A House Divided: MAGA Republicans Face Their First Great Schism

Since its inception, the Make America Great Again movement has enjoyed a remarkable level of unity and loyalty. As its architect Donald Trump once put it, he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still not lose the support of the 30-40% of Republican voters dedicated to him. But as the ugly debacle of choosing a GOP speaker of the House enters its third day, we are seeing something that we haven’t before, a genuine schism in Trump World.

At issue, of course, is whether Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will continue to reside in the speaker’s office he has already moved into. The 20 bloody-minded objectors who oppose him, led by Reps. Matt Gaetz (FL), Lauren Boebert (CO), and Chip Roy (TX) aren’t just MAGA types, they are, as Joe Biden might say, “Ultra MAGA,” and lined up against them is not only the vast majority of GOP-elected officials, but Trump himself.