President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday hailed the adoption of a sweeping Republican tax cut plan as a “historic victory” for the American people.
The U.S. leader secured on Wednesday his first major legislative win, with lawmakers giving final approval to the most sweeping tax overhaul in a generation.
“We had a historic victory for the American people,” Mr. Trump told reporters in a celebratory address from the White House Cabinet Room.
“We got it done,” he added, thanking the Republican leaders in Congress, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, by name. “We have a tremendous amount of talent.”
After concluding his remarks, Mr. Trump invited his Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to say a prayer for the assembled reporters and cabinet members — during which Mr. Carson notably cited concerns about the national debt.
After the stinging failure to repeal his predecessor’s health care law, Mr. Trump had demanded the bill reach his desk by Christmas.
The Senate passed the Republican bill in the wee hours and the House — which already approved it on Tuesday — held a technical re-vote on the $1.5 trillion due to a procedural snag.
The deepest rewrite of the U.S. tax code in three decades provides dramatic tax breaks to corporations, and families at all income levels will see their tax drop — albeit temporarily — in what Republicans hope will play to their advantage in next year’s mid-term elections.
Democrats pushed back against the new law saying it would benefit the ultra-rich while also affecting the national deficit.
The tax plan also takes a key step towards dismantling Barack Obama‘s health reforms, by scrapping the individual mandate that requires nearly all Americans to have health insurance or pay a fine.
“We have essentially repealed Obamacare and we will come up with something much better,” Mr. Trump declared.
Earlier Mr. Trump had tweeted out his praise for Senate Majority leader McConnell, congratulating him on a “fantastic job both strategically & politically on the passing in the Senate of the MASSIVE TAX CUT & Reform Bill.”
“I could have not asked for a better or more talented partner. Our team will go onto many more VICTORIES!”