Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Clears House 218-214, Set for July 4 Signing

The House has passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on Thursday. This is the signature piece of legislation of President Trump's second term, which includes trillions of dollars in tax and spending cuts while ramping up funding for defence and implementing the administration's immigration agenda.

"The Republicans in the House of Representatives have just passed the “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT.” Our Party is UNITED like never before and, our Country is “HOT,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

"We are going to have a Signing Celebration at the White House tomorrow, at 4 P.M. EST. All Congressmen/women and Senators are invited. Together, we will celebrate our Nation’s Independence, and the beginning of our new Golden Age," he added.

The house delivered this approval just in time, before the Fourth of July deadline, overcoming multiple setbacks. The narrow 218-214 vote came at a steep political price, with two Republicans breaking ranks to join a united Democratic opposition.

Grand Old Party (GOP) leaders scrambled through the night and Trump personally lobbied several holdouts to abandon their resistance. Meanwhile, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York staged a dramatic protest, delaying the vote for over eight hours with a record-setting floor speech denouncing the bill.

What's Inside the Bill?

At its heart, the bill seeks to lock in the sweeping $4.5trn tax cuts passed in 2017 under Trump’s first term—set to expire without action—while introducing new ones. Among the additions: deductions for tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 write-off for most seniors earning under $75,000.

It also earmarks $350bn for national security, a key part of Trump’s immigration crackdown, and the development of a new “Golden Dome” missile defence system over U.S. territory.

To partly balance out the revenue hit, the bill proposes $1.2trn in cuts to Medicaid and food stamp programmes. These savings would come by tightening work requirements, including for older adults and some parents, and significantly scaling back green energy tax breaks.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation would increase the federal deficit by $3.3trn over the next decade and leave 11.8mn more Americans without health coverage.