The US House of Representatives on Tuesday voted narrowly to advance a sprawling $3.3 trillion package encompassing the core of Donald J. Trump’s revived political agenda. Branded by supporters as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the measure passed a key procedural hurdle by a 219–213 vote, with every Democrat opposed and a lone Republican joining them in dissent.
The vote followed an intense pressure campaign mounted by Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, who worked in tandem to sway Republican skeptics from the Freedom Caucus. Over the weekend, Trump publicly warned GOP lawmakers that opposition would be remembered as betrayal. “You’re either with the people, or you’re against them,” he posted late Monday on Truth Social, escalating a campaign of direct phone calls and political threats.
Speaker Johnson, standing on the Capitol steps shortly after the vote, called it “a defining test of our national character,” vowing that “this bill will restore strength, fairness, and prosperity to the American people.”
The scope of the bill has drawn concern from budget analysts and political centrists alike. In projections released earlier this week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that the bill, if enacted in full, would increase the federal deficit by more than $3.3 trillion over the next decade, driven largely by permanent extensions of the Trump-era tax cuts and significant rollbacks of green-energy incentives.
The Freedom Caucus, once unified in its opposition, yielded after a revised Senate draft incorporated tougher work requirements for Medicaid eligibility and deeper cuts to clean-energy programs. Trump, according to aides, was personally involved in convincing holdouts. As reported by Fox News, he called more than a dozen lawmakers in the 24 hours leading up to the vote.
Republicans who had initially balked at the bill’s size began to shift once the Senate’s version narrowed key spending outlays. As Politico noted, amendments were added to accelerate the implementation of border security funding and asylum court expansions, giving hardliners a reason to stand down. Representative Chip Roy of Texas, who had criticized the original bill as fiscally irresponsible, changed his stance following those changes. “We didn’t get everything we wanted,” he said, “but we got enough to move the fight forward.”
Inside the bill: a sweeping ideological blueprint
Few pieces of legislation in recent memory rival the ideological ambition of the Big Beautiful Bill. The 1,087-page text consolidates more than a dozen conservative priorities into one sweeping measure. Among its most significant features: a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts, elimination of most federal EV and solar incentives, and stringent Medicaid work requirements for individuals under 55.
The tax code overhaul is particularly generous to high earners. It expands exemptions on overtime and tipped income, while restoring a capped version of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, raising the threshold to $40,000. According to budget estimates reviewed by Reuters, the tax provisions alone will account for nearly half of the projected deficit increase.
On immigration, the bill calls for over $40 billion in new border spending, with funds earmarked for wall construction, ICE operations, and advanced biometric surveillance systems. Provisions also reduce the legal threshold for asylum claims and expand migrant detention quotas.
Environmental and healthcare groups have warned that the bill’s climate reversals and Medicaid restructuring will disproportionately harm low-income communities. The elimination of green-energy subsidies was described as “economically regressive” by experts cited in The Guardian, while Medicaid changes are expected to push over 3 million Americans off coverage in the first two years of implementation.
Democrats call it an ideological purge disguised as policy
House Democrats, united in opposition, described the bill as an exercise in class warfare. “This bill isn’t about governance. It’s about vengeance,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, in remarks from the floor. “It punishes the poor, rewards the rich, and undermines the very institutions that hold this country together.”
Progressive lawmakers were even more blunt. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez likened the bill to a “fascist wish list,” warning that it would trigger constitutional challenges over its Medicaid and immigration clauses. Civil rights groups, meanwhile, have begun preparing legal action should the bill be signed into law in its current form.
At a press conference organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, several members described the legislation as a “federal assault on working-class Americans,” citing estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Urban Institute. “This is an economic wrecking ball,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
Trump wants it signed by July 4, what happens next?
The full House vote is expected by Wednesday night. If passed, the measure would return to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed cautious optimism about final reconciliation. Trump, who has tied the bill’s passage to his July 4 campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, reportedly views it as the legislative cornerstone of his second-term platform.
According to The Guardian, aides within the Biden administration have prepared veto language but are holding off on public threats, wary of energizing Trump’s political base ahead of the summer campaign.
The stakes are high. With November midterms looming and public trust in Washington fractured, the Big Beautiful Bill is being framed by both parties as a defining ideological battle.
“This is more than policy,” said Speaker Johnson. “It’s a question of who we are as a nation.”
