On July 4, 2025, amid fireworks and fanfare, US President Donald Trump signed what he called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB), officially known as H.R.1, into law.
“H.R.” stands for “House of Representatives”, with “1” being the bill number. The number “1” is reserved for a top legislative priority of the majority party in the House. Each new Congress gets a new H.R.1 — so “H.R.1” is not a permanent bill title; it changes every session.
The branding was classic Trump: grandiose, vague and built for cable news. But unlike many of his other rhetorical flourishes, this one came with substance — roughly 800 pages of it. In sheer scope, cost and political ambition, the bill is arguably the defining legislative achievement of Trump’s second term. It is also a window into the soul of contemporary Trumpism: populist rhetoric married to plutocratic policy, an iron fist for immigration and a velvet glove for capital gains.
Play it again, Sam
The “Big Beautiful Bill” is a rhetorical phrase frequently used by Donald Trump to describe his administration’s planned legislation, particularly regarding immigration and border security. Trump often spoke about a “Big Beautiful Wall” during his 2016 campaign, referring to a physical barrier on the US–Mexico border. The phrase “Big Beautiful Bill” originated from the same rhetorical style, typically employed in speeches or interviews to promote pending legislation, portray the bill as comprehensive, effective and patriotic and position Democrats as obstructionists for not supporting it. “Big Beautiful Bill “is a branding device to sell policy to the public in simplified, catchy terms.
So, what’s in the Big Beautiful Bill?
While the bill touches everything from taxes to border security to Medicaid, its central thesis is clear: reward work (as narrowly defined by Republicans), punish dependency (as broadly defined by Republicans) and cement Trumpism as a long-term governing framework.
Tax cuts dressed as working-class relief
At the heart of the BBB is a permanent extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. But to rebrand those widely criticized, high-end giveaways as pro-worker, the bill adds a populist gloss. Tips and overtime pay are now tax-exempt for anyone earning under $150,000. Trump declared it a “tax cut for waitresses and truckers,” though the real dollars still flow to the top. The Child Tax Credit was modestly increased to $2,200 per child and indexed to inflation. Auto loan interest is now deductible, a peculiar throwback to the 1980s. Perhaps the most on-brand feature is a $1,000 deposit in “Trump Accounts” for every baby born between 2025 and 2028, a gimmick aimed at boosting both birthrates and brand loyalty.
Critics argue these giveaways do little to help the poor and disproportionately benefit those already earning enough to pay income taxes. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the tax portions of the bill will, over the next 10 years, reduce federal government spending by $1.25 trillion while reducing revenues by $3.67 trillion, adding a whopping $2.4 trillion to the deficit.
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), labeled the CBO’s score of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” as “fundamentally wrong”, arguing it wrongly assumed Congress wouldn’t extend 2017 tax cuts. This argumentation adds insult to injury, as sunset clauses in the 2017 tax cuts were introduced to limit the amount of damage to federal finances. It is indisputable that tax cuts increase deficits — anyone insisting the opposite is gaslighting.
Carve Up the Safety Net
To offset some of that cost — on paper, at least — the bill makes deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps). Medicaid faces $1.2 trillion in reductions over a decade, accompanied by new work requirements and enrollment caps that could result in 10 million Americans being removed from the rolls. SNAP gets a $186 billion haircut, with stricter work mandates and a requirement for states to cover a portion of benefits.
These provisions were sold as “promoting dignity and work,” but for many families, they translate to lost coverage and empty pantries. The bill doubles down on the idea that if you’re poor, it’s probably your fault, and if you’re rich, it’s probably because you worked harder.
Border security on steroids
BBB sets aside between $150 and $170 billion for immigration enforcement, wall construction and surveillance technology. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gets a massive funding boost. A new $100 annual fee is slapped on asylum seekers. The number of border patrol agents is expected to increase by over 25%, and construction will resume on segments of the border wall that had previously been halted.
This is the materialization of Trump’s long-running campaign promise. But beyond the headline-grabbing wall, the bill institutionalizes a more militarized, punitive approach to immigration — an approach designed not just to stop unlawful border crossings but to make asylum itself a more burdensome, bureaucratic ordeal.
Defense budget: Bigger and more beautiful
Not to be outdone, the Pentagon gets another $150 billion infusion. Some of this goes to traditional hardware: destroyers, drones and missile defense systems. However, a surprising portion is earmarked for Arctic icebreakers and undersea surveillance areas where China and Russia have intensified their activity.
This segment of the bill garnered relatively little attention but represents a quiet militarization of climate-impacted geographies. Trump may not believe in global warming, but he’s betting on a hotter Arctic.
Never mind Trump, only a few months ago, told Financial Times he would “check the military” for waste, with the aim of uncovering “billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse” in the ~$800 billion-plus Pentagon budget. At a press briefing in February, Trump vowed to cut military spending “in half”.
Killing clean energy with bureaucracy
In perhaps the most ideologically revealing section, the BBB guts clean energy tax credits. Solar, wind and electric vehicle incentives are phased out. The argument? These subsidies distort markets and burden taxpayers. However, energy economists warn that the rollback could stall or reverse progress toward decarbonization and put tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
In Texas, where renewables have quietly boomed, the backlash has already begun. Energy CEOs who once supported Trump now warn the bill could cost the state billions and undercut energy independence. Meanwhile, coal and natural gas receive new tax preferences — a sop to legacy producers.
While China presses ahead with investments in clean energy technology, the US remains ideologically trapped in its love for fossil fuels.
The deficit grows, but that’s not the point
Despite cuts to Medicaid and food aid, the BBB is a fiscal time bomb. Trump shrugged this off as “a good investment in America,” the same way he might describe a failed casino.
Republican leadership is split. Fiscal conservatives hate the cost. Populists love the optics. Democrats, for their part, have found an attack line: this is a “Robin Hood in reverse” bill, taking from the poor to give to the rich.
But here’s the real twist: Trump doesn’t care. The BBB was never about fiscal responsibility. It was about visibility. It consolidates Trump-era themes into a single, on-brand document: anti-immigration, anti-welfare, pro-business and performatively pro-worker. It’s not so much a policy as a political identity made into law.
Public opinion: Lukewarm at best
Polls show the public is skeptical. A CNN survey conducted days after passage found 61% of Americans opposed the bill, with only 29% in favor. Among independents, support was under 20%. Even some Trump voters expressed concern over the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. However, in a fragmented media landscape, disapproval doesn’t always translate into a political cost.
The White House counters that Americans “will come around” once they see bigger paychecks and feel the patriotic pull of new border infrastructure. Whether that happens before the 2026 midterms remains to be seen.
The takeaway: Trumpism, codified
The One Big Beautiful Bill is not just a law — it’s a worldview. It assumes the poor need discipline, the rich need incentives and the nation needs walls more than social workers. It is trickle-down populism wrapped in a red, white and blue bow. And though its long-term economic impacts are murky, its political message is crystal clear.
Trump has often been accused of lacking policy depth. The BBB proves he doesn’t need it. All he needs is a slogan, a spectacle and a signed piece of legislation large enough to read as destiny. And in that sense, the One Big Beautiful Bill may be the most Trumpian thing ever written into law.
[Kaitlyn Diana edited this piece]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
