Yesterday morning, the Senate passed President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” sending it back to the United States House of Representatives for final approval.
The reconciliation bill passed by a 51-50 margin with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote as the President of the Senate. All Democrats voted against its passage. Republicans Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Tom Tillis joined their Democratic colleagues’ attempt to kill the bill.
Absent from the bill was the full Hearing Protection Act (HPA) and Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act, disappointing gun rights activists.
BREAKING
The Senate just passed H.R. 1 with the $0 NFA tax stamp 51-50, with @JDVance breaking the tie.@HouseGOP should insert a full repeal of the NFA excise tax on suppressors & short-barreled firearms & send it back to the Senate to fire/overrule the Parliamentarian. pic.twitter.com/z8ZvWer8uM
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) July 1, 2025
The Senate did include those amendments for the original markup, but the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, a Democrat, rejected the text, saying that the SHORT Act and HPA violated the Byrd Rule. The Byrd Rule states that only budgetary items, such as tax items, can be passed through the reconciliation process. The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) is a tax law as confirmed by the United States Supreme Court in 1937. Many believed that satisfied the Byrd Rule, but MacDonough disagreed with that sentiment.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune could have chosen to disregard the parliamentarian’s advice and retained the original language. He could have also decided to fire Ms. MacDonough from her position. The parliamentarian serves at the pleasure of the Senate Majority Leader. Ms. MacDonough was appointed to the position in 2012 by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who served under President Barack Obama. Sen. Thune decided to do neither option, which enraged gun owners.
President Trump called on Thune to reject the parliamentarian’s advice, but neither Thune nor Vance heeded his calls. Some members of Congress in the House of Representatives echoed the President’s sentiment. They urged Thune not to hand over the keys of the Senate to an unelected Democrat, but those calls went unanswered.
The text of the reconciliation bill that passed the Senate lowered the tax stamp cost of suppressors, short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and any other weapons (AOWs) to $0 from $200. All other NFA requirements remain in place. The lowering of the tax stamp fee applies to both Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Form 4s (the transfer of NFA items) and Form 1s (the making of NFA items). The tax stamp fee for machine guns and destructive devices remains $200.
Sen. Chris Murphy (CT-D) tried a last-minute effort to replace the $0 tax stamp with a $1 tax stamp. This small change might not seem significant, but it would have headed off some legal challenges that arise from a $0 tax stamp. NFA regulations are expected to be challenged on suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs because a $0 tax doesn’t have a revenue-generating purpose as required by the United States Constitution.
The bill heads back down to the House for final passage. It will face a challenge, as some House Republicans are upset that the Senate allowed an unelected bureaucrat to gut the bill. Several House members told AmmoLand News that they plan to object to the passage of the reconciliation bill but are not ready to go on the record publicly.
GOA Leads Charge Against NFA Taxes, Vows to Continue Fight for Full Repeal
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
