US House passes final version of Trump’s 'Big Beautiful Bill'
The US House of Representatives approved the final version of president Donald Trump’s sweeping budget bill on Thursday, clearing the way for one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in his second term.
Dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” by Trump, the legislation combines tax cuts with deep domestic spending reductions and sharp increases in defence and immigration enforcement funding.
The bill passed the House with support from 218 Republicans. Two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, broke ranks and voted with the Democrats, who opposed the bill unanimously with 212 votes.
The Senate had already narrowly passed the measure on Tuesday, with vice president JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote in the evenly split 50–50 decision, despite Republicans holding a nominal majority of 53 seats. Several Republican senators abstained or dissented.
The nearly 900-page package extends Trump’s first-term tax cuts, eliminates taxes on tipped income and includes significant new funding for national defence and immigration enforcement. However, it also rolls back solar energy tax credits introduced under former president Joe Biden and makes sweeping cuts to social safety net programmes.
Healthcare cuts
One of the bill’s most controversial elements is a series of reductions to Medicaid that, according to nonpartisan estimates, could leave 8.6 million Americans without health coverage by 2034. The bill also slashes funding for the SNAP food assistance programme and cuts back federal support for clean energy projects.
Despite Trump’s public statements, the bill does not eliminate taxes on social security benefits, a point of contention flagged by analysts and fact-checkers.
Economists warn that the bill may significantly worsen the national debt. Projections estimate that US government debt could increase by at least 3.3 trillion dollars by 2034 under the new fiscal framework.
However, House speaker Mike Johnson praised the bill, declaring it would “make this country stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before”.
Historic protest
Earlier in the day, Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries staged a record-setting protest against the bill. Speaking for 8 hours and 44 minutes, he delivered the longest floor speech in modern House history, surpassing the 2021 record set by then-minority leader Kevin McCarthy.
Beginning at 4.53 ET, Jeffries read from two binders filled with personal stories submitted by constituents who would be directly affected by the cuts, especially to Medicaid and food assistance programmes. He used a procedural mechanism known as the “magic minute”, which allows party leaders to speak on the House floor for an unlimited time.
Despite opposition from Democrats and growing concerns over its long-term costs, the White House confirmed that Trump will sign the bill into law on Friday, coinciding with the US national holiday of Independence. The legislation marks a major victory for Trump’s domestic agenda, but one likely to remain sharply divisive as the country moves into a presidential election year.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson presides over the vote in the House of Representatives, 3 July 2025 © PHOTO AFP CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
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