A Big Beautiful Payday (Funded By Cuts to Your Healthcare)

A brand new look at congressional Republicans’ personal stake in the Big Ugly Bill

Written by Caroline Ciccone, President of Accountable.US

It’s week 2 of the shutdown and congressional Republicans are still refusing to protect healthcare for millions of Americans. In more ways than one, today’s fight was triggered by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill—a massive betrayal of American families that puts millions into the pockets of billionaires and giant corporations, while we are left to pay the bill.

One major beneficiary of the Big Ugly Bill? Congressional Republicans themselves. Through our Cash in Congress campaign, we found that nearly 70% of Republicans on the Hill stood to personally benefit from the bill.

But what does that mean?

Let’s break it down with a deep dive into 10 key congressional Republicans: Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ), Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK), Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH), Rep. John James (R-MI), and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO).

Together, they’re saving up to $328,400 in 2026. On their own, most are seeing five-figure benefits.

Rep. Bresnahan, who reported up to $1.97 million in total income in 2024 and has a net worth of $48.3 million, could see a tax benefit of up to $23,600 from the Big Ugly Bill. Meanwhile, 26,242 people in his district will lose their healthcare if congressional Republicans have their way.

With $883,000 in total income in 2024, Rep. Wittman could see a tax benefit of nearly $60,000 from the Big Ugly Bill. Similarly, 20,859 of his constituents will lose health coverage.

Rep. Carey, who boasted $1.2 million in total income in 2024 (up to $1 million total in pass-through income), could see a tax benefit of up to $50,500. While over 30,000 people in his district could lose healthcare.

It’s not just healthcare; the cost of everything from food to housing has gone up in Trump’s America. While millions of Americans struggle with the weight of growing housing costs, six of these ten congressional Republicans are landlords who reported $3.2 million in pass-through business income collectively in 2024. These members—like Rep. Calvert, who holds 14 properties valued at least $7.9 million, could see up to $236,800 in combined tax breaks from the Big Ugly Bill.

And what’s worse is they’re knee-deep with the industry influencers: these lawmakers took big donations from the real estate industry, which spent $20.3 million lobbying for perks in Trump’s tax scam.

The self-serving among Republicans in Congress is bad—but don’t just take our word for it. Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Fair Share America, which organized the “Healthcare Over Billionaires” shutdown rally, argues, “While millions of Americans are worrying about how to pay for healthcare, Republican lawmakers are using their power to line their own pockets. This report makes clear that the congressional Republican agenda is about helping themselves and their wealthy and well-connected friends, not the people they were elected to represent.”

It’s impossible for hardworking Americans to get ahead when Republicans in Congress are too busy looking out for themselves to set up a system that benefits their own constituents. As the Big Ugly Bill strips Americans of access to affordable healthcare, congressional Republicans made sure Trump’s scam looked out for their bottom line, not ours.

Here’s the full list of 10 congressional Republicans:

Caroline Ciccone is the President of Accountable.US