$3 trillion debt? Trump’s bill sparks Senate chaos, millions may lose healthcare

The United States Senate descended into a legislative battle on Monday night as Republicans pushed through a marathon “vote-a-rama” session in a bid to pass President Donald Trump’s controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

The sweeping $4.5 trillion spending package is Trump’s final power play before Independence Day and it is met with heavy criticism, slamming it as a brutal attack on social welfare programs and a ticking time bomb set to inflate the national debt by over $3 trillion.

Trump’s proposal includes plans to extend his first-term tax cuts, inject more cash into military spending, and bankroll mass deportations and border wall expansions. But the price is slashing $1 trillion in subsidised health coverage for low-income Americans and gutting Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, a move that could leave nearly 12 million people uninsured by 2034.

The Senate is split, with many Republicans hesitant to back the deeply unpopular bill ahead of the 2026 midterms. Still, Trump is pushing hard for victory before July 4th celebrations kick off.

On Truth Social, Trump called out the legislation, “the greatest and most important of its kind in history,” warning that failure to pass it could trigger “a whopping 68% tax increase, the largest in history.”

But behind closed doors, cracks are showing. Senator Rand Paul and moderate Thom Tillis have already broken ranks. Democrats, meanwhile, are exploiting the chaotic vote session to introduce amendment after amendment, shining a spotlight on GOP-led cuts to food assistance and clean energy incentives.

“They’re stalling,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. “They can’t deliver what they promised, so they’re dragging this out.”

With the bill stretching over 940 pages, a House vote could happen as early as Wednesday. But trouble is brewing there too, with far-right Republicans laying claims that the bill doesn’t slash enough, while moderates balk at the deep healthcare cuts.

Even Trump’s former ally, Elon Musk, has jumped into the fray. The tech mogul who recently resigned from Trump’s administration called the bill “debt slavery” and teased plans to launch a third political party.

If passed, the bill could result in one of the largest wealth redistributions in modern U.S. history, that shifts benefits from the poorest Americans to the wealthiest. Polls show it is widely rejected by voters across age, race, and income groups.