Where do Republicans go from here?

The acrimonious removal of Kevin McCarthy is a sign of choppy waters ahead for the GOP

Illustration of Kevin McCarthy, Matt Gaetz amid chaotic shapes
The ousted Kevin McCarthy has declared he has no interest in running once more for the speakership
(Image credit: Illustrated / Getty Images)

If and when our current whirlwind of congressional dust finally settles, California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy's tenure as the 55th speaker of the House of Representatives will likely be remembered as a historic one — for all the wrong reasons. From his ignominious struggle to grasp the speaker's gavel to his even more humiliating ouster from that role which he'd coveted for years, McCarthy's brief turn at the reins of the House GOP caucus may ultimately prove most notable for an era of subsequent Republican disarray that seems inevitable following his untimely deposition. With a barely-there majority and, for the time being, no clear leadership to guide them, House Republicans must now grapple with an intra-party schism that has thrown them — and Congress as a whole — into entirely uncharted waters. 

McCarthy himself has declared he has no interest in running once more for the speakership, and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, the hard-right architect and instigator of this week's historic motion to vacate the speaker's chair, faces the prospect of serious blowback from his machinations. As the GOP heads into presidential primary season, which in many ways mirrors the same ideological rift that led it to this point, how will it overcome the fractious and rancorous divisions that have increasingly come to define the party at large? As they air their political dirty laundry for the public to see, where do Republicans go from here? 

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.