Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on Thursday, ending a monthslong political fight and delivering a significant win for the White House. Despite Democrats issuing an eleventh-hour call to action and two Republicans breaking ranks, the $3.4 trillion tax and spending package passed in a 218-214 vote largely along party lines.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the 887-page bill will add around $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years and pull health insurance from nearly 12 million U.S. residents.
Among its key elements are tax cuts, particularly for wealthy individuals and corporations. The bill will make tax breaks first imposed under Trump in 2017 permanent as well as increase the deduction limit for state and local taxes.
To pay for these tax breaks, the bill slashes up to 18 percent in Medicaid funding while adding new restrictions on eligibility and reenrollment; it also cuts funding for food benefits by up to 20 percent, including for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which more than 40 million low-income residents use. The bill also ends many student loan repayment plans and repeals several Biden-era clean energy benefits, such as tax credits for electric vehicles and clean energy production.
The bill prioritizes spending in other areas. It devotes around $175 billion to Trump’s immigration crackdown, with roughly $50 billion to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to finish constructing the border wall, $45 billion to expand capacity for detaining undocumented migrants, and $30 billion to bolster law enforcement. It also gives the U.S. military around $150 billion to help construct Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense shield as well as aid in shipbuilding and munitions development.
Trump is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday.
Read more in today’s World Brief: U.S. House Narrowly Passes Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’.
The post Trump Scores Win in Passing His ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ appeared first on Foreign Policy.
