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The Movement: Allure of tax cuts fades on right, challenging GOP midterm message

The conservative activist class has grown disenchanted with tax cuts, putting them at odds with Republicans who are still trying to make the cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” the cornerstone of their midterm messaging campaign.

Scott Pressler, a conservative organizer with millions of followers, delivered that message bluntly in comments to GOP House members in the Republican Study Committee last week while advocating for a bill to strengthen voter ID and registration requirements.

“If the leadership is only going to run on milquetoast tax cuts, you are going to lose this November,” Pressler said.

That was a reference to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Trump signed into law last year, which Republicans have tried to rebrand as the Working Families Tax Cut. The bill made permanent many of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and added new cuts to taxes on tips, overtime, car loans, and for seniors.

And it is a pretty big contrast with the message from Republican leaders who repeatedly tout the tax cut provisions in the major law, while expressing frustration that their message is not breaking through.

“I say this every time I’m up here. One of these times, it’s going to get covered by y’all,” Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) said in a press conference earlier this month. “Republicans voted to cut taxes for working families to keep more money in your pockets. Democrats again voted against that.”

Some of the dismissal of the tax cuts is an expression of anxiety about the midterm elections which are looking to be very tough for House Republicans.

Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform and perhaps the biggest tax cut evangelist, told me in a phone interview that he was not too bothered by Pressler’s comments.

“I do not take it as an affront to the tax issue for someone to say there are other issues. They are important,” Norquist said, acknowledging that tax cuts alone may not be enough to get the extra percentage points needed to win close elections.

But he said that tax cuts are foundational to GOP electoral victories, not a distraction: “The tax issue is central to the Republican Party being the majority party.”

And as for calling the tax cuts “milquetoast?” 

“That would be a criticism that they weren’t big enough,” he said. “I guess I’m always up for people who go, gee, I should have asked for more.”

“But this is a huge, amazing success, not just politically, with a margin as narrow as we had,” Norquist added.

There are serious ideological divisions on the right that are challenging the Republican party on taxes, though.

Populist former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, for instance, has advocated raising taxes on the wealthy — and increasing the top income tax rate was even considered by Republicans as they were crafting their tax cut bill last year. Fiscal hawks, too, have questioned the wisdom of cutting taxes without cutting government spending significantly more than the GOP already did in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” 

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, told me it was “unfortunate” that anyone on the right would downplay the tax cuts.

“This was a major achievement by the Republican Party and Donald Trump,” Williams said, recognizing the populist uprising in the party. “Quite frankly, it wouldn’t have happened without someone like [Sen.] Mitch McConnell, and now Mitch McConnell is not very well liked by populist Republicans. I don’t know why … He was able to get through Donald Trump’s key piece of legislation, the 2017 tax reform.”

There’s a generational frustration bubbling up, too, about tax cuts that benefit seniors. Voter participation rates are highest among older Americans. 

A January post from the Senate Republicans account that touted the tax cut megabill including a $6,000 exemption for seniors got dragged by younger people on social media, as the New York Post reported. American Moment, the MAGA-world upstart that was deeply connected to staffing the second Trump administration, responded: “Total boomer luxury communism.”

That sentiment was also put on display last week when Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is running for governor of South Carolina, promoted her proposal to eliminate taxes on boat loan interest. She argued that it would protect an industry that “supports 27,100+ jobs statewide.”

Reason reporter Christian Britschgi quipped: “Of all the boomer subsidies, this one is the most offensive.”

Norquist, though, had a different take: “What Mae West said about sex is true about tax cuts: All tax cuts are good tax cuts, even the bad ones.”

Norquist said that he would prefer to always pursue the most pro-growth tax cuts first, and then go for others later. “But you build a tax cut based on how you get the votes.”

Williams pointed out that many people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s will be getting a tax cut, too, which could help them financially.

Tax cut advocates are hoping that maybe the narratives about the tax cuts and concerns about the GOP’s “affordability” arguments will subside after Americans start getting their tax refunds over the next few months.

“The proof is in the pudding. And if there really is an increase in refunds, I think that is a message that will resonate with people,” Williams said.

Welcome to The Movement, a weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I’m Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill. 

Send me tips, comments, and suggestions: ebrooks@thehill.com.

Follow me on X: @emilybrooksnews

TEXAS SENATE PRIMARY TO KICK OFF MAGA BATTLES

The ideological battles I’ve long been writing about here in The Movement will soon be put to the test in Republican primaries across the country — starting in a major primary battle in the Texas Senate race on March 3.

Sen. John Cornyn faces primary challenges from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. 

Cornyn has the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senate GOP leadership —  but faces accusations of being too part of the “Republican establishment” and not conservative enough, particularly on immigration and gun control.

Paxton espouses a brand of hardline legal confrontation in support of the president’s priorities, but has baggage from a history of scandals.

Turning Point Action, the political arm of Turning Point USA, last week endorsed Paxton — a big get for him. But it drew backlash from other factions of the right who noted Paxton’s alleged infidelity, which clashes with the organization’s emphasis on strong families and marriages.

Hunt similarly brings the Trumpian flair to his campaign, but has gotten negative press for missing many House votes as he campaigns — leading to one dramatic day in which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), unaware that Hunt would be absent on a close procedural vote, called him back to town. Hunt was the deciding vote on a war powers measure challenging Trump later that evening as he rushed to the House chamber from Dulles Airport.

President Trump has not endorsed in the race. Polling shows the race is close and could head to a runoff.

FURTHER READING: ‘Money being burned’: Donors fret over Cornyn primary as Trump sits back, by Alex Gangitano in Politico… Texas Republican Ken Paxton is stepping up his Senate bid against GOP Sen. John Cornyn, by the Associated Press’s Thomas Beaumont… GOP leaders fret as Trump sits out the party’s nastiest primary battles — with Senate control on the line, by CNN’s Manu Raju and Sarah Ferris…

FREE-MARKET LETTER AGAINST DRUG PRICING GETS PUSHBACK

A coalition of more than 50 leaders of conservative and free-market organizations signed a letter to members of Congress opposing codifying President Trump’s “most favored nation” (MFN) drug pricing policy model into law, I reported last week.

It argues an MFN pricing law would “import socialist price controls and values into our country” and “reduce access to new cures and reduce U.S. global competitiveness, ceding ground to China.”

But the letter got some pushback on social media — and from readers who emailed me directly about it — who said the letter was aligned with the interests of Big Pharma.

Brian Walsh, a veteran GOP strategist who now works public affairs for UnitedHealth Group, said of the letter: “Flashing red light for reporters, Republicans on Capitol Hill and the White House that Big Pharma is working hard to block one of @realDonaldTrump ’s key initiatives. Their name isn’t on the letter but take it to the bank that the drug industry is behind it.”

Fox News host Laura Ingraham chimed in on X: “This is like “50 National Security Experts Say …” nonsense. These Republicans would rather take cater to rich donors than win elections and help the people.”

Signatories of the letter included Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; Stephen Moore, co-founder of Unleash Prosperity Now and a former economic adviser to Trump; Tim Chapman, president of Advancing American Freedom; Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment; Ryan Ellis, president of Center for a Free Economy; Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of the Job Creators Network; Morton Blackwell, a Virginia Republican National Committee member; Emily Stack, executive director of Moms for America Action; Pete Sepp, president of National Taxpayers Union; and David Williams, president of Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

Norquist brushed off those attacking the signatories’ motives but not engaging more with the arguments in the letter, saying they are “incapable of making an argument on their behalf.”

“Anybody trying to advocate for price controls can’t argue on the economics of it, so they have to do something else, I suppose,” Norquist said.

And Willams said in response: “Listen, everyone wants to get to the place where these drugs are a lot more inexpensive, a lot cheaper. Everyone wants that. It’s just that we look at it differently.”

Tuesday, Feb. 17: Allie Beth Stucky, host of the “Relatable” podcast on Blaze Media,moderates a Texas Attorney General primary debate between all four announced GOP candidates Joan Huffman, Mayes Middleton, Aaron Reitz, and Chip Roy. 8 p.m. ET.

Thursday, Feb. 19: Alex Bruesewitz, Trump adviser and CEO of X Strategies, sits for a conversation with Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan for the Conservative Partnership Institute’s “Off the Record” speaker series.

Saturday-Sunday, February 20-21: Principles First hosts its annual summit featuring the A-list of Trump critics and ex-Republicans, including former Gov. Chris Christie, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, George Conway, Michael Steele, former Rep. Joe Walsh, former Rep. Barbara Comstock, Bill Kristol, Miles Taylor,  and more.

The latest corporate target of conservatives in the culture war: Frida Baby. The baby product brand is under fire for marketing its products with sexual jokes like “how about a quickie” on a thermometer packaging, or “I get turned on easily” on a humidifier packaging, along with other innuendos on social media. The Daily Wire’s Isabel Brown and Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins were among the conservatives displeased with the marketing. In a statement to Complex, a Frida Baby spokesperson said: “What’s funny to one parent can feel like too much to another. We’re never trying to offend, push boundaries for shock value, or make anyone uncomfortable. Importantly, our tone is never separate from our product. The humor we use is always grounded in a specific feature, benefit, or innovation — a reflection of the real problem we are solving for families.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), the often-bombastic congressman nicknamed the “Hebrew Hammer,”ignited controversy on social media with his response to an activist questioning keeping dogs as indoor pets in New York City. (The activist later said they were joking.) “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,” Fine posted Sunday. Democrats pounced on the comment, but it also got pushback from the right. Megyn Kelly responded: “wtf is this.” Rasmussen Reports pollster Mark Mitchell commented: “Hey @GOP Not a good look.” A defiant Fine on Monday posted a Gadsden flag with a puppy in place of a snake.

A spokesman for Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser and podcast host, told the New York Times he plans to release his documentary about Jeffrey Epstein later this year. Bannon has been scrutinized for his relationship with Epstein, whom he interviewed several times, as more of the late sex offender’s emails and text messages emerge. “I am a filmmaker and TV host with decades of experience interviewing controversial figures,” Bannon said in a statement to the NYT. “That’s the only lens through which these private communications should be viewed — a documentary filmmaker working, over a period of time, to secure 50 hours of interviews from a reclusive subject.”

The Free Press’s Gabe Kaminsky: Trump’s Tough-Talking Antitrust Chief Is Pushed Out

The Daily Mail’s Jon Michael Raasch: MAGA’s desperate search for love inside a high-voltage DC mixer

The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo: Bondi faces MAGA media backlash after hearing on Epstein

Brittany Hugoboom in Evie Magazine: Getting Ready for NYFW With Brett Cooper

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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