Politics in D.C. usually feels like a scripted play where everyone already knows their lines. But every once in a while, someone misses a cue or decides to ad-lib, and that’s exactly what happened with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). While most of the Republican caucus was ready to celebrate a massive legislative win for the Trump administration, three specific names popped up on the "nay" list that made everyone do a double-take.
Honestly, the name "Big Beautiful Bill" sounds like something out of a marketing brochure, but it’s actually the formal-ish nickname for Public Law 119-21. It’s a monster of a bill. We’re talking about a piece of legislation that permanently extended the 2017 tax cuts, slashed green energy credits, and dumped $150 billion into border enforcement. For most Republicans, this was the "holy grail" of policy.
Yet, when the dust settled on the Senate floor in July 2025, the vote was a razor-thin 51-50. Vice President JD Vance had to come in and break the tie. The reason it was that close? Three Republicans—Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, and Rand Paul—voted against the Big Beautiful Bill.
The Republican Senators Who Voted Against the Big Beautiful Bill
You might think these three would have the same reasons for breaking ranks, but they couldn't have been more different. It wasn’t a unified front; it was more like three people standing on different islands for very different reasons.
Thom Tillis: The Medicaid Defender
Senator Thom Tillis from North Carolina was perhaps the most vocal. He gave this pretty intense floor speech right before the vote. He wasn't necessarily against the tax cuts—he’s a Republican, after all—but he was terrified about what the bill would do to Medicaid in his home state.
The bill included some pretty stiff work requirements and funding changes for Medicaid. Tillis argued that hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians would lose their coverage. He basically called out his own party for "breaking a promise" to the people who rely on those services. Trump wasn't happy, obviously. He even took to Truth Social to call Tillis a "talker and complainer."
Susan Collins: Maine’s Middle Ground
Then you’ve got Susan Collins from Maine. She’s famous for being the "swing vote," so her "no" wasn't a total shocker, but it still carried weight. Like Tillis, her beef was mainly with the Medicaid cuts. She pointed out that about 400,000 people in Maine depend on that program.
Even though the bill tried to sweeten the deal with a "special fund" for rural hospitals, Collins said it just wasn't enough to fix the damage the bill would do to low-income families. She’s always had a bit of an independent streak, and this was a classic example of her putting local healthcare over party loyalty.
Rand Paul: The Deficit Hawk
Rand Paul is a different story entirely. He didn't care about the Medicaid cuts in the way Collins did. His problem? The price tag. Paul is a "fiscal sanity" guy. He looked at the $3 trillion that this bill was expected to add to the national debt over ten years and just couldn't stomach it.
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He actually met with the Vice President and said he’d vote "yes" if they cut the debt ceiling by 90%. They didn't do it, so he walked. For Paul, a "big beautiful bill" that costs trillions isn't beautiful—it's a disaster.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Vote
A lot of the news coverage made it sound like these three were joining the Democrats. That’s not really true. The Democrats voted against the Big Beautiful Bill unanimously, but they did it because they hated the tax cuts for the wealthy and the rollback of climate policies.
Tillis and Collins actually liked the tax relief parts. They just thought the healthcare trade-off was too high. It's a nuance that gets lost in the "us vs. them" headlines.
Why the "No" Votes Mattered
Because those three Republicans jumped ship, the Senate ended up in a 50-50 deadlock. In the U.S. Senate, that’s where the Vice President gets to shine. JD Vance's tie-breaking vote is the only reason this bill is law today.
If even one more Republican had joined them—someone like Lisa Murkowski or Mitt Romney—the whole thing would have collapsed.
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The Fallout: Primary Threats and Political Pressure
Voting against a signature piece of legislation from your own party's president is a risky move. Trump didn't hold back. He threatened to campaign against anyone who stood in the way of the Big Beautiful Bill.
For Tillis, who had already been facing some "RINO" (Republican In Name Only) accusations from the far right, this was a massive gamble. It basically signaled a permanent rift between him and the MAGA wing of the party.
Actionable Insights: How to Track These Votes
If you're trying to keep up with how your own senators are voting on these massive spending packages, don't just look at the final "Pass/Fail" result.
- Check the Congressional Record: Sites like Congress.gov show you the exact amendments that were offered. Sometimes a senator votes "no" on a final bill because a specific amendment they wanted (like Rand Paul's debt ceiling cut) was rejected.
- Follow Local Reporters: National news focuses on the drama. Local North Carolina or Maine reporters are the ones who will explain how a bill actually affects the hospitals or schools in your backyard.
- Look at the "Why": A "no" vote can mean "this bill doesn't go far enough" or "this bill goes too far." Those are two very different political stances.
The story of the senators who voted against the Big Beautiful Bill is a reminder that even in a highly polarized environment, individual priorities—whether it’s Medicaid in Maine or the national deficit—can still throw a wrench in the gears of the Washington machine.
To stay truly informed, you've gotta look past the catchy names and see who’s actually footing the bill and who’s getting the benefits. Legislation of this scale rarely has a simple "yes" or "no" answer, even if that's how it's recorded in the books.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to see how these changes are affecting your own wallet, you can check out the IRS guidance on Public Law 119-21. It details the new "No Tax on Tips" and "No Tax on Overtime" rules that were the centerpieces of the legislation. You might also want to look up your specific state's Medicaid expansion status to see if the work requirements mentioned by Tillis and Collins apply to you.