Bessent: Senate Set to Vote on Megabill, Friday

The Senate is on track to vote Friday on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, predicting that Republicans in both chambers of Congress would reach a deal within 48 hours on raising the cap on state and local tax deductions, a major sticking point in the legislation, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, The Hill reported on Tuesday.

Bessent spoke to reporters after meeting with Republican senators in the Capitol as they try to reach consensus on key provisions of the megabill.

The Treasury secretary said that President Donald Trump would be fully involved in the final days in helping garner enough support to pass the bill, which would enact much of the agenda he ran on in his election campaign.

Bessent said that the federal government is on the "warning track" for raising the debt limit before its borrowing authority expires next month, cautioning that the "X date" for raising it could be moved up significantly if courts rule that the administration must refund tariffs collected under Trump's invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

"I can tell you we're getting close to the warning track," he said, though he insisted the U.S. would never default on its debt.

Bessent pushed back when asked about the Senate's scaled-down proposals to exclude tipped income and overtime wages from taxation, even though the Senate proposals are less generous than what the House proposed.

"I don't know why you would call them scaled-down," he told a reporter. "We'll see what happens between the Senate and the House. I am confident that what the Senate passes over to the House will move through the House very quickly."

Bessent also predicted that the legislation overall would speedily pass the House as well and make it to Trump's desk by the July 4 deadline the president set for the legislation.

Brian Freeman ✉

Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.

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Bessent: Senate Set to Vote on Megabill, Friday

Brian Freeman ✉

Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.