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🌊 What’s Inside the Big Beautiful Bill
Trump just signed the most consequential law of his political career. What’s in it?
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By Max Frost
On Friday, President Trump sat down to sign perhaps the most consequential law of his political career.
“You have the biggest tax cut, the biggest spending cut, the largest border security investment in American history," Trump declared in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. “I’ve never seen people so happy in our country,” he added. “So many different groups of people are being taken care of.”
The president’s statements were echoed by his most loyal followers, who said the law would dramatically boost America’s economic growth and usher in a new “golden age.” Respected figures like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted the bill as not just another tax cut, but a wholesale upgrading of the American economy that would make it the best place in the world to invest, thereby fixing America’s deficit trajectory and offsetting all cuts to welfare.
Yet these statements were at odds with many other Republicans’: Days before the bill’s passage, one of the most vulnerable Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, announced his retirement after warning colleagues that he would lose his seat over the bill’s Medicaid cuts. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who serves in a competitive district that Kamala Harris won, voted no, also citing Medicaid cuts.
And even House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) – who did all he could to push the vote through the finish line by July 4 – privately said that he worried the bill would cost Republicans their slim House majority.
Predictably, Democrats – all of whom opposed the bill – joined the criticism: "Today, Donald Trump sealed the fate of the Republican Party,” said the party’s chair. “This legislation will hang around the necks of the GOP for years to come. This was a full betrayal of the American people. Today, we are putting Republicans on notice: You will lose your majority."
Lost in this political food fight has been reporting on the bill’s actual components: Trillions worth of tax changes, welfare cuts, defense and border spending, and much more. This week, we are breaking down the bill so you can understand how it will actually affect the United States, without any partisan spin.
Today’s edition looks at what the bill adds. Tomorrow’s, how it will pay for that. And Wednesday’s, the bill’s broader economic strategy.
The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) hinged around a core fact: That much of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) – the tax cuts passed by Republicans in Trump’s first term – was going to expire at the end of 2025, leading to higher tax rates. Trump and his allies wanted to prevent this from happening.
Much of the BBB therefore consists of extending the TCJA, keeping tax rates as they have been since 2018. It then added substantial new tax cuts and spending on top of that.
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Editor’s Note
Our goal with this newsletter is to cut through the noise of today’s partisan media. This is a perfect example of how, given that one outlet after another is featuring opinion or “analysis” pieces about the BBB, rather than just giving the facts. Thanks for trusting us to deliver the news.
We’ll be back with part two, looking at the cuts, tomorrow. Until then, please let us know your thoughts on today’s story.
And, as always, find our most recent five stories below:
Reader replies
Thanks to all who wrote in yesterday about the BBB in Appalachia. Here is a sample of those emails:
Anne wrote:
Thank you for this thought provoking article. I'm from Appalachia and my family maybe considered an anomaly in which just two generations ago my grandfather only had an 8th grade to now the current generation that has several of our family highly educated with master & doctoral degrees.
My grandfather passed down to my father an entrepreneurial spirit, one driven by necessity not necessarily innovation. My take is that the overuse & abuse of the welfare system has killed this spirit throughout the Appalachian region resulting in generations of families content with a life of mere survival by way of the government.
Absolutely the government should step in and support those unable to support themselves, but for those that can contribute back there are many things these individuals can contribute to their communities in exchange for welfare support.
This step is a ripping off of the band-aid so to speak and the transition period will be rocky, but hopefully more entrepreneurial spirits will emerge with a passion and desire to lead their families to a better way of life.
Cheryl from Las Vegas wrote:
The BBB is shameful legislation positioned to hurt millions of Americans. While, yes, there are those who may take advantage of the system, penalizing the poor by raping social services and rewarding the most wealthy with tax cuts is criminal. Who is really taking the most advantage here, why are Americans scrutinizing the underprivileged not the most wealthy? And, while adding trillions to the national debt? This bill is by the most wealthy and for the most wealthy.
Many honest hardworking American Medicaid recipients work, have always worked and will continue to work-- and pay taxes on their modest income. Tax reform should protect and aid those at the lowest end of the tax brackets, rather than make healthcare out of reach because it's unaffordable.
We can only hope that those most hurt by this bill will abandon their support of and votes for the man behind this tyranny.
And Ellen wrote:
An interesting dilemma you present in this article. No one wants anyone who is entitled to support and services to lose them but this sounds like what Clinton and Gingrich did years ago to break generational welfare. It’s now up to places like Kentucky and its governor to figure how to get these folks back into the mainstream even if the 20 hours is community work like helping construction crews in their efforts. And the reference to meth, we need to help them to get clean.
Thanks for reading,
Max and Max