It took 5 minutes shy of 16 hours for the U.S. Senate reading clerks to say out loud every word of every sentence of every paragraph of all 940 pages of Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, a concoction that should not pass.
The experience was well worth it, as in the intervening hours, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published a report that the bill would pile on an extra $3.3 trillion to the national debt over a decade, nearly a trillion more than the $2.4 trillion in red ink that passed the House last month on the narrow 215–214 margin.
What also was achieved overnight from late Saturday evening until Sunday afternoon was the end of the road for Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who voted against debating the bill and brought on the wrath of Trump promising a GOP primary next year. So Tillis gave up on reelection.
It’s too bad that Tillis’ decision to act as his conscience dictated and oppose the bill didn’t occur in January, when he was firmly against the confirmation of the unfit Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary. When Trump threatened Tillis, he caved and voted to confirm Hegseth, making for a 50-50 tie and allowing Vice President JD Vance to have the deciding vote and saddling the Pentagon with the Fox News weekend host.
Vance was on hand at the Capitol on Saturday in case he was again needed to break a tie, as it looked Tillis was being joined by two other Republicans, Rand Paul and Ron Johnson. But Johnson relented and the motion to debate passed 51-49 and Vance wasn’t needed.
Watching the normal proceedings on C-SPAN2, a viewer would soon understand that much of what the chamber does is by unanimous consent; “without objection” is typically heard from the presiding officer as the majority party floor leader moves legislation along.
And as is standard practice, after the vote to debate One Big Beautiful Bill was approved, Republican Majority Leader John Thune said: “Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.”
Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer objected, and the whole bill had to be pronounced by the reading clerks, who have to read at a certain volume, not too loud or soft, and at a certain speed, not too slow or fast
Starting at 11:08 p.m. Saturday, it all came out. The senators, other than the presiding officer, weren’t there to listen, but if they were, they would have heard of $1 trillion of Medicaid cuts, causing another 11.8 million Americans joining ranks of uninsured by 2034. They would have heard of giant tax cuts for those at the very top of the economy. They would have heard of trillions and trillions in new deficits and debt.
When the reading ended, along with the Senate career of Thom Tillis, began the long hours of floor debate and then lots of roll call votes on unlimited amendments.
Why the rush? All because Trump wants it done by July 4. But even if the Senate does push this mess through, this modified version would then have to win approval again from the House, where it’s hard to see conservatives agreeing to an additional $1 trillion in debt.
Will those conservatives listen to their consciences or listen to Trump’s demands?
