US President Donald Trump has signed a major 870-page budget bill into law, marking a key win for his administration just before Independence Day. The legislation narrowly passed Congress, with the House vote at 218–214 and a tiebreaker cast by Vice-President JD Vance in the Senate.

The signing event at the White House on Friday afternoon enacts key parts of the Trump agenda, including tax cuts, spending boosts for defence and the immigration crackdown.

The legislation, referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” extends the tax cuts originally implemented by Trump in 2017, reduces funding for Medicaid, and introduces new tax breaks for tipped workers and for overtime pay, while also rolling back specific clean energy incentives established during the Biden administration. Additionally, the bill allocates $150 billion for increased defence spending and $100 billion to strengthen immigration enforcement, an aspect that is a key priority for Trump. 

Despite the celebratory rhetoric surrounding the bill, it has raised significant concerns among economists and vulnerable Americans. The Congressional Budget Office has cautioned that while the tax cuts may temporarily reduce the deficit, they pose a risk of significantly increasing the national debt in the years to come. Critics argue that the benefits are disproportionately skewed toward the wealthy, with analyses indicating that 60% of tax savings will go to households earning over $217,000. Additionally, cuts to food assistance programs like SNAP and Medicaid could leave millions in a precarious situation, with projections suggesting that 12 million individuals may lose their healthcare coverage within the next decade.

Just before the signing ceremony, the skies above the White House were filled with the roar of B-2 bombers and advanced fighter jets, symbolising the administration’s firm stance on foreign policy. Trump called the legislation “the biggest bill of its type in history” soon before he signed it.