Senator Markwayne Mullin Confident in “Big Beautiful Bill” Passage Amid Republican Discord and Democratic Stalls
With President Trump’s ambitious “Big Beautiful Bill” facing a critical July 4th deadline, Senate Republicans are pushing forward, but not without significant internal opposition and Democratic delaying tactics. The massive tax and spending package, which includes an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, increased defense and border spending, and controversial changes to Medicaid, sparked a lively debate on “Meet The Press” Sunday with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin.
The bill’s passage hinges on a razor-thin Republican majority, with two key defections already announced: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Senator Tillis explicitly cited the proposed cuts to Medicaid for his state as his reason for opposing the bill, a stance that has reportedly drawn threats of a primary challenge from President Trump.
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This leaves Republicans with only one more vote to lose before the legislation falters.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, while indicating a “yes” vote, expressed reservations about the bill’s priorities.
“I mean we can’t – we can’t be cutting health care for working people and for poor people in order to constantly give special tax treatment to corporations and other entities,” Hawley stated to NBC.
Despite the mounting criticism, President Trump has urged his party to coalesce behind the legislation.
On “Meet The Press,” Senator Mullin, a key negotiator, exuded confidence in the bill’s eventual passage. Mullin emphasized that the most difficult hurdle, getting the bill out of the House, had been cleared. He dismissed Democratic efforts to delay the process by demanding a full reading of the 940-page bill, suggesting it would only highlight the bill’s benefits to the American people.
“This cuts spending. It’s the largest deficit cut by any – any Congress, ever in history. It makes tax cuts permanent, which instead of taxes going up January 1st by $4 trillion, it actually restores the tax cuts,” Mullin claimed. He further asserted that the average household of four would see over $10,000 more in take-home pay this year.
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However, host Kristen Welker challenged Mullin’s figures, citing a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate that middle-income households would only see an increase of $500 to $1,000. Mullin clarified that his $10,000 figure included various factors beyond just the tax cut extension, such as doubled child deductions and increased wage bring-home.
Addressing Elon Musk’s scathing remarks, Mullin, who previously lauded Musk as “the best entrepreneur we’ve ever had in our lifetime,” dismissed his opinion on the bill. Mullin stated that while he respects Musk, “he just doesn’t know” the intricacies of politics and the negotiations involved.
Mullin framed the upcoming vote as a binary choice for Americans: move forward with Trump’s policies, which he claimed would boost the economy, secure the border, and reduce deficits, or revert to “Biden-era policies” that he characterized as detrimental.
A central point of contention in the bill is Medicaid. Senator Tillis’s “no” vote stems from concerns over funding cuts. Mullin, however, vehemently denied that the bill represents a broken promise by President Trump, who had pledged no Medicaid cuts. Instead, Mullin argued, the legislation aims to eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse” from the system, ensuring it serves its intended purpose for those “in the most dire need.”
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He pointed to the disparity between 35 million people living under the poverty line and 70 million enrolled in Medicaid as evidence of such abuse, despite Welker noting that 92% of Medicaid recipients are either working or exempt. Mullin advocated for work requirements for able-bodied individuals without dependents or medical conditions.
The interview also touched upon a recent Supreme Court decision concerning nationwide injunctions against executive actions, specifically President Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship. When pressed on whether babies born to undocumented parents should be deported with their parents, Mullin affirmed they should, arguing against family separation and stating that an “industry” exists to facilitate such births.
Finally, Mullin addressed the recent U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear program. He confidently stated that Iran’s program could be considered “obliterated,” even with some highly enriched uranium unaccounted for. Mullin asserted that the infrastructure, particularly the heavily targeted Fordo facility, had been destroyed, rendering Iran unable to rebuild its program for years.
He credited President Trump as the first president since Clinton to take decisive action against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
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