House Republican Conference chairwoman Lisa McClain says Democrats are to blame for mounting cost-of-living concerns among Americans.
McClain, the fourth-ranking House Republican, has been helping craft the party’s messaging on affordability, which she argues will be the number one issue of next year’s midterm elections. Though Democrats have aggressively pummeled Republicans on cost of living issues, the Michigan Republican argues former President Joe Biden’s economic policies are responsible for the high cost of living seen today.
“We were in a whole world of hurt, and we’re digging ourselves out of that hole under Biden,” McClain told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a sit-down interview. “We just have to remind people that Biden and the Democrats created the fire and we’re putting it out.”
Republicans’ efforts to pin the current economic conditions on Biden could be a tough sell with a growing number of voters appearing skeptical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. Republicans oversaw high-profile lossesin November’s elections where winning Democratic candidates blamed Trump for the economic squeeze some Americans are feeling.
McClain, however, has not dismissed voter concerns with the high cost of living, which helped propel Republicans to victory in 2024.
“I shop at the same grocery stories and sit at the same kitchen tables that you all do,” McClain said.
Forty-six percent of Americans say the cost of living is the worst in their lifetime, including more than a third of Trump 2024 voters, according to a Politico survey released earlier in December. A November Fox News survey found that registered voters, by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, hold Trump (62%) more responsible than Biden (32%) for the current economic conditions.
McClain argues the tax relief policies passed within Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and the party’s efforts to boost energy production and undo federal regulations need more time to ease voters’ pocketbooks.
“Democrats burnt the freaking house down and we’re laying the foundation,” McClain told the DCNF. “Next we got to get the carpenter and then put the walls up. Then you got to get the drywall. It’s a process.”
When asked whether House Republicans will pursue additional legislation to address affordability ahead of the midterm elections, McClain mentioned healthcare and permitting reform.
The House is set to vote this week on a multi-pronged health bill, dubbed the “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.” The legislation will fund cost-sharing reductions in Obamacare, take aim at the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry, and expand association health plans among other provisions.
The bill does not include an expansion of pandemic-era Affordable Care Act premium tax subsidies slated to expire at the end of December that is favored by moderate GOP lawmakers and Democrats.
Most Republicans, McClain included, argue the enhanced subsidies are too costly, enrich big insurers and are rampant with fraud.
“I don’t want the American taxpayer to subsidize the large insurance companies. I want actual premiums to come down,” McClain told the DCNF.
McClain also teased long-anticipated permitting reform legislation that could hit the House floor as soon as this week. The legislation is expected to streamline the approval of new energy projects, which Republicans argue could help ease affordability concerns.
McClain expects Republicans’ expansion of existing tax cuts and the enactment of new tax breaks to pay dividends when Americans file taxes in early 2026. No Democrats voted for Trump’s mammoth tax and spending bill, which Republicans argue averted a $4 trillion tax increase.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Americans are likely to see “very large refunds” during next year’s tax filing season due to policy changes in Republicans’ budget law. Provisions eliminating taxes on tipped wages and overtime pay are notably retroactive to January 1, 2025.
McClain ripped the legacy media, who she argues has largely ignored the tax benefits within Republicans’ landmark budget law.
“There’s no amount of left-wing media that’s going to be able to say ‘You didn’t get an extra $10,000 in your pocket,’” McClain said.
McClain led a three-day tour through swing districts in northeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the August recess to promote the budget law. The chairwoman met with small-business owners and manufacturing leaders where she touted the swath of tax benefits and collected first-hand accounts about the law’s implementation on the ground.
McClain said she has more stops planned for 2026 to promote Republicans’ affordability agenda.
“We’re doing that to bring the stories to life and actually connect with the voters,” McClain said.
Andi Shae Napier contributed to this report.
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