Illinois congressman pushes to repeal federal tax cuts
[July 15, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A Democrat Illinois congressman sparked pushback
after urging fellow Democrats to repeal all aspects of President Donald
Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” at the earliest moment possible.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., said in a virtual town hall last week he
wants Democrats to swiftly repeal the working families tax cut, among
other Republican policies enacted during this congressional term backed
by the president.
Casten addressed a variety of concerns constituents brought his way –
many worried about cuts to federal services like Medicaid and Social
Security insolvency – while on the town hall call.
“We are pursuing litigation where we can to push back on that. In some
cases, we're having some success, but you can't really – the cutting and
funding, that was done by an act of Congress, so you can't say they're
breaking the law. And so we're basically going to keep fighting to
repeal that whole damn bill once we get the gavels back,” Casten said.
Casten doubled down in a series of posts on the social platform X after
Republicans were critical of his statement.
An account operated by the Republican National Committee, which
reportedly operates closely with the political arm of the Trump
administration, quickly captured and published Casten’s statement,
criticizing him for wanting to reverse course on what it called the “the
largest tax cuts in American history.”
Casten hit back, arguing that the OBBBA’s tax cuts aren’t truly helpful
for working families in the U.S.
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“The idea that these cuts are helping the working class is total BS,
which you know. The ‘no tax on tips’ is only on the incremental tip
income, only for families earning [less than] $150K/year and it
expires in 2028,” Casten said in one post.
According to the June, 2026, federal Monthly Treasury statement, the
nation’s deficit for the current calendar year is about $1.4
trillion.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget responded to the
deficit data, noting that it is higher than the previous year and
the federal government is on track to borrow at least $2 trillion or
more this year.
Casten blamed the OBBBA for worsening the fiscal conditions of the
government, citing the CRFB’s projection of $4.7 trillion being
added to the deficit by 2035.
The federal lawmaker commended the Illinois Legislature for its
handling of federal cuts, despite criticism from some Republican
state lawmakers, who have said the state paying the difference means
even higher taxes statewide.
“Illinois has done a pretty good job to try to squeeze the balloon,
but there's just a lot less money coming to Illinois right now,”
Casten said.
Covering the difference left by cuts was a common thread during this
year’s spring legislative session in Springfield, with Gov. J.B.
Pritzker recently signed laws to expand state spending to the dismay
of many Republican lawmakers.
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