Messaging war over Trump's 'big beautiful bill' heats up between Democrats, Republicans

EXCLUSIVE – As he looks ahead to next year's midterm elections, when the Democrats try to win back majorities in the House and Senate, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin is targeting the Republicans' so-called "big, beautiful bill."

"We welcome the debate, because this is the debate that's going to actually help us as a Democratic Party, build our coalition again and win elections," the DNC chair said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Martin's rival, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley, told Fox News last week that the sweeping GOP-crafted domestic policy bill that narrowly passed the House and Senate in near-party-line votes and President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, will be a "cornerstone" of their party's messaging going forward.

That's just fine with Martin.

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President Trump signs into law the GOP-crafted sweeping domestic policy bill, that the president and Republicans call the "one, big, beautiful bill," at the White House on July 4, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

"If this is the ground they want to die on, the hill they want to die, we'll make sure they die on it," Martin said of Republicans.

The Republican package is stuffed full of Trump's 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. 

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It includes extending the president's signature 2017 tax cuts—which were set to expire later this year—and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. 

"This is going to help every family in every community all across the country," Whatley predicted in his Fox News Digital interview.

But Martin disagreed, saying that "there is nothing in this bill that's going to help hard-working Americans. Let's be very clear, this is a giveaway to the richest people in our country."

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is seen during an interview with Fox News Digital on July 23, 2025, at DNC headquarters in Washington D.C. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president's controversial immigration crackdown.

The massive tax cuts and spending package is also projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to increase the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade, but many Republicans dispute the projection.

And the new law also restructures Medicaid—the almost 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. The CBO this week estimated that 10 million people could lose their health insurance over the next decade.

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The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation's major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump's tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.

"The fact is that we're going to be moving illegal aliens off of Medicaid. We're going to be strengthening the program," Whatlley said. "Those are things that absolutely need to happen."

But Democrats, for months, have repeatedly blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes. And they spotlighted a slew of national polls last month and this month—including one this week from Fox News—that indicate the bill's popularity in negative territory.

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"American people are hurting right now, and there's no doubt that this is an issue that allows the Democrats right now to actually rebuild our coalition, to actually bring people back in, many who left our party over the years, who felt like we weren't fighting for them and actually lifting up working people," Martin said.

And the DNC chair argued that "Donald Trump has betrayed them. I don't call this the big beautiful bill. What I call it is a big, ugly betrayal, because that's exactly what it is. It's a betrayal to the hardworking Americans who expected more from this president."