Republicans have secured passage of the president’s sweeping tax cuts and spending reforms after intense last-minute negotiations
The US House of Representatives has passed a sweeping multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package on Thursday, dubbed by President Donald Trump as “one big, beautiful bill.”
In a narrow 218-214 vote, the Republican-led House approved the 887-page measure before the July 4 deadline. The vote followed a tense 24 hours of internal GOP negotiations and pressure from House leadership and the Trump White House. Only two Republicans – Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania – broke ranks to vote against the legislation.
The package now heads to Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law on Independence Day. The bill represents the most significant policy achievement for Republicans since reclaiming full control of Congress and the White House in January.
The legislation extends the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts and temporarily lowers taxes on tips and overtime pay. It also includes hundreds of billions in new spending to expand military funding and support Trump’s planned mass deportation operations. To partially offset the costs, the bill imposes deep cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and clean energy subsidies. An estimated $930 billion will be slashed from Medicaid alone, despite Trump’s previous pledges to protect the program.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next decade, with $4.5 trillion in revenue losses outweighing $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. It also raises the federal debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
The bill’s passage followed an overnight standoff triggered by GOP holdouts who had initially blocked a procedural vote on Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump led a concerted effort to win over dissenting Republicans, with Trump personally calling lawmakers into the early hours of Thursday. Vice President J.D. Vance was also heavily involved in the legislative push.
“Republicans in Congress have succeeded in our mission to enact President Trump’s America First agenda,” Johnson said in a joint statement with House GOP leaders.
Despite policy concessions and growing concerns over the national debt and healthcare coverage losses, most Republicans ultimately supported the bill, with critics citing fear of Trump’s political backlash as a decisive factor.
