WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed the Republican tax cut bill Friday morning before leaving for his Christmas break in Florida.
He also signed the continuing resolution that will keep the government open through January 19. That includes $4 billion for missile defense.
The House and Senate passed the tax measure into law earlier this week, delivering Trump his first major legislative victory of his first year in office.
Trump touted the tax measure as a bill that has something for everyone.
“All of this, everything in here, is really tremendous things for business, for people, for the middle class, for workers,” he said. “I consider this very much a bill for the middle class and a bill for jobs.”
Trump, after noting companies that announced plans to help workers after the tax bill passed, added, “Corporations are literally going wild.”
Despite the bill having low approval ratings before Congress passed it this week, Trump said he believes the public will come around once people see the benefits in their paychecks next year.
“I don’t think we are going to have to do much selling,” the President said.
Trump also seemed to explain a morning of confusion at the White House, where reporters waited to hear whether he would ink the deal before he left Washington for his holiday vacation in Florida.
“I was going to wait for a formal signing some time in early January, but then I watched the news this morning and they were all saying, ‘Will he keep his promise, will he sign it by Christmas?'” Trump said. “And I called downstairs and said get it ready, we have to sign it now.”
Touting first-year accomplishments
After passing the tax bill, Trump has been focused on getting the credit he thinks he deserves for his first year in office. His aides have held background briefings with reporters and top surrogates, arguing that Trump has accomplished more than almost any other president in his first year.
Trump and Republicans from the Senate and House celebrated the tax bill at the White House on Wednesday, where GOP leaders praised the President.
“This has been a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the Trump administration,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
Trump tweeted the same on Friday in advance of signing the tax bill.
“With all my Administration has done on Legislative Approvals (broke Harry Truman’s Record), Regulation Cutting, Judicial Appointments, Building Military, VA, TAX CUTS & REFORM, Record Economy/Stock Market and so much more, I am sure great credit will be given by mainstream news,” he wrote.
Trump’s trip to Mar-A-Lago, his private club in Florida, will mark his 10th trip as president to Palm Beach. In total, Trump will have spent 106 days of his first year in office at one of his own properties when he arrives in Florida on Friday.
Infrastructure goals
Looking forward to his second year in office, Trump suggested that he may try work with Democrats on an infrastructure plan.
Calling an infrastructure bill “the easiest of all,” Trump said he would reach out to Democrats to get it done.
“I could have started with infrastructure,” Trump said. “(But) I actually wanted to save the easy one for the one down the road.”
It is far from a forgone conclusion, however, that Democrats will be willing to work with Trump on anything. Trump is uniformly unpopular with Democrats, making it hard for any elected official to support the president’s plan.
Additionally, Trump has long talked about bipartisanship, but failed to deliver. Trump said before passing tax reform, for example, that he would get Democratic support on his tax plan.