Senate Republicans say their conference isn’t doing enough to bring down costs for Americans, and they want leaders to step it up.
“Here we have right in front of us, bigger than Dallas, a chance to address the cost of living without Democratic obstructionism. And we won’t take advantage of it,” Sen. John Kennedy told reporters earlier this week, calling for a reconciliation bill that he said “would reduce rules and regulations, which would lower the cost of goods and services.”
“I don’t understand why Senator Thune will not bring it to the floor,” he added.
Other Republican senators agree that they aren’t taking the steps they should on affordability — or messaging on the matter as effectively as President Donald Trump. Eight Republican senators told NOTUS they could not think of a singular member of the Republican Party who messages quite as well as Trump on affordability.
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But as Trump’s public appearances on affordability turn to claims of a “hoax” and Democrats continue to hammer Republicans on cost of living ahead of the midterms, some lawmakers say it’s also up to them to improve the party’s standing.
“If I were the president, what I would want for Christmas is a Congress that would implement more of his agenda,” Sen. Josh Hawley said. “Really, if you want to see more actions on costs, and the ability to bring down inflation, you’re going to put it to Congress.”
Hawley said Senate Republicans have largely failed to measure up to the president when it comes to action on lowering costs. Congress could have passed legislation on several of the president’s recent suggestions to improve the cost of living, including one proposal to cap the cost of prescription drugs, Hawley added.
Kennedy said he has repeatedly urged Majority Leader John Thune to bring another party-line bill to the floor to address those cost-of-living concerns, to no avail.
Thune told reporters on Wednesday that he wouldn’t take any option off the table that “gets stuff done,” but added that he would prefer to see the two sides negotiate.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Thune said. “It’s always better in my view at 60. If we could do something at 60, those results tend to be more durable over time, but I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
Though Trump ran his 2024 campaign on lowering costs, the president has garnered criticism for dismissing questions about the cost of living during his second term, most recently calling affordability a “con job” manufactured by Democrats.
Republican leaders said repeatedly over the summer that Americans could expect to feel the economic benefits of the reconciliation bill as soon as late fall. But that promise doesn’t seem to have come to fruition. In a November poll by Yahoo/YouGov, nearly half of respondents said Trump has done more to raise prices than lower them, and Trump’s approval rating fell to its lowest in the president’s second term last month.
Sen. Jon Husted echoed the idea that Senate Republicans have more to do on affordability. Husted said he hopes to see Congress step up and legislate on issues like housing policy and energy prices that affect people’s everyday lives.
“We need to do more on the regulatory environment to make sure energy prices are under control because energy prices are inputs into everything that we buy in this world,” Husted said. “You know, the economy and what things cost is always an issue for people.”
Sen. John Hoeven told NOTUS that Trump can use his speaking tour to explain when voters might ultimately feel the benefits of the bill. Hoeven added he’s still confident that Trump is an effective leader when it comes to messaging on the cost of living.
“He’s got to talk about how, by cutting the regulatory burden, by giving people tax relief, that they’re going to see and feel these things in terms of affordability,” Hoeven said. “He’s got to make sure that they know that we’re very focused on it.”
Hawley, though, warned that messaging from Trump without any concrete action from Congress might not be enough. The senator said that the cost of living is ultimately not a communication issue but a substance issue –– if Republicans don’t act, then voters are bound to express their dissatisfaction.
“You don’t change voters’ minds by telling them, ‘well, this is actually good, or bad.’ They know, they’re paying the bills,” Hawley said. “Unless Congress actually acts, I think we’re going to be in a world of hurt.”
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