Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), who is running for reelection, voted against President Donald Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts but is now airing taxpayer-funded advertisements saying she helps constituents claim a working-family tax credit that “We passed.”
Saturday marks the first anniversary of Trump signing the One Big Beautiful Bill into law at the White House on July 4, 2025. The legislation permanently extended lower individual tax rates, doubled the standard deduction, permanently doubled the child tax credit, and created provisions for no tax on tips or overtime pay, no or reduced taxes on Social Security income, and deductions for interest paid on loans for new American-made vehicles.
The House passed the legislation in a narrow 218-214 vote, with every Democrat opposing it. McDonald Rivet called the measure an “extreme package” and said, “Working families will lose their health care, children will go hungry, and our seniors will lose access to long-term care, all to pay for massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Everybody will see daily costs go up like health care, utility bills, and food to help Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos make more money.”
Since casting that vote, however, McDonald Rivet has appeared in a taxpayer-funded advertisement. In it she introduces members of her congressional staff, says they work for her constituents, and notes that they help residents “claim the working family tax credit we passed.”
In a second taxpayer-funded advertisement, McDonald Rivet says she has been going door to door to tell residents about her office’s efforts to lower medicine and child care costs.
“I love helping you claim the working families tax credit we passed,” she says. “More money in your pocket.”
Breitbart News asked McDonald Rivet’s office and campaign team why ads were airing in which she said she helped pass the “Working Families Tax Credit,” despite voting against the federal legislation. Neither responded.
RNC spokesman Hunter Lovell told Breitbart News:
“Kristen McDonald Rivet can’t have it both ways. She voted against delivering tax relief to Michigan families, then turned around and tried to take credit for it once those tax cuts became law. If McDonald Rivet is proud of the benefits Michigan families are receiving today, she should explain why she voted against them in the first place instead of rewriting her own record.”
The advertisements do not clarify whether McDonald Rivet is referring to the federal Working Families Tax Cuts contained in legislation she opposed or Michigan’s state tax credit, prompting Townhall in May to question whether she was misleading voters by saying “we passed” the credit. The outlet also cited earlier cases in which she promoted funding included in legislation she voted against, including money for the Bridgeport Fire Department and homeless children in Saginaw.
Michiganders saved an average of $3,131 on their taxes in 2026, while Bay County residents received an average tax cut of $2,295. The Working Families Tax Cuts are projected to increase take-home pay for Michigan families by up to $9,900, Michiganders could see wages rise by as much as $6,100 over the next four years, and 1.7 million Michigan seniors could benefit from the no-tax-on-Social-Security provision.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) highlighted the Working Families Tax Cuts at an April 15 roundtable focused on provisions involving tips, overtime, the expanded child tax credit, and small businesses, while Democrats promoted higher taxes on wealthy Americans. The White House said 53 million filers had claimed due to at least one of Trump’s signature tax provisions, the average refund exceeded $3,400, and more than 45 percent of filers had used at least one provision involving tips, overtime, deductions for seniors, or interest on loans for American-made vehicles.
Trump, who signed the law on July 4, 2025, called it the “most popular bill ever signed” and emphasized what he described as its record tax cut, spending cut, and border-security investment. Republicans also promoted the law through Tax Day events and a swing-district tour that included Michigan’s 7th Congressional District.
Breitbart News reported in April that a 2023 recording captured McDonald Rivet, then a Michigan state senator, joking with state Sen. Sylvia Santana about whether a technology worker was the Michigan State University shooter less than three weeks after the attack, while four of the five surviving victims remained hospitalized. McDonald Rivet heard testimony from students and families affected by the shooting that same day and publicly called for compassion, while RNC spokesman Hunter Lovell called her remarks “disgusting” and said she owed an apology to the families of those killed and to the injured. Her office did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
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