by Connor Pugh ‘24

After Representative Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position as Speaker of the House by fellow Republicans, the election of the new speaker Mike Johnson finally brought almost a month of chaos in Congress to a close. A radical member of the Republican party who parrots 2020 election denial talking points among other contentious opinions, Johnson illustrates the stranglehold Former President Donald Trump still has over the party long after being in office.

The Republican party has had trouble moving on from the presidency of Donald Trump, especially after his election denial claims incited an insurrection on January 6. Some Republican leaders wish to move away from the controversial figure and reestablish the party’s legitimacy in the eyes of many turned off by Trump. But many more elected Republicans still idolize Trump and his policies, repeating many of his positions and keeping him and his ideas in the mainstream. This sharp divide in the Republican party over Trump illustrates just how important of a figure he is to the modern Republican coalition, and despite many efforts by politicians to move on from his presidency he always finds his way back to relevancy.