Speaker Johnson Blasts Democrats Taking Credit For Tax Cuts
One of the first priorities for Republicans after securing control of both chambers of Congress following their 2024 election victories was making the tax cuts passed during President Donald Trump’s first term permanent.
Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cuts into law on July 4,
2025, extending the 2017 tax cuts while adding new provisions that allowed Americans to deduct certain overtime and tip income from their taxable earnings for three years.
The legislation passed without a single Democratic vote, with Republicans arguing it delivered thousands of dollars in annual savings for many working Americans.
Now, as the 2026 midterm elections approach and control of Congress remains uncertain, Republicans are accusing Democrats of attempting to claim credit for provisions of the law they previously opposed.
On the first anniversary of the legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticized congressional Democrats for opposing the package while later supporting individual provisions included in the law.
“With their unanimous opposition to the Working Families Tax Cuts, Congressional Democrats in unison voted against no tax on tips and overtime, the doubled child tax credit, $50 billion for rural healthcare, and investment accounts for every newborn in America,” Johnson said in a press release.
“Now, as tens of millions of citizens are benefitting from this historic tax relief, Democrats are attempting to mislead the American people and claim credit for something they opposed vehemently,” Johnson said.
Republicans have argued that Democrats would have pursued what Johnson described as the “largest tax increase in American history” if they had prevailed in blocking the bill.
Johnson’s office highlighted several Democratic lawmakers who have since backed proposals similar to parts of the tax package.
Among them was Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who introduced legislation to make Trump Accounts permanent under the name “American Dream Accounts” and extend the law’s no-tax-on-tips provision.
The speaker’s office also pointed to several Nevada Democrats, including Reps. Dina
Titus, Steven Horsford, and Susie Lee, along with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, who urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure the successful implementation of the no-tax-on-tips provision despite previously opposing the larger bill.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., was also cited after expressing support for certain parts of the legislation and later backing efforts to expand eligibility for the no-tax-on-overtime provision.
Republicans have promoted the law as a central piece of Trump’s second-term economic agenda, arguing it increased take-home pay, expanded tax relief for families and seniors, supported small businesses and family farms, and created federally funded savings accounts for eligible newborns.
According to figures cited by Johnson’s office from the Internal Revenue Service, 97% of taxpayers received a tax reduction, with the law’s individual provisions returning an estimated $82 billion to taxpayers.
The office also said more than 7.5 million taxpayers claimed the no-tax-on-tips deduction, nearly 29 million claimed the no-tax-on-overtime deduction, and roughly 40 million families benefited from an expanded child tax credit.
Democrats opposed the legislation during last year’s debate, arguing that portions of the package disproportionately benefited wealthier Americans and raised concerns about its impact on the national debt.
Republicans have promoted the legislation as a key part of President Donald Trump’s second-term economic agenda, arguing that it increases take-home pay, expands tax relief for families and seniors, protects family farms and small businesses, and creates federally funded Trump Accounts for eligible newborns.
During last year’s debate over the measure, Democrats falsely claimed that portions of the package disproportionately benefited higher-income Americans and expressed concerns about its long-term fiscal impact.
However, some Democratic lawmakers have since supported or introduced legislation to expand individual provisions included in the law, because they see how popular it has become.
No doubt President Trump, who is planning on hitting the campaign trail ahead of the midterms to promote this and other GOP successed, will remind voters on the stump that all Democrats opposed making the cuts permanent, regardless of what many of them are saying now.
