Month: July 2025

President Donald Trump signed his “One Big, Beautiful Bill” into law during the July 4th picnic on the White House grounds, enacting a sweeping multitrillion-dollar legislative package that reflects the core of his policy agenda. The measure passed with near-unanimous Republican support in both chambers of Congress following months of negotiations and intense pressure from the president and GOP leadership.

The legislation extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and boosts funding for immigration enforcement and national defense. To balance the increased spending, the bill imposes substantial reductions to domestic programs, slashing Medicaid and food assistance by $1.2 trillion and cutting billions from federal higher education funding. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will increase the national deficit by $3.3 trillion over the next decade and result in 11.8 million additional people losing health coverage.

Despite internal dissent and unanimous Democratic opposition, Trump succeeded in pushing the massive reconciliation bill through Congress in time for the July 4th deadline.

After a record-breaking vote-a-rama lasting over 24 hours, the U.S. Senate has passed President Trump’s expansive tax and spending reconciliation package — a major step toward his goal of signing the legislation into law by July 4. The bill encompasses the majority of the President’s legislative agenda.

The final vote was 51–50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME), Thom Tillis (NC), and Rand Paul (KY) joined all Senate Democrats in opposing the measure. Senators Collins and Tillis cited the bill’s Medicaid cuts and their potential impact on rural hospitals as key reasons for their “no” votes. A proposed amendment from Collins to establish a rural hospital stabilization fund failed in a procedural vote Tuesday morning. Tillis recently announced his decision to retire at the end of his term after facing political fallout from President Trump over his earlier vote against the motion to proceed.

For much of the overnight session, the bill’s fate remained in doubt. Republican leadership engaged in extensive negotiations with undecided senators, both behind closed doors and on the Senate floor. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK), who had withheld support for much of the process, ultimately voted in favor after securing Alaska-specific carve-outs from certain provisions in the legislation.

The legislative battle now shifts to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to bring the bill to a vote as early as Wednesday. The initial version of the package narrowly passed the House, where Republicans hold only a slim majority. Several members have already expressed concern over changes made by the Senate.

The conservative wing of the House GOP — particularly the House Freedom Caucus — has objected to the bill’s suspension of the debt ceiling and what it views as insufficient spending reductions. The House GOP’s budget plan called for $2 trillion in spending reductions to match $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. The Senate bill cuts just over $1.5 trillion but spends the full amount on taxes.

Meanwhile, more moderate Republicans have raised alarms over the deep Medicaid cuts included in the Senate-passed version. Senate Republicans approved a $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, which is far harsher than the original House plan.

Members of the House have been called back to Washington from their July 4 recess to begin consideration of the revised legislation. While its final passage remains uncertain, Speaker Johnson and President Trump have demonstrated a strong ability to unify their caucus in the past.

The Office of Federal Relations will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as this process unfolds.