7 senators to watch as Republicans make changes to Trump's big bill

From centrists worried about Medicaid cuts to conservative hard-liners demanding steeper spending reductions, Senate GOP leaders face a tricky balancing act.

WASHINGTON — As Senate Republican leaders push to a massive bill for President Donald Trump’s agenda by July 4, they are juggling a host of competing demands.

Some senators are genuine threats to vote against the legislation, while others are expected to support it in the end after using their demands to shape it. Several of them have complicated political considerations. The Republicans who are speaking out most loudly point to a variety of ways the House-passed bill may change in the Senate, as party leaders seek to ease enough of their concerns.

With all Democrats expected to vote against the package, Republicans will need at least 50 votes to pass it, as Vice President JD Vance could break a tie.

Here are seven key senators to watch.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is the only Republican senator who has voted against this legislation every step of the way. He has blasted the spike in military spending, the huge increase in deficits and, in particular, the $5 trillion debt limit hike. Paul does support a key part of the package — an extension of the Trump's 2017 tax cuts — but he wants to offset it with trillions of dollars in additional spending cuts, which the GOP has no hope of finding consensus on.