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The tax cuts in President Trump’s signature achievement were the Republicans’ answer to voters’ economic struggles, but its health care and food assistance cuts are taking a toll.
Sept. 23, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET
In a midterm election largely shaped by struggles with affordability, Republicans are hanging many of their hopes on President Trump’s signature domestic policy law, the sprawling package of spending increases and tax breaks dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
But to partially offset its largess, which totals more than $3 trillion, the law also cut social services, including Medicaid, health care subsidies and food assistance, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. How voters view the law depends largely on which side of the federal ledger they find themselves — recipients of tax cuts or beneficiaries of programs that have been cut.
“This legislation touches everything,” said Ashley Whitlock, a substitute teacher from Belmont, N.C., who lost her SNAP benefits in the summer. “If it doesn’t impact you, it impacts someone you know.”
More than a year after passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, public opinion about its impact is entrenched mostly along partisan fault lines. But personal experience is beginning to come into play.
Some praise larger tax refunds and tax breaks that allowed them to take home more money earned from tips and overtime. But at a moment when the cost of living is rising faster than wages, many say the law has plunged Americans into financial uncertainty with the law’s cuts to programs that helped put food on the table and provide affordable health care.
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