Vulnerable battleground Dem embraces 'no tax on tips' after voting against Trump bill
Rep. Gabriel Vasquez, D-N.M., voted against the package that implemented President Donald Trump’s "no tax on tips" law despite calling for a permanent implementation of the policy just a month later.
"Tipped workers deserve to take home more of their hard-earned pay," Vasquez told local outlets in August.
Vasquez, along with the rest of his Democratic colleagues, voted against President Donald Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill," which became law on July 4 and included the no-tax-on-tips provision.
But unlike most Democrats who have soundly condemned almost every facet of the tax and border security package, Vasquez’s call to further extend portions of the bill highlights his attempts to win over one of the most competitive districts in the country.
To at least one Republican onlooker, it’s a thinly-veiled ploy to sway on a policy he ultimately tried to stop.
"Defund the police Gabe Vasquez wants to raise taxes, rip away benefits from workers, and make families’ lives harder. New Mexicans want none of Vasquez’s radical agenda," Reilly Richardson, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Responding to questions about his vote, Vasquez's campaign said he had opposed other measures included in the Big Beautiful Bill, such as reforms to Medicaid parameters that implemented an 80-hour work requirement for non-disabled adults ages 19-64 beginning in 2027.
"Vasquez would have happily voted for a permanent no tax on tips policy that didn't kick millions of hardworking families off Medicaid and food assistance and push our rural hospitals to the brink of closure," Patricia Socarras Santiago, a campaign spokesperson, said.
The campaign also highlighted recent jobs reports, arguing that Trump's proposals weren't doing enough to confront job stability in the hospitality industry.
"The Administration's latest jobs report today tells the truth about our tipped worker economy under MAGA leadership, and it's not pretty: tipped workers in fields like hospitality are losing their jobs, and inflation is outpacing any gain made by a temporary no tax on tips policy."
Notably, Vasquez isn’t calling for an expansion of the current law.
"The current sham version of ‘no tax on tips’ isn’t going to cut it," Vasquez said as he called for its expansion. "The reality is, under the law Republicans just passed, every worker will still pay taxes on tips and overtime."
His proposal, which he introduced earlier this year as H.R. 1314 or the TIPS Act, would eliminate subminimum wages, the taxable, low-end salary that most tipped workers earn. In New Mexico, for instance, employees must pay workers $2.13 per hour.
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Vasquez’s language would also make the policy permanent. Trump’s policy, set under the Big Beautiful Bill, has a four-year lifespan before expiring in 2028.
On Tax Day in April, Vasquez highlighted his bill in a press release and slammed the Trump administration for, in his view, misinforming voters about what the no-tax-on-tips provision does and doesn’t do. He noted that taxes still apply to overtime pay and that only businesses earning over a set amount qualify for the policy.
"Tax Day is no one’s favorite time of year, but I worry this filing season is going to be especially frustrating for a lot of folks. Many hardworking New Mexicans may be surprised when they file and realize they don’t qualify for the tax relief they were promised," Vasquez said.
"New Mexicans deserve honesty. Instead of confusing, temporary policies, I’m focused on real solutions that help workers and seniors actually keep more of their hard-earned pay and benefits in their pockets — not with the IRS."
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Having captured the party's nomination by running unopposed in the primary, Vasquez now looks ahead to the Nov. 3 general election, where he will face off against Republican nominee Greg Cunningham, a veteran and former DEA narcotics officer.
Vasquez last won re-election in a 52.1% to 47.9% victory over Republican challenger Yvette Herrell.