President Trump Celebrates Passage Of GOP Tax Bill

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump said that his administration is "making American great again" in light of the passage of a sweeping GOP tax bill through Congress this week. He invited his fellow Republicans in Congress to the White House Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the achievement. Watch a replay of the event above.

Standing on the south lawn of the White House surrounded by Republican lawmakers, Trump savored the applause as he approached the lectern.

“It’s always fun when you win," he said. "When you work hard and you lose, it’s unacceptable.”

Trump also pointed out that AT&T has announced its workers will each get a $1,000 bonus to celebrate the tax cuts. However, Seattle Times reporter Mike Rosenberg pointed out that the bonus was announced last week and was mandated by a deal it crafted in negotiation with the union.

Trump also repeated a claim he's made before — that the tax cut is the largest in American history — but fact checkers have repeatedly pointed out that this is not true. As CNN pointed out, President Obama in 2013 oversaw a larger tax cut.

"I promised the American people a big, beautiful tax cut for Christmas," Trump said in a statement after the bill passed. "With final passage of this legislation, that is exactly what they are getting. I would like to thank the members of Congress who supported this historic bill, which represents an extraordinary victory for American families, workers, and businesses."

Trump named many of the lawmakers who had joined them as key in the bill's passage, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. When he mentioned Rep. Steve Scalise, the House whip, who was shot in an attack on Republican lawmakers this year, Trump said he had had a rougher year than most, apparently referencing the shooting.

"It's a hell of a way to lose weight," he added.

Ryan and McConnell also took to the lectern, praising Trump's leadership, which the speaker called "exquisite."

Though the White House had originally hoped to hold a signing ceremony, the actual signing of the bill had to be postponed.

"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 Huckabee Sanders said. "We will keep you posted on details as they are confirmed."

After a year without a major legislative success, the Republican lawmakers are reveling in the passage of a substantial overhaul of the American tax system. The bill slashes corporate rates, temporarily eases individual rates, provides a ten-year boost to the child tax credit, and scales back deductions for state and local taxes and mortgage interest. It also repeals Obamacare's individual mandate to buy health insurance and expands oil drilling in Alaska. Read more about how the tax bill will affect your finances in the first year.

"The Tax Cuts are so large and so meaningful, and yet the Fake News is working overtime to follow the lead of their friends, the defeated Dems, and only demean," Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. "This is truly a case where the results will speak for themselves, starting very soon. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!"

The legislation has gone through many changes as both chambers of Congress have taken turns drafting the language. A conference committee settled on a final draft last week that appears to satisfy the vast majority of Republican lawmakers. The fundamentals of the bill include:

• Corporations get a massive permanent tax cut from 35 percent down to 21 percent.
• The top income tax rate is dropped from 39.6 percent to 37 percent, giving a large tax cut to wealthy people.
• Many individuals and families will see their tax rates fall at first, but these cuts expire before the 10-year horizon of the bill expire.
• The child tax credit is increased, giving many families an additional cut; this provision expires in 2026.
• Several larger personal deductions are cut, which will likely cause some families and individuals to pay higher rates overall, even in the short term.
• The Affordable Care Act insurance mandate is repealed, a move which the Congressional Budget Office thinks will raise premiums and cause millions more people to be uninsured in the coming years.

Despite the enthusiasm among Republican lawmakers for the bill, the public is much more hesitant about the changes. Multiple polls have shown that more than half of Americans opposed the bill, and it's support lingered in the middle 30s.

Republicans, however, have expressed confidence that the bill will become more popular once it goes into effect.

You can watch a replay of the event above.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images