Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) previewed the changes the Senate is expected to make to President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” suggesting there are “more savings” that could be enacted.
The senator took a victory lap over the “big win” that Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) accomplished last week when the reconciliation bill narrowly passed in the House of Representatives, moving the legislation over to the Senate. Ahead of the Senate’s work, Schmitt detailed how the legislation, in its current form, has permanent tax cuts to the middle class along with border funding for deportations.
“So I think everybody understands how important that is, but yeah, I do think the Senate’s going to try and look and see if we can find more savings,” Schmitt stated on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, guest-hosted by Jackie DeAngelis. “We’ve been having these discussions for a long time, now that we actually – the ball is literally in our court now, we’ll be able to do that and see if we can’t make this big, beautiful bill even more beautiful.”
Some issues that Schmitt wants the Senate to focus on is making the cuts from the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency permanent, which comes as the Senate seeks to balance this with the president’s “historic mandate.” He vowed that both the House and the White House will be in on the loop on the Senate’s work, but that it is currently “our turn” to look at the legislation.
Ahead of the vote on this bill, Schmitt noted that only 51 votes are needed to pass this bill and make it to Trump’s desk. He noted it is highly unlikely any Democratic senators will vote for it, but he felt “pretty positive” the 53 Republican senators can work together.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has set July 4 as the goal for when the bill will get to Trump’s desk, ahead of which Schmitt noted that senators will have the month of June to finish its work on the bill. He argued that senators are aware that “time is of the essence” to help Trump deliver on his vision, including ending the Biden administration’s policies, finishing the border wall, and delivering tax cuts.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated that Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would be changed by the Senate “significantly.”
On Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) revealed that he intends to oppose this legislation, explaining on Fox News’s Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream that the bill would “explode the debt” by up to $5 trillion. He stated that if the debt ceiling is stripped out of the bill, he would consider voting for the rest of the bill, but was adamant that he was a hard no on raising the debt ceiling.