Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, has informed former President Donald J. Trump that she intends to step down shortly after the South Carolina primary on February 24, according to two people familiar with the plans.
Trump is likely to nominate Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, as her replacement
According to several people familiar with the discussions, Mr. Trump is likely to nominate Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, as her replacement. However, under the committee’s rules, Mr. Trump cannot simply install someone; instead, a new election is required.
Ms. McDaniel has faced months of pressure, a campaign to unseat her by Trump-allied forces, and growing dissatisfaction and anxiety in the Trump camp about the Republican National Committee’s strained finances as the general election cycle begins early.
According to people who have spoken with Mr. Trump, he likes Mr. Whatley for one reason above all: he is “a stop the steal guy,” as one of them put it. He supports Mr. Trump’s false claims about widespread voter fraud, and Mr. Trump believes he did well in delivering North Carolina, a 2020 swing state, to him.
Mr. Whatley has made baseless claims that Republican election security efforts in North Carolina prevented Democrats from cheating. He also serves as the Republican National Committee‘s general counsel and has supported efforts to develop new voting laws.
Mr. Trump and his associates have made election security a signature issue that they intend to push in the general election. There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, and Mr. Trump’s allies lost dozens of court challenges. Mr. Trump has told associates that he believes the Republican National Committee should spend more money on “election integrity” in the 2024 race. Mr. Trump’s team is also focusing on hiring teams of poll watchers, as the North Carolina GOP did during the midterms in 2022.
Mr. Trump has criticized the Republican National Committee’s election efforts as insufficient, despite the party’s investment in establishing a full-time “Election Integrity Department,” which has been involved in 77 lawsuits in 23 states, according to the party.
Ronna McDaniel had been thinking about leaving before the end of her term for some time
Ms. McDaniel and Mr. Trump met at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. Shortly after their meeting, he posted on his social media website, Truth Social, essentially declaring that changes are on their way. In the post, he described her as “my friend” and said she was “now Head of the RNC, and I’ll be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth.”
Ms. McDaniel had been thinking about leaving before the end of her term for some time, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. Despite some of Mr. Trump’s closest allies’ animosity toward Ms. McDaniel, he has been uncharacteristically gentle in publicly acknowledging her impending departure.
“I think she knows that,” Mr. Trump told the right-wing media site Newsmax in an interview that ran shortly after his meeting with Ms. McDaniel, when asked if it was time for her to step aside. “I think she understands that.”
The Republican National Committee’s press officer did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. Trump’s senior adviser, Jason Miller, said in a statement, “Any speculation beyond the president’s post on Truth is just that—speculation.”
The R.N.C. is particularly focused on turnout and fundraising. Mr. Trump has previously had two campaigns that collaborated with the committee. The first was a forced partnership after he was named the surprise nominee in 2016, and the second occurred during the 2020 race, when his team assigned key functions to the R.N.C. This time, the Trump team is expected to try to take over the committee in a way that it has never done before.
Ms. McDaniel’s fundraising abilities have undoubtedly been hampered by Mr. Trump’s own actions, both while he was president and since he left office. Many major donors were outraged by the former president’s efforts to prevent the transfer of power following the 2020 election, as well as his various legal troubles since leaving office.
