President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a massive and controversial tax and spending package during a theatrical Independence Day celebration on the White House South Lawn—an event rich in pageantry and politics, but shadowed by the economic and social upheaval the legislation is expected to unleash across the country.
With red, white, and blue bunting draped across the White House, and fighter jets roaring overhead in a choreographed flyover, Trump used the moment to portray himself as a president who delivers—on the battlefield, in the courtroom, and now in Congress.
“Promises made, promises kept—and we’ve kept them,” he declared, moments before using a ceremonial gavel gifted by House Speaker Mike Johnson to seal the bill’s passage.
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The signing capped weeks of bruising intraparty wrangling and a months-long legislative slog, as Republicans rushed to pass the multitrillion-dollar package before Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline. The final law extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, eliminates taxes on tips and Social Security income, and makes sweeping cuts to Medicaid and food stamp programs—long-standing Republican targets that now stand gutted.
A Fight on the Right: Trump vs. His Base
But beyond its staggering fiscal scope and deeply polarizing content, the bill’s passage is also notable for the political firestorm it ignited within the president’s own party. In achieving what may be his most consequential legislative victory to date, Trump bulldozed opposition not just from Democrats, but from prominent voices on the right, including allies like Elon Musk and high-profile conservative lawmakers who openly questioned the bill’s long-term consequences.
For months, Trump lobbied aggressively to unify Republicans around the bill, knowing it would face total resistance from Democrats. But the real battle played out within the GOP itself.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk—long seen as an unofficial Trump adviser and one of his most influential outside supporters—publicly opposed the legislation’s size and scope, especially provisions cutting funding for tech-friendly energy programs and expanding federal surveillance under the guise of immigration enforcement. Musk reportedly urged congressional allies to vote against the bill, arguing it betrayed “economic freedom” and marked a return to “bloated federal overreach.”
His resistance was part of a broader split on the American right, where fiscal conservatives and libertarian-leaning Republicans balked at the bill’s $3.3 trillion projected impact on the national debt. In the House, two Republicans broke ranks—most notably Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a libertarian conservative who has frequently clashed with Trump despite aligning with him ideologically. Massie condemned the package as “fiscally insane” and a “betrayal of the limited government principles the party once claimed to stand for.”
In the Senate, North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis went a step further, publicly opposing the bill and announcing he would not seek reelection. Tillis had long warned that slashing healthcare access for millions while handing tax breaks to billionaires would backfire politically. His stance earned him the ire of Trump’s political apparatus, which swiftly began supporting potential challengers for his Senate seat.
The legislation narrowly passed the Senate thanks to Vice President J.D. Vance, who broke a 50-50 tie by casting the deciding vote. Though once a Trump skeptic, Vance has emerged as a reliable enforcer of the president’s agenda.
A Full-Scale Dismantling of the Democratic Legacy
The bill marks a sweeping rejection of the policy architecture laid by former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. It repeals large parts of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, claws back climate-related tax credits enacted under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, and guts key provisions aimed at helping low-income families.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the package will push nearly 12 million Americans off health coverage and reduce food assistance eligibility for millions more. At the same time, it devotes tens of billions to building new migrant detention centers, expands federal immigration enforcement, and beefs up surveillance programs across the southern border.
Trump defended the cuts as necessary tradeoffs to spur what he described as an “economic rocket ship.” Speaking to Fourth of July attendees before signing the bill, he said, “We’re going to make this country the strongest, the richest, and the freest it’s ever been. That starts with getting Washington out of your pocket and your doctor’s office.”
Democrats were quick to respond. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin condemned the law as “devastating,” accusing Trump and Republicans of “handing billionaires a $5 trillion gift while robbing working families of basic dignity.”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler echoed the criticism, calling the bill “the worst job-killing legislation in modern history” and warning it would leave tens of millions “more vulnerable, more desperate, and more disposable.”
A Campaign Blueprint—and a Midterm Battleground
As the fireworks display began and Trump and First Lady Melania danced on the Truman Balcony to “Y.M.C.A.”—a now-familiar campaign anthem—the president’s political machine was already shifting into campaign mode. The White House framed the bill not just as a policy achievement, but as the cornerstone of Trump’s 2026 midterm strategy.
Party officials confirmed that Republican leadership is planning a “victory tour” to showcase the bill’s key promises in swing states, while Democrats are preparing to use it as a rallying cry for what they say is a betrayal of the American working class.
Plans for nationwide rallies, protest vigils, voter registration drives, and targeted ad campaigns are already underway. The DNC has reportedly commissioned a series of attack ads focused on Republicans in vulnerable districts, tying them directly to the Medicaid and food stamp cuts, and the bill’s $3.3 trillion projected addition to the national debt.
Polls show a country divided. A Washington Post/Ipsos survey found that while most Americans support eliminating taxes on tips and boosting child tax credits, majorities oppose slashing food assistance and expanding immigration detention spending. Nearly 60 percent said it was “unacceptable” for the bill to increase the national debt beyond its current $36 trillion level.
For Trump, however, the legislative win is personal. After a flurry of Supreme Court victories and a show of military strength following the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last month, the budget bill adds to a string of momentum that could shape the tone of the 2026 elections.
But even some within his party warn that the bill’s real consequences may only be felt months from now—when families begin losing Medicaid, food insecurity spikes, and the debt begins to climb faster than projected.
