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<\/p>\nWASHINGTON \u2014 Congressional Republicans are starting to publicly and privately sound the alarm about their party\u2019s disjointed strategy to address Americans\u2019 affordability concerns, with some growing increasingly frustrated with President Donald Trump\u2019s sometimes cavalier attitude toward the subject.<\/p>\n
While Republicans say the high cost of living is a problem they inherited from President Joe Biden, many GOP lawmakers still think their party needs to sharpen its own message and platform ahead of the midterms \u2014 or else it could cost them their tenuous majorities in Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t do that, we would be morons, because the economy is very much on people\u2019s minds,\u201d Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, told NBC News. Democrats \u201cfailed to really hammer the economy, and it cost them the election,\u201d he added. \u201cIf we as Republicans fail to do the same, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if we had a similar turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly two dozen Republican senators, House members, strategists and congressional aides shared their concerns about their party\u2019s handling of affordability in interviews with NBC News. Another six acknowledged the issue but said the party will settle on the right strategy to address it.<\/p>\n
Their comments come after Democrats have secured wins in many of this year\u2019s elections, with voters citing economic concerns, and as Trump has dismissed the issue as a Democratic \u201choax,\u201d rhetoric that has privately frustrated some Republicans.<\/p>\n
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Even some of the most MAGA Republicans are calling for a pivot. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said it\u2019s not enough to fix the message: He said Republicans can only improve their standing by delivering real results to lower costs and grow wages.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople aren\u2019t dumb,\u201d Hawley said. \u201cThey know when they go to the grocery store what it costs and what it doesn\u2019t. They know what their rent costs. They know what their prescription drugs cost. And all of that stuff is too high. And they can\u2019t afford it. And they know that. So we\u2019ve got to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some Republicans have voiced their concerns to GOP leaders in private conversations, phone calls and meetings, according to two Republican lawmakers with direct knowledge of the discussions. One of those lawmakers said they also delivered a similar message to White House aides.<\/p>\n
And at least one House Republican \u2014 Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey \u2014 said he directly raised the issue with Trump during a call last week, though they were primarily focused on health care costs, which are set to skyrocket if Congress doesn\u2019t act before the end of this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cDozens of members and senators have been voicing concerns for several months to anyone that will listen,\u201d said a Republican strategist who works with congressional candidates. \u201cSenior White House aides have been a part of many of those discussions. Whether those aides have ever relayed the level of consternation to the president, that\u2019s the unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene<\/a>, who was one of Trump\u2019s top allies in Congress until recently<\/a>, has been among the vocal Republicans complaining that Trump has spent too much time on foreign policy<\/a> and not enough on domestic issues like the cost of living. Her frustrations led to a public falling-out with the president, which prompted her to announce she\u2019ll resign next month.<\/p>\n The public and private warnings come as Republicans have grown increasingly nervous about Trump\u2019s standing and the broader political environment. Trump\u2019s 36% approval rating in the latest Gallup poll<\/a>, the lowest mark in his second term, alarmed some in the GOP.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think there\u2019s challenges in a midterm year with our party in power,\u201d Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who represents a swing district and is retiring after this term, said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s always hard. And then, you know, the president\u2019s poll numbers today were 36% in Gallup, and I don\u2019t think our side should ignore that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gallup poll found Trump\u2019s approval declining significantly among Republicans and independents. Trump\u2019s handling of the economy \u2014 long a strength for him \u2014 was at just 36% approval, while his handling of health care and the federal budget were at 30% and 31%, respectively. \u201cI think there\u2019s red flags, and our party should take that threat serious,\u201d Bacon said.<\/p>\n The results of a special election in Tennessee this week, where the Republican candidate prevailed by 9 points in a district Trump carried by 22 points just last year, have also fueled the GOP\u2019s anxiety. Multiple voters who spoke with NBC News cited the cost of living as a top concern that drove them to the polls in that race.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly a wake-up call that the Democrats are gonna be ready to go, and we need to pick up our game on the issues that matter,\u201d Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee Republican, told NBC News. \u201cIt\u2019s always the economy, but health care has been put on the front burner, and we need to address that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Republican candidate in the race, Rep. Matt Van Epps, even acknowledged the issue during his victory speech in Nashville on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether we\u2019ll bring down the cost of living,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m tired of too many Republicans ceding affordability to Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican leaders urge calm<\/p>\n Republican leaders have sought to calm members by assuring them that Americans will start to feel better about the economy once key provisions from Trump\u2019s tax law fully kick in next year, such as no tax on tips<\/a> or overtime and an increase for the child tax credit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pressed by NBC News on whether Republicans are doing enough to address affordability concerns among Americans, Speaker Mike Johnson said his message to everybody is to \u201crelax.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are exactly on the trajectory of where we\u2019ve always planned to be. Steady at the wheel, everybody, it\u2019s going to be fine,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cOur best days are ahead of us. Americans are going to be feeling a lot better in the early part of next year.\u201d<\/p>\n But one senior House Republican, granted anonymity to share their views more candidly, believes it would be a mistake to rely on their mega law to assuage affordability concerns, arguing \u201cno one in America knows what\u2019s in that bill.\u201d<\/p>\n This lawmaker also complained that Johnson wasted almost two precious months of their majority \u2014 time they could have used to pass more cost-of-living bills or find a health care solution \u2014 by keeping the House out of session during the government shutdown. The speaker has defended his strategy, arguing it helped keep the pressure on Senate Democrats to fold, which they ultimately did.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no key kind of strategic messaging about these major wins in the \u2018one big, beautiful bill,\u2019\u201d the senior House Republican said. \u201cThis is a blown majority.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly called affordability a \u201choax,\u201d a \u201ccon job\u201d and a \u201cscam\u201d by Democrats, to the consternation of some Republicans. In an interview with NBC News this week, Vice President JD Vance said<\/a> that Trump \u201ccertainly understands that prices got way too high\u201d but that Democrats are blaming his administration for not immediately solving \u201caffordability problems caused by Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe hoax is the idea that it\u2019s our fault and not the Democrats\u2019 fault. And I do think that\u2019s a totally bulls— narrative,\u201d Vance said. Johnson made a similar point.<\/p>\n A White House official insisted that the president\u2019s policies have bolstered the economy, pointing to fuel standards and lowering drug prices among the policies that show the president\u2019s ongoing commitment to affordability.<\/p>\n But there are signs the White House knows it needs to show more sensitivity to voters\u2019 perceptions about the economy. Next week, Trump will travel to northeast Pennsylvania \u2014 in a competitive area of the battleground state \u2014 to tout his economic agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re now cleaning up what they still don\u2019t have any actual solutions for,\u201d the White House official said, referring to Democrats. \u201cIt\u2019s more of a narrative thing than a substantive thing. With the trip coming up here, it\u2019s more to reiterate or underscore that we\u2019ve been working on this since Day 1. That\u2019s not changing anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n On Capitol Hill, House GOP conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, of Michigan, told Republicans during a closed-door meeting this week that leadership plans to stay laser-focused on passing bills to tackle costs and vowed to stay on message on the issue, according to two GOP sources in the room. Directly following that meeting, she then touted the GOP\u2019s \u201caffordability agenda\u201d during a weekly press conference and highlighted low gas prices.<\/p>\n Republicans also received a presentation during a Republican Study Committee lunch this week from Trump\u2019s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, who advised them to focus on topics like reducing drug prices when talking about health care and to be cognizant of voters\u2019 feelings about the economy, according to attendees.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the message from Fabrizio is just identifying things that people relate to. They don\u2019t want to hear about frivolous things. They want to hear about what things that affect them,\u201d said Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who delivered a floor speech on affordability on Thursday.<\/p>\n Changing how voters ‘feel’<\/p>\n One of the challenges for Republicans is that while things like gas and egg prices<\/a> are on the decline, many Americans are still feeling the squeeze from inflation<\/a>, interest rates<\/a> and a tightening job market<\/a>. The Biden administration similarly struggled with whether and how to address voters\u2019 sour perceptions about the economy while some key economic indicators were improving. The reality is, it\u2019s difficult to tell voters how they should feel.<\/p>\n \u201cThe economy has to feel better, and feeling better sometimes is subjective,\u201d said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who was Trump\u2019s interior secretary in his first term.<\/p>\n Zinke says that in order for that to happen, interest rates need to come down and tariffs need to actually result in trade deals. Trump\u2019s tariffs have contributed to the high prices and been another source of consternation inside the GOP.<\/p>\n Another challenge is that a major piece of Trump\u2019s tax law was just an extension of the current tax rates, meaning voters won\u2019t feel much of a difference. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, thinks his party needs to do a better job reminding voters what would have happened if Republicans hadn\u2019t acted.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do need to say that a lot more, and remind people, \u2018Do you know you were about to lose thousands of dollars of your paycheck, and we stopped it?\u2019\u201d he told NBC News.<\/p>\n Yet it\u2019s far from clear Republicans have an agenda that can meaningfully ease the pain voters feel \u2014 at least in the coming year.<\/p>\n Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said hopes that prices will come down are misplaced, at least as long as the U.S. keeps adding trillions in debt each year.<\/p>\n \u201cFor prices to actually go down \u2014 people kind of misinterpret this \u2014 we\u2019d have to actually have deflation,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd what we have is less inflation. So it\u2019s better that prices go up 2% a year than 9%. \u2026 But it\u2019s not like slowing down inflation all of a sudden means you go to the grocery store and it’s less. It means it\u2019s just not going up as rapidly, which isn\u2019t that satisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who faces voters next year, cited \u201cpermitting reform\u201d first when asked what Congress should do to lower costs. He said that would make it easier to build utility lines and generate energy.<\/p>\n \u201cThings like that, that we have control over, are on the agenda,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re just not yet accomplished, and they need to get accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n Hawley has pitched his new plan to allow out-of-pocket spending on insurance premiums to be deducted from taxes and to create a $25,000 deduction for medical expenses. He said he\u2019d also like to pursue a cap on prescription drug spending and raise the federal minimum wage, a cause opposed by most Republicans.<\/p>\n Johnson has also promised to hold a vote on a health care proposal before the end of the year. But it\u2019s unclear whether Republicans will be able to get a health care bill to Trump\u2019s desk, especially before Affordable Care Act subsidies expire in January.<\/p>\n