Manu Raju Asks GOP Senators About Voting on Big Beautiful Bill Text They Haven’t Read Yet: ‘We Know Where We Are Going’
CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju spoke with several Republican lawmakers on Friday about the possibility that they would vote on the latest version of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” without having had time to read the final text — something that has been a complaint from Republicans in the past about Democrats.
Raju spoke with Jake Tapper on Friday’s The Lead about his interviews with GOP lawmakers ahead of the hoped-for vote on the latest Senate version of the agenda bill from President Donald Trump, which Trump dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill” and which has been the subject of extensive debate and maneuvering among Republicans.
Raju said to multiple GOP members on Friday that the process is moving fast or that there hasn’t been time to review it, asking for their explanations of how that might look to American voters.
“What do you think voters say when they look at the process here that’s being employed to push this through and it’ll be voted on and people haven’t even got a chance to review it?” Raju said to Sen. Lindsey Graham in one such interview.
“I don’t remember the voters saying anything about Obamacare,” Graham replied.
“You guys did,” said Raju, likely referring to the strong reactions at the time to a statement by then Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who said of Obamacare “have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
“Well, the process of reconciliation is a one-party exercise. We’ve spent hours and days and weeks and months talking about this among ourselves,” Graham explained, highlighting the difference between those comments and the current situation. “We shared it with our constituents.”
Raju pressed on though, asking Sen Bernie Moreno of Ohio about it as well, and getting a similar explanation highlighting that the contents of the bill are well discussed even if the specific language hasn’t been printed out yet.
“I’ve never discussed things so many times as we’ve discussed the exact same thing,” Moreno said. “The final text is not out, but we know where we are going directionally.”
Raju also spoke with Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who defended the overall process and said that the normal period of public review would be observed.
But a number of Republicans have their own doubts about that process, and the prospect of the bill being “jammed through,” as Raju put it.
On CNN, Tapper noted that the timing of a vote has already moved.
“They were talking earlier about having a vote tomorrow morning, now it’s tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “We’ll see, we’ll see.”
RAJU: Now, at this key moment, Jake, they are still negotiating the details of this bill. We have not seen the final legislative text, even though senators want to vote on this by tomorrow. And I asked a bunch of Republican senators whether or not it’s okay to vote for a bill that they have yet to see the final text of.
RAJU: What do you think voters say when they look at the process here that’s being employed to push this through and it’ll be voted on and people haven’t even got a chance to review it?
GRAHAM: Uh, I don’t remember the voters saying anything about Obamacare. I mean, -.
RAJU: You guys did.
GRAHAM: Well, the process of reconciliation is a one-party exercise. We’ve spent hours and days and weeks and months talking about this among ourselves. We shared it with our constituents.
MORENO: I’ve never discussed things so many times as we’ve discussed the exact same thing. The final text is not out, but we know where we are going directionally.
RAJU: But the final details are key, including on how to deal with those Medicaid cuts in particular, as well as other major sticking points, such as how do they deal with phasing out green energy tax breaks as well as the state and local tax deductions. There’s a big fight over that between House and Senate Republicans. So big questions Jake about what the ultimate language is going to be. But the ultimate hope here Jake is that they can get onto the bill by tomorrow sometime in the afternoon and potentially pass this out of the House by tomorrow night or into Sunday morning and then onto the president’s desk if it gets to the U.S. House sometime next week.
TAPPER: That keeps sliding though. They were talking earlier about having a vote tomorrow morning, now it’s tomorrow afternoon. We’ll see, we’ll see.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
