As U.S. President Donald Trump worked to pass his signature spending bill, he blended charm and threats, bestowed gifts and bellowed frustration to bend Congress to his will.
In the end, after days of intense behind-the-scenes pressure from the White House, Congress proved no match for a president at the peak of his power.
Trump secured the biggest legislative victory of his second term in office on Thursday when the House of Representatives passed his sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, sending it to the Republican president for his signature by his dictated deadline of Friday's Independence Day holiday.
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