Trump’s grip on RNC tightens as Michael Whatley and Lara Trump become new leaders

Donald Trump has finalised his takeover of the Republican National Committee as the campaign organisation elected former North Carolina GOP chair and RNC general counsel Michael Whatley as its new chair following the departure of Ronna McDaniel.

Mr Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was elected vice-chair of the RNC, cementing the Trump family’s control of how Republican campaign cash gets spent.

Members of the RNC met in Houston, Texas to appoint Mr Whatley and Ms Trump to the top posts.

In her departing remarks, Ms McDaniel, who has been in the post since 2017, said “We cannot put our heads in the sand and ignore abortion and the Dobbs decision” in reference to the Supreme Court decision that ended the constitutional right to abortion.

About the 2022 midterms, she said, “Many of our candidates chose to ignore this issue,” according to NBC News. “We cannot win by speaking to an echo chamber of Republicans.”

“The state of our party is strong. Over the last year, the RNC has been building the road for our eventual nominee,” she added.

While the change in personnel was in the works before Super Tuesday, Mr Trump’s sweep of victories on 5 March, losing only Vermont to his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who left the race on Wednesday, leaves Mr Trump to get on with his general election campaign as the only Republican candidate left.

“We need voters to bank their vote and vote early,” Ms McDaniel argued, NBC reported, even as Mr Trump has spent years baselessly denigrating early voting as a source of fraud. “We cannot allow Democrats to continue to run up the score in critical states,” she added. “If Republicans succeed in getting Republicans to vote early… Donald Trump will win in November.”

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