Dem
47
GOP
53
One of Donald Trump's political slush funds—MAGA Inc.—has a $300 million warchest. The big question is how Trump will use it in the midterms. In particular, Trump controls the money and his decisions how to spend it might not align with what is best for the Republican Party. Think about a Republican House incumbent in a swing district who has been somewhat critical of Trump because that is what he needs to survive. Will Trump fund him over a true-blue (OK, true-red) firebreathing Trumper in an R+15 district? One Republican operative said: "There have been no smoke signals. I've heard a lot of people freaking out."
MAGA Inc. spokesman Alex Pfeiffer wasn't about to let the cat out of the bag. He said: "While MAGA Inc is committed to retaining and building the GOP majorities in the House and Senate, we are not in the habit of sharing our battle plans with the opposition through their co-conspirators in the legacy media." So far, all the group has spent is $18,000 for Clay Fuller for MTG's House seat. One Republican operative said, "What is it going to be used for? Everyone's asking that question."
One possibility is to toss a big chunk of change into the Virginia referendum to adopt a new congressional map, which will cost the Republicans 3-5 seats. Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), one of the people who will be unemployed on Jan. 3, 2027, if the new map is adopted, said: "We welcome any and all support from all levels." Surprise!
What Republicans are worried about is Trump using the money in a very inefficient way. He could dump tens of millions of dollars into the race to defeat Thomas Massie in an R+18 district that the Republicans will win no matter who wins the primary. The RNC would never waste a penny in such a district, but Trump could blow tens of millions because he hates Massie. Many Republicans are worried that Trump will blow much of the money on grudge matches to defeat individuals he hates, even though the seat is in no danger for the party.
Another thing Trump might do is hoard the money. After the midterms, he becomes the lamest of ducks and Republicans in Congress might start to ignore him, big time. To prevent that, Trump might keep much of the money in the pot to be able to threaten House and Senate Republicans in 2027 and 2028. The RNC's nightmare is seeing much of the money go up in smoke in 2026 and 2028 as Trump uses it to settle scores in states and districts that are in no danger of going blue, but where Trump wants to punish some Republican he hates. And once Jan. 2027 rolls around and members start feeling independent, he might hate quite a few of them. (V)