Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, intends to step down, the New York Times reports. Just one day before, she had a meeting at the Mar-a-Lago resort of former President Donald Trump, when they spoke about her future with the party. Her resignation from the RNC position is anticipated to occur shortly after the Republican primary in South Carolina on February 24.
According to sources within the RNC on Tuesday, Ms. McDaniel is expected to have a gentle landing inside the party, either with a role in the Trump campaign or another position in the conservative industry. Despite the shifting dynamics inside the Republican Party, Ms. McDaniel will pave the way for a new RNC leadership team despite her lackluster fundraising efforts and mounting criticism of her direction.
Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, received Mr. Trump's endorsement for co-chair last year, and she intends to back him. In the race, South Carolina Republican Party chairman Drew McCissick beat Mr. Whatley.
Of the 168 members of the RNC, an election for chair and co-chair would be necessary. This election would have to be a man-woman team, meaning that if the chair is a male, the co-chair must be a woman, and vice versa. Regarding the other members of the RNC staff, Mike Reed, the chief of staff for Ms. McDaniel, tendered his resignation early on Tuesday.
There are many who propose that the Trump campaign replace the RNC's political director and other important staff members with members of their own campaign, therefore taking control of the organization.
Conservative elements aligned with Mr. Trump have been critical of Ms. McDaniel since her 2023 RNC chair reelection campaign and have called for her dismissal from the position. Although things move swiftly, Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he wanted to make changes to the RNC following the South Carolina primary later this month.
"Ronna has taken over as the RNC's head, and I will be deciding on my suggestions for RNC expansion the day after the South Carolina primary," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. Set on February 24 is the South Carolina primary.
Since Mr. Trump personally selected Ms. McDaniel to be the party chair in 2017, the RNC has been having financial difficulties and has been receiving demands from conservative groups to remove her.
Amidst the Republican defeats in Virginia that month and the party's record since 2018, one of the most prominent appeals came from then-candidate Vivek Ramaswamy during a presidential primary debate in November. He asked her to step down.
Offering his time theatrically, he suggested that Ms. McDaniel, who was present at the discussion, "come on stage" and tender her resignation. In a Fox News interview, she retaliated against Mr. Ramaswamy by saying that Republican supporters are fed up with the "circular firing squad" that exists inside the party.
According to Ms. McDaniel, "I was guiding Michigan to the first victory in history in 30 years until Vivek did not vote in 2016."
One of her most vocal opponents is Turning Point USA leader and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who attempted to remove her from office the previous year. The RNC staff is, in his words, "a gang of losers." During his radio broadcast last week, he added, "They do not even know what victory is."
The party's finances for this election cycle are in question. With less than half of the Democratic National Committee's assets in December, the Republican National Committee (RNC) had $8 million in bank accounts and $1 million in debt, according to campaign finance filings made public this month.
Mr. Trump also predicted future changes for the RNC in a recent interview with Fox News. "I believe she performed well while running Michigan for me. In the RNC, I believe she performed well at first," he said. "At this point, I think there will definitely be some adjustments done."
Mr. Reed said that Mr. Trump had mentioned changing the Republican Party's leadership group in the email he sent announcing his resignation as chief of staff.
"We are getting ready to combine with the presumed candidate, and I am aware that this news is being released at this time," he wrote. "The RNC is in a very good position, I promise you." He said that once a presidential contender was selected, the party was aware that "there would be some modifications."
According to sources within the RNC on Tuesday, Ms. McDaniel is expected to have a gentle landing inside the party, either with a role in the Trump campaign or another position in the conservative industry. Despite the shifting dynamics inside the Republican Party, Ms. McDaniel will pave the way for a new RNC leadership team despite her lackluster fundraising efforts and mounting criticism of her direction.
Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, received Mr. Trump's endorsement for co-chair last year, and she intends to back him. In the race, South Carolina Republican Party chairman Drew McCissick beat Mr. Whatley.
Of the 168 members of the RNC, an election for chair and co-chair would be necessary. This election would have to be a man-woman team, meaning that if the chair is a male, the co-chair must be a woman, and vice versa. Regarding the other members of the RNC staff, Mike Reed, the chief of staff for Ms. McDaniel, tendered his resignation early on Tuesday.
There are many who propose that the Trump campaign replace the RNC's political director and other important staff members with members of their own campaign, therefore taking control of the organization.
Conservative elements aligned with Mr. Trump have been critical of Ms. McDaniel since her 2023 RNC chair reelection campaign and have called for her dismissal from the position. Although things move swiftly, Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he wanted to make changes to the RNC following the South Carolina primary later this month.
"Ronna has taken over as the RNC's head, and I will be deciding on my suggestions for RNC expansion the day after the South Carolina primary," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. Set on February 24 is the South Carolina primary.
Since Mr. Trump personally selected Ms. McDaniel to be the party chair in 2017, the RNC has been having financial difficulties and has been receiving demands from conservative groups to remove her.
Amidst the Republican defeats in Virginia that month and the party's record since 2018, one of the most prominent appeals came from then-candidate Vivek Ramaswamy during a presidential primary debate in November. He asked her to step down.
Offering his time theatrically, he suggested that Ms. McDaniel, who was present at the discussion, "come on stage" and tender her resignation. In a Fox News interview, she retaliated against Mr. Ramaswamy by saying that Republican supporters are fed up with the "circular firing squad" that exists inside the party.
According to Ms. McDaniel, "I was guiding Michigan to the first victory in history in 30 years until Vivek did not vote in 2016."
One of her most vocal opponents is Turning Point USA leader and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who attempted to remove her from office the previous year. The RNC staff is, in his words, "a gang of losers." During his radio broadcast last week, he added, "They do not even know what victory is."
The party's finances for this election cycle are in question. With less than half of the Democratic National Committee's assets in December, the Republican National Committee (RNC) had $8 million in bank accounts and $1 million in debt, according to campaign finance filings made public this month.
Mr. Trump also predicted future changes for the RNC in a recent interview with Fox News. "I believe she performed well while running Michigan for me. In the RNC, I believe she performed well at first," he said. "At this point, I think there will definitely be some adjustments done."
Mr. Reed said that Mr. Trump had mentioned changing the Republican Party's leadership group in the email he sent announcing his resignation as chief of staff.
"We are getting ready to combine with the presumed candidate, and I am aware that this news is being released at this time," he wrote. "The RNC is in a very good position, I promise you." He said that once a presidential contender was selected, the party was aware that "there would be some modifications."
