How the Big Beautiful Bill became law: Medicaid battle intensifies

Published July 29, 2026 12:00pm ET



When Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) needed a boost, he reached for his 5-hour Energy shots.

The soft-spoken 75-year-old chair of the Senate Committee on Finance told the Washington Examiner that the caffeine drinks and a firm Independence Day deadline from the president were the only things keeping him awake in the three sleepless days leading up to July 1, 2025, when the Senate passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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