Trump's push to remake the RNC could get messy
As Donald Trump works on locking up the Republican presidential nomination, he’s setting his sights on remaking the Republican National Committee in his own image.
As Donald Trump works on locking up the Republican presidential nomination, he’s setting his sights on remaking the Republican National Committee in his own image. But it’s a task that is likely to come with some political peril, and it may not happen without a fight.
Trump has said in recent days that he’s looking for change at the RNC, which could mean Ronna McDaniel’s stepping aside as chairwoman. The Trump campaign has openly signaled that if she does, its preferred pick for a successor is North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, a veteran operative with deep ties to the party’s establishment who is currently the RNC’s general counsel.
It’s those establishment ties that could prove to be a complicating factor.
Whatley’s supporters describe him as a “workhorse” who is the perfect fit to take over the national party. He has significant experience within the RNC, and he helped rebuild his own embattled state party after he took over from a chairman facing a bribery scandal. Whatley also supported Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 election was riddled with fraud — which has helped endear him to the former president.
But he is also very much seen as part of a party establishment that some conservatives would like to tear down. That is highlighted most notably by the fact that he offered a voice of support to McDaniel during her contested re-election bid last year. Speaking with NBC News in December 2022, Whatley said his decision to back her “was not a close call,” because she was responsive to the needs of RNC members and his own state party.
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