U.S. Congress narrowly passes Trump's flagship megabill. What's next?

After days of intense behind-the-scenes pressure from the White House, the U.S. Congress narrowly passed President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill on Thursday, securing Trump's biggest legislative victory of his second term in office.

The "One Big Beautiful Bill" squeezed past a final vote, 218-214. The White House declared "VICTORY" on social media and said Trump would sign the bill into law on Friday, the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

The vote was delayed until Thursday after Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke against the bill for nearly nine hours to stall the proceedings.

The legislation is the latest in a series of big wins for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone federal judges from blocking his policies, and U.S. air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

The package honors many of Trump's campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief.

"Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris radical regime, and we took the best effort that we could, in one big, beautiful bill, to fix as much of it as we could," Johnson said. "And I am so grateful that we got that done."

What is in the bill?

Tax cuts:

The bill plans to cut taxes by $4 trillion over the next 10 years and reduce spending by at least $1.5 trillion.

It introduces multiple tax relief measures, including exemptions on overtime pay and tips, as well as a significant increase in the exemption amounts for estate and gift taxes. These exemptions will continue to adjust in line with inflation in the future.

Trump had touted the law as one that would stimulate economic growth, but experts have argued that it will benefit wealthy Americans the most.

Cutting spending:

The bill will reduce Medicaid funding by nearly $1 trillion, adding additional restrictions and requirements for Medicaid, the healthcare program relied upon by millions of disabled and low-income Americans.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nearly 12 million Americans could lose their health coverage by the end of the next decade as a result of the changes.

The bill also tightens eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), increasing the minimum age for food aid eligibility from 54 to 64. SNAP is used by over 40 million low-income Americans. The change is expected to cut $230 billion in funding over the next 10 years.

The bill also seeks to reduce clean energy incentives introduced during the Biden administration, affecting projects such as clean energy infrastructure and the purchase of new energy vehicles, which will now face the risk of reducing or losing tax breaks.

Raising debt ceiling:

The savings from these reduced spending programs will be allocated towards increasing military funding and border security.

The bill also proposes raising the federal debt ceiling by an additional $5 trillion.

Impacts

The bill is expected to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the country's fast-growing deficit, while shrinking the federal food assistance program and forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch.

Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their insurance coverage under the bill at 17 million. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close.

The bill isn't popular with many Americans: 49 percent oppose the legislation, while only 29 percent favor it, according to recent polling by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Pew said majorities expressed concern that the legislation would raise the budget deficit and hurt lower-income people while benefiting the wealthy.

The White House disputed the polling data, insisting that internal polls across the country had found great support for many specific provisions of the law.

Furthermore, while Republican moderates in the House fear the cuts will damage their prospects of reelection next year, fiscal hawks chafed over savings that they say fall far short of what was promised.

Reactions

Jeffries held the floor for his Democrats ahead of the final vote, as he told stories of everyday Americans who he argued would be harmed by Trump's legislation.

"This bill, this one big, ugly bill – this reckless Republican budget, this disgusting abomination – is not about improving the quality of life of the American people," he said. 

After the bill was passed, Trump predecessor's Joe Biden said it was "not only reckless – it's cruel."

Hyma Moore, a Democratic strategist, said Trump will pay little long-term political price for pushing an unpopular bill because he is a term-limited president. Republicans seeking future office may have to deal with the consequences, however.

Trump spent several weeks making phone calls and holding White House meetings to persuade lawmakers caught between the risk of upsetting welfare recipients at home and facing the president's disapproval.

Democrats hope public opposition to the bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.

Two Republicans, Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have already announced their retirements in recent days after clashing with Trump, potentially giving Democrats an easier path to pick up those seats.

(With input from agencies)