Trump warns against ‘ultimate betrayal’ as voting begins to pass his megabill

Donald Trump has issued a stern warning as voting begins to pass his megabill.

US President Donald Trump has warned Senate Republicans that refusing to support his “big beautiful bill” would represent the “ultimate betrayal”.

“With its passage, Americans will keep more of their hard-earned money while taking home much bigger paychecks,” according to a White House statement obtained by NewsNation on Saturday local time.

“Failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.”

The warning shot was fired as Senate members later Saturday prepared to take a procedural vote to kick off debate on the revised, 940-page multi trillion-dollar bill that makes Mr Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, ends taxation on tips and overtime, boosts border security funding and scraps green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration.

The megabill is expected to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $5 trillion in order to cram all the provisions in. It could be a make or break moment for the Republican Party – which has invested much of its political capital on Mr Trump’s signature domestic policy plan.

US President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference during a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague on June 25, 2025. Picture: AFP.

At its core, the legislation would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Mr Trump’s first term that would otherwise expire by year’s end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Mr Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

The Senate will work through the weekend to try and pass Mr Trump’s bill by his July 4 deadline.

With a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, the GOP can only afford to lose three votes and still pass the package with a tie-breaking ballot cast by Vice President JD Vance, The NY Post reports.

A version of it passed the House by a single vote May 22. But the lower chamber will have to vote on the bill again after the Senate finalises its changes to it.

Senator Thom Tillis, R-N. C., said he is concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate.

“I’m voting no on the motion to proceed,” he said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what’s in it.

“There’s no good reason for Republicans to chase a silly deadline,” he added.

Mr Trump had been hoping the bill would pass both chambers and reach his desk for signing by July 4.

“The Great Republicans in the U.S. Senate are working all weekend to finish our ‘ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’” the president posted on his Truth Social on Friday.

Originally published as Trump warns against ‘ultimate betrayal’ as voting begins to pass his megabill