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NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (AP) Struggling to unify after another disappointing election, the Republican National Committee has been locked in an increasingly nasty battle as the party grapples with its delicate relationship with former President Donald Trump. Consumed by leadership struggles.
With a vote on the RNC chairman not due until late January, the public discord could get worse before it gets better.
“It’s going to be very ugly for a while,” said longtime RNC member Ron Kaufman.
The equally contentious fight to become the new Republican House speaker has largely overshadowed a family struggle to lead the party, with elections scheduled for the first week of January. But both represent key choices as the Republican Party grapples with six years of electoral underperformance ahead of another presidential election.
The RNC, the Republican party’s national political arm, will raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build or rebuild the party’s framework, campaign messaging and the year-long presidential nomination process that will officially begin soon.
Rona McDaniel, Trump’s hand-picked pick to lead the council and the niece of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, is serving her fourth consecutive term. But the 49-year-old is facing a rising tide of discontent from Trump’s “MAGA” movement, despite the former president’s reticence — at least for now.
McDaniel said in an interview that she had informed Trump of her intention to seek re-election but had not explicitly solicited his support. She said she “didn’t think it was appropriate to ask for any endorsement” given party rules that require the RNC to remain neutral in the next presidential primary.
Asked if she wanted Trump’s endorsement, McDaniel demurred.
“I think the most important support right now is the members,” she said. “These are party leaders, grassroots leaders.”
California attorney Harmeet Dhillon has emerged as MAGA’s favorite to challenge McDaniel, who received commitments from more than 100 of the RNC’s 168 voting members earlier this month. Dhillon is working aggressively to win some support ahead of a formal vote at the annual winter meeting in Southern California next month.
She also notified Trump of her candidacy in a brief phone call shortly before she made her intentions public this month, Dylan said. She also didn’t explicitly ask for his support, though she said the president didn’t stop her from challenging McDaniel.
Dhillon, whose law firm earned more than $400,000 representing Trump and his political organizations in the 2022 midterms, said she would leave her law practice if elected chair. The 2024 presidential primary remains independent.
Still, Dhillon defended Trump against Republicans who accused him of underperforming in November’s midterm elections. Republicans won a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, but many of Trump’s handpicked candidates lost key Senate and gubernatorial races.
“It’s not anybody’s fault. Frankly, I think it’s a little too convenient to say it’s Donald Trump’s fault. Donald Trump hasn’t been president for the past two years,” Dhillon said.
Instead of criticizing Trump, Dhillon slammed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been a frequent target of Trump for not spending enough money in key Senate races. In fact, McConnell and his allies spent tens of millions more than Trump’s PACs in the midterms.
“You have Mitch McConnell, because he hates Trump, he refuses to support a candidate that President Trump has endorsed, which I think is really egregious. I blame him for the loss of the Senate,” Dhillon said.
Meanwhile, McDaniel is facing mounting criticism from Republicans, mostly outside the RNC’s 168 voting members, eager to change course after three consecutive disappointing election seasons. Her critics include several high-profile Trump loyalists, including Fox News hosts and prominent MAGA personalities on social media.
She also has some unlikely supporters on the committee.
Bill Palatucci, a Republican National Committee member who has been a frequent critic of Trump, said he would support Dhillon because McDaniel has essentially become a “tool” of Trump in recent years. He cites her decision to keep quiet about some of Trump’s more egregious behavior and to spend millions in paying his legal bills.
“Something has to change,” Palatucci said, describing the committee’s commitment to McDaniel as “soft.” “RNC members are seasoned politicians who know how to look you in the eye and say ‘I love you’, then walk into a polling station and slit your throat.”
At the same time, these RNC members received a deluge of emails from rank-and-file Republican voters and activists supporting Dhillon’s candidacy. The deluge came after Dhillon and her allies shared personal emails from the entire committee on social media.
Steve Scheffler, an Iowa RNC member who supports McDaniel, said he receives 50 to 70 emails a day from Republicans, many angry, weighing in on the leadership fight.
“Most of them said, Ronald has to go,” Scheffler said.
Kelly Ward, chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, said she had received “thousands of emails” in recent days.
“No ordinary person not affiliated with the current RNC establishment is urging me to keep Ronna Romney McDaniel as Chair,” Ward tweeted.
Trump remains a wild card.
The former president has stayed out of the public fight, but key members of his team — including senior adviser Suzy Wells — have informed members in private conversations that Trump still supports McDaniel’s reelection.
Trump’s allies point out that his tactics could change at any time — especially as the conservative media coalesces against McDaniel.
On Thursday, McDaniel’s team scrambled to explain conservative media reports, written by Dhillon’s supporters and legitimate clients, that the RNC spent millions of dollars on private jets, limousines, donations and donations under McDaniel’s watch. Souvenirs and flower arrangements.
In a letter to members, RNC Budget Committee Chairman Glenn McCall described such reports as “gross misrepresentations,” noting that many of the expenses, including memorabilia from donors, were purchased at the Trump White House’s discretion. of. Likewise, McCall wrote that the costs associated with luxury car rentals and private jets are mostly associated with Trump or other candidates.
McDaniel’s supporters are eager to highlight her success in fundraising, arguably the most important job of a Republican chairman. According to McCall, she raised more than $1.5 billion during her tenure.
Meanwhile, Dhillon is ramping up his attacks on McDaniel.
She questioned McDaniel’s stewardship of the RNC fund, accusing her of offering key positions to members in exchange for their support and suggesting the chairman was behind an anonymous email smear campaign.
But most of all, Dhillon said she ran because she wanted the party to win again: “I’m tired of losing.”
For her part, McDaniel warned that such a bitter division in her party could do serious damage.
“The race I’m in is about unity,” she said. “If we keep fighting and hating each other to the point that Republicans won’t vote for other Republicans, we’ll give Democrats what they want.” (AP)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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