The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Faces Broad Opposition

As Republican leaders are trying to secure the votes necessary to pass President Trump’s landmark tax and domestic policy bill through both chambers of Congress this week, Republican lawmakers, many of whom have reservations about the legislation themselves, are facing a tough choice: If they vote against the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, they have to face the wrath of Trump, who is known to hold grudges, and if they vote in favor of it – perhaps against their own convictions – they face the backlash from the public.

According to recent polls, Trump’s blockbuster bill is hugely unpopular, with four June surveys from the Washington Post, Fox News, KFF and Quinnipac University finding that an average of 31 percent of respondents support the legislation, while 55 percent oppose it. That gives the bill a net approval rating of -24, making it one of the least popular pieces of legislation of the past three decades.

While Democrats and Independents are almost universally opposed to the bill, Republicans broadly support it, although not as clearly as usual in the current deeply polarized political landscape. In fact, KFF found that Republicans were split in their support of the bill: while MAGA supporters were 72 to 27 percent in favor of the legislation, Non-MAGA Republicans were 66 to 33 against it.