Trump signs the massive GOP tax reform bill into law

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Donald Trump.

• President Donald Trump signed the GOP's tax plan on Friday.
• It marked the first major legislation he signed into law.

President Donald Trump signed the Republican tax plan into law Friday before departing the White House for his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The signing marked the culmination of Trump's first major legislative achievement as president nearly one full year into his first term in office. The bill contained a re-write of parts of the US individual and business tax code, the elimination of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, and opened up parts of Alaska for oil drilling.

Trump praised companies such as Boeing, Wells Fargo, and Comcast, which pledged to offer employees bonuses and, in some cases, increased wages after passage of the tax bill. Though Trump also noted that Comcast contains NBC, which he complained has not provided him with favorable coverage.

The president wanted the press to note that he did sign the bill before Christmas, which he had pledged to do.

"I didn't want you folks to say I wasn't keeping my promise," he said. "We did a rush job today and it wasn't fancy."

Trump additionally made mention of a phone call he had with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whom he said was thrilled about the legislation and pledged to open a new manufacturing plant in North Carolina.

He expressed dismay with the press for saying the tax package was his first legislative achievement, noting laws related to veterans that had passed earlier this year.

But, he added that "this is the capper," pointing to the tax bill and calling it "the biggest reform of all time." He also offered to give the pens he used to sign the legislation to press assembled in the Oval Office.

The bill was passed strictly along party lines, and has been chastised by many as being overwhelmingly a tax break for the wealthy. Polling has shown the legislation to be unpopular with the majority of American people.