White House officials spent Wednesday morning trying to rescue President Donald Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment, the sprawling domestic policy package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” In a closed-door briefing with House Republicans, aides pressed lawmakers to sharpen their pitch to skeptical voters and lean into new messaging that centers on “working families,” according to a report from Politico.
The report says that press secretary Karoline Leavitt, senior political aide James Blair, and Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio walked Republicans through fresh polling and talking points, urging members to highlight the law’s tax cuts for tips, overtime, families with children and others.
“The Trump Administration is trying to hide its toxic policy choice at the center of its megabill: choosing tax cuts for millionaires at the cost of 4 people losing health insurance and many more seeing their benefits cut,” Brendan Duke, a former senior policy adviser for the Biden White House National Economic Council, wrote on X.
The rebranding effort comes as GOP lawmakers trying to sell the legislation face angry town halls, particularly related to cuts to Medicaid and other safety net programs. Internal surveys reportedly show voters remain uneasy about the bill’s safety-net cuts and Trump himself conceded recently that his favored nickname for the law may have confused voters rather than sold them on its benefits, saying that it was “not good for explaining to people what it’s all about”.
“There seemed to be some recognition that we’re in trouble,” one House Republican told Politico.
Some lawmakers signaled they’d rather emphasize other issues heading into the midterms, though Politico reports that the White House’s pitch did not face any “direct pushback.”Others defended the law as a political winner if framed correctly.
“When voters are lied to by the Democrats and national media pundits, we get beat,” Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., told Politico. “When voters are told the truth about what Republicans in Congress are actually doing, we win.”
Read more
about the “Big Beautiful Bill”