By KATELYN CARALLE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
President Donald Trump again pressured Senate Republicans to pass his massive spending and tax bill. He warned that if the legislation doesn't get through the upper chamber, where Republicans hold a majority, then the tax increase will reach a 'whopping 68 percent.' Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is by far the most vocal critic of the bill, claiming it would only bolster the federal debt.
Other Republicans, including Senators Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Thom Tillis (N.C.), have also voiced opposition, raising concern among proponents that it won't pass despite the party's majority. But Trump still called it in a Truth Social post the 'most important' spending bill in U.S. history. Departing the White House on Tuesday morning, the president said he would be returning from Florida after touring 'Alligator Alcatraz' to continue 'fighting for the bill.'
'I think we're going to get there,' Trump said of passing the bill. 'It's tough, we're trying to bring it down - break it down so it's really good for the country.'
'Everything's going well,' he assured when a reporter asked if he thinks the bill will pass by the deadline he set in just a few days. 'Look, the Republicans have their heart in it,' Trump added. 'The Democrats want to - they just want to destroy our country. A Democrat wants to destroy our country. They won't vote on it.'
'It's the best bill we've ever had, we can't get one Democrat vote.'
He boasted the tax cuts it would hold for border security and veterans and claimed it would produce more jobs in the U.S. 'The failure to pass means a whopping 68% Tax increase, the largest in history!!!' he wrote to Truth Social on Tuesday morning. On June 28, the Senate held a procedure vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), passing 51-49 to advance the bill to the floor for debate.
On Monday morning a so-called 'vote-a-rama' started for amendments to the legislation with no clear end date. Some Senate sources claim Republican proponents for the bill in the upper chamber plan to pass it by July 4, 2025 in an effort to meet Trump's Independence Day deadline.
Meanwhile, Trump and former 'first buddy' Elon Musk are publicly fighting about the bill again. The 'one big beautiful bill' was the principal reason that Trump and Musk saw a souring of their relationship earlier this year. It ultimately led to the tech boss leaving the White House and to a public spat that caused a rift in the MAGAverse.
Musk was vocal about his opposition to the so-called BBB, claiming that it would raise the U.S. debt and was counterproductive to all the work he did at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal spending and reduce the inflated government workforce. The president now claims that Musk only opposes the bill because it would slash the Electric Vehicle mandate, which benefitted the billionaire's company Tesla.
'Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,' Trump posted to his Truth Social on Tuesday morning. 'It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign.' In the post, Trump said that the EV mandate 'forced' people to buy this type of vehicle rather than a traditional fuel-run automotive. He said that Musk would be the person who would benefit most from the credit.
But without it, Trump claims, the richest man on earth might need to 'close up shop and head back home to South Africa.' Trump then threatened to have DOGE - the group he created at the suggestion of Musk - 'take a good, hard look' at ridding the U.S. of SpaceX rocket launches and electric car production. 'We might have to put DOGE on Elon,' Trump said on the South Lawn Tuesday morning.
'You know what DOGE is? It's the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon, wouldn't that be terrible?' he joked. 'He gets a lot of subsidies. Elon's very upset that the EV mandate is going to be terminated.' 'Not everybody wants an electric car. I don't want an electric car.' Trump purchased a Tesla from Musk earlier this year when the billionaire brought a fleet of the electric vehicles to the White House when the two were still on good terms. 'He's upset that he's losing his EV mandate and he's upset - he's very upset about things. But he could lose more than that, a lot more than that,' Trump warned.