US Senate Majority Leader John Thune is working hard to push Trump's tax cut and spending bill to pass it before the July 4 deadline set by the US president. But before that, he must first resolve the objections of about eight Republican senators to parts of the bill.

In the next two days, Thune will need to try to appease most of these lawmakers. The Senate will launch a marathon voting session on dozens of amendments on Monday morning, which is expected to last 12 hours or more. Thune will work behind the scenes to resolve their concerns.

The Republican from South Dakota will take on one of the most difficult tasks in Washington in the next few hours, seeking compromise between different factions in the party: one side demands that the bill further cut spending, and the other side threatens not to support the bill without increasing funding for priorities such as health care benefits and renewable energy subsidies.

Among the 53 Republican members of the Senate, Thune can only afford to lose a maximum of three votes, and the vote of Vice President JD Vance will be the key vote to break the tie.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Polls show Americans are wary of the bill. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 49% of Americans oppose the bill, 29% support it and 21% are undecided.

Internal divisions

Republicans in Congress generally support the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts in the bill, which extend the 2017 tax cuts and provide new tax breaks for tipped and hourly workers, seniors and car buyers. But the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts have sparked controversy.

The Senate version of the tax and spending bill would add nearly $3.3 trillion to the U.S. deficit over a decade, according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.

Moderate senators such as Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are pushing to scale back the cuts to Medicaid benefits, warning of a potentially huge political cost if millions of Americans lose health insurance as a result of the bill.

Murkowski and Tillis also called for a slower phase-out of tax credits for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, which have driven a large number of jobs in their states.

But those demands are in direct conflict with those advocated by Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and others, who have called for deeper cuts to Medicaid to reduce the overall cost of the bill. He said he will be joined by Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to support an amendment that would include faster Medicare cuts in a marathon vote that will begin Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Timeline

Trump has not yet delved into the details of the bill, but has urged speed, asking Congress to send him the bill by July 4. The House will also need to vote on the version passed by the Senate before it can be sent to Trump to sign into law.

Meeting the July 4 deadline will not be easy, but it is possible if Republican leaders can successfully resolve disputes. If Thune can reach an agreement with enough senators, the bill will finally pass the Senate on Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

The House would then need to vote on the Senate package, which could mean Speaker Mike Johnson must win support from House Republicans for the Senate version of the bill. The House could vote as early as Wednesday, with some lawmakers already saying they are unhappy with aspects of the bill, but any further changes could mean missing Trump's July 4 deadline, which would be a major upset.