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A Big Beautiful Midterm Battle

Democrats see Trump’s signature legislation as an obvious liability for the G.O.P.—and a wide-open path to flip the House in the midterms. But Republicans have a sales pitch of their own.

David Valadao
The messaging battle will be fiercest in swing districts, especially where vulnerable Republicans like California Rep. David Valadao—two-thirds of whose constituents rely on Medicaid—must now defend themselves from the Democratic onslaught. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images
Abby Livingston
July 7, 2025

Even before House Speaker Mike Johnson brought down his gavel on Thursday, sending the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to Donald Trump’s desk, the midterm battle over how to spin its contents had begun. Its passage marked the end of a fraught journey for the G.O.P., sure, but also the beginning of a new struggle to define Trump’s signature legislation in the public imagination.