The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting New Hampshire Democrats U.S. Reps. Maggie Goodander and Chris Pappas for voting against the GOP’s massive tax cut and border security bill Tuesday night.
The legislation, often referred to as the Republicans’ “one big, beautiful bill,” narrowly passed the House in a 217-215 vote, with every Democrat voting no. One Republican, gadfly Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, also voted against the spending plan.
The bill is at the beginning of the budgeting process and is likely to change a great deal in the coming months. But the legislation rejected by Goodlander and Pappas would have cut taxes by approximately $4 trillion over the next decade. That includes extending the so-called “Trump tax cuts” passed in 2017 which are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
The bill also funds increased border security, including a border wall, and new spending on the military.
“Last night, Maggie Goodlander – and every single one of her Democrat cronies – voted to raise taxes on her constituents by an average of $3,507 a year,” NRCC Spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement. “House Democrats have poured gasoline on the inflation blaze for years, and instead of delivering much-needed relief, Maggie Goodlander chose to keep New Hampshirites down. This politics over people approach is un-American and destined to fail.”
O’Toole also called out Pappas for his “no” vote.
“Chris Pappas had the chance to empower New Hampshirites and make life more affordable. Instead, he caved to the radical left and voted to crush Americans with higher taxes and more wasteful government spending. New Hampshire won’t soon forget it.”
Pappas, who also opposed the original Trump tax cuts when he ran for Congress the first time in 2018, released a statement before Tuesday night’s vote.
“This cruel and fiscally reckless budget will take away health care and food assistance from tens of thousands of hard-working Granite Staters and add upwards of $4 trillion to the national debt, all so Republicans in Washington can reward the wealthiest Americans with new tax breaks,” Pappas said.
“This resolution is not a fair deal for New Hampshire. That’s why I voted to block this radical, partisan, and truly dangerous budget resolution,” Goodlander posted on social media.
Both Goodlander and Pappas criticized the House spending plan for adding trillions to the federal debt. However, Pappas voted to add more than $5 trillion in new debt during the four years of Biden’s presidency, and Goodlander praised those spending bills — including the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” — during her campaign last year.
And while Democratic economists like Jason Furman have acknowledged that Biden-era spending sparked the worst inflation in 40 years, Goodlander claimed that wasn’t true, arguing instead it was caused by “shrinkflation” and price gouging.
New Hampshire’s all-Democrat federal delegation has also been outspoken in its criticism of the Trump administration’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cost-cutting program. In particular, the state’s senior Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has been adamant in her defense of spending on foreign aid, including controversial uses of tax dollars by USAID.
Shaheen has shrugged off multiple reports of USAID funding going to terror-supporting organizations, and she dismissed reports of questionable spending on projects like DEI musicals and LGBT comic books as “made up.” Those reports have been confirmed by media outlets like The New York Times.
On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department announced that, in part with the help of DOGE, it has identified approximately $60 billion in cuts to U.S. foreign assistance spending.
In a statement announcing a pause on USAID spending in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
