President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is one step closer to becoming law — and reshaping policy from Medicaid to taxes.
The House passed the massive spending bill on Thursday afternoon in a 218-214 vote.
Every Democrat voted against the bill, along with two Republicans: Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
The final passage came after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for roughly eight hours and 45 minutes in opposition to the bill, breaking the record for the longest House floor speech in American history.
The bill now heads to Trump’s desk for signing, which could happen as soon as Friday, July 4.
The bill underwent a number of changes since the House passed an initial version in May. That included the eventual removal of a provision aimed at preventing states from regulating AI for 10 years. The bill passed the upper chamber on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three GOP senators opposed it.
The bill will have a sweeping impact on Americans’ wallets and the country’s fiscal health. In addition to extending the 2017 tax cuts, making cuts to Medicaid, and repealing student loan forgiveness, the bill is also expected to add trillions to the deficit over the next ten years.
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In May, Moody’s Analytics downgraded the US’s credit rating, citing rising federal debt. This could lead to higher interest rates on mortgages, auto loans, and more down the road.
Republicans passed the bill despite vehement opposition from Elon Musk, the former face of DOGE.
Musk had criticized the bill’s impact on the deficit and its phase-out of green energy tax credits, some of which benefit Tesla. That led to his epic feud with Trump, which remains ongoing to this day.
On Monday, Musk vowed to support primary challengers against any Republicans who supported the bill and said that if it passed, he would form a new political party, called the America Party.
Republicans have largely brushed all of that off.
“Similar threats have been made before, and I’m unsure if anything’s come of those threats,” Rep. Brian Jack of Georgia told BI on Wednesday.
