Maximum Overdrive Pressure on These 6 Senators for Trump’s Tax Nightmare
Regardless of party affiliation, the OBBBA will obliterate medical coverage, likely cut your take-home pay, and give trillions to the wealthiest among us.
The Time is Now
From this moment until the time the legislation is fed into the shredder to die, it’s on us (all of us) to apply maximum pressure to the Senate Republicans I cover below to reject Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).
Ironically, the senators from states most affected by the Medicaid and tax giveaways to the wealthiest are from red states. There is no irony lost on this point: regardless of where you live, this list of Senators needs to hear loudly and clearly that you reject this bill, the closed-door dealmaking being done, and demand that it be killed before it advances further in the l
awmaking process.
Remember, just last month, the bill passed in the House of Representatives by just one vote. Mike Johnson, creepy smile intact, got on all the major Sunday news programs and whined about how hard it was to get agreement on the bill with the various coalitions in the Republican Party’s House. When it went to the Senate, it was met with instant adverse reactions from Senators, who had a long list of grievances.
Two Big Rifts to Push On
In the Senate, there are two significant divides over the bill:
One concerns cuts to Medicaid to fund the tax breaks afforded to the super-wealthy. These include cuts to Medicaid that will affect how and if hospitals can treat people, not to mention basic care like checkups and routine visits for usually benign (when treated) illnesses. 10+ million people will effectively lose health coverage under the bill. At the same time, new work requirements will create an avalanche of paperwork that people who are sick already can’t be expected to deal with. Right there, under the proposed law, they’d be cut off.
The other is the divide over additions to the deficit. In the House, they used an accounting trick to bluff us into thinking that our current tax bill (which has added trillions, making up the $34 trillion the deficit currently stands at) is the “baseline.” That means all downstream math used for public talking points treats the expiring Trump 2017 tax cuts as “normal.” Magic happens: The debt-to-GDP ratio decreases from over $5 trillion to less than $2.7 trillion.
The entirety of the Democratic Party, for its survival, is not voting for this garbage piece of legislation. It’s likely any Democrat who switched sides would be run out of their district and banished to the wilderness.
Vast Expansion of Executive Power
Before we dive into the individual senators’ key to the blockage of this bill, there are at least four other major provisions you should know about:
There’s a provision to consolidate all antitrust power into the Justice Department, taking it away from the Federal Trade Commission, which would hand Trump vast power in the investigations (or lack thereof) into antitrust complaints. Consider Trump’s sprawling network of grift businesses, which are personally under his control and free from accountability to the American people. It could increase graft from the administration to even higher levels.
There’s another provision to limit Federal Court powers. Although being possibly ruled out by the Senate Parliamentarian, this provision would make it much harder for courts to issue preliminary injunctions against any executive action unless the plaintiffs post a bond. This makes judicial oversight much harder and adds all the more power to Trump’s plate.
There’s a 10-year moratorium on Artificial Intelligence by the States. This would completely stop oversight of a vast, sweeping, and rapidly changing technology. The consequences could be severe, as the field is quickly expanding, and the government's ability to regulate AI is essential for protecting consumers, students, researchers, and many other stakeholders across various fields. Remember, the goal with this provision is to stop states from creating regulations for AI. We know so little about how to regulate it now; putting a moratorium on it could have vast impacts across the country, affecting how it’s used, what it’s used for, and the most significant aspect of all: Defining the ethical implementation of its abilities.
There’s a giant expansion to the immigration and border enforcement, adding 10,000 new deportation officers, providing $10,000 signing bonuses for the thugs who want the jobs. This ensures the raids we’re seeing now, with the disruption of quiet communities and productive businesses, will become a fixture of everyday life. No, thank you.
Who and How to Call, Email, and Apply Pressure
First up, Rand Paul (R-KY) is the one Senator who’s voted against the legislation at every step. He’s opposed to the significant increases in military spending, as well as raising the debt ceiling to $5 trillion, which would make debt-based funding of the tax cuts to the rich possible. Keep in mind that as you consider whether to act, the simple math doesn’t add up: We’re already using the no-limit black platinum credit card of the United States to cover the cost of the top 10% tax cuts. It should be, you’d think, a no-brainer that if we can’t live within our means, giving cuts to the rich makes no sense.
Rand Paul
There are arguments that you’ll hear various Senate and House leaders make, as well as Trump. The “big pitch” is something Republicans have been doing since before Reagan took office, and if you’re old enough to remember it, it’s called “trickle-down economics.”
The promise is that by cutting taxes for the rich, those individuals will be incentivized to invest in new opportunities in the U.S. As a result, the tide of financial prosperity that follows will lift all boats, including those of small businesses like ours. (And of course, the converse of that is that if they’re taxed, they’ll leave. I say, if that’s the best you can do, go right ahead and don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.)
The largest problem with it is that it’s a complete lie.
Kentucky’s Louisville zip code is 40202.
RAND PAUL CONTACT INFO
Washington, D.C. Office
167 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-4343
Web Contact Form Link: https://www.paul.senate.gov/connect/
Main State Office (Bowling Green, KY): 1029 State Street, Bowling Green, KY 42101
Bowling Green Tel: (270) 782-8303
X: @RandPaul
When you call, you don’t need to identify which state you’re from. We are protected by the First Amendment’s freedom of speech to contact Senators. The legislation they’re trying to pass affects all Americans, so you’re very much within your rights to light up their switchboard or website.
Not once, over the past 50 years, has trickle-down economics proven viable. Study after study (even partisan, conservative think tanks have shown this) have refuted the claim that letting wealthy people off the hook for taxes does anybody but them any good. We’ve seen the most significant transfer of wealth in the history of the world to the top 1%, ever. By any way you want to measure it. So, no, tax cuts do not necessarily lead to better financial outcomes for the country.
Susan Collins
Second, Susan Collins (R-Maine) faces re-election this year. To nobody’s “concern” (snark) or surprise, she’s been like one of the trucks in the Transformer movies, shifting shape from being a supporter of the legislation to an opponent of it. Someone handed her a demographic map showing exactly how she would lose power if this were to go through.
The short facts are: Her highest-density ranks of voters are elderly and low-income constituents. So, applying pressure here is a good move, even if you’re not from Maine. Let her office know loud and proud you oppose the bill.
You’re welcome to use a zip code from Portland, Maine, if you’re asked where you might hypothetically live: it’s 04101. See my previous note about First Amendment protections you’re afforded.
SEN COLLINS CONTACT INFO
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2523
Augusta Office: 68 Sewall Street, Room 507, Augusta, ME 04330
Tel (Augusta): 207-622-8414
Bangor Office: 202 Harlow Street, Suite 201, Bangor, ME 04401
Tel (Bangor): 207-945-0417
Biddeford Office: 160 Main Street, Biddeford, ME 04005
Tel (Biddeford): 207-283-1101
Portland Office: One Canal Plaza, Suite 802, Portland, ME 04101
Tel (Portland): (207) 618-5560
Contact Form Link: https://www.collins.senate.gov/contact
On X: @SenatorCollins
Instagram: @senatorsusancollins
Senator Collins appears to have an understatement problem. She was quoted to the press as remarking, “We’re still trying to figure out what the provider tax reforms are, but I’m very worried about our rural hospitals in Maine.” That’s likely because those hospitals will most likely have to close altogether if this law passes in its current form.
Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is the next Senator to bother. Her angst is fueled by several problems she has with the Big Beautiful Bill. She doesn’t like the phase-out of the tax credits for clean energy, because those benefit her state. She’s also part of the same caucus that believes in saving her own behind, which means the Bill contains the same Medicaid and SNAP benefit cuts that will cause her constituents to wander the tundra of Alaska with a big “no” vote the next time Murkowski is up for re-election.
LISA MURKOWSKI CONTACT INFO
522 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 202-224-6665, Toll Free (Alaska) 877-829-6030
Anchorage Office: 510 L Street Suite 600, Anchorage, AK 99501
Anchorage Tel: 907-271-3735
Fairbanks Office: Fairbanks Federal Building, 101 12 Ave, Rm 172, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Fairbanks Tel: 907 456-0233
Juneau Office: 800 Glacier Ave, Suite 101, Juneau, AK 99801
Juneau Tel: 907-586-7277
Web Contact Link: https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/contact
Josh Hawley
Next is Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri). Senator Hawley, if you notice the state he’s from, isn’t coming from a place where they can boast about their state ranking – unless they’re boasting about a race to the bottom. In that case, they’re doing great.
Josh Hawley is in a deep red state politically, but more likely as a consequence of low-information voters backing Trump than voters who realize precisely how much damage the tax bill will do to them. Hawley noted in an op-ed that the Medicaid cuts are “morally wrong and politically suicidal” and opposes the new Medicaid co-pays. He called it a “sick tax.” He’s noted that the cuts would also likely close rural hospitals in his state.
Some quick facts to support Hawley’s position are right here. In Missouri between 2018 and 2020 alone, women on Medicaid were 10 times more likely to die within a year of pregnancy than women on private insurance. That tells you just how far Missouri has to go to reach an acceptable minimum standard of care. It ranks 40th out of 51 (the 51st being Washington, DC) states on women’s health care. 80% of the state’s workforce already doesn’t have any paid medical leave. Their higher education system ranks 124th nationally. Its students are ranked 40th in education between 2019 and 2024.
There should be no daylight between Hawley’s anti-bill position and his constituents if he plans to get re-elected. It’s a while off, though, because he’s in year one of his six-year term, making him eligible again in 2030.
JOSH HAWLEY CONTACT INFO
B40A Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel. 202-224-6154
Email: senator@hawley.senate.gov
X: @SenHawleyPress (use for public pressure campaigns!)
Web Contact Link: https://www.hawley.senate.gov/contact-senator-hawley/
Cape Girardeau Office: 555 Independence Street, Suite 1600, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
Cape Girardeau Tel: 573-334-5995
Columbia Office: 1123 Wilkes Blvd, Suite 220, Columbia, MO 65201
Columbia Tel: (573) 554-1919
Kansas City Office: 400 E. 9th Street, Suite 9350, Kansas City, MO 64106
Kansas City Tel: 816-960-4694
Springfield Office: 901 E. St. Louis Street, Suite 404, Springfield, MO 65806
Springfield Tel: 417-869-4433
St. Louis Office: 111 South 10th Street, Suite 23.360, St. Louis, MO 63102
St. Louis Tel: (314) 354-7060
Ron Johnson
For Senators with a focus on the cost-cutting aspects of the bill, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) hasn’t been an outright opponent of the bill, but has indicated he might join others, such as Rand Paul, due to the rise in deficit spending the bill would afford. He was saying on CNN, “We need to be responsible, and the first goal of our budget reconciliation process should be to reduce the deficit.I think we have enough senators to stop the process until the president gets serious about the spending reductions and reducing the deficit.”
Johnson has been highly critical of the $4 trillion that the Congressional Budget Office has reported would be added to the national debt by the passage of this bill into law.
Milwaukee’s zip code is 53201.
RON JOHNSON CONTACT INFO
328 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 202-224-5323
Web Contact Link: https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/contact
X: @SenRonJohnson
Oshkosh Office: 219 Washington Avenue, Suite 100, Oshkosh, WI 54901
Oshkosh Tel: (920) 230-7250
Milwaukee Office: 517 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 408, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Milwaukee Tel: (414) 276-7282
Madison Office: 5315 Wall Street, Suite 110, Madison, WI 53718
Madison Tel: (608) 240-9629
Thom Tillis
Last up is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). He’s up for reelection in 2026, so you can be sure he’s listening to his constituents right now. He’s a moderate-leaning senator, concerned about the axing of the energy tax incentives in the OBBBA.
He has told his colleagues that the credits resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act, passed after the pandemic, could inflict severe economic harm on his constituents. They’ve been planning for years around the availability of these credits, so eliminating them would create financial shock waves throughout North Carolina that would be tied back to him. Sounds like a button to push if you decide to call him.
A Charlotte, NC zip code is 28202.
He wrote a letter with Sen. John Curtis and Sen. Murkowski in early April, stating, “A wholesale repeal or termination of certain individual credits would create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.” Read: Business backs Thom Tillis, and the cuts to the tax credits would be a stake through the heart of ventures that currently have significant money tied up in them.
THOM TILLIS CONTACT
185 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-6342
Raleigh Office: 310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 122, Raleigh, NC 27601
Realeigh Tel: (919) 856-4630
Charlotte Office: 10150 Mallard Creek Road, Suite 508, Charlotte, NC 28262
Charlotte Tel: (704) 509-9087
Greenville Office: 1694 E. Arlington Blvd, Suite B, Greenville, NC 27858
Greenville Tel: (252) 329-0371
Web Contact Link: https://www.tillis.senate.gov/email-me
Instagram: @senthomtillis
Don’t Give Up!
Even if the struggle to contact these Senators appears hard, please don’t give up. One of the most effective, non-violent ways to influence outcomes is to turn out in force, and for this, we need to. The No Kings march sent one message. Now we need a calling and emailing campaign that is equally forceful to stop the advancement of this bill and its horrible actions through Congress.
That’s a Wrap
We’ve made it to another Friday, if that has significance for you. Many of us experienced, at least in the Northeast section of the country, the first real heat wave of the Summer of ’25. I’m fairly sure it won’t be the last!
If this is the kickoff to your weekend, please consider taking some time to make the contact and express your opposition to the OBBBA. It’s essential we act as a group, and if every free and paid subscriber on this substack decided to take action, we’d be sending a massive message to our Senate leadership to stop a bill that should have died long ago, but didn’t.
I also ask you to consider your mental health as this week comes to a close. A hurried pace, a constantly busy mind is always the normal. Instead, consider unplugging from your digital footprint and setting some “me time” in your schedule to get away from the noise that surrounds you. It helps me, even if for only 20 minutes in a day.
Please be well.
Rick Herbst
June 27, 2025
CITATIONS
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-senate-republicans-who-might-vote-against-spending-bill-2080711
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/02/medicaid-moderates-gop-megabill-senate-00378510
https://www.newsweek.com/rand-paul-admires-trump-anger-big-beautiful-bill-2077014
https://www.ksby.com/politics/the-republicans-to-watch-with-big-beautiful-bill-debate
https://www.bls.gov/regions/mountain-plains/news-release/laborunderutilization_missouri.htm
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5315185-trump-big-beautiful-bill-senate-gop/
https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Missouri-Fact-Sheet-2024.pdf
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/29/trump-executive-powers-reins-act-ftc-antitrust-00317105
There is nothing better than an information piece with actionable phrases and ease of use. Again, you've made it easy to see why EVERYONE should be calling these offices today and have gone the extra mile by providing the how. Excellent work, Rick.
THANK YOU 😊