Many political analysts did not believe Republicans could pass a single, sprawling bill encompassing much of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda using the budget reconciliation process. The majorities in both Houses of Congress were too narrow and the coalitions too diverse to achieve agreement, they argued.
But Trump, with major assists from Republican leadership, continued producing “wins” on Thursday with perhaps his biggest governing achievement yet: the passage of his One Big Beautiful Bill Act. After months of intense negotiations, razor-thin votes, and legislative maneuvering, Trump’s agenda is now being made the law of the land. The passage comes ahead of Trump’s Independence Day deadline and a mere 25 weeks into his second term.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) deserve hearty applause for steering this mammoth legislative package through stormy seas and bringing it into port safely. Both leaders maintained party cohesion while adhering to the president’s priorities.
Johnson, in particular, exhibited unusual patience and steadiness in the face of internal disputes over state and local tax deductions (SALT), Medicaid reform, and other aspects of the bill. Opting for one massive legislative package hinging on all-or-nothing votes was a high-stakes gamble that required extraordinary discipline from leadership. Johnson consistently framed the legislation as a choice between supporting or opposing the president’s agenda, allowing Trump’s cachet among Republicans to cinch the deal. The Speaker’s strategy was well-honed and impressively executed.
The OBBB Act is far from perfect — no single piece of legislation that size could be — but it is packed with solid conservative reforms on a variety of issues. It makes permanent the tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the expiration of which would have led to a massive tax hike for the majority of taxpayers. Beyond putting money back into the pockets of Americans, extending the tax cuts will grow the economy by increasing business investment, creating jobs, driving up wages, and increasing consumer spending.
The new law also provides long-needed reforms to the means-tested entitlement programs straining the federal budget. Expanded work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps serve the dual purpose of preserving the program’s solvency in the long run for the people it was intended to help and fostering a culture that values the dignity of work. Democrats and their allies in the legacy media will continue to accuse Trump of “kicking off” millions from the Medicaid rolls, but the legislation only proposes minor changes in the realm of waste, fraud, and abuse. Only people who never belonged on the program stand to lose their coverage. Requiring a 20-hour work week for the able-bodied and imposing more frequent eligibility checks are hardly draconian measures. Changes to Medicaid will not fundamentally alter the trajectory of public finances — this is one area in which we wish the bill had gone further. But it at least reverses some of the damage done by the Affordable Care Act and subsequent expansions.
The bill will also inject billions of dollars into the administration’s efforts to secure the border and deport illegal immigrants. These funds will enable the completion of the border wall and the hiring of thousands of new ICE and Border Patrol agents. Trump ran on overhauling the immigration system, and the new legislation fulfills this promise.
HOUSE HANDS TRUMP HIS JULY 4 VICTORY WITH PASSAGE OF ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
The OBBB Act addresses many other Republican priorities. It strengthens national defense, allocating billions to build Trump’s “Golden Dome for America” missile defense system, restock munitions, and expand the naval fleet. It expands domestic energy production through increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining, and logging. It defunds Planned Parenthood for one year. It revamps the student loan program. And much more.
Passage of the OBBB is a historic achievement. Trump’s signing ceremony on Independence Day is a fitting venue for a legislative victory of this scale. Selling the law to the public will take focus and discipline. But Trump and Republican leaders can and should enjoy their victory.