Two new leaders — handpicked by former President Donald Trump — were selected Friday to oversee the Republican National Committee.
Trump ally Michael Whatley, chair of the North Carolina Republican Party and the RNC’s general counsel, was elected as the GOP’S chair, and Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law, was elected co-chair.
The moves, endorsed by the former president, are expected to tighten his hold on the party’s machinery ahead of the November general election, The New York Times reported Friday.
Ronna McDaniel, the party’s chief since 2017, left after intense pressure amid the RNC’s lackluster fundraising and underwhelming election results.
Lara Trump, married to the former president's son Eric Trump, told Newsmax last month, ”The RNC needs to be the leanest, most lethal political fighting machine we've ever seen in American history."
Lara Trump pledged to prioritize fiscal responsibility within the RNC, vowing to allocate funds solely toward electing her father-in-law as president and "saving this country."
"If I am elected to this position [RNC co-chair], I can assure you there will not be any more $70,000 or whatever exorbitant amount of money was spent on flowers," she asserted. "Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC."
The Times noted that as part of the RNC’s meeting Friday in Houston, the party agreed to officially recognize Donald Trump as the party’s presidential candidate, even though he has yet to clinch the nomination this primary season.
Trump has 1,066 delegates, 149 short of the 1,215 needed to clinch the nomination. It could occur Tuesday when Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington hold primaries, and Hawaii a caucus.