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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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A new poll found that most people believe that President Donald Trump's signature spending bill will primarily benefit wealthy individuals while harming middle-class and low-income individuals.
Why It Matters
The more than 1,000-page One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes about $4.9 trillion in tax breaks, budget cuts, and new work requirements for Medicaid, among other budgetary changes, passed 215-214 in the House last month following weeks of negotiations. Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio voted against it, joining every House Democrat.
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According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will add $2.4 trillion to the U.S. national debt. It also stated that the legislation reduces taxes by $3.75 trillion.
The poll comes as the bill is being debated in the Senate and as Elon Musk spoke out against it, sparking a feud with Trump.
What To Know
According to the CBS News/YouGov poll, 47 percent of respondents believe the One Big Beautiful Bill will hurt middle-class individuals, while 31 percent think it will benefit them. The poll also found that 54 percent of those surveyed believe the bill will hurt poor people, while 31 percent think it will help them.
At the same time, 60 percent of respondents believe the bill will benefit wealthy individuals, and 7 percent think it will hurt them.
The poll of 2,428 adults was conducted between June 4 and June 6 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points.
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What People Are Saying
Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K. told Newsweek: "This Bill continues the direction of travel Trump began in his first term. His economic philosophy is to reduce the tax and regulation burden on the richest portion of the U.S. population in the expectation this will have a trickle-down benefit on the rest. It didn't really happen from 2017-2021 and there's not much indication it will this time. That narrative is playing out more and more in the media and will doubtless be amplified by Trump's new frenemy, Elon Musk.
"The MAGA base voted for Trump in order to see more money in their wallets. They have little fondness for Musk, but ironically, it could take the mega-wealthy Tech Bro to cut through the Trump rhetoric and show middle class and working class America that the Big Beautiful Bill has some ugly edges outside the top 1 one percent.
"Meanwhile, a third of the Senate is up for re-election in 2026 including a number of Republicans in vulnerable seats. The likes of Thom Tillis [of North Carolina] and [Maine's] Susan Collins may well be open to representations from a wide range of lobbying groups unhappy with the bill. And if they add Congressional doubt to the bill's credibility, Trump's hope of a positive legacy from the cornerstone of his second term may be very much under threat."
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, told Fox News at the end of May: "We will get it done. Now, it's going to be bumpy, it's going to be messy. But we will get it done because it is the main vehicle for us to deliver on the mandate from the voters."
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement: "The Congressional Budget Office just confirmed that Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is, in Elon Musk's words, a 'disgusting abomination.' This independent analysis blows a hole through Congressional Republicans' lies—this bill will rip health care away from millions of people and still jack up the debt to fund trillions in tax breaks for billionaires and billionaire corporations."
President Donald Trump, on Truth Social: "It's time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the bill a "reckless, regressive and reprehensible GOP tax scam," and vowed to use it against Republicans in the upcoming midterm election cycle.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, at a press conference after the bill passed the House: "This is a big day. We said on the House floor: It's finally morning in America again."
He added: "Today, the House has passed generational, truly nation-shaping legislation to reduce spending and permanently lower taxes for families and job-creators, secure the border, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength and make government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans."
What Happens Next
The bill is headed to the Senate, where changes are expected as legislators aim for a July 4 deadline. The chamber has a 53-47 Republican majority, so there is only a little room for GOP dissent if the bill is to become law.
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