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The US Congress has passed Donald Trump's sprawling tax and
spending bill in a significant and hard-fought victory for the
president and his domestic agenda.

After a gruelling session on Capitol Hill, the House of
Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 218 to 214 on Thursday
afternoon. It was approved in the Senate on Tuesday by one vote.

Trump had given the Republican-controlled Congress a deadline of 4
July to send him a final version of the bill to sign into law.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill could add $3.3tn
(£2.4tn) to federal deficits over the next 10 years and leave
millions without health coverage - a forecast that the White House
disputes.

ANALYSIS: Trump gets major win - but debate over his mega-bill is
just beginning
EXPLAINER: What's in Trump's budget bill?
Speaking to reporters on Thursday evening, Trump said the bill
would "turn this country into a rocket ship".

"This is going to be a great bill for the country," he said.

He is expected to sign it into law at a ceremony on the 4 July
national holiday at 17:00 EDT (22:00 BST).

A triumphant Republican Speaker Mike Johnson emerged from the House
after the vote and told reporters "belief" was key to rallying
support within his party.

"I believed in the people that are standing here behind me... Some
of them are more fun to deal with," he said. "I mean that with the
greatest level of respect."

Among those he had to convince was Representative Chip Roy, a Texas
Republican who was a firm "no" just days ago when the Senate passed
its version of the bill. He called the Senate version a "travesty",
but changed his mind by the time voting had begun.

"I feel like we got to a good result on key things," Roy said,
although the House did not make any changes to the Senate bill.

While some Republicans, like Roy, had resisted the Senate version,
only two lawmakers from Trump's own party voted "nay" on Thursday:
Thomas Massie and Brian Fitzpatrick.

After Johnson announced that the legislation had passed the chamber
by four votes, dozens of Republican lawmakers gathered on the House
floor chanting "USA! USA!"

The bill's passage on Thursday was delayed by Democratic House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who delivered the longest speech
in the chamber's history.

His "magic minute" address, which is a custom that allows party
leaders to speak for as long as they like, ran for eight hours and
45 minutes.

Jeffries pledged to take his "sweet time on behalf of the American
people", decrying the bill's impact on poor Americans.

The legislation makes savings through making cuts to food benefits
and health care and rolling back tax breaks for clean energy
projects.

It also delivers on two of Trump's major campaign promises - making
his 2017 tax cuts permanent and lifting taxes on tips, overtime and
Social Security recipients - at a cost of $4.5tn over 10 years.

About $150bn (£110bn) will be spent on border security, detention
centres and immigration enforcement officers. Another $150bn is
allocated for military expenditures, including the president's
"gold dome" missile defence programme.

Democrats, who had used procedural manoeuvres to stall the House
vote, were roundly critical of the final bill.

They portrayed it as taking health care and food subsidies away
from millions of Americans while giving tax cuts to the rich.

California's Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, said "today ushers
in a dark and harrowing time", and called the bill a "dangerous
checklist of extreme Republican priorities".

North Carolina's Deborah Ross said: "Shame on those who voted to
hurt so many in the service of so few."

While Arizona's Yassamin Ansari said she was "feeling really sad
right now", while Marc Veasey of Texas labelled the Republican
Party the party of "cowards, chaos and corruption".

The fate of the so-called 'big, beautiful bill' hung in the balance
for much of Wednesday as Republican rebels with concerns about the
impact on national debt held firm - prompting a furious missive
from Trump.

"What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to
prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!," he
wrote on Truth Social just after midnight local time on Thursday.

Both chambers of Congress are controlled by Trump's Republican
Party, but within the party several factions were at odds over key
policies in the lengthy legislation.

In the early hours of Thursday, Republican leadership grew more
confident, and a procedural vote on the bill passed just after
03:00 EDT (07:00 GMT).

The final vote on the bill would come almost 12 hours later, at
14:30 EDT (19:30 GMT).

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cddz3n6vz0go

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