Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel (left) and former President Donald Trump (right).
William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Ronna McDaniel offered to step down as RNC chair amid pressure from Donald Trump, per NYT.Trump recently told Fox News that “there will probably be some changes made” to the RNC. McDaniel had fended off challenges from election deniers like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell last year.
An election denier could very well find themselves as the next Republican National Committee chair if Donald Trump gets his way.
Ronna McDaniel, who has held the position for over seven years, has offered to step down after this month’s South Carolina primary, The New York Times reported.
The news comes after Trump hinted in a Newsmax interview on Monday that McDaniel should vacate her position.
The recent developments mark a shift in the relationship between McDaniel and Trump. The former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party received Trump’s support to take over as RNC chair in 2017.
“I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me,” Trump said of McDaniel in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday. “I think she did OK initially in the RNC. I would say, right now, there will probably be some changes made.”
Under McDaniel, Trump also benefitted from the committee when it came to his legal troubles.
The RNC footed some of Trump’s legal bills after New York prosecutors launched investigations into Trump’s private businesses.
“These are bills that came from the Letitia James lawsuit that started while he was president,” McDaniel told CNN in November 2022, referencing the New York attorney general.
“It was voted on by our executive committee for our former president that this was a politically motivated investigation, and that’s what it’s been for,” McDaniel continued.
Despite previous support from Trump, McDaniel’s grip on the position has been tenuous. Her leadership was marred by her party’s defeats during the midterm elections in 2018, 2020, and 2022.
McDaniel did manage to secure her fourth term as chair in January 2023 after fending off two challengers — former Trump campaign attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Lindell, who is an avowed denier of the 2020 election results, told BI that he isn’t interested in running for RNC chair again.
“I am not running as I have to finish my efforts to get this country to paper ballots,” Lindell said. “The RNC should pick anyone that places the election platforms as their main focus.”
The businessman then suggested Julianne Murray, who chairs the Delaware Republican Party, as McDaniel’s replacement.
Murray, Lindell said, “would be the best pick for the RNC chair.”
Murray did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Several other names have been floated for the role.
Michael Whatley, the North Carolina Republican Party chair, is one of Trump’s top picks for the successor, people who have spoken to the former president told The New York Times.
Sources told The Times that Trump looks favorably upon Whatley because he pushed the former president’s false claims that the election was stolen.
A spokesperson for Whatley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Joe Gruters, a Florida state senator and former chair of the Florida GOP, is also on Trump’s list, a source familiar with the matter told The Miami Herald.
Gruters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RNC rules don’t allow for a third party to nominate a chairperson, and an election among committee members must be held to pick the successor.
Still, Trump’s endorsement, coupled with his sway over the Republican Party, could have a significant impact on how committee members vote.
The RNC once considered declaring Trump the “presumptive 2024 nominee” for the party, according to a draft resolution that was obtained by The Associated Press in January.
The committee walked back on the resolution after Trump wrote on Truth Social that the committee “should NOT go forward with this plan” and he plans to “do it the ‘Old Fashioned’ way” at the ballot box.
A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.