Please join Institute of Politics' Visiting Fellow, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for a Study Group.
For nearly a decade, the Republican coalition in Congress has been organized around Donald Trump — his priorities, his endorsements, his ability to hold together factions that agree on little else. But what happens when that gravitational pull fades — does the coalition hold, fragment, or reorganize around something new? This conversation explores the fractures inside the Republican conference, whether MAGA is a transferable movement or a one-man phenomenon, and what it actually takes to build coalitions in a House defined by narrow margins, deep factional divides, and incentive structures that reward obstruction over legislation. At the heart of it is a question the party hasn't yet had to answer: is there a shared governing vision beyond Trump, and if so, who holds it together?
AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.
OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.
Speakers and Presenters
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, IOP Spring 2026 Visiting Fellow; 55th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives