Record-breaking ‘vote-a-rama’ enters second day in Senate with 45 consecutive votes

The US Senate has set a new record for the longest ‘vote-a-rama’ in its history, logging 45 consecutive votes and surpassing the previous mark of 44 set in March 2008, according to The Guardian report.

The marathon voting session came as Republican senators struggled for a second straight day to push through President Donald Trump’s key spending bill, which proposes deep cuts to welfare programmes for low-income Americans while adding an estimated $3 trillion to the national debt.

President Trump is pushing for what he calls his “One Big Beautiful Bill” — a sweeping package aimed at extending his expiring first-term tax cuts at an estimated cost of $4.5 trillion, despite polls showing it is widely unpopular with Americans.

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The bill significantly increases spending on the military and Trump’s aggressive agenda for mass deportations and border security. To offset some of the cost, Republican senators are proposing deep cuts to the social safety net, including the elimination of subsidies for clean energy and electric vehicles, a move that has sparked a public feud between Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one of the GOP’s biggest donors.

The legislation would also strip about $1 trillion in subsidised health care from millions of low-income Americans. Even with those cuts, the plan is projected to add more than $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade.

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Trump wants the bill on his desk by Independence Day, which falls on Friday.

But progress has been slow in the Republican-controlled Senate, where the measure is bogged down in a “vote-a-rama” — a marathon session allowing senators to propose unlimited amendments before the bill can proceed.

That process began on Monday and was still ongoing as of Tuesday morning.

“It’s tough,” AFP quoted Trump as telling reporters at the White House before leaving to visit a migrant detention center in Florida.

“We’re going to get there,” he added.

Even if the bill squeaks through the Senate, it still needs a vote in the House of Representatives, where Democrats are again uniformly opposed and several rebels in the slim Republican majority threaten to oppose.

‘Money to be saved’

Trump’s insistence on the bill has put the more vulnerable Republicans in a difficult position.

Polls show the bill is among the most unpopular ever proposed, cutting across demographic, age, and income groups. Democrats aim to capitalise on public outrage, especially over health care cuts, in the 2026 midterms as they look to retake the House.

According to AFP, citing independent studies, the bill would drive a historic shift in wealth from the poorest 10% of Americans to the richest.

Cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act could leave nearly 12 million more people uninsured by 2034, in a country already grappling with high health care costs, added the report.

Senate Democrats are using amendments to spotlight threats to health care, food assistance, and clean energy incentives.

Meanwhile, Republican unity is fracturing. Fiscal conservatives argue for deeper cuts, while moderates worry about the bill’s fallout in their states.

Majority Leader John Thune is on shaky ground, he can afford to lose only one more GOP vote. Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis have already broken ranks.

The bill has also reignited Trump’s feud with Elon Musk. Musk, a vocal critic of the bill’s cost, renewed calls for a third political party as voting began Monday.

Trump hit back, threatening to pull federal subsidies from Tesla and SpaceX.

“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump  posted on Truth Social early Tuesday.

“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE,” he threatened. “BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”

With inputs from agencies