Donald Trump got exactly what he wanted and what I honestly thought was impossible.
Somehow, Congress managed to get the big, beautiful bill (BBB) through the Senate and House after a massive pushback from the House Freedom Caucus.
After an all-night session, Speaker Johnson (R-LA) passed the bill, and handed it off to Trump for an Independence Day signing, giving Trump another massive win.
Senator Schumer (D-N.Y.) did everything he could to delay the vote, including having the more than 900-page bill ready line-by-line by the clerk.
Schumer also did the media circuit to try to push the narrative that more people were unsatisfied with the bill than were happy.
He stated, “They’re slowing things down because right now they’re one big mess.
“They’ve made a lot of promises, contradictory promises to different parts of their caucus. A lot of people are squirming because they know how unpopular what Trump calls the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ — we call the ‘big, ugly betrayal’ — is. They’re squirming. They know the public doesn’t like it.”
House Minority Leader Jeffries (D-N.Y.) did the same thing by giving an 8-hour speech to make use of his “magic minute” before the bill could be put on the floor for a full vote.
Jeffries may possibly be one of the worst public speakers in leadership I have ever seen, so it was rather comical to see the entire caucus surround him and treat him like a rockstar after they were caught falling asleep on the floor during the speech.
Jeffries, in part, stated, "Donald Trump’s deadline may be Independence Day. That ain’t my deadline. You know why, Mr. Speaker? We don’t work for Donald Trump, we work for the American people. That's why we're here right now on the floor of the House of Representatives, standing up for the American people."
"Shame on this institution if this bill passes. That's not America, we're better than this. We are better, we are better.”
Trump appropriately took a victory lap on Independence Day when he signed the bill, stating, "We have officially made the Trump tax cuts permanent. That's the largest tax cut in the history of our country. … After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship economically.
“We've delivered no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors. … It makes the child tax credit permanent for 40 million American families. … The Golden Age of America is upon us."
I have not hidden the fact that I would not have supported the bill if I were in Congress, but that does not mean that I am rooting to be right and see Trump fail, because that is not the case. My main reason for not supporting the legislation was due to the belief that it would have the national debt over $40 trillion by the end of this administration.
Having said that, there are parts of this bill that I love. The border aspects are atop my list, as well as reducing taxes on overtime. I am glad the Senate lowered the cap on untaxed taxes on tips, as I simply think that is not fair to people who make the same amount in salary. But again, I am rooting to be wrong here and hope that Trump is right that the growth will eventually take care of the budget deficit. Time will tell...
