Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a recent interview weighed in on the passage of the “big, beautiful bill,” suggesting it will be a major sticking point in next year’s midterm elections.
Asked by CNN’s David Chalian if the bill will become “the centerpiece” of Democrats’ messaging, Emanuel replied, “If it doesn’t, we’re fools.”
“As I’ve argued before, the bills should be just captured [as] ‘tax cuts for the wealthy, health care cuts for the many,” he told the host of the outlet’s “Political Briefing” podcast, which aired before President Trump signed the legislation, full of his domestic priorities, into law Friday. “People get that.”
“It’s already underwater,” Emanuel added. “There’s nothing about reducing health care benefits for working people that is going to make it more popular.”
The pundit also criticized the bill for being sympathetic to billionaires, giving the example of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who held an extravagant wedding as lawmakers scrambled to unite over the megabill.
The House passed the final bill Thursday afternoon after hours of tense debate and with help from President Trump, who spoke to several GOP holdouts ahead of the crucial vote. The Senate a day earlier pushed through their own bill, after adjusting the language to satisfy the parliamentarian’s Byrd Rule.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had voiced optimism throughout the process that they would have the legislation to Trump’s desk by July 4.
While they ultimately made good on the promise, it did not come without hiccups. From internal skepticism among the GOP over cuts to Medicaid and food stamps to how it would impact the national debt to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) record-breaking “magic minute” speech that delayed the vote, the bill faced an uphill battle.
Trump took a victory lap over the bill during a speech in Iowa, calling it a “declaration of independence from a really national decline.” On Friday, during a signing ceremony, the president echoed the sentiment.
“This is a triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy,” he said. “And I have to say, the people are happy.”
Democrats in both chambers have made it clear that they will use the legislation — which they dubbed the “big, ugly bill” or the “big, beautiful betrayal” — as fodder against the GOP in the upcoming midterms, zeroing in on the health care and food assistance cuts and the rollback of green energy tax credits.
Emanuel’s critique comes as the former mayor, who also previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan, has stoked speculation in recent weeks over whether he could launch a presidential bid in 2028.
“I have something I think I can offer,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins last month. “But I haven’t made that decision.”
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