U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks during a press conference at Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated on their inability to sell the American people on the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," reports Al Weaver in The Hill.
"Talk about the massive tax package largely evaporated after Labor Day amid high-stakes fights over releasing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and the 43-day government shutdown. Yet even before those controversies, polls showed the GOP legislation was unpopular," Weaver writes.
As Democrats hammer Republicans on the issue of affordability, he writes, GOP lawmakers are concerned by their lackluster sales pitch on their party's signature accomplishment.
When asked if he was happy about his party's message on the bill, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), said "No. There’s so much good stuff in there, and I just think it’s inherently difficult to sell something that has that many moving parts and is that complex.”
"We hopefully learned a lesson that while the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill [Act]’ doesn’t poll well by that name, if you change it to the ‘Working Family’s Tax Cuts Act,’ it polls much better,” Cornyn said, "referring to the GOP’s attempted rebranding of the bill’s name dating back to near Labor Day," Weaver notes.
“So we need to go back to Marketing 101, I guess," Cornyn said.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (H.R. 1) was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. The expansive law makes permanent many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and introduces new, temporary tax deductions alongside significant spending cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
Roughly two-thirds (63 percent) of the public hold an unfavorable view of the law, compared to only 36 percent who view it favorably, according to a July 2025 poll by KFF. Other polls show similar figures, making it one of the most unpopular major pieces of legislation passed since at least 1990.
In addition to its unpopularity, the "measure has largely gotten buried," Weaver writes, thanks to the government shutdown and the Epstein scandal.
When asked how much the tax package comes up on the campaign trail with voters, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who is running to become the next governor of Alabama in 2027, replied: “Not much.”
“Most people don’t really understand what’s in it,” he said.
An anonymous GOP source tells Weaver, "It’s way too f—— expensive to live in this country right now. We need to be seen as at least caring about that.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says the party needs to work on better messaging for the bill, saying, "I think it is one of the most … undertold [stories], and we need to change that."
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), the chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, agrees , reportedly telling "lawmakers this week that more work has to be done in the coming weeks and months to sell the bill and popular components of it, including no tax on tips, the expansion of the child tax credit and the tax cut extension," Weaver reports.
The president hasn't done much to sell the bill lately, either, and Republicans are frustrated by that as well, Weaver says.
"Has the president gone to a single event about OBBBA? Have they gone to Toledo? Have they gone to Scranton? … I don’t know — use the bully pulpit for a minute while we’re at it? Would be nice," the anonymous GOP source says.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WVa) agrees, saying, "I think we could do better. I wouldn’t give us an ‘A.’”