A majority of Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation that he signed into law on July 4, according to a new CNN poll.
The survey found that 61 percent of American adults either somewhat or strongly oppose the package, which was dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The balance — 39 percent — said they backed it.
Trump and GOP leaders in Congress pushed heavily to pass the bill — which consisted of extensions of tax cuts from Trump’s first term, cuts to Medicaid and increased funding for a number of GOP-backed initiatives, like immigration enforcement — and ultimately achieved one of the president’s top legislative goals.
The high initial disapproval of the law could be a warning sign for Republicans in the midterms, as the GOP faces a fierce fight to maintain their narrow majorities in Congress.
The bill passed after months of back and forth amongst GOP legislators concerned about whether to split up the domestic policy agenda or pass it in one piece. Despite ultimately passing almost entirely on party lines, Republican holdouts in both legislative chambers led to uncertainty that the bill could move forward.
Americans said they were tuned in to that battle. Seventy-two percent of those surveyed said they followed news about the bill either “very” or “somewhat” closely. That’s up significantly from an October 2021 poll from CNN on then-President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package, where just 58 percent said they were either very or somewhat closely following the news about the legislation.
And though Americans have not yet seen the effects of the bill, 29 percent said they believe it will help the economy, compared to 51 percent who believed the legislation would hurt it and 20 percent who thought it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
The legislation is set to take a starring role in the 2026 midterm elections, with both parties eager to message on the landmark legislation.
Democrats have honed in out cuts to Medicaid, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will eliminate health insurance from millions of people, even as some Democratic strategists argue that it won’t be a silver bullet next November. Republicans, meanwhile, have focused on immigration provisions and argued the package will lower costs.
Vice President JD Vance, who broke the tie on the bill in the Senate, is set to promote the law in Pennsylvania on Wednesday in a working-class area expected to see a close congressional race in 2026.
The CNN poll surveyed 1,057 adults from July 10-13 via web and telephone. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.