Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, has taken pains to boost his national profile and get in President Donald Trump’s good graces. It’s made Oklahoma politics awkward in the process.

Intra-party tension had been building throughout Walters’ tenure but finally came to a head when Gov. Kevin Stitt replaced members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education, including Walters’ allies, arguing the committee was too political. Walters responded by forming a Trump Advisory Committee, which he described in a news release as a “DOGE-style education oversight group,” to which he appointed two of the former board members. Stitt later turned up the temperature in a press conference where he accused Walters of “running for another office and trying to get headlines” and criticized his proposal to collect information about students’ immigration status.

Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation have been left watching with interest.

“I’m praying for peace,” Rep. Josh Brecheen told NOTUS after Stitt criticized Walters. “From what little I know about their relationship, I know that they have respect for each other.”

NOTUS is a Washington, D.C. publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute.

Stitt is term limited, and the vacancy he’s leaving behind is sure to draw several Republicans looking to rise in the political ranks. Walters has not announced a gubernatorial campaign and did not answer questions from NOTUS about his future plans.

Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.