US Senate passes Trump ‘big, beautiful’ tax and spending bill
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The news: US Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill Tuesday on a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after an all-night session.
The numbers: Three Republicans—Susan Collins, Thom Tillis and Rand Paul—joined Democrats in voting against it.
The 940-page bill includes US$4.5 trillion ($6.85 trillion) in tax cuts and US$1.2 trillion in spending cuts. Due to senate changes, especially to Medicaid, it now returns to the House, where Republicans hold a 220-212 majority.
The context: The bipartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add US$3.3 trillion to the national debt from 2025 to 2034 and lead to 11.8 million Americans losing health insurance.
The bill would make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, add new tax breaks for tipped income, overtime and seniors, roll back green energy credits, and boost funding for immigration enforcement and defence.
Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will work quickly to meet Trump’s 4 July deadline, though the vote in the House is also expected to be close.
US Senate rejects state AI regulation ban from Trump’s tax bill
The news: The US Senate voted overwhelmingly against a proposed 10-year ban on states regulating artificial intelligence which had been put forward in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill.
The numbers: Lawmakers voted 99-1 to strike the ban from the bill in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the US, as Senators work through a voting session over wording of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’ Trump has set a date of 4 July for the bill’s passing.
The context: Big Tech companies were in favour of the provision, arguing that it was necessary to restrict AI regulation to ensure that a patchwork of inconsistent state-based rules does not thwart the AI ecosystem, seeing it lose momentum to China. The moratorium would have been a requirement for states to access federal funding for tech infrastructure projects.
As over 1,000 AI bills have already been proposed at the US state level, the vote is set to play a significant role in shaping the way that AI regulation evolves across the US.
Despite the push from big tech, criticisms were voiced by some Republican politicians including concerns over child online safety.
Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn initially supported Senate Committee Chair Ted Cruz’s amendment to reduce the ban to five years and allow states to regulate on issues including protecting artists’ voices and child online safety, but Blackburn withdrew her support, forcing the vote which eliminated the moratorium.
"The current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most," Blackburn said. "Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can't block states from making laws that protect their citizens."
“This provision could allow big tech to continue to exploit kids, creators and conservatives,” Blackburn added.
The sources: FT, Reuters, WSJ, Bloomberg, Associated Press
