Troy Nehls Faces Backlash After Saying Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck May Not 'Work as Hard'

House Republican Troy Nehls (R-TX) landed in hot water for bragging about his lavish 4th of July feast after dismissing affordability concerns of millions of working Americans. The Congressman was stopped at the steps of the U.S. Capitol by MeidasTouch’s Pablo Manríquez on Tuesday, who asked him what Republicans were doing to address the rising prices. Nehls not only dismissed the notion of an affordability crisis, but went on to claim that the reported 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck may not be working as hard as he does to afford a feast. 

Catching up to Nehls, the journalist asked: "How do House Republicans make the case that you’re fighting for affordability when you go back to your districts?” After stopping to answer, Nehls said, “Affordability? What are you talking about?” He then went on to brag about his July 4th plans, which included “big lobster tails,” ribeyes, and family. "I’m gonna get me a couple of big lobster tails, I’m gonna get me some nice ribeyes, I’m gonna sit in my backyard with my family, my neighbors, and we’re going to be enjoying the fourth, celebrating 250 years, the birthday. We’re gonna be celebrating the greatest president in my lifetime, Donald J. Trump," he said.

He then went on to dismiss the rise in energy prices as temporary and claimed gas prices will soon come down for Americans. Later, when Drop Site News’ Julian Andreone asked: “You think the 60% of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck can afford lobster tails and ribeyes and all of that?” Nehls simply replied, “Maybe not. Maybe the 60% of Americans don’t work as hard as I do either. I mean, I don’t know.” 

The clip quickly went viral on social media with critics calling the Republican Congressman's comments insensitive and reductive, as his claims did not match the data. According to an analysis from the chief economist of Moody's Analytics, Mark Zandi, Americans have roughly spent $1,000 per household in higher fuel, food, and other expenses since the Iran war started. Furthermore, according to data shared by the Commerce Department last week, Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, marking the largest annual increase since April 2023. Thus, reacting to Nehls's comments, journalist and political commentator Mehdi Hasan wrote: "Dems should turn this into an ad." 

While the figure of 60% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck is old and questionable, a 2025 Navigator Survey found that over half, or 53%, of Americans feel that they are falling behind financially. In the survey, about 53% further said they did not see their financial condition improving, and the situation was probably made worse by the Iran War that caused prices to soar. According to Zandi's findings,  the biggest war-related expense for Americans was gasoline, which peaked at $4.56 a gallon in May before dipping back below $4 a gallon earlier this month. His research added that Americans spent $300 on average to fill up their tanks, and higher diesel costs increased the cost of transporting products, leading to higher retail costs that forced Americans to spend $200 more on average on groceries.