(WASHINGTON) — With a week until a July Fourth deadline for Congress to get President Donald Trump’s megabill passed, Senate Republicans are going over the final sticking points — with the end in sight and a potential vote this weekend.
On Friday afternoon, Senate Republicans met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called the passage of the bill the “single most important economic thing we’re going to do this year.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson chewed over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with Senate Republicans at the closed-door lunch on Friday, telling reporters afterward that the Senate’s version of the legislation is almost done.
“We had a great discussion about a lot of important issues, and I feel like we’re getting very close to a final product,” Johnson said as he left the meeting.
While the Senate grapples with the state and local tax provision, Johnson said he believes senators are “very, very close to closing that issue out.”
The Senate version of the bill is expected to hit the Senate floor on Saturday afternoon. It begins with a procedural vote on the motion to proceed to the bill, which requires a simple majority of votes to pass.
Assuming the bill gets the necessary votes to proceed, there are up to 20 hours of debate, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans will likely yield back most of their ten hours. Democrats will likely use close to all of it.
After an unlimited series of amendment votes, the Senate could vote on the final passage of the bill at some point on Sunday.
Still, some roadblocks remain. The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday rejected a Medicaid provision in the bill, which is a major blow to Senate Republicans’ efforts. Also, Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose only three Republican votes when the bill goes to the Senate floor, given unified Democratic opposition in the Senate.
“All of it depends on…we’ve got a few things we’re waiting on, outcomes from the parliamentarian on, but if we could get some of those questions issues landed, and my expectation is at some point tomorrow, we’ll be ready to go,” Thune said Friday.
Johnson and Thune met with Trump Thursday night in the Oval Office about the tax and immigration bill as Congress barrels toward its self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.
“We had a long discussion about … where the bill stands and its status. And they are — we are very, very close, and Leader Thune has confidence that they could get the job done by this weekend, and we certainly are hopeful for that,” Johnson said about the Thursday meeting.
Earlier Friday, Johnson suggested the Fourth of July deadline could slide, saying “it’s possible” that the deadline could change — although he said he wanted to remain committed to the July Fourth goal. However, later in the day, Johnson stuck to Independence Day.
“That’s been our goal all along, and it hasn’t changed,” the speaker said, adding that “the House is ready to act as soon as the Senate does.”
After fudging his long-standing, self-imposed July Fourth deadline for Congress to pass his massive immigration and tax bill, Trump later doubled down on the date in a social media post.
“The House of Representatives must be ready to send it to my desk before July 4th — We can get it done,” the president wrote.
Earlier, when asked about the deadline during a news conference in the White House briefing room, the president said “it’s not the end all” and that “it can go longer.”
On Thursday, congressional leaders and the administration touted the benefits of the package during a celebration in the East Room of the White House.
As the Senate aims to move forward this weekend with the megabill, House leaders told members in a formal notice “pending Senate action on H.R. 1, votes on the One Big Beautiful Bill are expected in the House next week” — interrupting a planned weeklong Independence Day recess.
“Further information regarding the timing of votes will be provided as soon as possible, and Members will be given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any votes in the House,” the notice states.
Earlier this week, Trump told members of Congress that they would have to forgo vacations to get the bill to his desk.
“To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK,” Trump posted on his social media platform. “Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE.”
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