McDaniel to step down as RNC chair March 8 as Trump marches toward nomination

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel will resign from her post March 8, she said early Monday, as former President Trump looks to shuffle the organization’s leadership as he closes in on the party’s presidential nomination.

“It has been the honor and privilege of my life to serve the Republican National Committee for seven years as Chairwoman to elect Republicans and grow our Party,” McDaniel said in a statement.

“I have decided to step aside at our Spring Training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a Chair of their choosing,” she continued. “The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition.”

McDaniel’s decision was not unexpected. She had reportedly planned to step down after the South Carolina primary Saturday, and Trump has already endorsed his preferred replacement, RNC general counsel Michael Whatley.

RNC co-chair Drew McKissick said in a statement Monday that he would also resign from his role in March. Trump has endorsed his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to serve as the next co-chair.

“I look forward to working with the RNC and President Trump’s team to make sure that we WIN this November by taking back the White House, the Senate and maintaining our majority in the House of Representatives,” McKissick said.

McDaniel on Monday cited the GOP winning back the House in 2022, the creation of an Election Integrity Department and a push for Republicans to vote early as examples of successes during her roughly seven years on the job.

She first became RNC chair with Trump’s backing in 2017, and won reelection four times, including in a contested election last year. But her critics pointed to the lack of electoral success and questioned the party’s spending. Her relationship with Trump was also strained as the former president pushed the RNC to cancel primary debates and back him in the 2024 process instead.

Trump has coasted to victory in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, and he is leading in the polls in other upcoming primary states over his lone remaining rival, Nikki Haley, who has vowed to stay in the race at least through Super Tuesday, March 5. Trump’s campaign has projected he will secure the necessary number of delegates to clinch the Republican nomination no later than March 19, setting up a rematch with President Biden.

Whatley and Lara Trump are expected to be elected as the new chair and co-chair in the coming weeks, with RNC members typically giving the presumptive presidential nominee deference to put their own leadership in place. Top Trump adviser Chris LaCivita is also shifting to the RNC to oversee day-to-day operations.

“Chairwoman McDaniel has led our party with grace and vision and has been a true friend to me and the North Carolina Republican Party,” Whatley said in a statement Monday. “Her leadership on election integrity, minority outreach, voter contact and so much more will be felt not only in the 2024 election, but in elections to come.”

A major question moving forward is whether the party will pay Trump’s legal bills. The former president is facing 91 felony charges across four separate investigations, and he recently was ordered by a New York judge to pay $355 million in a civil fraud case.

Trump’s campaign has spent millions of dollars on legal fees over the past year, leaving his operation at a significant cash disadvantage compared to President Biden’s campaign.

LaCivita reportedly said in recent days the campaign would not ask the RNC to pay Trump’s legal bills. But skeptics have noted that once the two start jointly fundraising, the money may ultimately be used for legal fees anyway.

LaCivita has also sharply pushed back against RNC members who have resisted calls to make Trump the presumptive nominee before he clinches the necessary delegates, arguing they are hamstringing the party’s efforts to win the general election.

“The primary is over and it is the RNC’s sole responsibility to defeat Joe Biden and win back the White House,” LaCivita said in a statement Saturday. “Efforts to delay that assist Joe Biden in the destruction of our nation. Republicans cannot stand on the sidelines and allow this to happen.”

Updated at 7:48 a.m. ET