House GOP campaign arm ties vulnerable Democrats to Biden in new ads

The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCC) on Monday launched its first paid media campaign of the 2022 midterm cycle seeking to tie 17 vulnerable House Democrats to President Biden. 

House Democrats are grappling with how to pass a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package to expand social safety net programs, which the NRCC took aim at, highlighting the tax increases that will pay for the legislation’s provisions.

“Prices are going up, paychecks are going down,” a narrator says. The ad goes on to accuse Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and the vulnerable Democrats of making “things worse with the biggest tax hike in decades.”

While a number of moderate Democrats have taken issue with the size of the spending package, progressives have maintained reducing the scope of the bill is a non-starter for them.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) hit back at the ads on Monday, labeling them as “misleading.” 

“Extremist Republican Ringleaders Kevin McCarthy and Tom Emmer are cutting misleading stunt ads about President Biden’s popular economic agenda to distract from the fact House Democrats are the ones to thank for getting our economy back on track,” said DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor. “Every Republican voted to block the very measures responsible for our economic recovery. Instead of helping the American people, they’ve spent the last year fueling conspiratorial lies about life-saving vaccines, prolonging this pandemic and threatening our economic progress. House Democrats are focused on making historic investments in America’s future and ensuring the uber-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.”

The ad comes as Biden faces dwindling approval ratings nine months into his first term. A Gallup poll released last week showed the president’s approval rating dipping to 43 percent.

House Democrats face a time crunch to pass much of Biden’s agenda this week. They are preparing to vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure on Thursday, which House progressives have vowed won’t pass without moving the reconciliation bill alongside it. Lawmakers must also pass a bill to prevent a government shutdown and avoid a debt default.

Updated at 10:40 a.m.