U.S. House Republicans pushed President Donald Trump’s $450,000 U.S. tax cuts and cuts the final Congressional toll on Thursday, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve his policy plans ahead of the July 4 deadline.
The close call was 218-214, and its political cost could be high, with two Republicans joining all Democrats. Republican leaders work overnight, and the president himself tends to give up the opposition in a handful of skeptics and send him the bill to sign the law.
Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries's record-holding speech in a record-breaking speech to the bill, delaying the vote for more than eight hours.
Meanwhile, U.S. House Speaker and Republican Rep. Mike Johnson said: “With a big and beautiful bill, we will make this country stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever before.”
The bill includes substantial spending on immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) and a reduction in Medicaid funding.
The result brought milestones to the president and his party. It was a long effort to compile lengthy Republican priorities into what they called “a big and beautiful bill,” a measure of more than 800 pages.
With Democrats’ opposition, the bill will become the decisive measure of Republican control over Congress that will help Trump return to the White House.
Includes funds to help develop the “Golden Dome”
Essentially, the program’s top priority is $45 trillion in the tax break enacted in 2017, which would be tied to the new tax break if Congress doesn’t take action during Trump’s first term. This includes allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and the deduction of $6,000 for older people who earn less than $75,000 per year.
There is also a massive investment in national security and Trump’s deportation agenda, about $30 billion
To offset lost tax revenue, the plan includes $1.2 trillion in cuts in health care and food stamps, mainly through imposing new job requirements, including some parents and seniors, and a significant rollback to the green energy tax credit.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the plan will increase by $3.3 trillion over a decade, while those without health insurance will increase by 11.8 million.
“Trick cruel”
Democrats oppose the bill as a tax giveaway to pay for the working class and the most vulnerable wealthy people in society, which they call “trick stolen cruelty.” The tension is high in the room.
Rep. Jeffries began his speech at 4:53 a.m. ET and ended at 1:37 p.m. – eight hours and 44 minutes later, recorded the record – he opposed what he called Trump's “big and ugly Bill.”
Jeffries said: “We are better than that.
“It’s a crime scene, pursuing the health, safety and well-being of the American people.”
It was difficult to haul parcels through Congress from the beginning. Republicans almost quarrel with the Senate in the House and often quarrel with the narrowest profits: just one vote.
The U.S. Senate passed the parcel a few days ago and U.S. Vice President JD Vance broke the tie. The slim majority in the room left Republicans with little space to create defection.
Trump's pressure
Despite their displeasure with all aspects of the huge parcel, in some ways it becomes too big to fail – partly because Republicans are hard (and hard to beat Trump.
Trump fell into delays as the stagnant floor movements dragged on Wednesday night. “What are Republicans waiting for??” The president's statement about the Truth Society in his midnight post. “What do you want to prove??”
Rep. Johnson relies heavily on White House cabinet secretary, lawyers and others to satisfy the skeptical Republican Party. Moderate Republicans fear the severity of the cuts, while conservatives urge a bigger cut. Councillors said they were told the government could offer administrative litigation, projects or other provisions in their area.
The alternative is clear. Republicans who opposed the bill, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Sen. Thom Tillis, were warned by Trump's well-funded political action. Shortly after Tillis announced that he would not seek re-election.
