“I am in strong agreement with the President,” Schiff said in a post on X.
“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,” the California Democrat continued.
Schiff went even further, urging lawmakers from both parties to put political differences aside and act on the issue.
“Let’s work together — Republicans and Democrats — to get this done, and bring the movie magic back to America,” he said.
For Trump and Schiff, that kind of cooperation is hardly routine.
Schiff became one of the most recognizable figures in the Democratic effort against Trump during the president’s first term. While serving in the House, Schiff played a major role in Trump’s first impeachment proceedings and emerged as one of the president’s most vocal critics.
Their common ground over Hollywood therefore stands out against the backdrop of their long-running political feud.
Trump’s latest push comes as the American entertainment business continues to deal with major changes. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted production, while the explosive growth of streaming services transformed how movies and television programs are produced, distributed and consumed.
The economic consequences have been significant.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures cited by Fox News, the motion picture and video industries have shed approximately 49,000 jobs since 2022.
Trump believes Washington can help reverse that trend by making it more attractive to produce entertainment inside the United States rather than sending productions elsewhere.
The president recently met with actor Jon Voight, who serves as a special ambassador to Hollywood, before publicly calling for federal action.
Trump wants Congress to establish a nationwide production incentive that would encourage companies to hire American workers and film more projects domestically.
“Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America,” Trump said.
“It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America,” the president added.
The proposal arrives at a challenging moment for Congress. Lawmakers face a compressed September schedule, while the approaching midterm elections are expected to consume much of Washington’s political attention.
That could make it difficult to move major legislation through both chambers quickly.
Trump, however, is warning that the problem cannot simply be allowed to continue.
For years, California has been synonymous with American filmmaking. But productions now have a growing list of alternatives, including other states and foreign countries that offer lucrative tax incentives.
California has attempted to respond by more than doubling its Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million.
The increased investment, however, has not eliminated the competition.
Georgia has established itself as one of the biggest production centers in the country, offering more than $1 billion in production tax incentives. New York provides roughly $800 million, according to Fox News.
Meanwhile, countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have also used financial incentives to attract American productions.
That competition has left Trump arguing that the United States needs to make its own entertainment industry more attractive.
“There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly,” Trump said.
The president has argued that the loss of productions means more than fewer movie sets in Hollywood. It also threatens thousands of jobs connected to the broader entertainment economy, from crews and technicians to small businesses that depend on production activity.
Trump has said Voight and others in the entertainment world have urged his administration to pursue federal incentives capable of putting American producers on a more competitive footing.
The president has framed the proposal in characteristically ambitious terms, saying the ultimate objective is to restore the United States as the world’s premier destination for entertainment production.
Trump said the goal would be to “Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
Whether Congress will act remains an open question.
Republicans and Democrats have plenty of disagreements over taxes, spending and the role of the federal government. Hollywood itself has also become a deeply political subject.
But the emerging alliance between Trump and Schiff demonstrates that there may still be areas where lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle can find common ground.
For Trump, the priority is clear: keep American entertainment jobs in America.
And in a twist few would have predicted, one of the president’s fiercest political adversaries is now publicly urging Congress to help him do it.
