President Trump to sign 'Big, Beautiful Bill' on US Independence Day today

Washington, July 4 (IANS) The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump is expected to sign his sweeping domestic policy Bill on Friday evening as he celebrates the Fourth of July, the country's Independence Day.

"The one 'big, beautiful bill' has passed the House of Representatives and will be at the President's desk for signature at a big, beautiful signing ceremony tomorrow at 5 p.m. on the Fourth of July, just as the President always said and hoped it would be," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday on a press call shortly after the bill's passage.

Trump had set a July 4 deadline months ago, though he had waffled on how strongly he felt about that timeline as the Bill hit several obstacles in Congress.

The President and first lady Melania Trump were previously scheduled to attend a Fourth of July celebration and military family picnic on the White House South Lawn at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Republican lawmakers have handed President Donald Trump the first major legislative achievement of his second term, following a fierce arm-twisting campaign by GOP leaders to unite a deeply divided party behind his sweeping domestic agenda.

House Republicans voted on Thursday afternoon to approve Trump's massive package of tax and federal spending cuts and funding boosts for the Pentagon and border security, clearing the Bill to be sent to the White House for his signature. The Senate passed the bill earlier in the week.

The landmark victory for Republicans comes just six months into Trump's second administration – a rapid timeline that appeared in question up until the final vote.

The President and his Capitol Hill allies ratcheted up pressure on party holdouts in recent days, arguing the package will help cement Trump's legacy on issues like immigration and tax policy – including making key campaign promises reality -- while attempting to rein in spending with historic cuts to federal support for the social safety net.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump secured a major political victory on Thursday as Congress narrowly passed his flagship tax and spending bill, advancing his second-term agenda with enhanced funding for his anti-immigration policies.

The bill squeezed past a final vote 218-214, meaning it can be on Trump's desk to be signed into law on the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

"One of the most consequential Bills ever. The USA is the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, by far!!!" Trump said on his social media platform 'Truth social' as he scented victory.

The bill underlined the President's dominance over the Republican Party, which had been wracked by misgivings over a text that will balloon the national debt and gut health and welfare support.

A small group of opponents in the party finally fell into line after Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral dissenters in the House of Representatives behind the "One Big Beautiful Bill".

The timing of the vote slipped back as Democratic Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke against the bill for nearly nine hours to delay proceedings.

The legislative win is the latest in a series of successes for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone judges from blocking his policies, and US air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

His sprawling mega-bill just passed the Senate on Tuesday and had to return to the lower chamber for a rubber stamp of the Senators' revisions.

The package honours many of Trump's campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief.

"Today we are laying a key cornerstone of America's new Golden Age," Johnson said.

Johnson had to negotiate tight margins, and could only lose a handful of lawmakers in the final vote, among more than two dozen who had earlier declared themselves open to rejecting Trump's 869-page text.

Trump has spent weeks hitting the phones and hosting White House meetings to cajole lawmakers torn between angering welfare recipients at home and incurring the President's wrath.

Democrats hope public opposition to the Bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.

Extra spending on the military and border security will be paid in part through ending clean energy and electric vehicle subsidies -- a factor triggering a bitter public feud between Trump and former supporter Elon Musk.

--IANS

int/khz