Lara Trump And Michael Whatley Elected RNC Leaders As Trump Tightens Grip On Republicans
Lara Trump and Whatley were both endorsed by Trump—who praised them, saying Whatley had a “commit[ment] to election integrity” and Lara Trump is “dedicated to all that MAGA stands for”—in February after former chair Ronna McDaniel announced she was stepping down.
SURPRISING FACT
At Friday’s RNC meeting, the committee voted to recognize Trump as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, multiple outlets reported—even though he has not yet secured the delegates he needs to clinch the nomination, though he is expected to in a matter of days.
KEY BACKGROUND
McDaniel, who has served as chair of the RNC since 2017 when she was selected by Trump, was supposed to hold the position until 2025 but offered to step down as Trump became more critical of her in recent months for fundraising issues and not being supportive enough of him as the potential nominee. In her resignation speech, McDaniel said she wanted to put the nominee and party first and that Trump “deserves to have the team he wants in place at the RNC.” Following former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley dropping out of the Republican presidential race, it’s expected that Trump will begin fundraising with the party as he focuses on the general election.
In a statement, Whatley thanked the RNC and Trump for “entrusting” him to serve as chair, adding “we are already well on our way to making Joe Biden a one-term President.”
Lara Trump, who was elected co-chair, said she will be “laser-focused on protecting our elections,” along with winning close races and ensuring the RNC’s money is spent well, adding “everything I do at this committee will have one focus: re-electing Donald Trump, flipping the Senate, and expanding the House this November.”
Whatley has served as the head of the North Carolina Republican Party and as a general counsel for the RNC, and Lara Trump is a former television producer and Fox News contributor who is married to Eric Trump and previously led initiatives for the Trump campaign to appeal to women voters.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
Whether RNC funds will be used to help Trump with his growing legal fees. In late February, when Trump’s legal fees were around half a billion dollars, Lara Trump said she believed Republican voters would be OK with the RNC paying Trump’s legal bills in part because they see the prosecution of him as “attacks.”
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