RNC Chair McDaniel Likely to Hold Seat Amid Criticism

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel is increasingly under fire, with criticism coming from conservatives who want her to be removed from her seat but GOP insiders say she'll likely stay in office, as trying to replace her would be difficult during the presidential election cycle.

"I don't think there's any way in the world you can get a two-thirds vote to replace her," Oscar Brock, the GOP national committeeman from Tennessee, told Politico.

Brock was one of 55 RNC members who voted against reelecting McDaniel in January, and he acknowledged that it would make "maybe a lot of people happy" if she was replaced, but said he thinks it "would probably be detrimental to the party to try to have her removed by vote."

He added that it will take two-thirds of the RNC's 168 members to vote to oust McDaniel. Lori Hinz, a North Dakota national committeewoman who also opposed McDaniel's reelection, said she's hearing from grassroots activists that they are not happy with the chair and the party's repeated losses.

However, there is not much the committee can do to turn that around, she said, as "that's her decision. She generally does not bend to outside sources very well."

McDaniel, as the RNC's longest-serving chairperson in more than 100 years, is facing more criticism than ever, including from former President Donald Trump, who has been pushing her to cancel the presidential debates and devote more effort to election integrity efforts, two people briefed on the conversations said.

His allies also say he's been hearing complaints in recent weeks about the committee's chair, with one of the allies saying that Trump, the clear front-runner in the 2024 GOP race, has "soured" on McDaniel's job performance.

A Trump campaign spokesperson didn't comment and other Republicans said that he and McDaniel speak often.

However, Politico reports that there have been options floated for Trump to make changes at the RNC if he's the presumptive nominee, including installing a loyalist to oversee the committee's operation.

The campaign has also hinted at making changes at the RNC if Trump wins the primary, writing in a memo this month that would "refocus" the organization.

Meanwhile, an RNC spokesperson said the committee has election integrity directors in 15 states and that the committee has filed more than 70 lawsuits on the subject.

The spokesperson also said that McDaniel and the RNC are "laser-focused" on defeating President Joe Biden next November.

The committee also provided statements supporting McDaniel from party chairs in Nevada, Alabama, Iowa, California, and North Carolina.

However, the conservative group Turning Point USA has been urging Trump to push for a leadership change at the RNC.

"There is still time to correct course on many of the structural problems at the RNC, but we need to move fast," the organization's founder, Charlie Kirk said in a statement.

Last week's Republican losses in Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, though, are causing even more criticism of McDaniel.

Rich Anderson, the chair of the Virginia Republicans, claimed the RNC denied his request for financial assistance for the GOP elections, but McDaniel said Virginia officials informed the RNC last summer they didn't need the cash and that Democrats outspent Republicans in the state on the topic of abortion.

Members of Congress are also speaking out against McDaniel, and this week, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign launched FireRonna.com and an online petition calling for her to be fired.

Ramaswamy also attacked McDaniel during the most recent RNC debate, calling for her resignation.

Another candidate, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has also criticized McDaniel and RNC debate chair David Bossie for trying to thin the field of candidates before the Iowa caucuses through ever-stronger debate rules.

"This is a backroom, lick-your-finger, stick it in the air, and come up with some arbitrary thing to try to nationalize the primaries," he told Politico.