Ronna McDaniel Agrees to Resign as RNC Chair amid Pressure from the Trumps
McDaniel’s step back paves a path for Donald Trump loyalists — including his daughter-in-law Lara — to take control of the national Republican Party
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Bloomberg via Getty Images Ronna McDaniel
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel will step down from her position in March, setting up a path for Donald Trump loyalists — including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump — to assume top leadership roles in the party.
McDaniel announced on Monday that she would soon resign as chair, telling CNN in a statement, “I have decided to step aside at our Spring Training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a Chair of their choosing.”
“The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition,” McDaniel added in her statement. “I remain committed to winning back the White House and electing Republicans up and down the ballot in November.”
RNC Co-Chair Drew McKissick also announced on Monday that he would step down from his role.
The change in leadership at the RNC is notable for a number of reasons — namely, that it demonstrates the continued hold former President Trump has over the party.
Even before McDaniel officially stepped down, 78-year-old Trump had said he wants North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley to succeed McDaniel and that he wants his daughter-in-law to become the new co-chair.
James Devaney/GC; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Donald Trump, Lara Trump
Were Lara Trump to be voted in to the role of co-chair, party leadership would be something of a Trump family enterprise.
In recent weeks, Lara has frequently said in interviews that, if she were co-chair of the RNC, she would reshape the Republican Party to be a “family affair” — one that would potentially funnel donations both to Trump’s 2024 campaign, as well as his legal bills.
Speaking at a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, last week, Lara said “absolutely,” when asked if supporters would want their donations to the Republican National Committee going toward Trump’s growing legal bills.
“That’s why people are furious right now,” Lara said, per USA Today. “And they see the attacks against him. They feel like it’s an attack not just on Donald Trump, but on this country.”
AP Photo/Seth Wenig Donald Trump returns to the courtroom on Oct. 25, 2023, during his civil fraud trial in Manhattan
The former president faces more than a half-a-billion dollars in civil judgements against him in the past month alone. The former president was just last week ordered to pay $354.9 million, plus an estimated $100 million in pre-judgment interest, as a penalty for committing fraud in New York.
That ruling came just three weeks after Trump was ordered to pay former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages for making defamatory statements about her after she accused him of sexual assault.
The Democratic National Committee has slammed the Trumps for a plan that they say would “transform the RNC into a shell for Donald Trump and his legal bills.”
“With Donald Trump already pouring gasoline onto the dumpster fire that is the RNC, Lara Trump taking over as co-chair ensures that both the RNC and Trump campaign will continue to put up the same disastrous fundraising numbers they have filing after filing,” DNC rapid response director Alex Floyd said in a statement. “GOP donors should save themselves the effort and just light their cash on fire themselves.”
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The RNC serves as the national leadership arm of the GOP, and is responsible for developing and promoting the party’s platform as well as its election strategy.
A change in leadership to three Trump loyalists could help better unite the party behind the former president, who is currently ahead in the 2024 Republican primaries but still faces competition from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Read the original article on People.