After a tense all-night voting session, Congress has officially passed U.S. President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
House Republicans voted Thursday to approve Trump’s $4.5 trillion package of tax and federal spending cuts, and funding boosts for the Pentagon and border security.
The bill now heads to Trump’s desk, just in time for his self-imposed July 4 deadline.
Highlights
- Congress passed Trump’s $4.5 trillion One Big Beautiful Bill Act after a tense overnight House vote of 218-214.
- The bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanently and adds new tax breaks for seniors and workers’ tips.
- It cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years and adds work requirements for federal food aid recipients.
- The bill boosts military funding, border security, and raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion to avoid default.
- Critics warn the bill dangerously raises the deficit and will leave millions without health insurance coverage.
The U.S. Congress has officially passed Trump’s domestic policy bill
Image credits: The White House/ Flickr
The Senate had narrowly passed the bill (51-49) this Tuesday, and the House passed the bill by a slim 218-214 vote Thursday morning.
All but two Republicans—Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania—voted in favor of the bill.
House Republicans spent days scrambling to secure support amid sharp divisions within their own party.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune convinced nearly every member of their party to pass Trump’s bill.
Fiscal conservatives were worried about the rising federal deficit by an estimated $3.3 trillion, while moderates pushed back against the $1 trillion cut from Medicaid.
Still, Trump’s influence over the party proved powerful.
“Only one man that can seal the deal,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said about Trump.
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Trump’s bill touches nearly every aspect of the federal government that is important to Republicans:
These provisions helped convince the Republicans, who were initially skeptical of the bill. Rep. Don Bacon was one of them.
Bacon had initially warned he wouldn’t support anything with over $500 billion in Medicaid cuts, but he later told CNN he reluctantly supported the bill because of other tax breaks in it.
“At some point, you know you got to weigh the pros versus cons,” he said. He argued that the pros were protecting people's taxes from going up, protecting the military, and improving border security. The con, cutting funding from hospitals.
"What is going to provide more benefit?” he asked.
Had this bill not been passed, millions of Americans were set to see a tax hike next year after the GOP’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expired.
The bill passed with a slim 218-214 vote
Image credits: The White House/ Flickr
Republicans who praise the bill argued about the importance of its tackling waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs while cutting taxes and improving national security.
“We delivered historic tax relief for working families, unprecedented border security investments, unleashed American energy dominance, and massive cuts to wasteful federal spending,” Texas Rep. August Pfluger told Fox News Digital.
Thune said in a statement: “We’re here – passing legislation that will permanently extend tax relief for hardworking Americans, that will spur economic growth, and more jobs and opportunities for American workers. That will rebuild our military. Secure our borders. Unleash American energy. And cut waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs.”
But not everyone agrees.
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
The Congressional Budget Office warns that the bill will cause the deficit to rise sharply in the short term, forecasting it will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit through 2034. Other analysts say the number is closer to $5 trillion.
Critics say the tax cuts will benefit the wealthy, while the spending cuts will hurt the most vulnerable.
“Yes, the economy may well enjoy a sugar-high the next couple of years, as borrowing stimulates near-term consumption,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates for lowering the deficit.
“But a sugar-high won’t be sustained, it will do real damage, and often what comes next is the crash. The longer-term health of our economy, American families, and our children will be worse off due to this debt-financed bill.”
The Democrats also criticize the $1 trillion cut to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, a move that will leave 11.8 million Americans without health insurance over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Another 5 million stand to lose coverage with the end of pandemic-era subsidies.
During an eight-hour speech, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hoped to delay the vote on the bill.
Democrats argued that the bill will add to the federal deficit
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He argued that the bill takes a “chainsaw” to Medicare, Medicaid, and nutritional assistance for hungry children and vulnerable Americans.
“People will die. Tens of thousands, perhaps year after year after year, as a result of the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people,” Jeffries said, according to The Guardian.
The final vote came after a marathon night of negotiations. The House floor was in chaos for hours as GOP leaders worked behind closed doors to convince holdouts.
Trump himself reportedly called lawmakers directly.
Meanwhile, the president aired his frustration on Truth Social: “FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!”
Eventually, lawmakers returned to the chamber after 3 a.m. to start debating. By sunrise, the bill had passed.
For Trump, this is a major victory just six months into his second term.
Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing to make the bill a key issue in the 2026 midterms.
Jeffries said his party will highlight the bill’s Medicaid and SNAP cuts to voters in swing districts.
“After project 2025 comes project 2026,” Jeffries said on the floor.
House Majority Forward, the nonprofit affiliated with House Democratic leadership, has already started targeting Republicans who voted for the bill, including Reps. Scott Perry, Tom Barrett, and Derrick Van Orden.
Trump is expected to sign the bill into law at a July 4 event.