GOP campaign arm tells Republicans to ‘go on offense' messaging Trump agenda bill

Yahoo

23-05-2025

The House Republicans' campaign arm is encouraging members to take an aggressive stance in messaging on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of President Trump's tax cut and spending priorities and make it a key part of their 2026 midterm messaging.
The memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), first shared with The Hill, comes after the House passed the legislation Thursday and represents a notable posture as Democrats tear into Republicans over the bill's reforms on Medicaid, nutrition assistance and more.
It points to poll testing that shows Republicans have an opportunity to 'draw a sharp contrast with House Democrats,' highlighting top messages that it says resonate in battleground districts.
'This bill prevents tax increases to put more money in every American's pocket,' the NRCC memo says, adding that it is 'protecting Medicaid by removing illegal immigrants and eliminating fraud' and 'investing billions of dollars to build the wall and secure the border.'
The six-page memo outlines NRCC polling for the key issue areas on Medicaid, tax cuts and border security, while suggesting messaging lines on each of those points.
It summarized the strategy in three bullet points: 'Go on offense,' 'Keep the message simple,' and 'Tie Democrats to tax hikes, handouts for illegal immigrants, and protecting fraud.'
'The One Big, Beautiful Bill is more than a messaging opportunity; it's a midterm roadmap,' the memo says. It later asserts that rather than a vote for the bill being a liability, Democrats' votes against the bill 'just provided us a Midterm sledgehammer.'
The legislation that House Republicans sent to the Senate on Thursday extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts while also slashing taxes on tips and overtime pay, while boosting funding for the border, deportation and national defense priorities.
But to offset the costs of those GOP wish list items, it imposes Medicaid reforms that are projected to result in millions of low-income individuals losing health insurance — such as beefed-up work requirements for 'able-bodied' adults without dependents and penalties for states that cover immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
It also requires states to share the cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the first time, and it increases work requirements for that program. And it rolls back green energy tax incentives.
Democrats have already been centering their messaging on attacking Republicans for cutting Medicaid and SNAP while extending tax cuts for wealthy Americans, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) suggesting on the House floor that the vote would cost Republicans in the 2026 midterms.
'This day may very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives,' Jeffries said.
The Republican memo, though, flips the script on the attacks.
'House Democrats just gave Republicans a generational opportunity to go on offense,' it says. 'Their unanimous vote against the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill', a landmark package delivering tax relief, government efficiency, and border enforcement, handed us the clearest contrast in years. This legislation must be a key piece of Republicans' 2026 strategy.'
On Medicaid messaging, the NRCC told Republicans to highlight the party 'defending Medicaid for EVERY American who NEEDS and DESERVES it the most.'
'That means seniors, low-income families, pregnant women, and disabled Americans, not fraudsters, able-bodied adults who refuse to work, or illegal immigrants,' it says, pointing to polling that shows 82 percent support for citizenship verification, 72 percent support for work requirements, and 71 percent belief in widespread Medicaid fraud.
It accused Democrats of endorsing a tax increase on American families by voting against the bill, pointing to battleground polling that shows 82 percent of voters were less likely to support a Democrat who 'voted for the largest tax increase in American history.'
And it highlights the bill's funding for border security, accusing Democrats of 'asking constituents to foot the Medicaid bill for criminal aliens, all while opposing basic enforcement.'
The NRCC said Republicans from safe seats to battleground districts can use the same core messages, while recommending employing specific numbers on the average tax hike families would face if the tax cuts expire when talking about Democrats in battleground districts.
Republicans, though, could have their work cut out for them in messaging on the bill as Democrats attack them not only on policy points but on moves like declining to hold in-person town halls earlier this year due to organized activists targeting the events.
'The tax scam House Republicans passed is one big broken promise to the American people. It raises costs, kicks millions off of their health insurance, and rigs the tax code to benefit the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,' Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement. 'Republicans have already been hiding in fear from the public all year, and the backlash is only going to get louder because of this toxic vote.'
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