A story from the New York Times on Tuesday night stated that Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, will be leaving her position shortly, after Donald Trump had said he would ‘decide her fate.’
According to two people with knowledge of McDaniel’s plans, she plans to resign soon after the Republican primary in South Carolina on February 24. According to the sources, she has briefed former President Donald Trump on the subject. Regarding her successor, it is probable that Trump would advocate for the appointment of Michael Whatley, the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, who has supported Trump’s erroneous allegation that the 2020 election was rigged.
A source told the Times that Whatley is “a stop the steal guy.”
It is noted that McDaniel has been a loyal supporter of Trump, who is the favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination. Last month, she took a highly unusual step as a party chair and urged Nikki Haley to drop her challenge to the former president.
In 2017, Ronna Romney McDaniel reportedly dropped her maiden name “Romney” after Trump reportedly asked her to. Her uncle is Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), with whom Trump has repeatedly clashed over the years.
McDaniel has come under increased scrutiny in recent election cycles, which have seen Republicans underperform expectations. Under her stewardship, the GOP lost the House in 2018, the Senate in 2020, and failed to retake the Senate in 2022 while only retaking the House with a narrow majority.
Trump has not made her job any easier. In the most recent cycle, he endorsed several Senate candidates who raised concerns among Republican insiders. Those concerns were vindicated when not only did the GOP not take the Senate, but it lost a seat.
