WASHINGTON, July 5 — President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a sweeping package of tax cuts and domestic spending reductions in a high-profile ceremony staged during the White House’s Fourth of July celebrations, marking what he called a defining victory for his second-term agenda.
Standing beside Republican lawmakers and Cabinet members on the White House driveway, Trump inked the multitrillion-dollar legislation — a cornerstone of his economic vision — before slamming down a ceremonial gavel gifted by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The signing capped a tense, partisan push that saw Republicans unite behind the bill amid intense Democratic opposition.
“America’s winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump declared, linking the bill’s passage to a recent airstrike campaign on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which he said the military flyover above the Independence Day picnic was meant to honour. “Promises made, promises kept, and we’ve kept them.”
The ceremony, saturated in patriotic pageantry with red, white, and blue bunting, a US Marine Band performance, and 1980s pop music, was timed deliberately for the national holiday — a deadline Trump had imposed on Congress for delivering what he views as a legacy-making accomplishment.
The president spoke for 22 minutes, offering praise to individual lawmakers and touting the legislation’s key features — including the permanent extension of his 2017 tax cuts and the elimination of taxes on Social Security income and service tips. “Our country is going to be a rocket ship, economically,” Trump said.
But while the White House celebrated, critics and advocacy groups condemned the bill as a brutal assault on working-class Americans and a giveaway to the nation’s wealthiest.
“Donald Trump signed into law the worst job-killing bill in American history,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a sharply worded statement. “It will rip health care from 17 million workers to pay for massive tax giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations. Every member of Congress who voted for this devastating bill picked the pockets of working people to hand billionaires a $5 trillion gift.”
According to nonpartisan budget analysts, the legislation slashes Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion over the next decade and projects that nearly 12 million more Americans will lose their health insurance. It also includes provisions for significantly ramped-up immigration enforcement — another pillar of Trump’s campaign platform.
Despite the controversy, Republicans hailed the legislation as a transformative economic package aimed at restoring growth and trimming government overreach. Democrats have vowed to challenge it on both political and legal fronts in the months ahead.
As fireworks lit the night sky over the National Mall, Trump remained focused on the moment. “This is a historic day,” he told supporters. “We’re putting America first — and we’re not turning back.”
