Wisconsin lawmakers react to Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill squeaked through the U.S. House of Representatives by a single big, beautiful vote this past week, 215-214, drawing predictable reactions from Wisconsin lawmakers as the reconciliation package heads to the Senate.

Northwoods U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisconsin-07) said the bill delivered major wins for the American people by protecting families and small businesses from the largest tax hike in history and by putting more money back into the pockets of seniors, parents, and workers. 

But U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin-02) said it was simply one big beautiful bill for billionaires.

After passage, Tiffany outlined what he said were the overwhelmingly positive benefits of the legislation.

“The bill permanently secures the border, funds mass deportations, unleashes American energy, and modernizes our defense,” Tiffany said. “While more work remains to rein in Washington spending, this legislation is an important step toward reversing the damage of Biden-era policies and restoring an America that is affordable, safe, and strong.”

Among the benefits, Tiffany said the bill makes permanent Trump’s tax cuts from 2017; eliminates taxes on tips and overtime; allows seniors to deduct an additional $4,000; makes the child tax credit permanent and increases the amount; reforms fraud and abuse in Food Stamps and Medicaid programs; requires able-bodied adults to work to receive welfare benefits; enhances resources for Border Patrol and ICE; finishes the border wall; phases out the Green New Deal (IRA); increases onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing; boosts American mineral development; and ends taxpayer-funded sex changes for minors.

For his part, Pocan said the legislation would hurt the poor and middle class.

“While most Americans were asleep, House Republicans voted to rip health care away from 13.7 million people on Medicaid, cut $500 billion from Medicare, and take food away from hungry people — all to give a tax break to their billionaire buddies, like Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Pocan said. “According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this will add trillions to the national debt, shutter hospitals, and leave farmers out to dry.”

From forcing debate and procedural votes in the dark of night, Pocan said the entire process was an attempt to keep the bill’s details from the public. 

“Even Republican leadership told their members not to hold town halls, they know just how unpopular this bill is with the American public,” he said. “It must not be allowed to become law and must be stopped by the Senate.”

Pocan said the CBO confirmed that the bill would take from the poorest Americans to hand even more tax breaks to the wealthiest. The CBO also found that the bill could trigger more than $500 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare, under the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) law — cuts that many Republicans would be happy to see happen behind closed doors, Pocan said.

But U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wisconsin-05) begged to differ, saying the bill would boost the working and middle classes.

“This legislation is a victory for working Americans across the nation and delivers on our promise to bring tax relief, reduce government waste, and secure our border,” Fitzgerald said. “It delivers the largest tax cut in American history — returns an average of $5,000 in annual take-home pay to hardworking Americans, makes the Trump tax cuts permanent, and increases the child tax credit. By eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, we’re ensuring that workers keep more of their hard-earned income.”

As Tiffany did, Fitzgerald pointed out that the reconciliation bill also provides significant relief to seniors through a deduction of taxes on Social Security benefits. 

“It protects America’s family farmers by preventing the death tax from impacting nearly two million farms — safeguarding generational livelihoods,” he said.

And Fitzgerald took issue with Pocan’s accusation that the measure would boot needy Americans off Medicaid and food stamp rolls, saying the bill would actually strengthen Medicaid by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. 

“It removes 1.4 million illegal aliens who are fraudulently receiving benefits — ensuring that Medicaid serves those who need it most: the disabled, children, pregnant women, and seniors,” he said. “Additionally, by implementing work requirements for able-bodied, working-age adults, we are prioritizing policies that lift Americans out of poverty and promote self-sufficiency. Improving the federal funding formula ensures that states like Wisconsin, who took a responsible/conservative approach to funding Medicaid, are not unfairly treated, allowing BadgerCare to better serve the most vulnerable residents.”

Last but not least, Fitzgerald said, recognizing that border security is national security, the bill fully funds the completion of Trump’s border wall, increases the hiring of additional Border Patrol and ICE agents, and invests in large-scale deportation operations to remove illegal aliens and keep our communities safe.

“By passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we’re delivering on the promises made to the American people and putting President Trump’s America First agenda where it belongs — front and center,” he said.

The future

The bill could face a rocky road in the Senate, and at week’s end it seemed that one of the ‘no’ votes on the measure might be Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson. Speaking to Politico at the capitol after the reconciliation bill passed the House, Johnson said the GOP needed now to live in the real world.

“I’m hoping now we’ll actually start looking at reality,” Johnson said. “I know everybody wants to go to Disney World, but we just can’t afford it.”

Johnson also said Trump couldn’t pressure him the way he could push around House members.

“In the House, President Trump  can threaten to primary holdouts, and those guys want to keep their seats,” he said. “I understand the pressure. Can’t pressure me that way.”

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) joined him in the criticism over insufficient spending cuts.

“The project afoot isn’t going to fix the deficit at all,” Paul told Politico. “I’m not for continuing the Biden spending levels or the Biden deficits. Once the Republicans vote for this, the Republicans are going to own the deficit.”

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.