Dems Start To Claim Credit For ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ They Voted Against

Democrats in Congress have begun to celebrate parts of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” — a measure they voted against.

Reps. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) issued a joint press release last week touting a provision tucked into the legislation that locked in $625 million for World Cup security. While the pair heralded a bipartisan push to secure funds geared toward safety across the 11 host cities in the United States for the 2026 tournament — in particular Kansas City, which has a metropolitan area that spans both their districts — they left out any mention of the vehicle by which the money passed.

“I’ve been proud to work with Congressman Cleaver and a bipartisan group of colleagues to advocate for these much-needed resources, and I’ll keep working to make sure Kansas City is ready to shine on the global stage,” Davids said.

“After joining with representatives from across the country to push for federal investments that will ensure a safe and orderly event, I’m very happy that we were able to secure $625 million to support security efforts in the 11 host cities, including Kansas City,” added Cleaver.

Both Democrats are co-chairs of the Congressional FIFA World Cup 2026 Caucus, which also has Republican members.

The “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which is hundreds of pages long, aims to fulfill many of President Donald Trump’s spending goals in his second term. Democrats, along with a couple of GOP holdouts, criticized the measure over its Medicaid reforms, as well as concerns about the debt and tax cuts benefiting the wealthy.

Davids and Cleaver were among those in their party to criticize the overall bill, but GOP lawmakers got the final laugh after they found out their colleagues across the aisle were bragging about a part of the legislation they actually liked.

“Oddly enough, this funding is provided through Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, which passed with zero Democrat votes,” quipped Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) in a post on X in response to a local report on the announcement by Davids and Cleaver.

“All House Democrats voted no on the One Big Beautiful Bill yet they are starting to claim the dough,” Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, said in another post.

Republicans have similarly been called out in the past for cheering parts of a bill they opposed.