Congress has officially passed President Donald Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ on Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.

The massive agenda bill now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.

The bill – which advances Trump’s policies on tax, the border, defense, energy and the national debt – narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218 – 214.

It’s a commanding victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and for the president himself, both of whom spent hours overnight trying to persuade GOP critics of the bill.

‘The President is very engaged. He was very helpful in the process. He helped answer questions and articulate his vision and what this bill will mean for the country, and his agenda, and how urgent it is for us to get it done,’ Johnson told reporters the morning ahead of the vote.

The House initially passed its version of the legislation by just one vote in late May.

Senate Republicans took the bill up late last month and passed it after their own marathon voting session, also by just one vote – though the legislation underwent key changes in the upper chamber.

House lawmakers were slated to return to Washington on Wednesday morning to begin debating the bill, which included a procedural hurdle known as a ‘rule vote.’

But even before the rule vote could begin, it was clear the legislation had been hemorrhaging support from both moderates and conservatives in the House GOP.

Moderate Republicans were among those concerned about the Senate bill shifting even more of the Medicaid cost-burden onto states that expanded their health benefit populations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while conservatives were irate that those cuts did not go far enough to mitigate what they saw as excessive spending in other parts of the bill.

But the vote that was initially slated to occur Wednesday morning eventually passed after 3 a.m. on Thursday, after which both Republicans and Democrats hurriedly began to debate.

Among Democrats’ delay tactics included a lengthy speech by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who attacked Republicans for their overnight schedule.

‘If Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28 a.m. in the morning? Republicans are once again, which has been the case, Mr. Speaker, through every step of this journey, trying to jam this bill through the House of Representatives under cover of darkness,’ Jeffries said.

But even before debate, the legislation’s fate appeared in limbo for much of Wednesday as closed-door negotiations paralyzed the House floor.

Five Republicans had initially voted against proceeding with debate on the bill, while eight GOP lawmakers had not voted at all.

The bill’s future was uncertain on Wednesday evening, but rather than accepting defeat, House GOP leaders kept the vote open for hours as they negotiated with holdouts behind closed doors.

One House Republican told Fox News Digital that Trump was directly involved in trying to persuade holdouts.

The president, meanwhile, aired his frustrations on Truth Social, ‘FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!’

In the end, they returned to the House floor where nearly all Republicans – save for moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. – voted to begin debating the bill.

Johnson told reporters when asked about Fitzpatrick’s defection, ‘I talked with him at length. Brian is a very good and trusted friend, and he just has convictions about certain provisions of the bill, he’s entitled to that.’

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters that critics were made to understand the bill is their only option on the table.

‘They recognized this is the vote that’s before us and it’s not going to change. There are other things we can do down the road, and we want to do. But we’ve got to get this bill done first,’ Scalise said.

The bill would permanently extend the income tax brackets lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps. It also includes a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over.

The legislation also rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have attacked as ‘the Green New Scam.’

The bill would also surge money toward the national defense, and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The bill would also raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.

New and expanded work requirements would be implemented for Medicaid and federal food assistance, respectively.

Democrats have blasted the bill as a tax giveaway to the wealthy while cutting federal benefits for working-class Americans.

But Republicans have said their tax provisions are targeted toward the working and middle classes – citing measures eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages – while arguing they were reforming federal welfare programs to work better for those who truly need them.

Conservative groups also praised the bill, with Club For Growth CEO David McIntosh telling Fox News Digital, ‘By preventing the biggest tax hike in history, passing full expensing, and beginning to make key cuts to bloated programs and giveaways we are setting up our country to prosper in a new Golden Age.’

Top Republicans also praised the bill and Johnson’s role in its passage.

‘We delivered historic tax relief for working families, unprecedented border security investments, unleashed American energy dominance, and massive cuts to wasteful federal spending,’ Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. ‘After years of failed policies, we stepped up to put Americans first and fulfilled our promises. On July 4th, 2025, we will return power to where it belongs—with the American people.’

House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said the bill ‘took an incredible amount of work to get this bill across the finish line, starting several years ago with field hearings, stakeholder meetings, and a lot of research into niche tax policy.’

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., shattered a speech record in the House of Representatives on Thursday, as lawmakers continue to wrestle with President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’

Jeffries has been able to command the House floor via a ‘magic minute,’ a privilege for party leaders in the chamber that allows them to speak for however long they want.

He’s used it as a stalling tactic to delay the final vote on Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill, after a marathon House-wide session considering the bill that began around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

It’s now the longest-enduring ‘magic minute’ in U.S. House of Representatives history, breaking the previously record held by ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

McCarthy spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes in November 2021 to oppose Democrats’ progressive Build Back Better bill.

Like Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, lawmakers were working to pass it via the budget reconciliation process – which fast-tracks certain pieces of fiscal legislation by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

The New York Democrat began speaking minutes before 4 a.m. on Thursday and broke McCarthy’s record about 1:30 p.m, by approximately 12 minutes. Jeffries ended his speech after eight hours and 44 minutes.

‘I feel the obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time,’ he said at one point.

The first part of Jeffries’ speech saw him read from a binder that he said contained accounts of people who could lose their Medicaid coverage under the GOP bill, taken from residents of states with Republican lawmakers.

‘This Congress is on the verge of ripping food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors as a result of this one big ugly bill in order to reward billionaires with massive tax breaks and exploding the debt in the process,’ he said at one point.

Jeffries said this ‘one big, ugly bill’ that ‘our Republican colleagues are trying to jam down the throats of the American people will undermine their quality of life.’

At another point in the wide-ranging speech, he accused Republicans of cutting federal benefits to pay for tax breaks for wealthy Americans like Elon Musk – who notably opposes the bill.

‘I think it’s important for the American people to process… SNAP on average provides $6 per day. At the same time, Elon Musk, his federal contracts, as we understand it, amount to $8 million per day. Mr. Speaker, if Republicans were really serious about targeting waste, fraud and abuse in the United States of America, start there – $8 million per day, start right there,’ Jeffries said.

‘Don’t take it. Don’t rip it from the mouths of children, seniors or veterans. If Republicans were really serious about targeting waste, fraud and abuse, start right there with Elon Musk.’

House Republicans are expected to hold their vote.

The State Department has changed its hiring and promoting criteria for foreign service officers to eliminate any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) considerations. 

Before now, the second of five core precepts used in State Department hiring and promotion emphasized promoting DEI, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. That precept has now been replaced with one focused on ‘fidelity.’

A senior State Department official said it was ‘unbelievable’ fidelity was not already part of the promotion criteria. 

‘This is a commonsense and needed change. U.S. Foreign Service Officers represent America overseas and should be judged on their ability to faithfully and dutifully represent and champion our country abroad.’ 

The department’s previous hiring guide for 2022–2025 required foreign service employees to ‘demonstrate impact in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,’ according to the internal documents.

Entry-level applicants were expected to proactively seek to ‘improve one’s own self-awareness with respect to promoting inclusivity.’ Mid- and senior-level supervisors were told to recruit and retain diverse teams, respond immediately to non-inclusive workplace behaviors, and ‘consult with impacted staff before finalizing decisions.’

That guidance is now out.

READ THE NEW GUIDANCE BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

The department’s new document for 2025–2028 lists ‘fidelity’ as the first of five core precepts, followed by communication, leadership, management and knowledge. Under the new policy, mid- and senior-level Foreign Service Officers must demonstrate loyalty by ‘zealously executing U.S. government policy’ and ‘resolving uncertainty on the side of fidelity to one’s chain of command.’

The move comes amid a government-wide effort to eliminate DEI within federal agencies, and root out those who they believe to be working to undermine President Donald Trump’s agenda. 

The State Department has also frozen the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) – typically administered three times a year – as it moves to restructure and potentially downsize its workforce. In May, the department submitted a plan to Congress outlining a 15% reduction of its 19,000 employees and the consolidation of over 300 bureaus and agency offices.

While a court order has temporarily paused mass layoffs across federal agencies, a recent Supreme Court ruling determined that nationwide injunctions issued by federal district courts ‘likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted.’

A recent pause in the U.S. sending Patriot missiles and ammunition to Ukraine is part of a wider, global review of military aid driven in part by the Pentagon’s China-leery policy chief, Elbridge Colby.

‘A capability review is being conducted to ensure U.S. military aid aligns with our defense priorities,’ Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told reporters this week. 

That review is part of a plan championed by Colby to conserve U.S. resources that may be needed for war in the Indo-Pacific. 

Upon first news of the pause, Pentagon officials said it was due to concerns about the U.S.’ stockpile of munitions, which came after the U.S. and Iran traded strikes on each other in the Middle East. 

However, Parnell wrote on X that it was ‘flat out wrong’ to suggest Colby caught other administration officials off-guard with the aid pause. Colby ‘routinely provides policy recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and the President,’ but they have the ultimate say, he said.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital they were ‘aware of the pause ahead of time.’

‘The President and top officials expect the DOD to regularly review aid allocations to ensure they are in line with the America First agenda,’ the official said. 

Colby has long advocated for limiting resources in Europe and the Middle East in case they’re needed in a war over Taiwan. 

‘What I have been trying to shoot a signal flare over is that it is vital for us to focus and enable our own forces for an effective and reasonable defense of Taiwan and for the Taiwanese, as well as the Japanese, to do more,’ Colby said during his confirmation hearing. 

‘A Europe first policy is not what America needs in this exceptionally dangerous time. We need to focus on China and Asia – clearly,’ he wrote on X. last year. 

The weapons put on pause, including missile interceptors and 155 mm ammunition shells, were already on their way to Ukraine, U.S. officials told Fox News.

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with nearly $66 billion in security assistance, the Pentagon noted.

‘Part of our job is to give the president a framework that he can use to evaluate how many munitions we have and where we’re sending them,’ Parnell added. ‘We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world.’

Still, critics like former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger claimed Colby had ‘blood on his hands’ over the halt. 

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., requested an ’emergency briefing’ from the White House and the Defense Department to ‘review our nation’s weapons and munitions stockpiles, and ensure the United States remains fully committed to providing Ukraine with the resources it urgently needs.’

Dan Caldwell, a former Pentagon official who worked with Colby on policy, defended his past colleague on X. ‘The incentives at DoD favor maintaining the status quo: Keep troops in Syria, keep sending weapons to Ukraine that we need for our defense, etc. That is why when patriots like @ElbridgeColby put the interests of their own country and own troops first, they are viciously smeared.’

Six months into President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. military prowess has largely focused back on the Middle East: an offensive campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, hitting Iran’s nuclear sites and boosting defenses in the region.

Air Force Gen. Daniel Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said defending the Al-Udeid base from an Iranian counterattack was the largest Patriot missile salvo in history. 

Fox News’ Jen Griffin contributed to this report. 

As lawmakers march toward a vote on President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ House Republicans aren’t too worried about primary threats from tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk, who once served as the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been highly critical of the president’s legislative agenda. He had remained quiet about the bill until earlier this week when Senate Republicans were making strides to pass it.

‘We don’t take threats lightly up here,’ Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. ‘And, you know, Elon, we appreciate all the work he did with DOGE — and he did some fine work, some great work — but at the same time, this is something we’ve got to do.’

Musk again returned to bemoan Republicans for supporting the legislative behemoth for its staggering $3.3 trillion price tag and the impact it would have on the nation’s already massive, $37 trillion debt. He went so far as to threaten to back primary challengers against any Republican that voted for the bill. 

It wouldn’t be the first time that Musk has been involved — he dumped millions into Trump’s campaign last year.

Now, House Republicans are gearing up to vote after hours of delays, negotiations and a near record-breaking amount of open floor time in the lower chamber. Additionally, many don’t care about Musk’s threats.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mi., told Fox News Digital that he was focused on doing the best ‘we could do, which is, frankly, better than what Elon Musk did.’

‘I don’t worry about Elon Musk,’ he said. ‘I do know that DOGE found some good things that we needed to remedy in this government. But the $2 trillion that Elon said he was going to find, he didn’t.’

Musk took particular issue with the Senate’s changes to the bill, too, and slammed it for adding trillions to the deficit.

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., noted that the bill cuts north of $1.5 trillion in an effort to help offset the cost of extending or making permanent Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

‘I appreciate Mr. Musk’s motivation,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘I appreciate his focus on debt reduction, and I hope he’ll take a step back and realize that we’re still all on the same team here.’

While the Senate’s changes, particularly to Medicaid and a reduction in the rollback of green energy subsidies from former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, among other cost-driving issues, gave fiscal hawks in the House heartburn, House Republican leadership is confident that the bill will pass.