A top political editor is warning that Donald Trump’s latest bill could be the beginning of the end for the MAGA movement — not its victory lap.
Charlie Mahtesian, senior politics editor at Politico, called it an “astonishing oversight” that Trump’s flagship bill — passed by the House on Thursday — fails to include anything that builds a lasting Republican majority.
“The so-called Big, Beautiful Bill is still missing one key element — an overarching plan to create and lock in a durable Republican coalition,” Mahtesian wrote.
While the bill dishes out massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, boosts military spending, and slashes Medicaid, it offers no clear long-term strategy to turn Trump’s political gains into a permanent movement.
“Over the past decade, Trump has unleashed the tectonic forces of political realignment,” Mahtesian explained. “He has torn his party down to the studs and then remade it in his image. He has splintered the Obama coalition and accelerated a class-based political reordering that stands to upend nearly a century of convention.”
He called those shifts historic — even presidential — but said Trump is wasting the moment.
“These are accomplishments most presidents have only dreamed of. Yet the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda does almost nothing to harness any of it in the service of a permanent MAGA governing majority. He is spending every last cent of his political capital on a bill marked by its lack of ambition and vision.”
According to Mahtesian, this was the chance to lock in Trump’s realignment — especially among working-class and non-white voters — and crush a divided Democratic Party.
“This was the moment to announce the arrival of what could be a multi-ethnic working-class coalition,” he wrote. “The time to deal a crowning blow to a feckless opposition party that remains convinced the only thing holding it back is ineffective messaging.”
Instead, he said, the White House handed over a bill that could’ve come from “any generic Republican administration.”
The problem? It doesn’t carry the MAGA stamp. It’s not bold. It’s not long-term. And it’s not likely to be remembered as a defining part of Trump’s legacy.
“Decades from now, no one will point to this legislation as a key building block of a lasting Republican coalition,” Mahtesian warned. “It’s more likely to be remembered for the estimated $3.3 trillion it is set to add to the national debt.”
