US Congress Passes Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Tax And Spending Bill In Major Victory For Trump

The US Congress passed the sweeping tax and spending bill, handing down a major victory to President Donald Trump in his second term. 

Following a gruelling session on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 218 to 214 on Thursday afternoon. The bill was approved in the Senate on Tuesday by one vote. 

Trump had set the deadline for July 4 to send him a final version of the bill to sign into law. 

According to the estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, the bill could add $3.3tn trillion to federal deficits over the next 10 years and leave millions without health coverage. The White House has, however, disputed the forecast. 

The bill would "turn this country into a rocket ship," Trump said while speaking to reporters after the passage of the bill. 

"This is going to be a great bill for the country," he said.

He is expected to sign the bill into law on the July 4 national holiday, when the US celebrates its Independence Day.

While Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, hailed the bill, the Democrats tried to stall the bill as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered the longest speech in the chamber's history.

His "magic minute" address, which is a custom that allows party leaders to speak for as long as they like, ran for eight hours and 45 minutes.

However, the bill received resistance from Republicans as well, like Senator Chip Roy, who had to be convinced to support the legislation. 

Only two lawmakers from Trump's party voted "nay" on Thursday: Thomas Massie and Brian Fitzpatrick.

The bill aims to make savings by slashing food benefits and healthcare, and rolling back tax breaks for clean energy projects.

The proposed legislation also delivers on Trump's two major campaign promises, making his 2017 tax cuts permanent and lifting taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security recipients. 

 

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