Trump's sweeping tax-cut, spending bill clears first US Senate hurdle

• Procedural vote sets stage for overnight debate. 
• Changes made to Medicaid, state and local tax provisions.
• Nonpartisan group says bill would add $4 trillion to debt.

WASHINGTON: The US Senate advanced President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill on Saturday, with billionaire Elon Musk warning the draft legislation would “destroy millions of jobs” and “cause immense strategic harm” to the United States.

Musk slammed the plan as “utterly insane and destructive,” saying it handed subsidies to outdated industries while undermining those of the future. 

His remarks came after a key procedural vote passed 51–49, raising the odds that lawmakers will be able to pass Trump's "big, beautiful bill" in the coming days, which is his top legislative priority.

The procedural vote, which would start debate on the 940-page megabill to fund Trump's top immigration, border, tax-cut and military priorities, began after hours of delay.

It then remained open for more than three hours of standstill as three Republican senators — Thom Tillis, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul — joined Democrats to oppose the legislation. Three others - Senators Rick Scott, Mike Lee and Cynthia Lummis — negotiated with Republican leaders into the night in hopes of securing bigger spending cuts.

In the end, Wisconsin Senator Johnson flipped his no vote to yes, leaving only Paul and Tillis opposed among Republicans.

Trump was monitoring the vote from the Oval Office late into the night, a senior White House official said.

The megabill would extend the 2017 tax cuts that were Trump's main legislative achievement during his first term as president, cut other taxes and boost spending on the military and border security.

Nonpartisan analysts estimate that a version of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill would add trillions to the $36.2-trillion US government debt.

Democrats fiercely opposed the bill, saying its tax-cut elements would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of social programs that lower-income Americans rely upon.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, demanded that the bill be read aloud before debate could begin, saying the Senate Republicans were scrambling to pass a "radical bill".

"If Senate Republicans won't tell the American people what's in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish," the New York Democrat said.