Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel announced that she would be stepping down from her position after the pivotal South Carolina presidential primary, which polls suggest former President Donald Trump will win handily. McDaniel’s resignation came after considerable criticism of her tenure, including a lackluster Republican performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
McDaniel made the announcement following significant criticism from Republicans. The news came as the RNC had less than $10 million in cash on hand, well behind the Democratic National Committee.
Furthermore, a report on the RNC’s finances found that much of the money spent by the party went to flowers and limo rides.
Trump said that his campaign had a significant war chest for his own campaign, but the RNC’s finances are ailing.
It is not clear who will succeed the RNC leader, though it appears that the North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley is the current frontrunner. Trump is reportedly considering asking Whatley to take the position. The state GOP chair has been a key ally of the former president.
BREAKING: Ronna McDaniel to step down as RNC chairhttps://t.co/pS51NDbT5Dhttps://t.co/pS51NDbT5D
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 7, 2024
McDaniel was a lightning rod during the first part of the 2024 Republican primary season. Former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sharply criticized the RNC chair. Separately, when McDaniel was up for reelection to the position, she was publicly opposed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
However, McDaniel received a critical boost from former president Donald Trump. Trump aided McDaniel’s efforts over attorney Harmeet Dhillon. McDaniel won the vote by about a two-to-one margin despite Dhillon having earlier served as an attorney for Trump.
Despite the earlier support, the former president suggested this weekend that there should be changes at the RNC.
Trump praised McDaniel’s assistance to him in the 2016 election in Michigan. However, he said that “there’ll probably be some changes made.”
He also said that McDaniel did well in her early tenure, but questioned her recent performance.It is not clear who will succeed the RNC leader, though it appears that the North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley is the current frontrunner. Trump is reportedly considering asking Whatley to take the position. The state GOP chair has been a key ally of the former president.
“You have to understand, I have nothing to do with the RNC. I’m separate,” Trump said.
