Here’s a prediction for 2026 that is based on something I got wrong in 2025 – so take it for what it is – I think President Donald Trump’s signature legislative achievement this year will bedevil the Republican Party’s candidates next year.
Eight days before Trump was inaugurated for his second term as president, I predicted that dysfunctional Republican Congressional in-fighting could stymie what the president eventually pitched as the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill”
That was a swing and a miss.
Republicans indeed spent much of the year feuding with each other. But Trump got the win on his mega-MAGA budget by mid-year.
Many of those Republicans, especially those facing bids for reelection in the 2026 midterm elections, get to pay the price for Trump’s budget, which swapped short-term tax breaks for some middle-class workers for permanent tax cuts for America’s wealthiest people.
