican Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina. The senator said he could not support the bill because of the large cuts to Medicaid, which he worries will leave many in his state without health care. Tillis and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against giving the bill the green light.
Pressure was mounting from all sides, with billionaire Elon Musk criticizing the package again as "absolutely senseless and destructive."
The 940-page text, already adopted in the lower house of Congress, also called the "Great, Wonderful Law," will be discussed in the coming days.
If the Senate passes it, the amended text will be sent back to the lower house of Congress for a final round of voting before it can reach the White House for signature.
Since they have narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Republican leaders need virtually every representative and senator to support the bill.
Trump called last night's vote a "big victory" on his Truth Social network. He previously outlined his vision and what the law entails.
"Republicans need to be reminded that they are fighting a group of people who are very vicious, corrupt, and in many ways incompetent (politically speaking) who would rather see our country 'fall apart' than do what is right," Trump wrote.
The US president is also facing some senators within his own camp who want to introduce in-depth changes to the bill before it is voted on.
Trump is still hopeful that the bill will reach his cabinet for signing before Friday, July 4, which is a national holiday.
The Democratic opposition, a minority in both houses of Congress, continues to criticize tax cuts for the richest at the expense of the working class, already burdened by inflation.
Democratic critics of the text initially insisted that the bill be read in its entirety to Senate members before debate could begin. That would take about 15 hours, as the mega-law is nearly a thousand pages long.
The so-called "Big Wonderful Law" promises to materialize some of Trump's most important campaign promises.
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