Trump flexes political muscle with passage of ‘big and beautiful' budget

LeMonde

2 days ago

Donald Trump is experiencing a rare moment of political triumph. Aside from a handful of federal judges, no one appeared strong or daring enough to oppose the American president, who has sought to reshape the balance of institutions to his own advantage, weaken social protections and designate migrants as domestic enemies.
On Thursday, July 3, in line with the timeline imposed by the real-estate magnate, the House of Representatives passed the key piece of legislation for this term: the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' (OBBB). Expensive, risky, confusing and fraught with threats for the most vulnerable, the bill passed by a narrow margin (218 votes to 214) and was met with chants of "USA!" from Republicans, after being amended by the Senate on July 1. Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday, just in time for the national holiday weekend – a celebration that, this year, will be his own, as he stands at the peak of his power.
This successful gamble underscored Donald Trump's total dominance over the Republican Party and the fervent, sometimes humiliating submission of its elected officials, often in contradiction with their personal convictions. Their narrow majority in the House and internal divisions had suggested the possibility of a rebellion. As usual, that did not happen. Only two representatives, Thomas Massie (Kentucky) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), voted against it. For six months, Republicans had accepted the White House overruling the prerogatives of Congress, bypassing it with a barrage of executive orders, nominating unfit and extremist candidates to sensitive administration positions and forcing a rushed review of the OBBB.