On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an omnibus appropriations bill into law. This occurred on the lawn of a White House Fourth of July picnic and has received both acclamation and denunciation. The new legislation cuts billions for federal safety-net programs and raises billions for aggressive immigration enforcement. This action seeks to shore up support for the administration’s immigration policy as arguments continue to fly over where resources should go and who deserves social welfare.
President Trump even went so far as to call the bipartisan spending package “the most popular bill ever signed in the history of the country.” Though historic, it passed through Congress with such narrow margins. It passed the Senate on only a single vote’s approval. Then in a surprise twist, it cruised through the House on Thursday, passing with a razor-thin 219 to 213 margin, with just two Republicans voting against it. Trump’s signing the legislation took place in front of jubilant supporters. Among them, speaking of the event’s political significance, was Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
Even the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has weighed in with an estimate. They estimate that the new law will add around $3.3 trillion to the national debt by 2034. Critics are sounding alarms about what this increase means. They are especially concerned about the bill’s emphasis on tax cuts for big corporations and new, harsher immigration enforcement.
One more significant aspect of the new spending package is that it represents an all-time high of $170 million allocated strictly to immigration enforcement. This law not only builds on the tax cuts that Trump installed in 2017. Its aim is to bring big dollar savings to Fortune 500 companies.
Trump expressed confidence in the economic impact of the legislation, stating, “After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship, economically.” He further elaborated on his strategy, saying, “What we’ve done is put everything into one bill. We’ve never had anything like that before.”
Not everyone supports the new law. Elon Musk, the often-controversial CEO and entrepreneur, had made himself popular by favorably positioning himself against the business community. He dubbed it “highway robbery” and argued that it “robs from you to pay the wealthy.” The pushback from academia, industry, and environmental groups alike should make us all wonder what the lasting economic impacts would be by taking this spending approach.
Opposition was heard from inside Trump’s own party. Representative Thomas Massie was one of two Republicans to vote against the bill. He made no bones about it, casting his veto in terms of worries over government waste and spending, fiscal irresponsibility.
The new law has sparked passionate arguments around the country over what immigration policy should be. Despite temporarily walking back some of ICE’s more aggressive enforcement actions in response to complaints from industry leaders in farming and hospitality, Trump continues to push for stronger immigration controls. During a campaign-style rally in Iowa on Thursday evening, Trump took a victory lap on the legislation. He then billed it as a “birthday gift to America.”
Mainstream critics are right to sound the alarm about how the legislation harms communities across the country. Meg McCarthy remarked, “This budget promises to supercharge US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests that disappear community members, leave children parentless and threaten constitutional and due-process rights for all of us.” Similarly, Nicole Melaku stated, “This disgraceful, anti-immigrant budget hands the Trump administration a blank check to further ramp up its shameful efforts to terrorize American communities and separate families.”
As discussions continue regarding the implications of this spending package, it remains clear that President Trump’s administration is committed to advancing its agenda in immigration enforcement while prioritizing corporate tax cuts.