President Donald Trump secured a sweeping shift in US domestic policy as the House of Representatives narrowly passed his tax and spending bill. The $3.4 trillion fiscal package, passed by a vote of 218-214, cuts taxes, curtails spending on safety-net programs and reverses much of former President Joe Biden’s efforts to move the country toward a clean-energy economy. The House now sends the legislation to Trump, in time for a July 4 deadline he set. The president leveraged his sway over the Republican Party through threats of primary challenges, White House lobbying sessions and golf-course socializing to overcome resistance from both conservative hardliners concerned about the measure’s debt impact and swing-state GOP moderates worried about the scale of Medicaid cuts. In the end, only two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, joined with Democrats to oppose the bill. In a futile attempt to block a final vote on the massive bill, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for 8 hours and 45 minutes, breaking the record for the House’s longest “magic minute” floor speech. “This legislation will end Medicaid as we know it,” Jeffries said during the marathon speech. “Rural hospitals will close, nursing homes will close.” —Jordan Parker Erb |