SB PM: The Loomer-Wiles power struggle

Trump’s camp is split between message discipline and loyalty tests

We hope you’ve been enjoying our new and improved evening threads! As a reminder, you can control the content you receive from Slow Boring by opting in to or out of our individual newsletters. Learn more here.

---

In Donald Trump’s ecosystem, few rivalries better capture the clash between chaos and control than the quiet war between Laura Loomer and Susie Wiles. It’s MAGA id versus MAGA superego.

Wiles, Trump’s campaign consigliere — who Politico called his de facto chief of staff — runs on institutional memory and message discipline. She’s the bridge between Trump’s movement and the GOP establishment, aiming to preserve his political viability as a national candidate. Loomer, by contrast, is a far-right firestarter who wields loyalty as a weapon, targeting anyone she deems insufficiently devoted to Trump. She takes credit for the ousting of more than a dozen officials from Trump’s inner circle.

The recent Vinay Prasad episode is a perfect example. After Loomer publicly targeted the FDA official over his approach to vaccine policy and alleged disloyalty, Trump fired him. But Politico reported today that Wiles, backed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, intervened to reverse the decision. The move was a not-so-subtle reminder that Loomer’s influence ends where governing begins.

Still, Loomer continues to see just how far her influence goes. In an interview with Politico Playbook this week, she named her next target: Stefanie Spear, RFK Jr.’s deputy chief of staff. Loomer claimed Spear is laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run by Kennedy, potentially undermining Trump’s third campaign. HHS has not confirmed or denied the rumor, but the tactic is straight from the Loomer playbook: stir grassroots suspicion, demand a show of loyalty, and force Trump to choose.

The internal tug-of-war between stability and ideological purity is shaping the future of MAGA, which remains caught between becoming a lasting political force or descending into a cycle of endless purges.