Pa. lawmakers react as Senate approves Trump budget bill

There were passionate opinions on both sides of the aisle after Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie.

President Donald Trump’s domestic policy package passed the Senate by the slimmest of margins Tuesday, and state leaders have reacted strongly to the bill.

Pennsylvania’s two senators voted along party lines as expected. U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, joined 49 other Republicans in supporting Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill.

Republican U.S. Sens. Thomas Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky opposed the bill, as did U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, and the chamber’s 44 other Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats.

Vice President JD Vance, as president of the Senate, broke the 50-50 tie to send the legislation back to the U.S. House.

“I am proud to support this bill because it would deliver continued tax relief to millions of Pennsylvania families and prevent the largest tax increase in American history,” McCormick said in a statement after the vote. “This bill also delivers on many of the promises that both President Trump and I made — to secure our nation’s border and bolster our national defense to keep Americans safe, and to unleash American energy potential and lower costs for consumers.

“No bill is perfect, but these provisions will make a real difference in the lives of people working hard to make ends meet and raise their families across the commonwealth. I also believe that the historic investments in the border, law enforcement and defense will benefit all Pennsylvanians in the coming years, as will the important provisions that will unleash Pennsylvania energy.”

An analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found 11.8 million more people would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade.

Fetterman has stated for some time that he would vote against the bill, saying he would not support legislation that included steep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and would add trillions to the national debt over the next decade.

“This bill is a disaster, which is why I voted HELL NO,” Fetterman said in a statement after Tuesday’s vote.

“I’ll keep fighting to protect health care, defend nutrition assistance, block giveaways for billionaires and prevent trillions more added to our national debt,” Fetterman added. “This bill is now in the hands of my colleagues in the House, where hopefully a handful of Republicans will put their constituents before campaign donors and shut this down.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro stated on X, formerly Twitter, that Pennsylvania would not be able to make up for the cuts coming with the spending bill.

“I’ve been clear: Pennsylvania is not able to backfill these federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP,” Shapiro wrote. “So when the Senate just voted to rush to gut health care, slash food assistance, and cut energy jobs here in Pennsylvania — understand, they knew the consequences. The impacts of this bill will be on them.”

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis expressed a similar sentiment, stating that the bill passed by the U.S. Senate was one of the most dangerous and destructive bills in modern history. He urged members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to oppose the bill.

“Thousands of Pennsylvanians will lose health care, children will go hungry, rural hospitals will close, clean energy is gutted, and high-quality education is at risk — all to provide tax breaks for billionaires and create a massive financial burden for the entire country,” Davis said.

State Sen. Nick Pisciottano, D-West Mifflin, strongly opposed the bill, stating that it would affect thousands in Pennsylvania due to SNAP and Medicaid reductions.

“I am outraged by the legislation passed today by the US Senate,” Pisciottano said in a statement. “As your State Senator, I am deeply concerned by the effects this bill will have on our neighbors and our community. I worry about the grandparents, working families, and people with disabilities who will struggle even more than they already are to put food on the table.

“I worry about the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who will lose their health insurance. The bill benefits almost no one, guts the social safety net that millions of the most vulnerable Americans rely on to make ends meet, and balloons the national debt—all in exchange for tax cuts for Donald Trump and his 1% cronies.”

The House is returning this morning, and Speaker Mike Johnson said after the Senate vote that Republicans are “ready to finish the job.”

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, in a statement, said that the bill was a disaster and that she was heading to D.C. to vote against it.

“Senate Republicans just passed their version of the ‘big, ugly bill,’” Lee said. “Big because it makes the biggest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in US history. Ugly because billionaires get richer while working families are left to suffer. I’m headed to DC to vote no in the House on this catastrophic bill.”

The House approved an earlier version of the bill in late May by a narrow margin. In the 215-214 vote, two Republicans voted against the bill, and another Republican voted “present.” Now the House will vote on the version amended by the Senate.

Members of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation voted along party lines when the House considered the bill last month, with Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, and Mike Kelly, R-Butler, supporting it, while Lee and Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, opposed it.

The Associated Press and TribLive contributed to this article.