House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain says Democrats are responsible for escalating concerns about the cost of living among Americans.
McClain, the fourth-ranking House Republican, is helping craft the party’s message on affordability, which she says will be the top issue in next year’s midterm elections. Although Democrats have aggressively attacked Republicans on cost-of-living issues, the Michigan Republican says former President Joe Biden’s economic policies are to blame for the higher costs of living we’re seeing today. (Related: Democrats stand behind your cryPaying electricity bills, the report confirms)
“We were in a whole world of hurt, and we’re digging ourselves out of that hole under Biden,” McClain told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview. “We just have to remind people that Biden and the Democrats created the fire and we are putting it out.”
Republican efforts to pin current economic conditions on Biden may prove difficult as a growing number of voters appear skeptical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. Republicans oversaw heavy losses in the November elections, with the winning Democratic candidates blaming Trump for the economic pressure felt by some Americans.
However, McClain did not ignore voters’ concerns about rising costs of living, which helped propel Republicans to victory in 2024.
“I shop at the same grocery stories and sit at the same kitchen tables that you all sit at,” McLean said.
46% of Americans say the cost of living is the worst in their lives, including more than a third of Trump 2024 voters, according to a Politico poll. reconnaissance Released earlier in December. November Fox News reconnaissance It found that registered voters, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, hold Trump (62%) more responsible than Biden (32%) for current economic conditions.
McClain argues that the tax-break policies passed under the Republicans’ Big Beautiful Big Bill Act (OBBBA) and the party’s efforts to boost energy production and roll back federal regulations need more time to ease voters’ pockets.
“Democrats burned down the freakin’ house and we’re laying the foundation,” McClain told DCNF. “Then we have to get the carpenter in and then put up the walls. Then we have to get the drywall. It’s a process.”
When asked if House Republicans would pursue additional legislation to address affordability before the midterm elections, McClain mentioned health care and permitting reform.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this week on multilateral validity invoicewhich was called the “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.” The legislation would fund cost-sharing reductions in Obamacare, target the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry, and expand association health plans among other provisions.
The bill does not include an expansion of the pandemic-era Affordable Care Act’s signature tax subsidies set to expire at the end of December and favored by moderate GOP and Democratic lawmakers.
Most Republicans, including McClain, argue that the enhanced subsidies are too expensive, enrich big insurance companies and are rampant in fraud.
“I don’t want American taxpayers to subsidize big insurance companies. I want actual premiums to go down,” McLean told DCNF.
McClain also sparked interest in long-awaited permitting reform legislation that could reach the House floor as soon as this week. The legislation is expected to streamline approval of new energy projects, which Republicans say could help ease concerns about affordability.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Hoyer/AFP) (Photo by Daniel Hoyer/AFP via Getty Images)
McClain expects Republicans expanding existing tax cuts and enacting new tax breaks will pay dividends when Americans file taxes in early 2026. No Democrat voted for Trump’s massive tax and spending bill, which Republicans say averted a $4 trillion tax hike.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said on Tuesday that Americans would likely see “very large amounts of refunds” during next year’s tax levy. Filing season Due to political changes in the Republican budget law. Provisions eliminating taxes on inverse wages and overtime wages are significantly retroactive to January 1, 2025.
MacLean ripped into the legacy media, which she says largely ignored the tax benefits within the landmark budget law crafted by Republicans.
“There’s no amount of left-wing media that’s going to be able to say, ‘You didn’t get an extra $10,000 in your pocket,’” McLean said.
McClain led a three-day tour through swing districts in northeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the August recess to promote the budget bill. The President met with small business owners and manufacturing leaders as she touted a wide range of tax benefits and gathered first-hand accounts of the law’s implementation on the ground.
MacLean said she has more stops planned in 2026 to promote the Republicans’ affordability agenda.
“We do it to bring stories to life and actually connect with voters,” McLean said.
Andy Shee Napier contributed to this report.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news service, is available free to any legitimate news publisher who can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline, and their affiliation with DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.