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U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the U.S. Capitol, shortly after the House first passed the massive tax and spending bill and sent it to the Senate.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the U.S. Capitol, shortly after the House first passed the massive tax and spending bill and sent it to the Senate.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The massive tax and spending bill central to President Trump’s agenda is one step closer to reality.

After weeks of negotiations and 49 consecutive votes that started Monday morning, the senate approved President Trump’s signature domestic policy bill around lunch time Tuesday. It now goes back to the House of Representatives where Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will have to reconcile the senate changes with his members’ competing priorities.

Michael Ricci has had a long career in republican politics, including working as Speaker Paul Ryan’s communications director and Speaker John Boehner’s Chief Speech writer. We talked with him about the stakes, and the bill’s prospects in the House.

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This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Brianna Scott, with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.