One ‘Big Beautiful’ win: House advances budget bill for Trump’s signature

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is about to become law.

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to advance the budget reconciliation bill by a razor-thin margin, echoing the 50-50 tie in the Senate that required Vice President JD Vance’s vote in order to advance the legislation.

The White House has scheduled a signing ceremony for 9 a.m. ET Friday, which meets the July 4 deadline that Trump imposed on Congress to get the bill to his desk.

The vote came after House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) broke the record for longest House speech in history at 8 hours and 44 minutes, as he charged the legislation with disproportionately benefiting the wealthy and adding trillions to the federal deficit.

The bill is sprawling in scope and dramatic in scale. It includes an extension of the tax cuts in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with many additional ones as well. It makes deep cuts to Medicaid to the tune of almost $1 trillion over 10 years, and it cuts funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) roughly in half.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit. 

The real estate industry has been mostly positive on the bill and cheered when it advanced out of the Senate. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a statement that highlighted what it believes are benefits to housing.

These include lower tax rates on individuals, “enhanced” income deduction, hefty increases to state and local tax (SALT) deductions, and an extension of the mortgage interest deduction. Real estate advocates also support the additional provisions to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the increase in the child tax credit, and raised thresholds for estate and gift taxes.

Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), released a statement praising the passage of the bill.

“MBA is pleased that the final tax package preserves or strengthens — and makes permanent — numerous pro-housing and pro-economic growth tax provisions that were identified by our Board-level Tax Task Force. … We believe these provisions will benefit homeowners and renters, increase housing production, and improve the financial outcomes of our single-family and commercial/multifamily members’ businesses,” Broeksmit said.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) also released a statement of support from its president, Chris Morton.

“Federal policy should reflect continued support for policies that promote housing growth, property investment and economic mobility,” Morton said. “We are encouraged to see lawmakers preserve and enhance provisions vital to a strong real estate market, including the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, the retention of Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, expanded Opportunity Zones and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs.”

The bill is not without its detractors, many of whom are in Trump’s own party. Three Republican senators — Susan Collins, Thom Tillis and Rand Paul — voted against the bill on Tuesday. Many Republican House members were also vocal in their opposition before caving into the vote on Thursday.

Elon Musk is the most high-profile opponents. His explosive divorce from Trump was triggered by social media posts criticizing the bill, a feud that resumed over the past few days as Congress debated the legislation.

But maybe the most important critic is the American public. Polls have consistently shown that the bill is unpopular.

David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC) said in a statement shortly after the vote that his organization is largely pleased with the budget bill as passed. But he also expressed some misgivings.

“The housing provisions included in this bill are the most consequential and positive housing legislation in decades,” Dworkin said. “Key provisions include an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), permanent preservation of the existing mortgage interest deduction, reinstatement of the mortgage insurance premium deduction, an expanded and permanent Opportunity Zones incentive, and permanent extension of the New Markets Tax Credit.

“… We also remain deeply concerned about the President’s FY 2026 discretionary budget request that would drive up homelessness and force apartment owners and operators out of business. The budget proposal cuts nearly 44% from the Department of Housing and Urban Development — gutting critical housing and homelessness programs and eliminating highly successful and bipartisan programs like HOME and Family Self-Sufficiency.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from the Mortgage Bankers Association, American Land Title Association and National Housing Conference.

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