Hey there, everybody. It is 4 o'clock here in New York. I'm Alicia Menendez in for Nicole Wallace.

And the word of the day is opportunity, like the one in front of Democrats this afternoon,

or the one Republicans might have just squandered. Because today, after weeks of hemming, hawing, flipping, flopping,

deals, threats, changes, carveouts, concessions, bargains, and all-night debate,

and a last-minute, hours-long filibuster, Donald Trump's signature tax and spending legislation,

it is on his way to his desk to be signed into law tomorrow.

Its path here, it was not pretty, deep-seated concerns about what the bill will do to Medicaid,

for example, or the national debt. Those persisted throughout the process, even among Trump's

most vocal supporters in Congress. But in the end, after applied pressure, field T-1-out, even among Republicans who've spent

their career shouting about the very measures they just voted to approve.

In other words, it's not all that hard to shove a square peg through a round hole if you're

holding a sledgehammer.

Politico asserts Trump spent every cent of

his political capital on a bill marked by its lack of ambition and vision, suggesting real limits

to the MAGA movement. Quote, there's no Nixon goes to China policy surprise, no dramatic

break from the familiar, nothing bold to suggest the unique populist

coalition he has assembled or to cement in the decades ahead. Its signature idea, tax relief is

meaningful and shouldn't be minimized, but that's always been a core GOP tenant. So has a centralized

commitment to growth and prosperity. Spending on border

security addresses a critical need, but isn't inherently additive. Much of the bill smacks of a

reassertion of decades-old Republican policies and an embrace of party orthodoxy. It is easily

caricatured as a giveaway to the wealthy,

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