President Trump is giving Republicans in the Senate his approval to make whatever changes they wish to the "Big, Beautiful Bill."
The order may come as a shock to House Republicans, who have spent weeks negotiating a delicate compromise between different factions in the party.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has urged the Senate to make minimal revisions, but Trump wants the Senate to have a say, welcoming "significant" tweaks if needed.
“I want the Senate and the senators to make the changes they want," Trump said. "It will go back to the House and we’ll see if we can get them. In some cases, the changes may be something I’d agree with, to be honest.”
It's a bit of a tone shift from Trump, who had previously slammed "grandstanders" in the House as he pushed Republicans to come together and enact his agenda quickly.
A couple of Republican senators, Ron Johnson (WI.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), are vocally opposed to the bill in its current form, saying it will raise deficits unacceptably.
Senate Majority Leader, John Thune (R-Sd) has already said “the Senate will have its imprint on it," with senators expected to look closely at an increase in the state-and-local tax (SALT) deduction cap - a concession to House Republicans in high-tax blue states - as well as cost-saving reforms to Medicaid that some Republicans are nervous about defending.
The House version of Trump's bill passed last week by only one vote. The bill, which aims to codify Trump's tax reforms and boost funding for immigration enforcement, was the product of a careful compromise between deficit hawks and Republicans who wanted more generous state and local tax (SALT) breaks.
"I encourage them to modify the package that we’re sending over there as little as possible, because we have to maintain that balance, and it’s a very delicate thing," Speaker Johnson told Fox News on Sunday.
The Senate is aiming to pass the bill by July 4, a fitting date for unleashing Trump's promised "golden age" of American renewal.
Getting the bill passed may be easier said than done, but Trump remains optimistic.
“We’ve had a very good response from the Senate and I don’t know how Democrats can’t vote for it,” Trump said. “I think they [Senate Republicans] are going to have changes. Some will be minor, some will be fairly significant.”
"I think it’s going to get there,” Trump said, adding that Johnson and Thune are doing "fantastic."
