WASHINGTON – Declaring victory after Congress passed the first major piece of legislation in his 11-month-old presidency, President Trump promised that Americans will get a "big, beautiful tax cut for Christmas."
In a statement after the House passed the tax bill, sending it to the president for final approval, Trump said: "America is back to winning again."
Trump thanked lawmakers who supported the bill, which he called "an extraordinary victory for American families, workers, and businesses." Earlier, at a Cabinet meeting, Trump thanked Republican leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell by name while bashing congressional Democrats who called the tax plan a giveaway to the wealthy.
"We got it done," Trump said. Democrats, Trump added, "like to complain, but they don’t get it done, unfortunately."
Trump also took to Twitter to accuse the media of "working overtime to follow the lead of their friends, the defeated Dems, and only demean" the substance of the bill. "This is truly a case where the results will speak for themselves, starting very soon. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!"
Trump has been pushing Republicans hard to pass the tax bill before the end of the year. Having failed to repeal and replace President Obama's health care law, Trump and the Republican-run Congress will use a White House pep rally Wednesday to trumpet its passage.
Down the line, the White House will schedule a formal signing ceremony of the tax cut bill that includes changes to the health care law. "This is not a signing event as the bill would still need to be enrolled and that will happen at a later date," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
More: Tax cuts: Economists see modest impact on workers, economy as corporate taxes fall
More: How does the final tax bill compare with what Trump requested this spring?
Trump also plans to promote what he considers the key accomplishments of his first year on the job. During his Cabinet meeting, Trump cited his immigration, economic, and anti-regulation agenda, and said that “we have done a job like no other administration.”
Trump, who has occasionally been at odds with Republican congressional leaders during his turbulent first year in office, singled out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for praise over the tax bill.
"I would like to congratulate @SenateMajLdr on having done a fantastic job both strategically & politically on the passing in the Senate of the MASSIVE TAX CUT & Reform Bill," Trump said. "I could have not asked for a better or more talented partner. Our team will go onto many more VICTORIES!"
The president and GOP allies hope success on taxes will lead to wins on a 2018 domestic agenda that includes an infrastructure plan, a bigger crackdown on immigration, and welfare reform as well another attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. “Next year, we’re going to go on some amazing things,” Trump said.
The tax bill includes one key health care provision: Eliminating the individual mandate that requires Americans to purchase some form of health insurance.
During his Cabinet meeting, Trump said that eliminating the individual mandate amounts to a repeal of Obamacare: “When the individual mandate is being repealed that means Obamacare is being repealed ... we have essentially repealed Obamacare and we will come up with something much better."
Yet critics say eliminating the mandate will raise the costs for everybody else. The Congressional Budget Office says the change will lead to 13 million fewer people having health insurance 10 years from now.
The tax cuts total nearly $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Despite Trump's optimism about the economic growth the tax cut will create, however, the nonpartisan scorekeeper in Congress said the bill would cut revenues by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, but only raise one-third of that in new growth. The national debt, according to the CBO, is estimated to increase by $1 trillion if the bill passes.
Democrats have also warned that the tax relief benefits favors the rich, and that the loss of deductions will actually raise taxes for people in some high-tax states. They also say that laws designed to curb the deficit will be triggered and could force cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Contributing: Herb Jackson