[This article first appeared at Common Dreams on June 25, 2025.]

Trump’s One Big Beautiful (Ugly) Bill v. An Unsung Hero

by Steven J. Harper

In the dead of night at 2:53 a.m. on May 22, the House of Representatives began to consider President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” 

Four hours later, Republicans passed it by a single vote – 215 to 214. It included a provision that effectively forgave most of Trump’s unconstitutional actions and undermined the federal courts. 

Republicans in the Senate made it worse.

Over the weekend, an unlikely hero blocked this assault on the Constitution: the Senate parliamentarian. Will her ruling stick? Or will Senate Republicans detonate the “nuclear option” to save the provision?

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