Trump signs One Big Beautiful Bill into law

U.S. President Donald Trump signed his landmark policy bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill, into law on Friday afternoon.

The signing ceremony at the White House came a day after the bill was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday. Trump set a deadline for the bill to pass before July 4 to make the signing event a part of the Independence Day ceremony that included a B-2 bomber flyover.

The law represents Trump's agenda policies, including tax cuts and funding boosts for military expenditure and border security.

Speaking before the signing ceremony, Trump praised Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson for their work in holding the conference together to get the bill passed. "Those two are a team that is not going to be beat," he said.

Representatives of both parties in the House were deeply divided on the bill, which features sweeping cuts to spending on healthcare and food programs for the poor, and increased expenditure on military and border security, while cutting taxes on a broad line of incomes. It has been predicted that the bill will add 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars to the country's already high debt burden.

The bill passed the House voting with a narrow margin of 218 to 214, with every Democrat and two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, voting against it.

Following the passage of the bill in the House, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the legislation "an encapsulation of all of the policies that the president campaigned on and the American people voted on," and said it was a "victorious day for the American people."

The White House has touted the bill's passage as the biggest legislative win of the president, saying in a release Thursday afternoon that "Again and again, President Trump and Republicans fought and won for the American people."

What is in the bill?

Tax cuts:

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

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

Trump has promoted the law as a driver of economic growth, though experts argue it will primarily benefit wealthy Americans.

Spending cuts:

The bill will reduce Medicaid funding by nearly $1 trillion, while introducing additional restrictions and requirements for the program, which millions of disabled and low-income Americans rely on for healthcare.

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 the debt ceiling:

Savings from the spending cuts will be redirected to increase funding for the military 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 is unpopular with many Americans: 49 percent oppose the legislation, while only 29 percent support it, according to a recent poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Pew noted that majorities expressed concern the legislation would increase the budget deficit and harm lower-income individuals while primarily benefiting the wealthy.

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 Xinhua)