Part of the problem is that every new establishment becomes unsatisfactory to every new generation of conservative insurgents.

So Trump was an insurgent leader in 2016.

He took over the Republican Party, he changed the Republican Party, but he's now the establishment, so he supported McCarthy too. Bill Clinton famously said that Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line.

Well it certainly didn't feel that way these past few days as House Republicans struggled to select a new speaker.

A band of rebels wasn't getting in line for

anyone, not for the leaders of the House Republican Conference, not for the

leaders of their own House Freedom Caucus, and not even for former

President Trump.

What happened?

What does it tell us about the current state of Republican politics heading into the

2024 Republican presidential primaries?

And even sooner, what does it tell us about

Republican governance in Congress as Washington has to take up issues like

raising the death ceiling and where do the Democrats in Congress fit into all this in the months ahead?

Matt Continetti is among the most astute observers of Republican politics and policymaking.

In fact, he is a piece in the Washington Post right now called There you go again

House Republicans. He's a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

founding editor of the War for American conservatism, which I highly recommend.

Before we move on to our conversation with Matt,

one housekeeping note.

I often hear from a number of you

with questions you would have liked to have asked

...