Winter storm warnings continue in northern Minnesota 

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

House Republicans have passed their massive bill to enact the heart of President Donald Trump's domestic agenda, overcoming deep divisions inside the party to advance legislation that would cut trillions of dollars in taxes while scaling back safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

"Today the House has passed generational, truly nation-shaping legislation to reduce spending and permanently lower taxes for families and job creators, secure the border, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength and make government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans," House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote. "House Democrats voted against all of that."

The new legislation aims to satisfy competing demands from fiscal hawks looking to reduce the deficit to blue state Republicans looking to lock in more favorable taxes for their constituents.

The Thursday vote followed a day of near-constant negotiations within the GOP. The talks included a White House meeting between Trump, Johnson, R-La., and several holdouts and skeptics.

Johnson entered the vote needing near unanimous support from his members for the bill to pass. House passage is one step in a lengthy process. Republicans still face more 

 where lawmakers have already signalled reservations about key elements of the plan.

. Here's a brief look at what's inside the latest version.

Note: This is a partial list that will be updated.

The Republican plan calls for roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts — the bulk of which would come by extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Those cuts are due to expire at the end of the year, so without an extension, most households would see their taxes go up.

The bill includes temporary changes designed to make good on several of Trump's campaign pledges, including no taxes on overtime earned between 2026 and 2028. The plan would also allow Americans to deduct interest on car loans — but only if the car is made in the U.S. It would increase the child tax credit to $2,500 until 2028 — but only for people with Social Security numbers. After that, it would drop to $2,000 and grow with inflation. It would allow for a higher standard deduction through 2028, and to deliver on Trump's pledge not to tax Social Security benefits, the bill would allow for an extra $4,000 deduction for people over the age of 65, but it phases out for people at higher incomes.

One of the thorniest issues during negotiations has been the state and local tax deduction, also known as SALT. The deduction is hugely important to a small number of GOP lawmakers from blue states with high taxes, like California and New York. The 2017 tax cuts capped the SALT deduction at $10,000. The House plan would lift the cap to $40,000 for married couples with incomes up to $500,000.

The bill includes several proposed changes to Medicaid — the joint federal/state health care program for low-income, elderly and disabled Americans. It's remained one of the 

 throughout GOP negotiations, but lawmakers argue that changes introduced by the bill will bring in hundreds of billions in necessary savings through the introduction of new work requirements. Beginning at the end of 2026, childless adults without disabilities would be required to work 80 hours per month to qualify for benefits. 

The legislation also zeroes in on what Republicans characterize as "waste fraud and abuse" within the program by shifting the enrollment period from once a year to every six months and adding additional income and residency verifications for enrolled individuals.

The Republican legislation also outlines reforms for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which benefits more than 40 million low-income Americans. The bill increases the amount states contribute to the program and mandates work requirements for able-bodied SNAP enrollees who don't have dependents. Independent estimates suggest these changes could result in many people losing coverage. Like with Medicaid talks, some Republican lawmakers have pushed back against massive changes to SNAP given its wide reach and the millions enrolled in the program.

The House bill would raise the nation's debt limit by $4 trillion. Lifting 

 doesn't authorize new spending. Instead, it allows the government to pay for programs that Congress has already authorized. If the cap isn't lifted and the government can't meet its obligations, then it will be at risk of default – a scenario that economists say would be catastrophic not just for the U.S., but the global financial system as a whole. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 

 that without action, the U.S. will run out of money to pay its bills as soon as August, which means the clock is ticking.

Politics and Government News

Homepage

Elena Moore

Author

Claudia Grisales

At the center of the sweeping bill is trillions in tax cuts, which Republicans aim to partially offset through changes to safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

Here's what's in the GOP megabill that's just passed the House

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox