The MAGA Civil War Is Here!!

What it means for the pro-democracy effort

The honeymoon is over folks!

I am jettisoning the STAT(S) of the week post this week to bring you into the still unfolding Civil War between Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

For those of you with busy lives, let me bring you up to speed on the last couple of days.

As you know, on This is America, we highlighted Elon’s weird interview where he announced he was quitting political spending and seemed unwilling to discuss politics with CBS.

Yesterday, Elon finally blew his vow of silence, tweeting out that Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill adds trillions in new debt and that anyone who voted for it should be kicked out the the Republican Party.

Predictably, Trump didn’t like that much.

So the bromance is over, imploding in real time over on the platform that shall not be named.

I’ll let the other outlets cover the circus elements of this ongoing break up so be sure to go get your schadenfreude on.

Here, we’re going to focus on the implications of the end of Elon and Trump’s partnership because it is a majorly good development for those of us interested in keeping America from collapsing into fascist autocracy.

I have mentioned before even having Elon exit state left was great news for us, but a messy divorce?

Well, that could change everything.

Especially because Elon is already tweeting out shit like this:

I have been gleefully cheering him on, suggesting he go form his own political party. Would be a real shame for Republicans if that was to happen. A real shame.

So, be sure to do everything you can to encourage Elon to turn his eye of Sauron on The Don.

Not only may we end up in a 2026 scenario where a major player (and his money) have removed themselves from the game, now we might even see Elon actively undermine Republicans up and down the ballot.

I would forfeit every Christmas gift I get from now to the end of time if we could only get Elon spending and working against Trump.

But wait….because it gets even better!!

By turning against the Big Ugly Bill Elon has put Republicans in a clusterfuck of a bind and I want to be sure you get to enjoy it as much as I do.

Here’s why: It is starting look like there is a real chance the Republican majority, despite control of the House, Senate, and the presidency may never be able to pass a spending bill.

Here’s why:

Team Trump understands that this is only piece of legislation Trump has that only has to get 50 votes in the senate.

Hence, his preference for “one big beautiful bill.”

The only way he can deliver on multiple fronts is in one combined bill. For example the GOP’s 1,000 Well, We’re All Gonna Die bill has a ton of extra shit in it aside from the billionaire tax cuts which are the heart of their spending bill.

The smart Trumper’s know and understand this:

What team Elon is asking for (multiple skinny bills) would leave Republicans unable to pass most of their policy goals because there is no way any of this gets past the Senate filibuster.

But Elon, Rand Paul, and Ron Johnson can’t be reasoned with. This time that’s a good thing for democracy.

So we have a situation where half of MAGA is fighting to pass a Big Beautiful omnibus bill and half is fighting against it.

As I noted on This is America, the Big Ugly Bill was facing steep odds in the Senate before the events of the last 24 hours. I can’t see it passing now.

And guess what? Republicans only have to September at best to pass something to deal with the next debt limit deadline.

Its not impossible that we could end up in an August with Republicans unable to pass something as the clock runs out on the debt ceiling. We would then see Republicans shut down a government they have complete control of.

Its been a dark few months so savor this moment which may prove pivotal to the pro-democracy effort.

More in the Monday Memo!

Rachel