Republicans and Democrats buck party lines in marathon votes for Trump megabill

Senators have been crossing party lines on votes ranging from areas such as Medicaid, food assistance and hospital funding as they consider a litany of potential amendments to President Trump’s megabill amid an hours-long, marathon voting session.

Democrats, who have lined up in opposition to the bill, have offered a series of amendments and proposed changes throughout the voting session. While none have yet been adopted, some of the Democratic efforts have still managed to peel off GOP support. 

The votes come as Democrats are seeking to hold Republicans’ feet to the fire with potentially politically tough votes as they ramp up attacks against the bill, which is estimated to put trillions of dollars in tax cuts toward national deficits in the coming years, along with significant changes to reduce federal dollars for programs such as Medicaid and food assistance.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key moderate who has not yet announced how she plans to vote on the plan, has broken with her party on several votes for Democratic-backed measures. 

That includes efforts seeking to “eliminate any provisions that would lead to any nursing home closures” and those that “change state provider taxes,” as well as another to block provisions that would “result in increased likelihood of rural hospitals being forced to close.”

She also joined Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in voting with Democrats against a GOP effort to block consideration of an amendment offered by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). The amendment sought to strip a provision in the bill that would block Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.

Murkowski, another moderate whose support GOP leadership has made efforts to secure in recent days, broke with her party on other votes as well. She also voted to back an effort by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) aimed at removing provisions that strip “individuals in the United States of the federal benefits to which they are entitled,” partly with the “creation of new administrative burdens and paperwork requirements.”

She and fellow Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) voted to back an effort from Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) to strike provisions related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as the food stamps program, as Republicans have proposed notable changes to the program to reduce federal spending in the bill. 

The two GOP senators have also raised concerns over the scope of the bill’s SNAP proposal and how requirements for states with higher payment error rates to pay a share of benefit costs for the first time would impact Alaska.

However, Democrats weren’t the only ones to peel off across-the-aisle support during votes.

One amendment offered by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) targeted states that use their own money to offer health care to migrants without legal status. States that continue to cover migrants without legal status would get their Medicaid cut from 90 to 80 percent.

Four Democrats joined Republicans in backing the effort: Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (Ga.). 

Nathaniel Weixel contributed.