Catching Up: "Big Beautiful Bill" Faces Legislative, Political, and Economic Hurdles
The bill, which aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts while slashing Medicaid, SNAP, and other federal programs, has been deemed partially noncompliant with Senate rules by the parliamentarian.
Photo: Francis Chung/Politico/AP
Overview
Date: June 20–21, 2025
Topic: Republican Budget Bill Faces Legislative, Political, and Economic Hurdles
Summary: A sweeping Republican-backed budget bill—referred to as Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”—is facing mounting challenges as it advances through the Senate. The bill, which aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts while slashing Medicaid, SNAP, and other federal programs, has been deemed partially noncompliant with Senate rules by the parliamentarian. These rulings have forced GOP lawmakers to revise provisions and cut or defend controversial items. Polling indicates the bill is deeply unpopular across party lines, with significant backlash from independents and even non-MAGA Republicans.
Sources
The New York Times: Senate Official Rejects Food Aid Cuts Proposed by Republicans in Megabill
CNN: The many ugly polls on Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
NBC News: Health care has been a job market bright spot, but Trump's budget bill looms over the industry
Fox News: Trump's bill faces setbacks after Senate rules block numerous GOP provisions
Fox Business: Ray Dalio warns America faces 'economic heart attack' from debt and spending
The Washington Post: Trump and GOP’s tax bill would sell off USPS’s brand-new EVs
The Wall Street Journal: Medicaid Work Requirements Have Mostly Failed. The GOP Is Still Pushing Them.
Key Points
The bill seeks to offset roughly $4 trillion in tax cuts primarily through major reductions to Medicaid, SNAP, and other federal programs.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled against several provisions, forcing Republicans to revise or remove key elements to keep the bill within budget reconciliation rules.
Polling data reveals overwhelming public opposition: the bill is 24 points underwater on average, making it one of the most unpopular major legislative efforts in recent decades.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates 5.2 million would lose Medicaid under GOP work requirement provisions.
Experts warn that the Medicaid and ACA cuts could eliminate hundreds of thousands of health care jobs, especially in rural areas.
The bill also targets environmental initiatives by proposing to sell off newly purchased USPS electric vehicles and revoke climate-related funding.
Unique Highlights
CNN: Emphasizes the bill’s unpopularity, comparing it to historical legislative failures like the 2017 Obamacare repeal. Includes granular polling breakdowns showing independents and even many Republican voters oppose it.
NBC News: Details how Medicaid and ACA cuts could eliminate nearly 640,000 health care jobs and disproportionately harm rural health systems and community health centers.
The Washington Post: Reveals a little-known provision that would force the USPS to auction off newly purchased electric vehicles, undermining a $9.6 billion modernization effort.
Fox Business: Features Ray Dalio’s warning that unchecked government spending and debt—exacerbated by the bill—could lead to an "economic heart attack."
The Wall Street Journal: Offers case studies from Arkansas and Georgia showing Medicaid work requirements largely failed to increase employment while adding bureaucratic complexity.
Contrasting Details
The New York Times vs. Fox News: Both report on the Senate parliamentarian’s rulings, but The New York Times provides broader context about how provisions fail budget rules and includes Democratic reactions. Fox News focuses more narrowly on GOP strategy and Senate procedure.
NBC News vs. Fox Business: NBC stresses the economic consequences of Medicaid cuts for jobs and health access, whereas Fox Business centers the conversation around national debt and macroeconomic risk.
The Wall Street Journal: Contrasts GOP justification for Medicaid work requirements with data from failed state-level pilots, questioning the efficacy of these proposals.
The Washington Post: Highlights environmental and institutional consequences largely unmentioned by other outlets, such as dismantling EV infrastructure at USPS for negligible financial gain.
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