US President Donald Trump signed his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy.
Flanked by Republican legislators and members of his cabinet, Mr. Trump signed the multi-trillion dollar legislation outside the White House, and then banged down the gavel that house speaker Mike Johnson gifted him that was used during the bill’s final passage on Thursday.
Against odds that at times seemed improbable, Mr. Trump achieved his goal of celebrating a historic and divisive legislative victory in time for the nation’s birthday.
Fighter jets and a stealth bomber streaked through the sky over the annual White House Fourth of July picnic as Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump stepped out onto the White House balcony.
“America’s winning, winning, winning like never before,” Mr. Trump said, noting last month’s bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said the flyover was meant to honour.
“Promises made, promises kept and we’ve kept them.”
The White House was hung with red, white and blue bunting for the regular Fourth of July festivities.
The United States Marine Band played patriotic marches — and, in a typical Trumpian touch, tunes by 1980s pop icons Chaka Khan and Huey Lewis.
The two separate flyovers bookended Mr. Trump’s appearance and the band playing the national anthem.
Democrats assailed the package as a giveaway to the rich that will rob millions more lower-income people of their health insurance, food assistance and financial stability.
“I never thought that I’d be on the House floor saying that this is a crime scene,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said during a record-breaking speech that delayed the bill’s passage by eight-plus hours.
“It’s a crime scene, going after the health, and the safety, and the well-being of the American people.”
The legislation extends Mr. Trump’s 2017 multitrillion-dollar tax cuts and cuts Medicaid and food stamps by 1.2 trillion dollars. It provides for a massive increase in immigration enforcement.
Congress’ non-partisan scorekeeper projects that nearly 12 million more people will lose health insurance under the law.
The legislation passed the House on a largely party-line vote on Thursday.
It passed by a single vote in the Senate, where North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis announced he would not run for re-election after incurring Mr. Trump’s wrath in opposing it.
Vice president JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote.
The legislation amounts to a repudiation of the agendas of the past two Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, in rolling back Mr. Obama’s Medicaid expansion under his signature health law and Mr. Biden’s tax credits for renewable energy.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add 3.3 trillion dollars to the deficit over the decade and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage.
Mr. Trump exulted in his political victory on Thursday night in Iowa, where he attended a kick-off of events celebrating the country’s 250th birthday next year.
“I want to thank Republican congressmen and women, because what they did is incredible,” he said.
The president complained that Democrats voted against the bill because “they hate Trump — but I hate them, too”.
The package is certain to be a flashpoint in next year’s mid-term elections, and Democrats are making ambitious plans for rallies, voter registration drives, attack ads, bus tours and even a multi-day vigil, all intended to highlight the most controversial elements.
Upon his return to Washington early Friday, Mr. Trump described the package as “very popular” though polling suggests that public opinion is mixed at best.
