As Senate Republicans return to Washington this week to adjust the destructive tax bill that House Republicans passed before the Memorial Day holiday, multiple polls show they are struggling to get voters behind the package, which will kick millions off Medicaid and food assistance, among other unnecessary harms.
A new YouGov poll for CBS News finds that a plurality of Americans (47%) think the legislation, if enacted, will hurt middle-class people, and a majority (54%) thinks it will hurt poor people. Additionally, a plurality of 43% say the bill will hurt them and their family.
What's more, the poll finds that Republican lies about the bill's impact on people's health insurance and the national deficit have not been convincing. Half of Americans (50%) think the legislation would "decrease how many Americans have health insurance.” Another 55% think the bill would increase the deficit—the part of the bill that led to President Donald Trump’s ugly breakup with former co-President Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, a Navigator Research survey released Friday found that 52% of likely voters living in House battleground districts oppose the version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that House Republicans passed—45% of whom oppose it strongly.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on May 20.
That poll also found that 50% of voters in battleground districts believe the bill "will mostly include things that would be bad for people like me and my family," and 49% think it will make their household costs increase.
And a new KFF poll, also released on Friday, found 72% of Americans are worried that the bill's Medicaid cuts will lead to fewer people insured, while 71% are worried that the cuts will hurt their local hospitals, nursing homes, and health care providers.
In sum, those are some terrible numbers for what is supposed to be Trump's signature piece of legislation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
And it shows the Republican defenses of the bill are falling flat. Who could’ve guessed that dismissively telling Americans it’s fine that they lose their Medicaid coverage because “we all are going to die” some day is not a winning message?
Senate Republicans, for their part, have said they plan to amend the legislation. But it's unclear how they could water down Medicaid and clean energy cuts without losing support in the House, where the amended bill would have to be sent back for approval before going to Trump’s desk.
What's more, even if the bill is changed to make its cuts less draconian, all but two House Republicans voted for the bill in its current form—meaning they signed off on kicking millions off of lifesaving social service programs.
And Democrats are planning to hammer Republicans on that fact in the run up to next November's elections.
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