Schumer’s Obstruction Backfires as Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Clears Crucial Senate Hurdle
Senate Democrats threw up roadblocks this weekend in a desperate attempt to derail President Donald J. Trump’s landmark legislation, but even hours of performative delay couldn’t stop the momentum of the GOP’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) resorted to a time-wasting stunt on Saturday, invoking an obscure procedural maneuver to force Senate clerks to read all 940 pages of the legislation aloud—an exercise that dragged on for nearly 16 hours into early Sunday, according to Fox News.
Schumer admitted the move was meant to humiliate Republicans. “I know damn well they haven’t read the bill, so we’re going to make them,” he said—before posting triumphantly on X: “Republicans are squirming.”
But if Schumer thought he was scoring political points, the reality suggests otherwise. The tactic—rarely used and widely criticized as theatrical—did little to change the legislative outcome and instead reminded Americans of the Democrat playbook: stall, obstruct, and complain while offering no serious solutions.
Ironically, it was Schumer’s own party that routinely rammed through massive bills without giving members time to read them—Obamacare and the Biden-era American Rescue Plan being prime examples.
The last time the Senate was subjected to a full bill reading? 2021, when Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) demanded transparency on Biden’s bloated $1.9 trillion rescue package. Unlike that moment of principle, Schumer’s maneuver was pure political theater.
Now that the marathon reading is over, the Senate is moving into a 20-hour debate period. Republicans are expected to use only a portion of their allotted time, while Democrats are already signaling plans to drag out every hour.
Still, passage of the bill isn’t a guarantee just yet. Conservative Senators like Rand Paul (R-Ky.) remain skeptical. Paul, a principled fiscal hawk, has long warned against runaway spending—though insiders say negotiations are ongoing.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is another holdout. Facing fierce backlash from conservatives and even a potential Trump-backed primary challenger, Tillis announced he would not seek reelection, signaling he has no intention of reversing his opposition unless major changes are made to Medicaid provisions in the bill.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) has also raised concerns, particularly about the Medicaid provider tax rate. And among Senate Republicans, a small bloc of fiscal hawks continues to push for stronger spending cuts and reforms to the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP)—the formula dictating how much federal aid goes to states for Medicaid.
Despite these internal debates, the bill is moving forward thanks to a strategic push by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and support from Vice President JD Vance, who worked late into the night negotiating with skeptics.
After the successful procedural vote, President Trump celebrated the hard-fought progress. He’s framed the bill as the necessary corrective to the fiscal wreckage and open-border chaos left behind by the Biden administration.
Senator Ron Johnson, who flipped his vote from ‘no’ to ‘yes,’ summed up the stakes:
“Biden and the Democrats left behind enormous messes that we are trying to clean up – an open border, wars, and massive deficits,” he said. “After working for weeks with President Trump and his highly capable economic team, I am convinced that he views this as a necessary first step and will support my efforts to help put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.”
The final procedural vote was 51-49, with only Sens. Paul and Tillis breaking ranks. Republicans, with their 53-47 majority, appear poised to deliver a signature win for President Trump—and a major blow to the progressive obstruction machine.