President Trump signs tax reform bill.

WASHINGTON » President Donald Trump signed the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law Friday, using his last moments in the White House before flying to Florida for the holidays to celebrate a much-needed political win.

He also signed a temporary spending bill to keep the government running and provide money to upgrade the nation’s missile defenses. The tax cut, which fulfilled a long-held Republican goal, was at the forefront of Trump’s mind.

Starting next year, the new law will give big cuts to corporation and wealthy Americans and more modest reductions to other families. Trump continued to pitch it as a win a for the middle class, insisting that even though polling indicates the tax cut is unpopular, “the numbers will speak” for themselves.

“I don’t think we are going to have to do much selling,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The tax law is the largest since 1986, but far from the biggest in American history, as the president repeatedly claims. It also is projected to add to the nation’s debt, something that was anathema to Republicans for years.

Passage of the tax bill marked a significant victory for a president hungry for one after chaos and legislative failures during his first year in office — including an effort to repeal former President Barack Obama’s health care law — despite Republican control of Congress. Trump also ended the year with his sights still trained on the way the media treat him, tweeting that the mainstream media “NEVER talk about our accomplishments in the end of year reviews.”

“We are compiling a long @ beautiful list,” he tweeted.

Trump said that he originally planned to sign the tax bill early next year but moved it up on the spur of the moment after watching media coverage Friday morning about the legislation. After finishing the bill signings, he was off to Mara-Lago in Florida, his plane leaving Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just before noon.

The first major overhaul of the nation’s tax laws since 1986 could add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Republican leaders have said they’re willing to take that step in pursuit of a boost to the economy. But some in the GOP worry their party could face a political backlash without an aggressive public relations tour.