“Top Republicans Push Economic Optimism In Arizona City Hit By Layoffs” [Arizona Republic]

Arizonans are seeing wall–to–wall coverage of how Ciscomani and his D.C. party bosses tried – and failed – to paint a rosy picture about the economy. They ironically tried to do so in Casa Grande, where more than 1,000 workers were laid off from an electric vehicle plant that’s been hit hard by Ciscomani’s cuts to clean energy tax credits.

REMINDER: Ciscomani previously warned that the Big, Ugly Bill’s cuts to clean energy tax credits could “jeopardiz[e]” jobs in Southern Arizona. A top recipient of GOP leadership money, Ciscomani ultimately fell in line and voted for the bill anyway.

DCCC Spokesperson Lindsay Reilly:
“Juan Ciscomani is a spineless fraud who refuses to stand up to his party bosses, even when Southern Arizonans are at risk of losing their jobs, their health care, or their next meal. Ciscomani is a disgrace, and voters will fire him this November.”

See some of the coverage for yourself… 

Arizona Republic: Top Republicans push economic optimism in Arizona city hit by layoffs

• Casa Grande’s biggest employer, the electric vehicle company Lucid Motors, recently laid off more than a thousand workers at its manufacturing plant in town.

• The small-town visit by Bessent, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, was part of an effort by national Republicans to convince a seemingly pessimistic nation that the U.S. economy is on the mend.

• Taking questions only from conservative-leaning news outlets, the three men sought to remind local voters about the GOP-led tax cuts enacted last year, answer concerns amid President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and the conflict in Iran, and convince ordinary Americans to give Republicans another two years to make things better.

• Their optimism contrasted with the prevailing attitude among residents of Casa Grande, a city whose economic fortunes have become hitched to the country’s manufacturing sector as it becomes a local production hub.

• “There’s a lot of frustration,” Mayor Lisa Navarro Fitzgibbons said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. “People are trying to make ends meet.”
• Casa Grande and communities like it are pivotal in determining control of the U.S. House of Representatives starting in 2027. Ciscomani, whose congressional district includes much of southeastern Arizona, is widely seen as one of the nation’s most vulnerable sitting Republicans.

• The recent layoffs weigh on the city.
• “It was a pretty big hit,” Fitzgibbons said. “A really big hit.”

• They aren’t the only shop in town affected by economic headwinds. Houseware manufacturer Kohler received a Department of Energy grant to build out clean energy boilers and microgrids at their Casa Grande plant. The Trump administration canceled it.

• Michael Hill, general manager of the Cook-E-Jar diner and bakery downtown, called the layoffs a black eye for the company and a source of local anxiety. He described his impression of the city’s economic outlook in a word: “Terrible.”

• [Fitzgibbons] worries about the state of the economy, especially the impact of tariffs, on the people she represents.

• The “Big Beautiful Bill” set up tough questions for Ciscomani, who had publicly taken issue with some of its more politically sensitive components, especially its cuts to Medicaid and clean energy subsidies.

• He warned in a letter to Senate leadership that the budget’s reforms “could significantly delay or cancel energy infrastructure projects across the country,” but voted for the package anyway.

• “How do I phrase this politically?” she said. “I appreciate him coming. … But there could have been some votes that could have helped the average person in this community.”

Arizona Daily Star

• Arizona’s SNAP participation was cut in half since the passage of the Trump bill and its new work requirements, leaving many Arizonans previously receiving aid to grapple with increased food costs.

• While Ciscomani praised the current administration’s economic policies, his Democratic opponent pointed to a struggling manufacturing facility just down the road.

• Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid recently laid off 700 people in Casa Grande, citing a decline in market conditions. Mendoza said the layoffs were due to the elimination of the clean energy tax cuts.

• “Juan Ciscomani betrayed Arizonans when he voted to gut our health care, jack up food costs, and jeopardize hundreds if not thousands of good-paying jobs,” Mendoza said in a written statement.

• Before the Trump tax cut package passed the Senate in 2025, Ciscomani and other vulnerable House Republicans wrote a letter asking that Senate leaders reconsider some cuts to clean energy.
• “JoAnna is running for Congress to lower the cost of gas, groceries, and health care for working families and to bring servant leadership to DC for all Southern Arizonans,” he said.

• [JoAnna Mendoza] criticized today’s visit and [Ciscomani’s] vote for the bill, giving ABC 15 a statement saying, in part, “Congressman Ciscomani betrayed Arizonans when he voted to gut health care and jack up food costs.
• Democrats have also criticized the law for ending federal electric vehicle tax credits. Lucid Motors announced job cuts at its Casa Grande plant nearly a year after those incentives were phased out.