Members of the Republican National Committee, otherwise known as the RNC, have chosen a replacement for former Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel after she stepped down from her position on Friday. McDaniel had previously stated she would be officially resigning from her position at the March 8 convention after reports indicated she had a meeting with former President Donald Trump and told him she would step down.
So who did they pick?
Michael Whatley.
Whatley is the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, so he’s no stranger to this sort of leadership gig. Along with Whatley, the members of the RNC elected Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, and senior Trump advisor Chris LaCivita, who will be in charge of the committee’s operations.
It looks like everyone is going all in now to back Trump for president later this year.
via the Daily Caller:
“Thank you to the 168 members of the RNC and President Trump for entrusting me to serve as RNC Chairman,” Whatley tweeted shortly after being elected. “We are already well on our way to making Joe Biden a one-term President, and I look forward to working with every Republican to deliver victories up and down the ballot!
Thank you to the 168 members of the RNC and President Trump for entrusting me to serve as RNC Chairman.
We are already well on our way to making Joe Biden a one-term President, and I look forward to working with every Republican to deliver victories up and down the ballot!
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) March 8, 2024
McDaniel has been chairwoman of the RNC since 2017 and was previously backed by Trump before heading the party. In the last several months, McDaniel came under fire for several botched election cycles, dwindling funds and the party’s handling of its most recent debate cycle.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that McDaniel needed to leave her position. When you have this many misfires during your tenure of leadership, it speaks volumes about how effective your strategies are. In this case, they weren’t at all. That’s not to be unduly harsh. It just seems this is not the right way for her to serve the country or her party. Time to move on and find a new way to make a difference.
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy publicly called for McDaniel’s resignation during a Republican presidential debate after blasting the party for selecting NBC News to host that night’s debate. Ramaswamy also characterized the Republican Party as losers under McDaniel’s leadership.
“Since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022 — no red wave … We got trounced last night in 2023. And I think that we have to have accountability in our party,” Ramaswamy said before adding that he would cede his time to McDaniel if she wanted to resign.
McDaniel first informed Trump she would step down right after the South Carolina primary. Not long after, the former president put his support behind Whatley for the top position, while also backing Lara Trump and LaCivita for supporting roles in the party.
.@LaraLeaTrump and I are steadfast in our commitment to get out the vote, protect the ballot, and elect Donald J. Trump and Republicans from coast to coast this November.
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) March 8, 2024
Drew McKissick, who served as McDaniel’s co-chair, also decided to step down.
“[I’m] willing to put self aside for the sake of building a team and focusing on winning is a big part of being successful. With that in mind, I’m submitting my resignation as Co-Chair, effective upon the election of my successor at the upcoming Spring Training in Houston,” McKissick said in a statement.
“The RNC MUST be a good partner in the Presidential election. It must do the work we expect from the national Party and do it flawlessly,” Trump had said previously. “That means helping to ensure fair and transparent elections across the country, getting out the vote everywhere — even in parts of the country where it won’t be easy — and working with my campaign, as the Republican presumptive nominee for President, to win this election and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
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