See below for a statement from Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Executive Director Amy Hanauer on the federal midterm elections:
The economic and tax policies of the Trump administration that made life more unaffordable for most American families proved to be unpopular with voters.
Voters were unhappy with high prices stemming largely from tariffs and the Iran war. They were unhappy with inequality made worse by tax cuts that went almost entirely to the wealthiest Americans. And they were unhappy that corporations avoid taxes: after two rounds of Trump tax cuts, we found corporations paying the lowest average tax rate that ITEP in our 40 years of studying this issue.
In 2017 and again in 2025, President Trump and Republicans in Congress made their signature economic issue a tax cut to corporations and the wealthiest. And in 2018 and now in 2026, midterm voters rejected that inequality-swelling approach.
Moving forward, federal policymakers across the political spectrum need to listen to this clearly stated preference from voters and move swiftly to raise revenue from wealthy people and corporations, restore spending on health care and other basic needs, and shore up Social Security so that it can continue to reduce and prevent poverty for senior citizens, orphans, and people with disabilities.
