President Donald Trump signs 'Big, Beautiful Bill' into law as United States celebrates Independence Day
The mega tax and spending bill cleared its last hurdle on Thursday after narrowly passing the US Congress with 218-214 votes.
On Friday Trump staged an outdoor ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, where hundreds gathered in unison including White House aides, members of Congress, and military families, to support the President's landmark moment, following a tumultuous battle.
Military jets soared overhead in salute as the President rejoiced in his victory. The stealth bombers and fighter jets resembled those that took part in the recent US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.
After a speech that included boastful claims about the ascendance of America on his watch, Trump signed the bill, posed for pictures with Republican congressional leaders and members of his cabinet, and waded through the crowd of happy supporters. The controversial bill is expected to fund Trump's immigration crackdown, make his 2017 tax cuts permanent, and is expected to knock millions of Americans off health insurance. "I've never seen people so happy in our country because of that, because so many different groups of people are being taken care of: the military, civilians of all types, jobs of all types," Trump said at the ceremony, thanking House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for leading the bill through the two houses of Congress. "So you have the biggest tax cut, the biggest spending cut, the largest border security investment in American history."
The bill represents a dramatic realignment of the federal government's role in American life, shifting resources from the social safety net and investments in clean energy and reorienting them to finance trillions of dollars in spending on tax cuts.
Despite concerns within Trump's party over the bill's hefty price tag and its hit to healthcare programs, in the end just two of the House's 220 Republicans voted against it, following an intense overnight standoff. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin predicted the law would cost Republicans votes in congressional elections in 2026. "Today, Donald Trump sealed the fate of the Republican Party, cementing them as the party for billionaires and special interests - not working families," Martin said in a statement. "This legislation will hang around the necks of the GOP for years to come. This was a full betrayal of the American people. Today, we are putting Republicans on notice: you will lose your majority."
-With Reuters
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