What is in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill', and what difference will it make?

The US Congress has passed Donald Trump's tax and spending legislation after a tense session in Capitol Hill.

The president said his so-called "big, beautiful bill" would "turn this country into a rocket ship" but critics say it will leave millions without health coverage and benefit the wealthy at the cost of those on lower incomes.

How did it get passed?

Following a "gruelling" session yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 218 to 214 after it was approved in the Senate on Tuesday with a tie-breaker vote from Vice President J.D. Vance, said the BBC.

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The advancement of the sprawling bill has not been easy, and it was passed only after "intense negotiations" and a "marathon voting session" on amendments, said Al Jazeera.

But a triumphant Trump is expected to sign it into law at a ceremony later today, with fighter jets poised to fly over the White House as he puts pen to paper.

What's in it?

It's a "smorgasbord of policy", said Vox, and focuses mainly on tax cuts, healthcare coverage, security measures and reductions in benefits to clean energy programmes.

During his first term, Trump signed legislation that lowered taxes for corporations and for individuals across most income brackets. Significant parts of that law are set to expire in December, but the new bill aims to make those tax cuts permanent. It also ushers in new tax cuts and expands the child tax credit, benefiting 40 million families.

Overall, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion (£3.2 trillion) in tax cuts, and to help finance them there will be new restrictions and requirements for Medicaid, the healthcare programme relied upon by millions of disabled and low-income Americans. There will also be cuts to food programmes.

The bill sets aside about $350 billion (£256 billion) for Trump's border and national security plans, including $46 billion (£33 billion) for the US-Mexico border wall. And a tax break for people who buy new or used electric vehicles will now expire in September this year, instead of at the end of 2032 under the current law introduced by Joe Biden.

What difference will it make?

"For decades", said The Guardian, Republicans have said that the US would be "better off if taxes were low", and programmes to help those on low incomes were "harder to access". Now the country will "find out what it's like to live under that sort of system".

Wealthier taxpayers are expected to gain more from this bill than lower-income Americans, said Yale University's Budget Lab, which estimated that people in the lowest income bracket will see their incomes drop by 2.5%, mostly due to the changes to health and food programmes. The highest earners are expected to see their incomes rise by 2.4%.

According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill could add $3.3 trillion (£2.4 trillion) to federal deficits over the next 10 years. The US government currently owes its lenders $36.2 trillion (£26.5 trillion). The CBO says the bill will leave millions without health coverage but the White House disputes this.

"Strategically", the bill is a "mammoth effort to consolidate the president's policy agenda and secure his legacy", said Sky News, but it has been "slammed" by "hawkish" Republicans and Trump's sometime backer Elon Musk because of its "boosts to government borrowing", said the Financial Times.