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The bill passed by a vote of 51-50, with three Republicans joining the lockstep Democrats in voting against the $3.3 trillion package.

Vice President JD Vance, as president of the Senate, broke the tie, sending the measure to the House, where changes made in the Senate will be taken up.

Hawley was not immediately available Tuesday for an interview but provided a statement.

Hawley said the bill will “deliver major relief for working people, such as no taxes on overtime, no taxes on tips, and a larger child tax credit for families.”

The Medicaid issue, however, was a major point of contention between Democrats and Republicans.

Despite Hawley’s prior opposition to reductions in the program’s provider fee, which generates money for states to fund their portion of Medicaid, he ultimately voted in favor of reducing the fee cap to 3.5%, instead of 6%.

That vote drew a swift and pointed response from Russ Carnahan, chair of the Missouri Democratic party.

“This bill is a slap in the face to working families,” Carnahan said in a statement. “Missouri deserves leaders who stand up for them, not ones who lie to their faces and vote the way their rich friends tell them to.”

Hawley was one of six Republican senators who initially said some aspects of the Medicaid cuts were problematic.

Also in that camp were Susan Collins of Maine, Jim Justice of West Virginia, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

Of that group, only Collins and Tillis ultimately voted against the bill, which was the top legislative priority of President Donald Trump.

The other GOP senator to vote against the bill was Rand Paul of Kentucky, who generally opposes any legislation that increases the national debt.

Despite media reports that he opposed all Medicaid cuts, Hawley consistently said he thought changes needed to be made in the program.

He went on to maintain that he supported cutting some people from the Medicaid rolls, specifically those who are in the country illegally and those who did not meet work requirement parameters.

As to eventually supporting the more drastic reduction of the provider fee, Hawley said recent bargaining among senators now delays the reduction in the cap for one year and adds $50 billion to a fund to benefit rural hospitals.

The rural hospital fund, a proposal from Collins which Hawley supported, had previously drawn only cautious support from Hawley.

In an with The Hill, Hawley said Collins’ initial proposal to create a $100 billion fund was “a good start.”

Opponents say reductions in the provider fee will put more of the funding burden on states and could lead to reductions in services are even closing rural hospitals and health care facilities.

Backers of cuts to Medicaid claim the changes in the new bill will help trim governmental waste, fraud and abuse.

As to other Medicaid cuts, including future cap provider fee reductions, Hawley claims he will “do everything in my power to reverse future cuts to Medicaid.”

“If Republicans want to be the party of the working class, we cannot cut health insurance for working people,” he said.

Carnahan maintained that working class Americans would remember Hawley’s actions. “They won’t forget who stood with them and who sold them out,” he said.

Hawley’s state mate, U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, also voted for the bill. During the budget process, Schmitt, also a Republican, similar to Hawley’s, but he was far less conspicuous about it.

Schmitt touted the bill’s tax cuts, which he says will result in Missouri families getting as much as $11,600 more in take-home pay.

He also pointed out provisions added to the bill, including services for the disabled and tax incentives for educational purposes.

Hawley, when it came to other aspects of the bill, focused on his successful effort to get victims of radiation exposure included in federal compensation laws, known as RECA.

Hawley has been fighting for several years on behalf of residents in north 51���� County and St. Charles County who live near sites where uranium was processed and stored after World War II during the Manhattan Project and the development of atomic weapons.

Hawley said expanding RECA Missouri “will finally deliver justice” to Missourians.

Dawn Chapman, co-founder of a group that has advocated to get Missouri included in the RECA laws, said she stayed up all night to make sure the provision remained in the bill.

“We’re used to political divisions, political fights. But that won’t deter us from our goal” to get compensation for those affected by radiation, she said.

Said Chapman, “That’s always been our goal, and that will always be our goal.”