Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and warns of consequences when the country ‘wakes up’.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January, he’s been on a mission to rescue the economy and spark a new ‘golden age’ for the country.
To this end, he announced a series of tariff hikes on the US’ global trading partners and has been looking at slashing taxes for American workers.
Earlier this week, White House Republicans passed a legislation extending his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the tune of multitrillion-dollar tax breaks.
What is Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’?
The House launched a debate on Trump’s so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ before midnight and by early morning on Thursday (May 22), the vote was called, 215-214, passing through by a single vote with Democrats staunchly opposed to it.
The proposed law, which will now go to the Senate, includes a raft of tax cuts, including no taxes on tips for workers in the service and beauty industries and a freeze on taxes on those working overtime, all while redirecting funds to military and border security.
It would also pave the way for tax deductions on up to $10,000 in interest on auto loans for cars made on US soil and $200 taxes on gun silencers.
However, it’s touted as a temporary exemption that will come to an end in 2028 – or 2029 for the car loan interest deal.
Also on the bill is a $500 hike in child tax credit, totalling $2,500 through to 2028, and controversial changes to Medicaid and SNAP food stamp benefits to make up for scores of the lost tax revenue.
This includes more frequent eligibility checks, cuts in funds for undocumented immigrants and a ban on children and adults accessing funds for gender transition services.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated 8.6 million fewer people would have healthcare coverage as a result while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services pose a saving of one trillion dollars.
What has Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said about the Big Beautiful Bill and why is she concerned?
However, not everyone is keen on the plan, with New York Democrat AOC taking the chance to criticize the move in an explosive statement on the House floor on Wednesday night.
She said the so-called ‘big beautiful bill’ will affect the healthcare of 13.7 million Americans.
Ocasio-Cortez said: “Republicans are going to try to tell you every distraction in the book from that essential number,” claiming the legislation had been compiled ‘in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin’.
“For my Republican colleagues who are sure what is in and not in this bill, in this process that has been this rushed, when you wake up this morning, you will realize that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to take away health care from 13.7 million Americans,” she continued.
“When this country wakes up in the morning, there will be consequences to pay for this.”
The CBO also said the lowest-income households in the country would see their resources decrease while higher earners would see a boost.
What other Democrats say about Trump’s tax bill
“This is one ugly bill,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York added, as the opposition continue to call it a ‘big, bad bill’ or a ‘big, broken promise’.
The comments come as scores of Republicans dropped their opposition to save the 1,000-page-plus Bill that is considered central to the Republican and Trump agenda.
The administration warned that ‘failure to pass [it] would be the ultimately betrayal’.
They believe the package will be ‘rocket fuel’ for the rocky US economy.
Speaker Mike Johnson said just before the vote: “To put it simply, this bill gets Americans back to winning again.”
Representative Erin Houchin also said it would ‘unlock the ‘Golden Age’ of America,’ as Trump said in his inauguration speech.
What stage is the Big Beautiful Bill up to?
House Republicans stayed up all night to debate the bill, with last-minute concessions added before it slithered through by just one vote.
Now, it will go to the Senate for consideration.
A bill must pass through both the House and Senate in order to for the President to sign it into law.
