USA - Donald Trump's massive tax and spending budget bill is returning to the US House of Representatives - as the clock ticks...
down to the president's 4 July deadline for lawmakers to present him with a final version that can be signed into law. The bill narrowly cleared the Senate, or upper chamber of Congress, on Tuesday. Vice-President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote after more than 24 hours of debate and resistance from some Republican senators. It could prove equally tricky for Trump's allies to pass the bill through the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to hold a vote as early as Wednesday.
The lower chamber approved an earlier version of the bill in May with a margin of just one vote, and this bill must now be reconciled with the Senate version.Both chambers are controlled by Trump's Republicans, but within the party several factions are fighting over key policies in the lengthy legislation. Sticking points include the question of how much the bill will add to the US national deficit, and how deeply it will cut healthcare and other social programmes. During previous signs of rebellion against Trump at Congress, Republican lawmakers have ultimately fallen in line. What is at stake this time is the defining piece of legislation for Trump's second term. Here are the factions standing in its way. (BBC)