House Democrats will likely be facing a lot of questions and scrutiny during next year’s midterm elections after every single member voted against the “big, beautiful bill” supported by Republicans and President Donald Trump, according to GOP leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
That’s because, politics aside, the bill contained several very popular provisions, including some that former Vice President Kamala Harris ran on during her campaign last year.
Among them:
–No taxes on tips, which President Donald Trump first introduced during a rally in Las Vegas, but which Harris later embraced; no taxes on overtime worked;
–Deducting interest on auto loans for vehicles made in the U.S.;
–Making permanent the 2017 tax cuts that experts and various think tanks have said are not strictly “for the wealthy” but benefit nearly 90 percent of American earners;
–Billions more in border wall construction, for hiring more border agents, and detaining up to 100,000 illegal migrants — an issue that helped propel Trump to a historic win in November; and
–$25 billion to build the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced last week.
Also, the legislation increases the state and local tax deduction (SALT), which was important to Republicans in high-tax blue states, from $10,000 to $40,000 for married couples with incomes up to $500,000. Another provision of the bill that is extremely popular with most Americans is enforcing a work requirement for Medicaid recipients.
It also dramatically scales back tax credits for clean energy that were part of President Joe Biden’s expensive Inflation Reduction Act, which will help pay for the tax cuts. The measure also, for the first time ever, imposes a $1,000 fee for migrants applying for asylum in the U.S., as well as other immigration-related fees.
The bill also overhauls student loan repayment programs, including scrapping one implemented under Biden that based payments on household income.
The final vote in the House was close – 215-214, with one Republican not voting and a few others either voting “present” or “no.”
“Today the House has passed generational, truly nation-shaping legislation to reduce spending and permanently lower taxes for families and job creators, secure the border, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength and make government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans,” Johnson said after the vote. “House Democrats voted against all of that.”
“It’s finally morning in America again,” he added.
“We look forward to the Senate’s timely consideration of this once-in-a-generation legislation. We stand ready to continue our work together to deliver on the one big, beautiful bill, as President Trump named it himself. We’re going to send that to his desk. We’re going to get there by Independence Day, on July 4th, and we are going to celebrate a new golden age in America,” Johnson added, per Fox News.
“Democrats made it very clear they didn’t want to have any part in helping get America back on track again, but we were never fettered when this bill could have failed 10 times over. We said we were going to get this done, and failure is not an option. And we meant it,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
Trump celebrated the House’s passage of the bill in a Thursday morning post on his social media site, Truth Social.
“This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!” Trump wrote before detailing some of the elements of the bill. “Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste.”
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