In congressional races around the country, Democrats find themselves under attack in political ads for allegedly opposing the popular tax cuts for tips, overtime and older Americans that were part of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
While the ads warn that the Democratic candidates opposed or would do away with those tax cuts, many of the candidates themselves say they support those particular provisions.
Not a single Democrat in either the House or Senate voted in favor of the OBBBA, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. And the law did cut — though didn’t completely eliminate — taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security through 2028.
Those provisions enjoy bipartisan public support.
But many of the candidates facing these attacks say they voted against the OBBBA for other reasons — chiefly that overall tax cuts were skewed to the wealthy, and that it cut funding to Medicaid and reduced spending on federal food benefits. Many Democrats say they aren’t opposed to the bill’s tax cuts for tips, overtime and older Americans. Some have even said they would work to make them permanent.
Even before the OBBBA was being considered, then Vice President Kamala Harris said in August 2024 that she supported the elimination of taxes on tips for hospitality and service workers.
