The battle over President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda kicked into high gear this week as advocacy and political groups launched multiple campaigns to sway GOP senators to support the “big, beautiful bill.”
Americans for Prosperity launched a new $4 million ad buy on Monday to persuade Republican lawmakers in the upper chamber to pass the reconciliation bill after it cleared the House last month.
The campaign will feature “video and digital ads that will air on cable, connected TV, and other digital platforms,” according to the Koch-family backed group.
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Ads highlighting the importance of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through testimonials will air in North Carolina, Louisiana, Maine, Idaho, and the District of Columbia. CBS News reported the campaign.
The Senate is expected to spend the next weeks haggling over key provisions in the bill, including cuts to Medicaid, raising the debt limit, and how to prevent adding trillions to the nation’s debt, before the July 4 recess.
Democrats have quickly mobilized to slam the bill as a power grab from the wealthy at the expense of the poor through cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“We always knew that as reconciliation moves forward, the hill to climb was only going to get steeper. The next month will likely bring a tidal wave of misinformation,” said Brent Gardner, AFP‘s chief government affairs officer, in a statement. “That’s why we’re ramping up on-air and at the doors to make sure voters know the truth about this bill, and lawmakers can be confident they have the support back home to be bold.”
But Republicans are hitting back, claiming the attacks are “misinformation,” as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has claimed, and another instance of fearmongering.
The National Republican Congressional Committee also launched a Spanish-language ad campaign on Monday, targeting eight vulnerable Democrats in congressional districts with a large Hispanic population who voted against the bill.
The eight Democrats being targeted are Reps. Josh Harder (D-CA), Adam Gray (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Nellie Pou (D-NJ), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX).
“Latino voters are turning away from House Democrats who push radical identity politics and just voted for the largest tax hike in generations, hurting working families across the country,” said the NRCC’s national Hispanic press secretary, Christian Martinez, in a statement. “The NRCC will make sure voters don’t forget how they betrayed our Latino communities.”
The NRCC previously announced a campaign targeting 25 vulnerable House Democrats who voted against the bill, with 13 of the Democrats representing districts that Trump won during the 2024 election.
Republicans are hoping to keep control of the House following the 2026 midterm elections by pushing back against withering attacks from Democrats.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told members of his caucus in a “Dear Colleague” letter on Sunday that “this partisan monstrosity is nothing short of a billionaire handout paid for by American families and we will fight it with everything we’ve got.”
Last week, House Majority Forward, the nonprofit wing of Democratic leadership’s House Majority PAC, launched digital ads targeting 26 congressional districts over the “big, ugly bill” and its proposed Medicaid cuts.
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Other grassroots organizations, such as Students for Life Action, have also launched a monthlong mobilization targeting 12 GOP senators to keep language in the bill that would strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, a long-held conservative priority.
“Our message to our friends is simple: No matter what your concerns, work to get the House language in the Senate budget. That means cutting off Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion from our healthcare spending in the base text of the bill and for a minimum of 10 years,” said the group’s president, Kristan Hawkins. “Yes, there are many issues facing our nation, but don’t throw more than 400,000 babies out with the federal budget bathwater.”
The 12 lawmakers who are on the target list include Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY), Rick Scott (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Todd Young (R-IN).
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
