U.S. House passes Trump's tax and spending cuts bill by narrow margin

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 4:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

U.S. House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump's large multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts measure to last legislature transition connected Thursday, overcoming aggregate setbacks to o.k. his signature second-term argumentation bundle earlier a Fourth of July deadline.

The choky rotation call, 218-214, came astatine a perchance precocious governmental cost, with 2 Republicans joining each Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned connected a fistful of skeptics to driblet their opposition.

Democratic person Rep. Hakeem Jeffries delayed voting for much than 8 hours by seizing power of the level with a record-breaking code against the bill.

"This is going to beryllium a large measure for the country," Trump said afterward, arsenic helium departed for an lawsuit successful Iowa. He said helium would motion the measure into instrumentality Friday.

The measure includes a monolithic spending increase for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a alteration successful backing for Medicaid.

The result delivers a milestone for the president and his party. It was a long-shot effort to compile a lengthy database of GOP priorities into the bill, which stands at astir 900 pages.

With Democrats unified successful opposition, the measure volition go a defining measurement of Trump's instrumentality to the White House, aided by Republican power of Congress.

"You get bushed of winning yet?" said U.S. House Speaker and Republican Mike Johnson, invoking Trump arsenic helium called the vote.

"With 1 big, beauteous measure we are going to marque this state stronger, safer and much prosperous than ever before," helium said.

Republicans celebrated with a rendition of the Village People's Y.M.C.A., a opus the U.S. president often plays astatine his rallies, during a ceremonial afterward.

Includes wealth to assistance develop 'Golden Dome'

At its core, the package's precedence is $4.5 trillion US successful taxation breaks enacted successful 2017, during Trump's archetypal term, that would expire if Congress failed to act, on with caller ones. This includes allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for astir older adults earning little than $75,000 a year.

There's besides a hefty investment, immoderate $350 billion, successful nationalist information and Trump's deportation docket and to assistance make the "Golden Dome" antiaircraft strategy implicit the U.S.

To assistance offset the mislaid taxation revenue, the bundle includes $1.2 trillion successful cutbacks to the Medicaid health attraction and nutrient stamps, mostly by imposing caller enactment requirements, including for immoderate parents and older people, and a large rollback of greenish vigor taxation credits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bundle volition adhd $3.3 trillion to the shortage implicit the decennary and 11.8 cardinal much radical volition spell without wellness coverage.

'Trickle-down cruelty'

Democrats unified against the measure arsenic a taxation giveaway to the affluent paid for connected the backs of the moving people and the astir susceptible successful society, what they called "trickle-down cruelty." 

Rep. Jeffries began his speech astatine 4:53 a.m. ET and finished astatine 1:37 p.m. — 8 hours and 44 minutes later, a grounds — arsenic helium argued against what helium called Trump's "big, disfigured bill."

"We're amended than this," Jeffries said, who utilized a leader's prerogative for unlimited statement and work missive aft missive from Americans penning astir their reliance on the health-care programs.

"It's a transgression scene, going aft the health and the safety and the well-being of the American people."

Tensions ran high. As chap Democrats chanted Jeffries' name, a apical Republican, Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, called his code "a clump of hogwash."

Hauling the bundle done the Congress has been hard from the start. Republicans person struggled mightily with the measure astir each measurement of the way, quarrelling successful the House and Senate and often succeeding lone by the narrowest of margins: conscionable 1 vote.

The U.S. Senate passed the bundle days earlier with U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance breaking the tie. The slim bulk successful the House near Republicans small country for defections.

"It wasn't beauteous capable for maine to ballot for it," said Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Also voting nary was Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, besides a Republican, who said helium was acrophobic astir cuts to Medicaid.

Once Johnson gavelled the tally, Republicans cheered "U.S.A.!" and flashed Trump-style thumbs-up to the cameras.

Pressure from Trump

Despite their discomfort with assorted aspects of the sprawling package, successful immoderate ways it became excessively large to neglect — successful portion due to the fact that Republicans recovered it hard to subordinate Trump.

As Wednesday's stalled level enactment dragged overnight, Trump railed against the delays. "What are the Republicans waiting for???" the president said successful a midnight station connected Truth Social. "What are you trying to prove???"

Johnson, the House Speaker, relied heavy connected White House Cabinet secretaries, lawyers and others to fulfill skeptical GOP holdouts. Moderate Republicans disquieted astir the severity of cuts portion conservatives pressed for steeper reductions. Lawmakers said they were being told the medication could supply enforcement actions, projects oregon different provisions successful their districts backmost home.

The alternate was clear. Republicans who staked retired absorption to the bill, including Massie of Kentucky and Sen. Thom Tillis, were being warned by Trump's well-funded governmental operation. Tillis soon aft announced helium would not question re-election.

In galore ways, the bundle is simply a repudiation of the agendas of the past 2 Democratic presidents, a chiselling-away astatine the Medicaid enlargement from Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, and a pullback of Joe Biden's clime alteration strategies successful the Inflation Reduction Act.

Democrats person described the measure successful dire terms, informing that cuts to Medicaid, which immoderate 80 cardinal Americans trust on, would effect successful lives lost. Food stamps that assistance provender much than 40 cardinal radical would "rip nutrient from the mouths of bare children, bare veterans and bare seniors," Jeffries said.

Republicans accidental the taxation breaks volition forestall a taxation hike connected households and turn the economy. They support they are trying to rightsize the information nett programs and basal retired what they picture arsenic waste, fraud and abuse.