The 215-214 House vote, with one abstention, was met with cheers from Republicans in the chamber. It followed a furious offensive by Trump, who visited the Capitol to rally Republicans, worked lawmakers by phone late into the night and summoned holdouts to the Oval Office. His budget office released a statement branding any GOP lawmaker who failed to support the package guilty of the “ultimate betrayal".
President Donald Trump’s signature tax bill narrowly passed the House Thursday morning, advancing a sprawling multi-trillion dollar package that would avert a year-end tax increase at the expense of adding to the US debt burden.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where groups of Republicans are pressing for extensive change. Lawmakers plan to vote on approval by August. It includes a US$4 trillion ($5.16 trillion) increase in the US debt ceiling, which the Treasury Department forecasts could otherwise force a default as soon as August or September, adding urgency to the timeline.
