Republicans Try Accounting Maneuver to Mask $3.8 Trillion
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, departs following a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, June 23, 2025. Thune is leading efforts to push through a Senate version of the House bill that may hit lower-income Americans even harder than the house bill.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergSenate Republicans are aiming to wipe away some $3.8 trillion in red ink, but not the actual debt itself, from their signature tax-and-spending bill by using an unprecedented parliamentary maneuver.
Led by Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, the GOP is pushing through a version of a House bill that could come down even harder on lower-income and disabled Americans, while making permanent some business tax breaks. The Senate bill even seeks to scale back some of President Donald Trump’s populist promises when it comes to taxes on tips and overtime. Both bills seek to extend—and ostensibly need to pay for—the party’s multitrillion-dollar tax cuts during Trump’s first term, which were largely a boon to corporations and America’s wealthy.