The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that would enact much of President Donald Trump's policy agenda on Thursday and saddle the country with trillions of dollars in debt.

The bill would fulfill many of Trump's populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement. It will add about $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

What Trump called the "one, big, beautiful bill" passed in a 215-214 vote, with all of the chamber's Democrats and two Republicans voting against it. A third Republican voted "present."

The package must also win approval in the Republican-controlled Senate before Trump can sign it into law. The vote came after a marathon push that kept lawmakers debating the bill through two successive nights.

The 1,000-page legislation would extend corporate and individual tax cuts passed in 2017 during Trump's first term in office, cancel many green-energy incentives passed by Democratic former President Joe Biden and tighten eligibility for health and food programs for the poor. It also would fund Trump's crackdown on immigration, adding tens of thousands of border guards and creating the capacity to deport up to 1 million people each year.

The bill passed despite growing concerns over the U.S. debt, which has reached 124% of GDP, prompted a downgrade of the United States' top-notch credit rating by Moody's last week.

The U.S. government has recorded budget deficits every year of this century, as Republican and Democratic administrations alike have failed to bring spending in alignment with revenue.   

Interest payments accounted for 1 out of every 8 dollars spent by the U.S. government last year, more than the amount spent on the military, according to the CBO. That share is due to grow to 1 out of every 6 dollars over the next 10 years as an aging population pushes up the government's health and pension costs, even if Trump's budget bill is not taken into account.

Investors, unnerved by the U.S.' fiscal standing and Trump's erratic tariff moves, are increasingly selling the dollar and other U.S. assets that make up the bedrock of the global financial system.

"We're not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We're putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg," said Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of the two Republicans to vote against the bill.

DEBT CEILING DEADLINE

Republican supporters of the bill had argued that failure to pass it would have raised taxes for many American households. They also plan to use the bill to raise the federal government's debt ceiling, a step Congress must take by summer or risk triggering a devastating default.

"The success of the country depends on it," Representative Stephanie Bice, an Oklahoma Republican, said on Wednesday. "These are pro-growth objectives that the president's very in favor of, and so we're moving forward."

Source: Investing.com