Exclusive: GOP urged to "get to work" selling Trump's controversial megabill
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Republicans are pushing senators to more aggressively sell the "big, beautiful bill" amid concerns that the party's lawmakers aren't doing enough to promote its most popular provisions.
Why it matters: Republicans acknowledge that their prospects in next year's midterm elections will hinge on making the bill palatable to voters. Polls suggest it currently isn't.
Zoom out: The National Republican Senatorial Committee is planning to send a memo to Senate GOP chiefs of staff and communications officials on Tuesday pushing them to more forcefully highlight popular provisions such as tax cuts on tips, overtime pay and Social Security.
- The NRSC says senators and their staff "must immediately get to work promoting its most popular provisions in every corner of their states," and that the month-long August recess is a "critical opportunity" to sell Trump's megabill.
- "With the passage and signing of OBBB, Senate Republicans have delivered on the America First promises President Trump campaigned on. Now, senators and staff need to do their part to ensure every voter knows it," the NRSC says in the memo.
- "Communicating the widely popular provisions within the OBBB effectively will be essential to turning out the coalition Republicans need to win in next year's midterm election," the committee adds.
Zoom in: Republican strategists have for months been distributing to candidates survey data showing that parts of the bill poll very well.
- But there is growing frustration within some corners of the party that members haven't been vocal enough in highlighting them.
State of play: The legislation is underwater in recent polling.
- A Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 22-24 showed 55% of voters disapproved of the bill, and a Fox News survey from earlier in the month indicated that 59% opposed it.
- Democrats have said they plan to make the legislation a cornerstone of their 2026 strategy.
