Trump shows off his control over the legislature with the new tax law

WashingtonDonald Trump wanted to have the controversial tax bill on the table by July 4th, Independence Day, to sign it, and once again, he's gotten his way. The consequences of deep cuts to the Medicaid health program. the so-called Big Beautfiul Bill, which will increase public debt by more than $3.3 trillionFurther evidence of how far Trump, in just five months and a bit in office, has been able to break the institutional limits of his power. He also saw the Supreme Court limit the power of federal judges to block his executive orders. The Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, called him "daddy". And now, his royal airs have been further reinforced by pushing through a law that had stalled in the Senate earlier this week and it was not so clear that it could be passed before July 4th.

Trump celebrated all this from the White House gardens shortly before signing his own. Big Beatufiul Bill, above where he flew two B-2 bombers, like the ones used to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. "The world is respecting us again. When we were discussing NATO spending, those leaders came to me and said, 'You know what? We're going to a new level of spending because you asked for it, sir.' They didn't talk to your previous president like that, I'm telling you, they didn't spend a dime. They didn't spend anything," the president boasted. The president also insisted that his bill—which narrowly passed Congress—is "the most popular" in living memory. "People are happy now," he asserted.

The tax plan is approved in the House of Representatives with 218 votes in favor and 214 votes against,after it passed to the Senate on Tuesday,thanks to Vice President JD Vance's tie-breaking vote. In the final session, the Republicans could only afford three resignations, and ultimately, only two congressmen broke with the party line.

"I voted no on the final step because this will significantly increase US budget deficits in the near term and negatively impact all Americans through sustained inflation and high interest rates," Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and one of the main opponents of the legislation, posted on social media Thursday. Trump and his team are already working to oust him.

It was less clear that the text would ultimately pass, as the House had initially approved a bill that projected $2.4 trillion in debt, and the upper chamber had returned a new version that increased it to $3.3 trillion. To make that possible, Trump spent all week in Washington pressuring wayward lawmakers to move the legislation forward.

Also playing a key role in convincing Republicans was Russell Vought, the current head of the White House Budget Office and one of the architects of Project 2025. Vought was the mastermind behind the Englishman's absence, he will take the reins.

Civil Service Purge

The approval of the current fiscal plan, which is driving public spending, demonstrates how, at its core, the DOGE's function was not to cut supposedly unnecessary public spending, but rather as a tool to purge the civil service. Vought already explained this in its Project 2025 chapter, where it analyzed how the president could use executive orders and other tools to remove institutional restraints. For example, long-time career officials who were unwilling to follow orders.

Beyond extending the 2017 tax cuts, at a total cost of some $4.5 trillion, Trump will also increase the budget for border management and the military. In fact, more than $30 billion will be allocated to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alone to hire more agents, pay for transportation costs, and maintain detention centers.

The injection comes at a time when immigration agents are carrying out increasingly aggressive and arbitrary raids against the migrant population – the city of Los Angeles has become the main stage – and just when the buildings used to hold migrants are reaching their limit of capacity.

The flip side of all this is that more than 11 million Americans will lose health coverage by 2034 thanks to the president's new law, which cuts approximately one trillion dollars from Medicaid and reduces food aid for the most vulnerable.