Sachin Shankar Yadav 
The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a comprehensive piece of legislation that is at the heart of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda for his second term, was passed by the US Congress on July 3, 2025. Officially known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” this bill drastically alters federal spending, taxation, and social policy, with far-reaching effects on the American economy and millions of people.
The bill’s main features include:
1. Significant tax cuts
- The tax cuts that were first proposed during Trump’s 2017 term are expanded and extended in this bill.
- In an effort to encourage investment and job creation, it temporarily lowers taxes on overtime and gratuities and permits companies to deduct research and development expenses.
- The national deficit is expected to rise by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years as a result of these tax cuts, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which projects that the revenue loss will greatly outweigh the spending reductions.
2. Higher Defense and immigration Expenditures
- Funding for the military is allotted hundreds of billions of dollars.
- The bill supports Trump’s plans for mass deportations and border security measures by allocating tens of billions for immigration enforcement.
- These actions amount to a significant reallocation of federal funds from social programs to priorities related to immigration and defense.
3. Social safety Net Program Cuts
- The bill drastically cuts Medicaid (health insurance for Americans with low incomes) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or “food stamps”) to help pay for the tax cuts and new spending.
- Despite Trump’s prior promises to preserve Medicaid, the program is expected to face cuts of $930 billion.
- According to the CBO, these changes will result in 17 million more Americans going without insurance over the course of the next ten years.
- Significant funding cuts are also made to clean energy programs, which represents a departure from earlier sustainability and climate initiatives.
4. Increasing the Debt Ceiling
- By raising the federal debt ceiling by $5 trillion, the bill enables the government to take on more debt in order to fund these initiatives.
- Even some Republicans opposed this action, citing worries about the long-term financial effects.
Political Context and Passage
- All Democrats and two Republicans voted against the bill, which passed the House by a slim margin of 218–214.
- Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate, demonstrating the stark partisan differences over the bill.
- The bill was vehemently opposed by Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who criticized the process as hurried and opaque and referred to it as a “transfer of wealth from the poor to the affluent.”
- Republicans contended that the bill would improve national security, cut down on fraud and waste in entitlement programs, and boost economic growth.
- The tax breaks and business incentives primarily benefit corporations and high-income households.
- Medicaid and SNAP-reliant low-income families and individuals are less supported and more likely to lose their health insurance.
- Funding increases for immigration enforcement and defense contractors are significant.
- As tax credits and subsidies are phased out, federal support for clean energy industries declines.
Political and Public Reaction
- Republican leadership and Trump supporters celebrated the bill’s passage, calling it a historic legislative victory and a fulfillment of campaign pledges.
- The bill’s opponents, who included all of the Democrats in Congress, criticized it as a gift to the rich at the expense of the most vulnerable Americans and promised to make it a major campaign issue in the 2026 midterm elections.
- Even some well-known conservatives and business magnates, like Elon Musk, attacked the bill for adding “pork” to the national debt.
Legislative Process and Its Difficulties
- Intense negotiations, party infighting, and Hakeem Jeffries’ 8-hour, 44-minute speech—the longest in House history—were all part of the bill’s journey through Congress.
- To adhere to budgetary regulations, the Senate version of the bill had to be modified, which included eliminating some of its original provisions and title.
- A combination of party discipline, presidential pressure, and a calculated application of congressional rules ultimately resulted in the bill’s passage.
Conclusion
One of the most important pieces of legislation in recent U.S. history is the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act. It establishes a new course for federal policy under President Trump by combining significant cuts to social programs, larger defense and immigration spending, and broad tax cuts. For years to come, its effects—both good and bad—will influence American politics, the economy, and society.
