Washington (AP) House Republicans overcame many obstacles to adopt President Donald Trump’s hallmark second-term policy package ahead of the Fourth of July deadline, pushing his $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts measure to final congressional passage Thursday.
Two Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the close roll call (218–214), which may have had a significant political cost. The president himself relied on a few doubters to abandon their opposition and forward the package to him for his signature, while GOP leaders worked through the night. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader of New York, held the floor for over eight hours and delivered a record-breaking speech opposing the bill, delaying vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, stated, “We have a big job to finish.” We are going to make this country stronger, safer, and more wealthier than it has ever been with just one large, lovely law.
As a result of his Friday goal, the president and his party achieve a significant milestone. It was an ambitious attempt to combine a long list of GOP ideals into what they dubbed his “one big beautiful bill,” a legislation that was more than 800 pages long. Republican dominance of Congress will help make the plan a distinguishing feature of Trump’s comeback to the White House, especially since Democrats are united in their opposition.
Tax breaks and safety net cuts
The primary focus of the plan is $4.5 trillion in tax incentives that were implemented during Trump’s first term in 2017 and would expire if Congress did nothing, in addition to new ones. This includes giving employees the option to deduct overtime and gratuities, as well as a $6,000 deduction for the majority of older persons making less than $75,000.
Additionally, a substantial investment of approximately $350 billion has been made in national security, Trump’s deportation agenda, and the development of the Golden Dome defensive system throughout the United States.
The package contains a significant rollback of green energy tax credits and $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid health care and food stamps, primarily through the imposition of additional work requirements, especially for certain parents and older individuals, in order to partially offset the lost tax income.
According to the impartial Congressional Budget Office, 11.8 million more people will lack health insurance and the package will increase the debt by $3.3 trillion over the course of ten years.
According to House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, “this was a generational opportunity to deliver the most comprehensive and consequential set of conservative reforms in modern history, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Democrats united against ugly bill
Democrats banded together to oppose the plan, arguing that it was a tax giveaway to the wealthy that was funded by the working class and the weakest members of society—a practice they dubbed “trickle down cruelty.” Within the chamber, tensions were high.
Jeffries spoke against what he dubbed Trump’s big ugly bill, starting his statement at 4:53 a.m. EDT and ending it at 1:37 p.m. EDT, a record 8 hours, 44 minutes later.
According to Jeffries, who read letter after letter from Americans expressing their dependence on the health care programs and exercised a leader’s right to unrestricted debate, “We’re better than this.”
Jeffries remarked, “I never imagined that I’d be on the House floor declaring that this is a crime scene.”
This is a crime scene that targets the safety, well-being, and health of Americans.
He added, “As Democrats, we don’t want to be involved.”
From the beginning, it has been challenging to get the deal through Congress. Republicans have fought the plan at almost every stage, debating it in the House and Senate and frequently winning by a slim margin of just one vote.
Days before, Vice President JD Vance broke the tie vote and the Senate passed the measure. Republicans have limited room for defections due to the House’s narrow majority.
Political costs of saying no
Republicans found it hard to oppose Trump, so in some ways, the expansive package became too big to fail despite their unease with some of its elements.
Trump lashed out at the delays as Wednesday’s stalled floor proceedings continued into the night.
How long are the Republicans going to wait? In a midnight post, the president remarked. What are you attempting to demonstrate?
To appease doubtful GOP stalwarts, Johnson mostly depended on White House Cabinet secretaries, attorneys, and others. Conservatives pushed for more drastic cuts, while moderate Republicans expressed concern about how severe they would be. Lawmakers claimed they were informed that the government may implement projects, executive acts, or other measures in their home districts.
The alternative was obvious. Republicans who opposed the plan, including as Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, were being forewarned by Trump’s well-funded political campaign. Soon after, Tillis declared he would not run for reelection.
Rollback of past presidential agendas
The package is essentially a rejection of the goals of the previous two Democratic presidents, a retraction of Joe Biden’s climate change policies in the Inflation Reduction Act, and a slash at the Medicaid expansion from Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Democrats have painted a bleak picture of the measure, stating that Medicaid cuts, which about 80 million Americans depend on, would cause fatalities. According to Jeffries, food stamps, which provide food for over 40 million people, would take food away from hungry elders, hungry veterans, and hungry children.
Republicans claim that the tax benefits will boost the economy and avoid raising household taxes. They assert that they are working to eliminate what they characterize as waste, fraud, and abuse and to appropriately scale the safety net programs for the demographics they were originally intended to assist, primarily children, the disabled, and pregnant women.
According to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes tax and budget policy, the plan would provide the lowest quintile of Americans a $150 tax reduction next year, the middle quintile a $1,750 tax cut, and the wealthiest quintile a $10,950 tax cut. That contrasts with what they would have to deal with if the tax cuts from 2017 ended.
