Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest political adversaries, offered rare and enthusiastic support for the president Monday after Trump called on Congress to approve a federal incentive aimed at reviving American film and television production.
“I am in strong agreement with the President,” Schiff wrote on X, sharing Trump’s announcement.
“Congress should immediately take up and pass a federal film tax incentive to bring back these good-paying jobs that we’ve lost to other countries,” Schiff continued. “Let’s work together — Republicans and Democrats — to get this done, and bring the movie magic back to America.”
The declaration represented an extraordinary moment of agreement between Trump and the California Democrat who helped lead the president’s first impeachment and has remained a relentless administration critic.
Trump unveiled his proposal after meeting with actor Jon Voight, whom the president appointed as a special ambassador to Hollywood alongside Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson.
“I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America,” he added. “It can be done very easily, and EVERYBODY WILL BE HAPPY!”
Trump argued that Hollywood had become a “Complete and Total Disaster” as productions increasingly moved to Canada and other foreign competitors offering generous financial incentives.
“There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly,” Trump wrote. “The amount of money spent on Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers.”
The president said Voight and others had persuaded him that federal tax incentives could “Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
Voight and his advisers have promoted a federal credit covering as much as 20% of qualifying production costs. Trump did not endorse a specific percentage in his announcement, however, and Congress has not yet introduced a final bill.
Schiff’s support was surprising politically, but not entirely unexpected on policy grounds.
The senator has spent months advocating for a nationwide incentive and circulated a proposal offering a 15% credit on labor costs for productions made in the United States, according to Mediaite.
During a March Senate hearing in Burbank, Schiff warned that state-level programs alone could not compete with the incentives offered by foreign governments.
“State programs simply cannot substitute for the kind of globally competitive federal tax incentive that is needed to bring production back to American soil and stop its offshoring,” Schiff said at the hearing.
Schiff said the industry directly supports roughly 800,000 American jobs and indirectly affects millions more, including carpenters, caterers, drivers, hotel workers and equipment suppliers. He also noted that Los Angeles County lost more than 42,000 motion-picture production jobs over two years.
Trump’s endorsement marks a shift from his previous proposal to slap a 100% tariff on movies produced overseas. Studios and entertainment unions argued that tax incentives would offer a more practical way to compete with Canada, the United Kingdom and other foreign production centers.
The Motion Picture Association welcomed Trump’s support, while the Wall Street Journal reported that studios, unions and lawmakers had been privately lobbying the White House for a national incentive since last year.
Whether Congress can translate the unlikely Trump-Schiff alliance into legislation remains uncertain. For the moment, however, two of Washington’s most bitter rivals have found themselves reading from the same Hollywood script.
