Senate Republicans call for cuts to Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

Republican members of the U.S. Senate are calling for significant cuts to be made to President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

The Hill reports that among the Republican senators to call for the cuts are U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Mike Lee (R-UT).

These three senators are usually reliable votes for Trump, which would seem to suggest that it is not looking very likely that Trump is going to get his desired legislation — at least with the bill in its current form.

We are all committed to helping the President and America succeed.

My higher loyalty is to my children and grandchildren. We are immorally mortgaging their future.

It’s time to take a businesslike approach and work seriously to reduce spending and deficits. pic.twitter.com/YZVTj3mHp5

— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) June 20, 2025

Here’s the latest:

You may have seen that, just recently, Senate Republicans released their version of the bill that Trump desires. This came after the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version and after it became clear that the House’s version stood little to no chance in the upper chamber.

CBS News reports on some of the changes. For example, the outlet writes, “Senate Republicans are also calling for a $5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling — $1 trillion above the limit set by the House.”

The outlet further reports:

GOP senators have proposed steeper cuts to Medicaid funding by lowering provider taxes — which states use to help fund their share of Medicaid costs — from 6% to 3.5% by 2031. The House bill seeks to lower federal costs by freezing states’ provider taxes at current rates and prohibiting them from establishing new provider taxes.

There are other changes as well, changes that are meant to make the legislation more likely to make it through the upper chamber.

However, it appears that it is still going to be an uphill battle to get the bill passed.

Objections mount

As mentioned at the outset, Johnson, Scott, and Lee are among the Senators who are still not happy with the bill.

The Hill reports:

Johnson noted senators are taking a closer look at a proposal offered by Scott to significantly reduce the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or the federal government’s share of Medicaid spending, in states that expanded the program under former President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA). Lee is pushing for a fuller phaseout of the renewable energy subsidies enacted by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The outlet goes on to report that, unless there are significant changes to the bill, the senators will be “no” votes.

“Johnson, Lee, and Scott are threatening to vote as a bloc against the bill next week unless it undergoes significant changes,” it writes.

The outlet adds, “[Senate Majority Leader John] Thune [R-SD] plans to bring the bill to the floor Wednesday or Thursday next week, but he may not have enough votes to proceed on the legislation, Republican senators say.”