Trump signs controversial spending bill during White House 4th of July celebrations
President Donald Trump used the White House's Fourth of July celebrations as the backdrop for his final victory lap over his massive spending bill.
The president signed the legislation, which will bring massive cuts to government benefits such as Medicaid and increase funding for immigration enforcement, during the White House's military family picnic on Friday evening.
"We're adding things like the biggest tax cut in the history of our country, a child tax credit. So many things are being added that we wouldn't even have time to discuss them when we were doing it," he said.
Trump pushed Congress to pass the bill by July 4th as some Republicans held out over several issues, including the bill's effect on the debt ceiling.
"It includes the largest tax cut in American history, the largest spending cut $1.7 trillion. And yet you won't even notice it. Just waste, fraud and abuse in American history," he said in a speech from the White House.
The White House celebrations for the Fourth of July included several flyovers, including one featuring B-2 bombers. The president said Thursday that the flyover will occur at the same time he signs the bill; however, it ultimately took place before the signing.
Trump touted the military in a speech reiterating their successes, including during the June 22 Iranian bombing mission, and chastising the last administration.
"We didn't have any crashes. We didn't lose any planes. We didn't lose anybody. Those beautiful planes that you saw were totally stealth. They flew right over the center of a very hostile country, and they never even saw it coming," he said.
Democrats criticized the president and the bill's supporters over its cuts to services that help the poorest Americans. The bill institutes work requirements for Medicaid that some experts say will make millions of Americans uninsured, and makes cuts to the program that will result in closures of health centers in rural areas, according to health care employers.
On Thursday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries broke the chamber's record with an eight-hour, 44-minute speech decrying the bill.
"We wanted to make sure that the American people had an opportunity to fully and more completely understands, in the light of day, just how damaging this one big, ugly bill will be to the American people," he said.
Trump lampooned Jeffries, claiming that everything the Democrats were saying about the bill was a "con job."
"They've developed a standard line, 'We can't let them get away with it. Oh, it's dangerous. Oh, everybody's going to die.' It's actually just the opposite. Everybody's going to live," Trump said.
