Democrats Look to Turn Trump Economy Into an Electoral Liability

Democrats tried to undercut the Trump administration’s glossy economic picture during a hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Thursday.

“People in my district aren’t doing cartwheels over this economy,” said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), who pressed Bessent on rising prices for staples such as groceries and gasoline during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing.

Bessent in his opening statements lauded the 2025 tax package that delivered financial perks—like no tax on tips or overtime—which went to 62 million people, or 44% of filers. The secretary said 70% of those who took the new deduction earned less than $100,000 a year.

Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) also praised the tax cuts, saying they provided bigger refunds and paychecks and permanent pro-growth tax policy that will make it easier to do business in America.

“Our economy is in the middle of a historic investment boom that means new jobs and opportunities for working-class Americans,” he said, saying that equipment investment rose 17% and intellectual property investment rose 11% in first quarter 2026.

Ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.), though, painted a darker economic picture, skeptical that the law had done much to put more money in the pockets of middle-class families amid Trump’s other policies.

“Workers and families are being forced to stretch their dollars further every day, and the pain so clearly stems from the president’s vanity projects, endless war, enrichment of himself, and a price-hiking tariff regime,” Neal said.

The line of questioning, repeated by several Democrats during the hearing ostensibly about President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Treasury Department, indicated that the opposing party is hammering its midterms message. The economy presided over by Trump, once an electoral juggernaut that helped return him to the White House, has become a source of discomfort for Republicans as they head toward the midterms.

Public polling backs that up. Gallup polling shows just 16% of consumers rate the economy as good or excellent, matching previous numbers from April 2023, though Democrats are still struggling to convert that dissatisfaction into support in most polls.

Gas and Groceries

Larson asked Bessent about an idea Trump has floated: suspending the federal gas tax. It’s a policy that could provide a few dollars of relief at the pump, but could blow a hole in the Highway Trust Fund. In response, Bessent pointed out the administration has asked Congress “to move to eliminate” the gas tax, with multiple bills introduced in both the Senate and House.

Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the subcommittee on trade, also sparred with Bessent over the economy, saying inflation was rising faster than hourly wages and that gas prices remain sky-high.

“Americans are suffering in Trump’s spiraling economy,” she said. “I don’t see how anyone could call that anything other than a failure of the most corrupt Treasury Department in history.”

“The congresswoman is slanderous,” Bessent replied. “She has nothing but the unsubstantiated opinions.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) also noted the rising cost of daily goods, adding tomato prices are up 40% in grocery stores and that bread and milk prices have increased up to 80%.

“I think Americans are not experiencing this rosy picture that you paint,” she told Bessent.

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) asked Bessent why he promised the GOP tax cuts package would create a booming economy when so many of her constituents were experiencing the opposite.

“Time and time again, you told the American people not to believe their own eyes or what’s in their bank accounts,” she said.

“You’re making a mistake,” warned Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), often credited with overperforming in a Trump district, “to not listen to what the American people are saying, which is they’re very unhappy with the economy because of the way it’s affecting them.”