Vasquez Backs Tip Tax Reform After Opposing Trump Plan

Rep. Gabriel Vasquez’s no tax on tips stance is drawing fresh scrutiny in New Mexico after the Democrat voted against President Donald Trump’s major tax and border bill, then later called for a permanent version of the same idea. The first-term lawmaker opposed the package that included the tip tax break, even as he moved weeks later to extend the policy through his own legislation.

Vasquez told local outlets in August that tipped workers should keep more of what they earn. He and other House Democrats voted against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which became law on July 4 and included the no-tax-on-tips provision. The campaign later argued that Vasquez’s objection was to other parts of the legislation, including Medicaid changes that added an 80-hour work requirement for some non-disabled adults ages nineteen through sixty-four starting in 2027.

Republicans quickly seized on the contrast. Reilly Richardson, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, accused Vasquez of trying to reverse course for political gain and criticized him for backing what the NRCC described as a radical agenda. Vasquez’s campaign pushed back, saying he would have supported a permanent no tax on tips policy if it had not been tied to provisions that, in the campaign’s words, would have pushed families off Medicaid and food assistance and strained rural hospitals.

The New Mexico Democrat has also tried to narrow the gap between his position and the version of the policy already on the books. He said the current version is not enough and argued that every worker would still pay taxes on tips and overtime under the law Republicans passed. His bill, the TIPS Act, would eliminate subminimum wages and make the policy permanent. In New Mexico, tipped employees are paid $2.13 per hour under the wage structure he referenced.