WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday signed his sweeping spending package, what he calls the “Big Beautiful Bill”, into law in a Fourth of July ceremony at the White House.
The ceremony, which took place during the annual White House picnic for military service members, included an armed forces flyover and was attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson and his Republican colleagues.
“Our country has had so much to celebrate this Independence Day as we enter our 249th year. America’s winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said in remarks before signing the bill.
“We have officially made the Trump tax cuts permanent. That’s the largest tax cut in the history of our country,” he added. “We’re setting all sorts of economic records right now, and that’s before this kicks in. After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship, economically.”
Trump’s signing comes after the House passed the bill on a 218-214 vote, just one day ahead of the President’s July 4 deadline.
The new bill will have several impacts on Americans’ lives and their wallets. From higher taxes to student loans and healthcare.
Here are some key impacts Americans’ could face:
Higher taxes
Many of Trump’s policies are in the bill as Republicans are hoping to fulfill his campaign promises.
The bill includes a $6,000 tax deduction for seniors making less than $75,000 a year and lower-income seniors likely will not see a deduction but an increase on their taxes instead.
Another provision sees the Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and increase the state and local taxes, known as SALT, from $10,000 to $40,000 in 2025 and will increase 1% every year. By lifting SALT, this allows wealthy taxpayers in states and cities with high taxes to claim a bigger federal deduction.
Student Loans
The new bill also impacts millions of student loan borrowers, who will see their repayment options change. Under the new legislation, the income-driven repayment plans would be eliminated. This would be replaced with the Repayment Assistance Plan and a standard repayment plan.
According to the bills text, the The Repayment Assistance Plan would allow for loan forgiveness after 360 payments based on the borrowers’ income, while the standard repayment plan would require a fixed monthly payment.
Medicaid and SNAP benefits
The biggest impact will hurt lower-income Americans — facing higher healthcare costs or losing federal assistance benefits.
The bill would mandate states to implement an 80-hour-a-month work requirement by the end of 2026 for all adults without children on Medicaid without a disability.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Trump’s bill could force at least 17 million Americans off their healthcare.
Additionally, the bill would raise the age for work requirements to receive SNAP benefits from 18-54 without children to 55 to 64.
