Freshman Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) expressed clear frustration Monday over the Senate’s marathon voting session on former President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” saying it disrupted his family vacation. “Oh my God, I just want to go home. I’ve already … missed our entire trip to the beach,” Fetterman told reporters. He added that his family would return from vacation before he made it back from Capitol Hill.
Despite calling the bill’s passage inevitable, Fetterman ultimately voted against it, noting, “There’s no drama,” and adding that only a few GOP holdouts might make the process interesting. Still, he questioned the need to keep lawmakers in session “until some ungodly hour.”
Senators began voting Monday morning on a long series of amendments and procedural motions that were expected to continue into early Tuesday. The holiday recess, originally set to begin days earlier, was delayed to finish debate and voting on the 940-page bill, which was released just before midnight Friday.
The process has tested patience on both sides of the aisle. Staff worked through the weekend reading the bill aloud—an arduous task that took over 16 hours. Meanwhile, senators returned Saturday night to vote on a motion to proceed, waiting around until nearly midnight.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) criticized Fetterman’s attitude. “If you are here, you are damned lucky and privileged to be here,” Boyle said in an interview. “If you don’t want to be here, leave.” He emphasized the bill’s significance, saying the outcome would affect millions of Americans’ health care.
Fetterman, who has frequently broken with his party, drew rare praise from Trump last week, calling him “the most sensible” Democrat in the Senate—even though he opposed the bill.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led a procedural effort to remove the bill’s original title, “One Big Beautiful Bill,” citing a violation of the 1974 Congressional Budget Act. The motion was upheld, stripping the title from the legislation just before final votes began.
