President Donald Trump signed the GOP’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending package at a White House ceremony on Friday, fulfilling his wish to enact the biggest domestic policy legislation of his term by July 4.
Trump triumphantly signed the GOP megabill after months of hard-fought, interparty negotiations that, earlier this week, culminated in contentious House and Senate votes for the legislation. Passing the megabill is a major victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), who had to navigate deep political and ideological differences between different GOP factions within their chambers.
The Republican legislation makes permanent Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and adds new, temporary tax breaks for overtime income and tips, as well as for seniors, fulfilling several of Trump’s campaign promises. A massive increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a slight increase in defense spending are other major elements of the bill.
“Together, we will celebrate our Nation’s Independence, and the beginning of our new Golden Age. The people of the United States of America will be Richer, Safer, and Prouder than ever before. Thank you to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and all of the wonderful Republican Members of Congress who helped us deliver on our Promises, and so much more,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday.
Seeking to cut costs, the GOP legislation reforms Medicaid by removing the eligibility of illegal immigrants and adding work requirements for able-bodied adults. The bill also reforms the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), adding similar work requirements.
To satisfy GOP lawmakers from New York and California, the law increases the state and local tax deduction (SALT) to $40,000 for the next five years, with phaseouts for those earning more than $500,000.
The GOP tax and spending package contains a historic victory for pro-lifers: It defunds Planned Parenthood for one year, which might cause almost 200 of the abortion giant’s centers to close. Planned Parenthood is already prepared to sue the Trump administration over the bill.
Furthermore, the bill phases out green energy tax credits, passed in the Democrats’ 2022 climate legislation, slightly increases the child tax credit, increases taxes on large university endowments, and creates “Trump accounts” for newborns through which parents can invest in the stock market.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over ten years. Critics have questioned the CBO’s methodology because it assumes that the temporary provisions in the tax cuts will expire. Republicans have preferred to use the “current policy baseline” methodology, which minimizes the bill’s projected deficit impact by assuming that the tax cuts remain in place, but Democrats have called this alternative calculation a sham.
The “big, beautiful” package passed the House narrowly, 218–214, with Republicans Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) joining Democrats in opposing it, albeit for different reasons. House lawmakers voted on the bill after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) gave a record-breaking speech opposing its passage in order to delay the bill.
Johnson brought together different parts of his caucus this week to ensure that the bill got through, with negotiations delaying a procedural vote that came before the House voted on a procedural measure to advance the bill. The preceding vote became the longest in House history as GOP leadership negotiated with holdouts. Trump played an active role in pressuring the holdouts to get his signature policy achievement over the finish line by his self-imposed July 4 deadline.
In a similar fashion, Senate Republicans had to overcome internal divisions within the caucus. They narrowly passed the reconciliation bill thanks to a tiebreaking vote by Vice President JD Vance earlier this week. Senators Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), Rand Paul (R., Ky.), and Susan Collins (R., Maine) joined Democrats in opposing the bill. Tillis and Collins did so because of the Medicaid cuts, and Paul opposed it because of the legislation’s debt ceiling increase.
“Today, the House has passed generational legislation that permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength, reduces spending more than any other bill ever has, and makes government more efficient and effective for all Americans,” House GOP leadership said in a statement.
“Passing this bill and advancing this agenda has always been a team effort. @SenateGOP, @HouseGOP, and @POTUS are committed to creating a safer, stronger, more prosperous America, and this once-in-a-generation bill will accomplish it. Time to get this signed!” Thune said on X.
Democrats have accused Republicans of taking food and health care away from the poor to fund tax cuts for billionaires. Hammering Republicans on Medicaid and SNAP reform could be a central point of attack for Democrats as they try to get out of the political wilderness in the 2026 midterms.