Trump's tax bill faces Senate hurdle

Republican rift grows over spending plan

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US senators have begun weeks of what is certain to be fierce debate over the mammoth policy package President Donald Trump hopes will seal his legacy, headlined by tax cuts slated to add up to $3 trillion (130 trillion baht) to the nation's debt.

The Republican leader celebrated when the House passed his “big, beautiful bill,” which partially covers an extension of his 2017 tax relief through budget cuts projected to strip health care from millions of low-income Americans.

The Senate now gets to make its own changes, and the upper chamber’s version could make or break Republicans’ 2026 midterm election prospects and define Mr Trump's second term. But the 1,116-page blueprint faces an uphill climb, with moderate Republicans baulking at $1.5 trillion (48.7 trillion baht) in spending cuts while fiscal hawks are blasting the bill as a ticking debt bomb.