Washington, Apr 5 (AP) Senate Republicans plugged away overnight and into early Saturday morning to approve their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework, hurling past a hard line of Democratic opposition toward what President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill” that's central to his agenda.

The vote, 51-48, fell along mostly party lines. It could not have come at a more difficult political moment. The US economy is churning after Trump's vast tariff scheme sent stocks plummeting, and experts are warning of soaring costs for consumers at home and threats of a potential recession. Even some Republicans have expressed concerns.

But with a nod from Trump GOP leaders held determined to march ahead. Approval paves the way for Republicans, in the months ahead, to try to power a tax cut bill through both chambers of Congress over the objections of Democrats, just as they did in Trump's first term with unified party control in Washington.

“Let the voting begin," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Friday night.

The evening kicked off what's called vote-a-rama as Democrats were intent on making the effort as politically painful as possible, with votes on some two dozen amendments to the package that GOP senators will have to defend before next year's midterm elections.

Among them were proposals to ban tax breaks for the super-wealthy, end Trump's tariffs, clip his efforts to shrink the federal government and protect Medicaid, Social Security and other services.

One, in response to the Trump national security team's use of Signal, sought to prohibit military officials from using any commercial messaging application to transmit war plans. Most were failing.

Democrats accused Republicans of laying the groundwork for cutting key safety net programmes such as Medicaid and nutritional assistance to help pay for more than USD 5 trillion tax cuts they say disproportionately benefit the rich.

“Trump's policies are a disaster," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, as is Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. “Republicans could snuff it out tonight, if they wanted.” The Republicans framed their work as preventing a tax increase for most American families, arguing that unless Congress acts, the individual and estate tax cuts that Republicans passed in 2017 will expire at the end of this year.

The Senate package pulls in other GOP priorities — including USD 175 billion to bolster Trump's mass deportation effort, which is running short of cash, and another USD 175 billion for the Pentagon to build up the military — from an earlier budget effort.

Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 ranking GOP senator, said voters gave Republicans a mission and a mandate in November, and the Senate budget plan delivers.

“It fulfils our promises to secure the border, to rebuild our economy and to restore peace through strength,” Barrasso said.

The framework now goes to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could bring it up for a vote as soon as next week as he works toward a final product by Memorial Day.

The House and Senate need to resolve their differences. The House Republicans had already approved their version, with USD 4.5 trillion in tax breaks over 10 years and some USD 2 trillion in budget cuts and savings pointed at changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other programmes, and some have panned the Senate GOP's approach.

Throughout the day, the debate was generally one-sided, as Republicans yielded time allotments and Democrats were taking full advantage of the all-night voting frenzy. Pizza was wheeled in on a cart, for Republicans. Tacos, for Democrats.

Republicans used their majority to swat them back most amendments, often in rambunctious voice votes. A few Democratic proposals, however, did draw some GOP support, including those to protect Medicaid, Social Security and the bargaining rights of federal workers, with backing from Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, among others.

One Republican, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, expressed his own misgivings about tax breaks adding to the federal deficits and said he has assurances that Trump officials would seek the cuts elsewhere.

“This vote isn't taking place in a vacuum,” he said, a nod to the turmoil over Trump's tariffs.

And Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the lone GOP opponent to the plan so far, questioned the math being used by his colleagues that he said would pile on the debt load. “Something's fishy,” he said.

One crucial challenge ahead will be for the House to accept the way the Senate's budget plan allows for extending the tax cuts under a scoring method that treats them as not adding to future deficits, something many House Republicans reject. A new estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation projects the tax breaks will add USD 5.5 trillion over the next decade when including interest, and USD 4.6 trillion not including interest.

On top of that, the senators added an additional USD 1.5 trillion that would allow some of Trump's campaign promises, such as no taxes on tips, Social Security benefits and overtime, swelling the overall the price tag to USD 7 trillion.

Republicans are also looking to increase the USD 10,000 deduction for state and local taxes, something that lawmakers from states such as New York, California and New Jersey say is necessary for their support.

The House and Senate are also at odds over increasing the debt limit, which is needed by summer to allow more borrowing. The House had boosted the debt limit by USD 4 trillion in its plan, but the Senate upped it to USD 5 trillion to push any further votes on the matter until after next year's midterm elections.

The Senate calls for just USD 4 billion in spending cuts, but GOP leadership emphasises that's a low floor and that committees will be on the hunt for far more.

Already, the GOP leaders are confronting concerns from fiscal hawks in deep red states and congressional districts who want trillions of dollars in spending cuts to help pay for the tax breaks. At the same time, dozens of lawmakers in swing districts and states are worried about what those cuts will mean for their constituents, and for their reelection chances.

The GOP leadership has encouraged members to just get a budget plan over the finish line, saying they have time to work out the tough questions of which tax breaks and spending cuts to include.

Extending the the 2017 breaks would cut taxes for about three-quarters of households but raise them for about 10 per cent. In 2027, about 45 per cent of the benefit of all the tax cuts would go to those making roughly USD 450,000 or more, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, which analyses tax issues. (AP) GRS GRS