Scoop: Trump Cabinet fans across the U.S. to push his megabill
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The White House is sending nine Cabinet secretaries across the country to try to sell President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" to skeptical voters — a move underscoring the administration's increasing urgency as it pivots toward the 2026 midterms.
Why it matters: The stakes are huge. Top Republicans believe the Trump team's ability to make the massive tax-and-spending bill more palatable to voters will go a long way toward determining the GOP's prospects in next year's elections.
- It won't be easy: A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that 52% of voters oppose the package, while 42% supported it.
- The administration has touted the bill as a boon to the working class, but polls indicate that most Americans see it favoring the wealthy and big companies, ballooning federal deficits, and hurting lower-income people through measures such as cuts to Medicaid.
- The WSJ poll did show public support for parts of the bill, including its limited "no tax on tips" provision.
Zoom in: Nine Cabinet members — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler — will be hitting the road over the next few weeks, sources tell Axios.
Several of their appearances will be in key political battlegrounds:
- Loeffler will visit Lansing, Mich., at an event with swing-district GOP Rep. Tom Barrett. Michigan also will have competitive Senate and governor's races next year.
- Chavez-DeRemer will be in Nevada, home to a competitive governor's race. She'll also travel to Michigan.
- Wright will visit the Thomas Jefferson National Lab in Newport News, Va., which focuses on nuclear physics. Wright will highlight AI funding included in the bill for science research. Virginia will hold its governor's race in November.
- Zeldin and Loeffler will appear with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who is up for reelection next year. Ernst's "we are all going to die" remark during a town hall discussion about Medicaid cuts has inspired a series of attacks by Democrats.
- Chavez-DeRemer and Duffy will be in Minnesota, where a vacant Senate seat is up for grabs and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz may run for reelection.
State of play: Trump allies concede the bill isn't polling well, but they note parts of it are popular and want to focus on them.
- Duffy, for example, will travel to an air traffic control tower in Duluth, Minn., to highlight the bill's investments in air traffic control. The administration sees that as a political winner at a time when controller shortages are complicating travel across the U.S.
- Noem will emphasize the bill's $25 billion in new Coast Guard funding at several events in Alaska.
- Chavez-DeRemer will tout a provision of the bill allowing service workers to deduct taxes on tips and overtime pay. Chavez-Deremer is slated to appear before a plumbers and pipefitters' group in Ann Arbor, Mich., a beer distributor and trucking company in Minneapolis, and a carpenters' convention in Las Vegas.
What we're watching: Trump and Vice President Vance also are expected to hit the road.
- Vance has touted the bill during recent visits to swing congressional districts in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
What they're saying: The bill "is a historic piece of legislation that will increase take-home pay for hardworking Americans, fix our air traffic control system, and permanently secure our border," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson tells Axios.
- Cabinet members "will be traveling the nation to ensure Americans are aware of how this law will improve their lives."
