President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday, in a political victory for the president after months of Republican infighting over spending cuts and tax policies.
The measure will now be scrutinised by lawmakers in the Senate. More as we get it.
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you the latest news lines over the next few hours.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill cleared a crucial hurdle on Thursday, as the House of Representatives voted roughly along party lines to begin a debate that would lead to a vote on passage later in the morning.
The legislation would extend his signature 2017 tax cuts, create new tax breaks for tipped income and auto loans, end many green-energy subsidies and boost spending on the military and immigration enforcement, Reuters reported. It would also tighten eligibility for food and health programs that serve millions of low-income Americans.
The proposed legislation – which Trump nicknamed “one big beautiful bill” – would also add $3.8tn to the $36.2tn US debt burden over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Lawmakers voted 217-212 to begin a floor debate on the legislation during a rare pre-dawn session that featured choruses of cheers and boos between party members. A single Republican lawmaker, fiscal hawk Thomas Massie, joined Democrats in opposition.
They were due to vote again to pass the measure later in the morning and send it on to the Republican-led Senate, which would probably take weeks to act.
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