Trump Triumphs As US Congress Clears 'Big, Beautiful Bill', Sends It To President's Desk
The passage followed days of intense negotiations and extended voting sessions in both chambers
US President Donald Trump scored a significant political victory on Thursday as Congress narrowly passed his primary tax and spending bill. This legislative success anchors key elements of his radical second-term agenda and greatly enhances funding for his controversial anti-immigration efforts. Referred to by Trump as his ' One Big Beautiful Bill ', the passage followed days of intense negotiations and extended voting sessions in both chambers.
The comprehensive package, estimated at $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, fulfills a core campaign promise: making permanent the tax cuts enacted during his first term in 2017, which were otherwise set to expire at the end of 2025. It also introduces new tax benefits, such as allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay and providing a $6,000 deduction for many older adults.
However, these tax cuts are offset by significant reductions in social safety net programmes. The bill includes about $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programmes (SNAP), primarily by imposing new work requirements and tightening eligibility. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates these cuts could result in 11.8 million more Americans losing health insurance by 2034.
A large portion of the bill, approximately $350 billion, is allocated to Trump's border and national security agenda. This funding includes around $46 billion for further construction of the US-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 beds in migrant detention centres. It also allocates billions more to hire an additional 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by 2029, aligning with Trump's goal to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in US history. The legislation also provides significant funds for military spending, including $25 billion for the development of a 'Golden Dome" defensive system.
The bill's journey through Congress was challenging. The Senate passed the measure on Tuesday, July 1, with a narrow 51-50 margin, necessitating Vice President JD Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote. The House of Representatives then held a tight roll call vote on Thursday, passing it 218-214, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition. Democrats united against the bill, criticising it as a 'tax giveaway to the rich paid for on the backs of the working class and most vulnerable", with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivering a nearly nine-hour speech in protest.
Despite internal Republican concerns over the bill's impact on the national debt, which the CBO projects will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and the deep cuts to social programmes, the party ultimately united to deliver the President a landmark legislative achievement. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk for his signature, just in time for the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
(With agency inputs)
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