WASHINGTON — While this year’s July 4 celebration in Washington, D.C., was highlighted by extreme temperatures and fireworks, last year’s ceremonial focus was President Donald Trump signing into law a bill Republicans were sure would cement GOP majorities in the House and Senate after November’s congressional midterm elections.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act included tax breaks and conservative bucket-list policies that leadership argued would persuade voters to overcome their historical inclination to replace the ruling majority in the House and Senate. At nearly a thousand pages, the law is a touchstone whenever House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, talk about the upcoming election.
“We just celebrated one year of that great bill, the ‘Working Families Tax Cut,’ being signed into law on the Fourth of July,” Scalise said Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s Hannity show, using the act’s rebranded name rather than the OBBBA name on the legislation.
“Forget about the Democrat Party leadership; most Americans still love this country. But there are a lot of good things. It’s not just the fact that if you're an overtime worker, a police officer, or a shift worker, you don't have to pay taxes on overtime or tips. Seniors get great benefits,” Scalise continued.
“Lower taxes, bigger refunds, and more money in the pockets of hardworking Americans,” Johnson said at a news conference. “We did that intentionally, and that’s exactly what’s happening. Thanks to the ‘Working Families Tax Cuts,’ Americans in all 50 states are benefiting from taxes that are lower and simpler and fairer for their families. This legislation is so revolutionary because it is permanent.”
GOP leadership refers to the bill a lot. Rank-and-file Republican candidates do not — or so says a series of national news reports last week, .
It appears that when counting the number of mentions on the campaign trail and on social media, Democratic candidates are relying on the measure as a campaign talking point far more than Republicans do.
Calling it the “Big Ugly Bill,” Democrats are frequently reminding voters of changes to Medicaid and food stamps that reduce availability for millions of participants, according to the Post. Democrats also are linking the bill to voter concerns about inflation and the higher cost of consumer goods.
“Republicans have largely retreated from talking about the law by name, as they did more often earlier last year — opting instead to focus on the tax cuts under it,” the Post reported.
That Johnson, Scalise and the leadership team have rebranded OBBBA with another name is an indication of the problem for GOP candidates. The legislation addressed all sorts of issues, including border security, transgender athletes, and environmental programs.
Some of the provisions are popular by themselves. But overall, the OBBBA polls poorly.
Johnson and Scalise focus on the parts that kept taxes from increasing dramatically this year and lowered taxes for millions of households and businesses. Taxpayers typically saved about $2,300 per filer — but not everyone.
Rolling back some regulations and easing tax burdens creates economic stability and spurs investments, Johnson and Scalise say.
The “no tax on tips” deduction was claimed by seven million taxpayers and 28 million used the “no tax on overtime” provision, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. Elderly taxpayers got a bonus deduction that was claimed by about 32 million taxpayers.
But to pay for the package, Republicans added work requirements and changed other standards for Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance for low-income and disabled individuals, as well as for those who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for groceries.
The Urban Institute estimates more than 3.5 million people have lost access to food assistance because of eligibility changes and stricter application processes.
The $1 trillion cut to Medicaid and $180 billion SNAP reduction actually strengthens the safety net programs by reducing waste, fraud and abuse of the program, Johnson and Scalise argue.
Strong majorities of Americans nationally view programs like Medicaid and SNAP favorably — and are deeply concerned about the impacts of cuts, according to a , a left-of-center polling operation based in Washington.
Regardless of what it’s called, the new law is unpopular, according to some polls. Only 33% of Americans view the One Big Beautiful Bill Act favorably, while 48% have an unfavorable opinion, according to Navigator. Those numbers include 53% of Republicans who have an unfavorable opinion of the new law.