Trump news at a glance: President rings in Independence Day by signing his ‘big, beautiful’ bill into law

Trump signs tax and spending bill into law in major win for administration

The president signed his sweeping spending package into law on Friday during a Fourth of July picnic at the White House, significantly cutting back on federal safety-net programs and increasing funds for aggressive immigration enforcement.

During the picnic Donald Trump gloated about the bill’s passing. “It’s the most popular bill ever signed in the history of the country,” Trump said, while standing next to his wife, Melania Trump. “What we’ve done is put everything into one bill. We’ve never had anything like that before.”

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‘Dark day for our country’: Democrats furious over Trump bill’s passage

Democrats have erupted in a storm of outrage over the passage of Trump’s budget bill, delivering scathing critiques that offered signs of the attack lines the party could wield against Republicans in next year’s midterm elections.

Democratic leaders released a wave of statements reflecting their fury after the sweeping bill’s passage on Thursday.

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El Salvador president denies Ábrego García was abused in prison

The president of El Salvador has denied claims that Kilmar Ábrego García was subjected to beatings and deprivation while he was held in a notorious prison before being returned to the US to face human-smuggling charges.

Nayib Bukele said in a social media post that Ábrego García, the Salvadorian national who was wrongly extradited from the US to El Salvador in March before being returned in June, “wasn’t tortured, nor did he lose weight”.

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US judge clears path for eight immigrants to be deported to South Sudan

Eight migrants lost their last-ditch effort to halt their deportation to South Sudan by the Trump administration on Friday, clearing the way for their imminent transfer after a judge in Massachusetts denied their request.

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Democratic lawmakers denied entry to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration jail

A group of Florida lawmakers were denied entry on Thursday into the new Florida-based immigration jail dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”, one day after the first immigrant detainees began to arrive.

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Trump has ‘good conversation’ with Zelenskyy after heavy bombardment of Ukraine

Donald Trump spoke with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday as the US president appears increasingly disheartened over his chances of fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

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