Republicans plot a strategy to fend off Democratic onslaught against Trump megabill

As Democrats mount a full-court press accusing Republicans of slashing Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich, the GOP will attempt to shift focus to other provisions.

WASHINGTON — The war over President Donald Trump’s megabill is just beginning, with both parties saying it will define the midterm elections next year, when control of Congress is up for grabs.

Republicans start on the back foot, with recent surveys showing the bill is unpopular, even with pro-Trump cohorts. Still, GOP leaders say they have a plan to turn things around and make the legislation Trump signed into law last week part of an offensive push to protect their House and Senate majorities.

Meanwhile, Democrats are gearing up for a political onslaught aimed at unseating Republicans who voted for it. The House Democrats’ campaign arm has already launched a digital ad buy on Meta across 35 GOP-held competitive districts slamming lawmakers for voting to harm rural hospitals. Part of Democrats’ strategy is to highlight that many Republicans who threatened to vote down the bill because of steep Medicaid cuts ended up voting for it anyway.

“The so-called moderate House Republicans have shamelessly lied for months — hiding behind meaningless letters and performative tweets — claiming they’d protect Medicaid, food assistance and energy jobs,” said Justin Chermol, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “But their vote is the only thing that matters, and they’ll pay the price next year.”

Republicans say they have a strategy to avoid a repeat of the midterms in 2018, when Democrats attacked them for Trump’s original tax cuts, which they argued disproportionately benefited the wealthy, and for seeking to cut health care for the working class by unsuccessfully trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Democrats went on to take back the House majority.