Trump's “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Passes House in Historic-Length Vote
After the longest House vote in congressional history—7 hours and 24 minutes—President Trump's signature legislative package squeaked through the House 218-214, marking the first major legislative victory of his second term.
The 940-page bill, which passed the Senate 50-50 with JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanently, while cutting other government programs and subsidies. President Trump signed the bill into law on Friday.
Some of What's in the Bill:
- Tax cuts: Makes 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, implements some tax deductions for tips and overtime, and temporarily raises the cap on deducting state and local taxes
- Medicaid overhaul: Cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid through work requirements and reduced federal cost-sharing, putting more onus on individual states
- Increases the debt ceiling: by $5 trillion
- SNAP reductions: 20% cut to food stamps through more strict work requirements
- Clean energy rollback: Phases out existing federal tax subsidies for wind and solar power by 2027
- Border security: Massive funding increase for deportations, wall construction, and border surveillance
- Defense spending: Billions for shipbuilding, munitions, and Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system
- "Trump accounts”: $1,000 government contributions for babies born during Trump's presidency
The bill extends $3.8 trillion in tax cuts while cutting $1.1 trillion from healthcare programs, representing a fundamental shift in Republican priorities as the party embraces its working-class base.
The Musk factor: Elon Musk, despite being called a "wonderful guy" by Trump last Sunday, has said the bill is "insane spending" and has said he will form a new "America Party" to primary the Republicans who voted for it.
Other News:
🌊 Texas Flooding Tragedy: A devastating flash flood along Texas's Guadalupe River has claimed at least 51 lives, including 15 children, with more still missing and the death toll rising. The tragedy unfolded in the predawn hours Friday when extreme rainfall—up to 12 inches per hour—transformed the peaceful river into a deadly torrent that rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. Tragically, the flood went through Camp Mystic, a Christian girls camp on the bank of the Guadalupe River. Families remain in agonizing uncertainty as 27 young campers from this camp are still missing. The catastrophic flooding struck so suddenly that what began as light rain at 3:30 a.m. became a life-threatening surge, leaving little time for escape or rescue.
📺 CBS Settlement: Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to Trump's future presidential library to settle his lawsuit over the edited Kamala Harris "60 Minutes" interview. No apology required, but CBS will release future candidate interview transcripts. Paramount needs federal approval for its planned merger with Skydance Media, and the agreement with President Trump “allows companies to focus on their core objectives rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction.”
🇮🇷 Iran Nuclear Talks Restart: White House envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo next week—the first direct talks since Trump's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. The Pentagon estimates those strikes set back Iran's nuclear program by 1-2 years. In the meantime, Iran announced that it would suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
🤝 Congo-Rwanda Peace Deal: The Trump administration announced a U.S.-brokered reconciliation agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, potentially ending a three-decade conflict. The deal includes access for the U.S. to regional minerals used in technologies like smartphones and fighter jets, territorial integrity provisions, and disarmament of non-state armed groups, with Trump warning of “very severe penalties” for violations. Meanwhile, the Pakistan government nominated the U.S. president for a Nobel Peace prize following the successful ceasefire negotiated between India and Pakistan a few weeks ago.
🔥 Idaho Ambush: Two firefighters were killed and another wounded by a sniper who set a brush fire to ambush them in Coeur d'Alene. The gunman was found dead after a massive manhunt involving 300 law enforcement agents.
⚖️ Idaho Killer Plea: Bryan Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to murdering four Idaho college students, avoiding the death penalty for four consecutive life sentences. Sentencing expected this month.
👨⚖️ Diddy Verdict: Sean "Diddy" Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges but found guilty on two prostitution offenses, avoiding a potential life sentence.
📈 Market High: The S&P 500 closed at a new record high—its seventh this year—as the economy appears to shrug off President Trump's tariffs with 147,000 new jobs added in June.
🍁 The U.S. Resumes Trade Talks with Canada: President Trump terminated all trade discussions with Canada after Mark Carney's government announced plans to impose a 3% digital services tax on American tech giants' Canadian revenue. Canada rescinded the tax plan within 48 hours—and trade talks resumed.
🇺🇸 Pride Polling: American pride hits record low with only 53% saying they're “extremely" or “very" proud to be American—36% of Democrats versus 92% of Republicans.
🌭Important News: Joey Chestnut was back in Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest after having been banned due to a sponsorship conflict with a company that produces plant-based hot dogs. He won the contest for the 17th time, putting down 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
(Did you know—Americans collectively consume around 150 million hot dogs on July 4th?)
