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Donald Trump speaks alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson as he departs a House Republican Conference meeting yesterday Alamy Stock Photo

US House of Representatives narrowly pass Trump’s big bill of tax breaks after all-night session

The outcome caps an intense time on Capitol Hill, with days of private negotiations and public committee hearings around-the-clock.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS STAYED up all night to pass their multi trillion-dollar tax breaks package, with speaker Mike Johnson defying the sceptics and unifying his ranks to muscle US President Donald Trump’s priority bill to approval.

With last-minute concessions and stark warnings from Trump, the Republican holdouts largely dropped their opposition to salvage the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that is central to the Republican agenda.

The House launched a debate before midnight and by sunrise today the vote was called, 215-214, with Democrats staunchly opposed.

It next goes to the Senate.

“To put it simply, this bill gets Americans back to winning again,” said Mr Johnson just before the vote.

The outcome caps an intense time on Capitol Hill, with days of private negotiations and public committee hearings, many happening back-to-back, around-the-clock.

Republicans insisted their sprawling 1,000-page-plus package was what voters sent them to Congress — and Trump to the White House — to accomplish.

They believe it will be “rocket fuel”, as one put it during the debate, for the uneasy US economy.

Trump himself demanded action, visiting House Republicans at Tuesday’s conference meeting and hosting Republican leaders and the holdouts for a lengthy session on Wednesday at the White House.

Before the vote, the administration warned in a pointed statement that “failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal”.

Central to the package is the Republicans’ commitment to extending some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks they engineered during Trump’s first term in 2017, while adding new ones he campaigned on during his 2024 campaign, including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, car loan interest and others.

To make up for some of the lost tax revenue, the Republicans focused on changes to Medicaid and the food stamps programme, largely by imposing work requirements on many of those receiving benefits.

There is also a massive rollback of green energy tax breaks from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.

Additionally, the package tacks on $350 billion in new spending, with about $150 billion going to the Pentagon, including for the president’s new “Golden Dome” defence shield, and the rest for Trump’s mass deportation and border security agenda.

All told, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates 8.6 million fewer people would have health care coverage and three million less people a month would have SNAP food stamps benefits with the proposed changes.

The CBO said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally one trillion dollars in reduced spending.

The lowest-income households in the US would see their resources drop, while the highest ones would see a boost, it said.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York read letters from Americans describing the way the programme cuts would hurt them.

“This is one big ugly bill,” he said.

As the minority, without the votes to stop Trump’s package, Democrats instead offered up impassioned speeches and procedural moves to stall its advance.

As soon as the House floor reopened for debate, the Democrats forced a vote to adjourn. It failed.

In “the dark of night they want to pass this GOP tax scam,” said representative Pete Aguilar.

Other Democrats called it a “big, bad bill” or a “big, broken promise”.

Late in the night, Republican leaders unveiled a 42-page amendment with a number of revisions.

The changes included speedier implementation of the Medicaid work requirements, which will begin in December 2026, rather than January 2029, and a faster roll back of the production tax credits for clean electricity projects, both sought by conservatives.

And in a nod to Trump’s influence, the Republicans renamed a proposed new children’s savings programme after the president, changing it from Maga accounts — money account for growth and advancement — to simply “Trump” accounts.

Representative Erin Houchin said Americans should not believe the dire predictions from Democrats about the impact of the bill.

“We can unlock the ‘Golden Age’ of America,” she said, echoing the president’s own words.

Final analysis of the overall package’s costs and economic impacts are still being assessed.

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27 Comments
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    Mute Ollie Fitzpatrick
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    Nov 12th 2023, 8:40 PM

    Contributors should remember that it is a money diary and not an actual minute by minute account of your day. For instance no need for things like I took the dog for a walk, I milked the cows, I went to the gym etc etc. They are long and boring enough with no need to pad it out.

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    Mute Emer Daly
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    Nov 12th 2023, 8:57 PM

    @Ollie Fitzpatrick: I like hearing about people’s day to day though aswell as what they spend on.

    199
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    Mute Ollie Fitzpatrick
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    Nov 12th 2023, 9:23 PM

    @Emer Daly: but it’s a daily money diary , not a daily blog! We have enough to worry about or gloat over in our own daily lives. Also how many are actually factual?

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Nov 12th 2023, 9:56 PM

    @Ollie Fitzpatrick: “everything I don’t like is fake”

    39
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    Mute Emer Daly
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    Nov 12th 2023, 10:30 PM

    @Ollie Fitzpatrick: I know but it’d be very short if it was only about money spent. I dunno but I look forward to these diaries.

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    Mute Maniac 2000
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    Nov 12th 2023, 11:13 PM

    @Ollie Fitzpatrick: the journal want information on what you do during the day. Makes it interesting and relatable

    26
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    Nov 13th 2023, 12:11 AM

    @Ollie Fitzpatrick: Boring!

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    Mute Ryan O'Rourke'Glynn
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    Nov 13th 2023, 12:54 AM

    @Ollie Fitzpatrick: don’t read them then?

    26
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    Mute offside again
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    Nov 12th 2023, 8:28 PM

    I spend as little as possible. I’m not mean, it’s just the way it was back when I was young. So it wouldn’t be an interesting diary ..
    There wasn’t such a variety of stuff to spend money on either.

    73
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    Mute Ron Burgundy
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    Nov 13th 2023, 12:45 AM

    @offside again: there’s a lad on boards.ie that was due a free bottle of honey, cheap sh.te less that €2 and he drove to six different Lidls until he found one that had it in stock. Guy is all over freebies on every bargain alert thread, like a cheap suit. He got laughed out of it over there but I’d love to see his money diary here for the cringe factor laugh.

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    Mute
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    Nov 13th 2023, 1:59 AM

    @Ron Burgundy: there’s a big overlap of the r@tards from boards and the mong0s on the journal

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    Mute Antóin Ó Cumamothóin
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    Nov 12th 2023, 9:43 PM

    I was hoping to save up a few grand by next spring, but it’s looking uncertain now that my usual clientele have outsourced most escorting jobs to the Ukrainians.

    37
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    Mute ubeenfamed
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    Nov 12th 2023, 8:22 PM

    Comment test . Comment test

    32
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    Nov 12th 2023, 10:15 PM

    @ubeenfamed: One.. Two… One.. Two… I think we’re good Jim.

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    Mute Tommy Haze
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    Nov 12th 2023, 11:18 PM

    Make a budget at the start of the year then stick as close to it as you can.
    And remember..
    Every copper a prisoner.

    20
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    Mute
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    Nov 13th 2023, 12:10 AM

    @Tommy Haze: Mind the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves, Tommy lad!

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    Mute S Badger
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    Nov 13th 2023, 8:04 AM

    I hope to go away this “spending season”. Don’t care where though, but wish to get away from this force fed spending atmosphere. I can barely keep the lights on, yet I work hard, full time. Call me a grinch, I can’t stand this time of year.

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    Nov 12th 2023, 10:27 PM

    There does be some right miserable feckers on this money diary thing wouldn’t spent a penny never see them buying drink or smokes or a big loan of scratch cards

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    Nov 13th 2023, 9:19 AM

    Ha ha but only someone who is tight with money would keep a money diary in the first place.
    Do you think someone who throws money around on drink, smokes and scratch cards would actually have the discipline to keep one?

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    Nov 13th 2023, 10:59 AM

    I would honestly be too scared to do this.. I have no idea how much I spend a week and I don’t want to know either.

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    Nov 13th 2023, 8:03 PM

    I’m buying nothing. There you go. You’re welcome

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    Nov 13th 2023, 8:06 PM

    Is Jesus Birthday not spending season. Ssshh don’t mention religion lads

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