This article examines Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet’s recent messaging on the “working families tax credit,” compares her ads to her roll‑call votes, and reviews past instances where she claimed credit for federal funds despite voting against the measures that provided them.

The One, Big Beautiful Bill President Trump signed on July 4, 2025, included a Working Families Tax Credit as part of broader tax changes that codified lower individual tax rates, doubled the standard deduction, and permanently doubled the child tax credit. The package also created provisions for no tax on tips or overtime pay and reduced or no tax on some Social Security benefits. Lawmakers on both sides made clear choices at the time, and every House and Senate Democrat voted against that federal package.

So it raises a real question when Michigan Democrat Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet runs taxpayer‑funded television ads that suggest she helped pass the federal Working Families Tax Credit. Her campaign has now aired at least two spots that praise the “working families tax credit” while she and all other House Democrats opposed the federal legislation that created it. That mismatch between her votes and her ads is what voters should notice.

In one ad McDonald Rivet tells viewers, “I’m Kristen McDonald Rivet, and while these folks work for me, they really work for you: from letting you know how to claim the working family tax credit we passed, to our push to bring down childcare costs. We’ve even tracked down long lost dog tags from World War II. We returned thousands in tax refunds and even gone toe to toe with the IRS for folks who needed an advocate. So if my office can help you with anything, just give us a call.” That line creates the clear impression she helped pass the federal measure.

In a second ad she doubles down with, “Our office has been working hard to bring down costs, so I’ve been going door to door to tell folks about it. … About our work to lower the cost of medicine and make it easier for you to go to the doctor. We’re working to lower the cost of childcare too, and I love helping you claim the working families tax credit we passed. More money in your pocket. We even have a bill to lower the cost of eggs.” Those words leave little doubt about the impression her campaign wants viewers to take away.

The ads also leave an important ambiguity. Is she talking about the federal working families tax credit that Democrats opposed, or a Michigan state credit that was enacted more than three years ago? Her campaign does not clarify which program she means, and that silence matters. Voters deserve plain answers when a member of Congress touts benefits tied to big national legislation.

Either way, the pattern is the same: a member of Congress using office resources and federally funded staff to promote a claim that conflicts with her roll‑call record. That looks like a deliberate messaging choice designed to take political credit without confronting an inconvenient voting history.

This is not an isolated moment for McDonald Rivet. She was publicly credited with securing $866,000 in federal funding in a 2025 appropriations bill that helped the Bridgeport Fire Department, even though she voted against the overall bill. She held a press conference announcing the aid and publicly celebrated the outcome after the funding was included.

She then visited the Bridgeport Fire Department to tout what was described as $886,000 in funding and the planned refurbishments to a 54‑year‑old station. On social media she wrote, “High costs are crushing families in my community, and Republicans are forcing a health care affordability crisis on working people. Because they cut $1 trillion from Medicaid and are gutting the ACA, insurance premiums are spiraling out of control and people can’t get basic care. I voted no because we need concrete solutions to deliver affordable health care, not empty promises.” That post came after she voted against the measure that included funding for local projects.

McDonald Rivet also claimed credit for funding that helped homeless children in Saginaw even though she voted against the relevant legislation twice. In March 2025 she voted no on HR 1968, and later she voted no on a continuing resolution in November that included Department of Health and Human Services funding that benefited the program. Those voting choices and the subsequent publicity around local grants create a recurring story line.

Michigan voters should expect a representative who transparently matches her public praise with how she actually votes. When messaging and voting diverge, it undercuts trust and bargaining credibility in Washington. Constituents deserve a representative who stands for the policy choices she claims to champion, not one who flips between opposition votes and public credit taking.

“Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet continues to blatantly lie and deceive Michigan voters because she can’t run on her own record of failure. McDonald Rivet should be ashamed of herself and voters will hold her accountable this fall,” said NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.