On December 11, 2025, the Republican-controlled Senate defeated Democratic-backed legislation extending subsidies for ACA health insurance. The subsidy measure drew only 51 votes and, therefore, fell short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a filibuster. All 47 Democrats and 4 Republicans supported it. The other 49 Republicans voted against it.
Six days later, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a health-care bill that omitted the health insurance subsidies. All 210 Democrats and 1 Republican opposed it, while 216 Republicans supported it.
In early 2026, every Democratic member of Congress voted to block U.S. military action against Venezuela without Congressional authorization. On January 14, in the Senate, a measure along these lines, supported by all 47 Democrats and 3 Republicans, was defeated by the votes of 50 Republicans and Vice President J.D. Vance, who cast the tie-breaker. On January 22, in the House, all 213 Democrats and 2 Republicans voted for a similar restraining measure, but were stymied by 215 Republican opponents.
Meanwhile, on January 22 the Republican-controlled House passed legislation providing additional funding for ICE, with 206 Democrats and 1 Republican opposing it and 213 Republicans and 7 Democrats supporting it.
One of the very few pieces of key legislation that drew majority support from both parties was military aid to Israel, a $3.3 billion package passed by the House on January 14, 2026. Even on this issue, however, there was a partisan difference, with opposition to the legislation coming from 57 Democrats and only 22 Republicans.
Probably the most sweeping and important legislation to pass Congress during Trump's second term was a budget reconciliation measure that he called the Big Beautiful Bill. Its provisions included permanently extending Trump's tax cuts for the rich, slashing Medicaid funding, cutting food stamp spending by 20 percent, dramatically increasing funding for border enforcement and ICE, phasing out clean energy tax credits, promoting fossil fuels, and increasing U.S. military spending by $150 billion. According to experts, the legislation created the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in American history.
In the Senate, the vote on the Big Beautiful Bill was 50 to 50, with 50 Republican Senators supporting it and all 47 Democratic and 3 Republican Senators opposing it. The bill passed when Vance cast a tie-breaking vote. In the House, it was supported by 218 Republicans and opposed by all 212 Democrats and 2 Republicans.
Of course, Democratic legislators-- especially when elected to office in normally Republican or marginal districts and facing an avalanche of billionaire campaign funding for their Republican opponents-- sometimes made political compromises.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
