In politics, the most bitter feuds often happen within political parties and not between them.

After losing both chambers of Congress during Trump's presidency and after waging a disappointing

campaign to recapture them in 2022, the Republican Party is having a lot of intra-party feuds

right now. And they all revolve around the same person. Donald Trump. There was the relatively

low-drama affair of who would lead Republicans in the Senate, where Mitch McConnell prevailed

after being challenged by a few of his more Trump-y colleagues. Then the action moved over to the

House, where Kevin McCarthy, who had Trump's support, survived a more grueling challenge

by giving up much of the power of the speakership in order to secure the job.

This week, the post-election search for new leadership moved over to the Republican National

Committee. Battles for party chair are often settled behind the scenes. When a party controls

the White House, the president usually just picks the person he wants in charge. But right

now, there's no agreed-upon leader of the Republican Party, and so like those recent

battles in the Senate and the House, the RNC election has turned into a war to define

the GOP's future. And once again, Donald Trump is at the center of that debate. I'm Ryan

Liza, and this is Playbook Deep Dive.

My colleague Rachel Bade flew to California to watch the fireworks at the RNC's Winter

Meeting, where the three-time incumbent chair, Ronald McDaniel, faced a challenge from

a lawyer named Harmie Dillon. To understand what this fight is all about, Rachel had

breakfast. With Bill Palatucci, a longtime party member, who is also a close ally of

Chris Christie's, and allowed critic of Donald Trump's. Every time you see Chuck Schumer,

or Vice President Harris, presiding of the United States Senate, you lay all that blame

at the feet of Donald Trump.

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