Trump’s New Bill Aims to Reverse Biden, Obama Policies/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill not only extends his 2017 tax cuts—it also seeks to unravel landmark Democratic policies from Presidents Obama and Biden, including key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and green energy tax credits.
Trump’s Legislative Push Quick Looks
- Extends $4.5 trillion in Trump-era tax cuts and adds new ones, like tax-free tips.
- Rolls back elements of the Affordable Care Act, including Medicaid expansion.
- Slashes green energy tax credits from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
- Could leave 10.9 million fewer Americans insured, per Congressional Budget Office.
- Proposed cuts face pushback from both moderate and hardline Republicans.
- Conservatives demand faster implementation of cuts, starting in 2026, not 2029.
- Senate Republicans divided over Medicaid and clean energy rollbacks.
- Package could add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over a decade.
- White House and GOP seek passage by July 4, amid minimal margin for error.
- Schumer calls it a “rollback by another name.”
Deep Look: Trump’s “Big Bill” Revives GOP Fight Against Obamacare, Biden’s Climate Agenda
WASHINGTON — A new Republican-backed tax bill, dubbed “the big, beautiful bill” by President Donald Trump, is rapidly making its way through Congress. While framed as a continuation of Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul, the 1,000-page proposal is also a direct attack on two pillars of Democratic domestic policy: Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The legislation passed the House with narrow Republican support and is now under debate in the Senate, where internal GOP disagreements and public opposition threaten to derail parts of the plan.
More Than Just Tax Cuts
At the bill’s core is a renewal of the Trump-era tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year without congressional action. The new package preserves $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and introduces new provisions such as eliminating taxes on service tips.
However, embedded in the bill are deep spending cuts targeting healthcare and green energy programs established under the last two Democratic administrations.
“We’re going to do what we said we were going to do,” declared House Speaker Mike Johnson, who spearheaded the bill’s passage last month.
Health Coverage Could Shrink Drastically
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bill could strip 10.9 million people of health coverage, including 1.4 million immigrants in state-supported healthcare programs. The biggest changes affect Medicaid, with new requirements for recipients to work at least 80 hours per month and submit to biannual eligibility checks.
“These changes cripple what Medicaid was intended to do,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who warned Trump that the bill’s Medicaid changes could doom it in the Senate. Trump reportedly told Hawley, “I’m 100% supportive of that,” showing no signs of compromise.
The bill’s approach to Medicaid marks a revival of the GOP’s decade-long campaign against Obamacare, although Republicans have largely avoided using that term in recent years.
“Medicaid was built to be a temporary safety net,” Johnson told the AP, claiming the ACA “thwarted the purpose of the program” and “started draining resources.”
Democrats, however, see the rollback as devastating. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the legislation “an Obamacare rollback by another name.”
Renewable Energy Cuts Alarm GOP Moderates
Another flashpoint is the bill’s dramatic repeal of green energy tax incentives, a cornerstone of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. These credits have fueled a boom in solar, wind, and EV manufacturing nationwide — particularly in red states that have drawn major investments.
Moderate Republicans such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have raised concerns about the House provision that cancels clean energy credits for any project not already under construction within 60 days of the bill becoming law.
“These are some of the things we’re working on,” Murkowski said, signaling a possible amendment effort in the Senate.
Others are taking a harder line. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) have championed the repeal of what they derisively call the “Green New Scam.”
“Not a single Republican voted for these subsidies,” Lee said on social media. “Not a single Republican should vote to keep them.”
GOP Divided, Democrats United
The Republican coalition remains fractured, caught between fiscal conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts and centrists worried about backlash from constituents and industry groups.
Meanwhile, Democrats are unified in their opposition.
“It decimates our health care system, decimates our clean energy system,” said Schumer. He also pointed to $2.4 trillion in new deficits over the next decade that the bill would create — a figure confirmed by the CBO.
A Familiar Legislative Gamble
The drama around this bill echoes the GOP’s failed 2017 attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. Then, internal party divisions led to a stunning defeat when the late Sen. John McCain gave a thumbs-down vote on the Senate floor.
This time, Republicans are determined to succeed. After a closed-door meeting with Trump at the White House this week,
Senate Majority Whip John Thune said, “The president made the pitch. Now it’s up to us to finish the job.”
The Trump administration is pushing for the bill’s final passage by July 4, turning it into a symbolic legislative centerpiece of his second term.
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