Republicans are trying to turn Tax Day into a victory lap for last year’s tax cuts, but the pitch is landing awkwardly. Party leaders had expected the legislation to produce a surge in refunds and a political boost; instead, early indications show refunds rising only modestly, and most taxpayers say they have not noticed much difference.
Donald Trump has been pressing the case, calling the measure his “big, beautiful bill” and saying it “gave the American people the biggest ever tax cuts.” But the numbers do not match the size of the boast. Depending on the yardstick used, the 2025 tax cuts rank as either the third- or sixth-biggest since 1980, which still makes them large by recent standards but not the historic break Republicans are advertising.
That gap matters because the party is using Tax Day to argue that the law is already helping households, even as cost-of-living pressure keeps swallowing the attention. Grover Norquist said a quick end to the war with Iran could ease some of the pressure on prices that are currently overshadowing the tax-cut message. “But that’s not guaranteed. I run a taxpayer group. War’s kind of out of my control sometimes,” he said.
Republicans had hoped the legislation would show up in paychecks and refunds in a way voters could feel immediately. Instead, the benefit is proving harder to spot, which leaves the party with a familiar political problem: a big tax package that looks better on paper than it does on a household budget. If the refunds remain only modest and inflation concerns keep dominating, the tax cuts may be remembered less for what they delivered than for how difficult they were to sell.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Eric Swalwell officially resigned from Congress amid the threat of an expulsion vote and other misconduct allegations he has denied, and a special election to fill his vacant seat is set for 18 August. Lonna Drewes accused him at a Los Angeles press conference of drugging and raping her in 2018, saying he “did not consent to any sexual activity.” In Washington, House Democrats introduced a measure from Jamie Raskin that would create a commission to work with JD Vance on removing Trump under the 25th amendment if they determine he is no longer fit to serve, while the Senate advanced a separate Homeland Security funding fix that has stalled in the lower chamber. Trump also said talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, and the state department said it “expressed hope” after Israel and Lebanon agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed-upon time and place.
