Vice President Vance speaks at Alta Refrigeration in Peachtree City, Ga., on Thursday to tout the Trump administration’s sweeping domestic policy agenda signed into law in July.
Stephen Fowler/NPR
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Stephen Fowler/NPR
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. — Vice President Vance appeared in Georgia Thursday, promoting tax cuts included in President Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill signed into law last month.
Speaking at an industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturer in a suburb south of Atlanta, the vice president said the legislation was reflective of a “government that stands up for you instead of fights you.”
“That’s why we had the biggest tax cut for families that this country has ever seen, because we believe that you ought to keep more of your hard-earned money,” Vance said. “And we believe that if you’re busting your rear end every single day, the government ought to make it easier for you and not harder for you.”
Recent polls show voters are opposed to many of the key provisions of the law, which shifts resources away from the social safety net toward the tax cuts, increased immigration enforcement and other Trump administration priorities.
Yet Vance used the speech to attack Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is one of the most vulnerable senators on the ballot in 2026, for opposing the measure.
“Why don’t we ask Jon Ossoff, ‘Why did you vote to raise taxes? Why did you vote to keep illegal aliens on Medicaid? Why did you vote to make sure that people who work overtime and earn their income from tips pay as much to the federal government as possible?'” Vance asked.
Speaking to reporters Thursday ahead of Vance’s visit, Ossoff said it was “embarassing” that the vice president would tout the legislation that Ossoff said is “already resulting in harm to hospitals.”
“Just this week, Evans Memorial Hospital in southeast Georgia said that because of the bill that the vice president is here to defend, they’re going to have a $3.5 million financial hole next year,” Ossoff said. “That hospital here in Georgia is now warning that they may have to cut the ICU.”
Ossoff and other Democrats have highlighted the law’s changes to coverage under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act that experts believe will result in fewer people being insured.
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group of professional staffers who provide information and analysis to support the legislative process, estimates that the law could result in 10 million people losing health coverage, less income for the bottom 10% of Americans and an additional $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit.
Vance pushed back against the criticism Thursday, decrying the CBO estimates as “absolutely atrocious” and that the health care changes are not about kicking people off of insurance but rather “about kicking illegal aliens the hell out of this country so that we can preserve health care for the American families who need it.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have indicated they will use the tax cuts and other policies approved by the GOP-controlled Congress as a primary campaign message in the 2026 midterms, though some changes would not take effect until after that election.