Senate passes GOP’s tax and spending bill with Cornyn, Cruz priorities included

WASHINGTON — Following a 26-hour marathon voting session and lengthy, late-night negotiations, the U.S. Senate has passed its version of Republicans’ landmark tax and spending bill with both Texas senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, voting for the legislation.

The upper chamber’s draft is all but certain to face headwinds as it heads back to the House, including from some Texas Republicans, who passed their own version with steeper cuts in late May.

The bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” includes a slew of GOP requests and President Donald Trump’s priorities, including cuts to Medicaid, changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that could place a higher spending burden on states and rollbacks of the clean energy tax credits first introduced in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Texas’ senators touted provisions they worked into the bill.

Cornyn pushed for the federal government to reimburse Texas for the billions it spent on Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature border security program, “Operation Lone Star,” under the Biden administration. The Senate package includes $13.5 billion in state reimbursement grants — up from $12 billion in the House version — with Texas getting the largest claim to the funds.

Cruz also scored two major wins he has framed as integral to the bill’s long-term legacy, including a provision that would grant a $1,000 government-seeded investment account — branded as “Trump accounts” — to every American child. The money could be used for education expenses, a house down payment or starting a small business.

He also secured a $1,700 annual tax credit for individuals that contribute to nonprofits that grant scholarships to elementary and secondary school students, a framework supporters call “school choice” and that is similar to private school vouchers. Early Tuesday morning, Cruz and his fellow Republicans voted down a Democratic-led amendment attempting to remove the provision from the bill. Abbott signed a landmark voucher program bill in May that allows families to use taxpayer funds to pay for private school tuition and other education-related expenses.