Ronna McDaniel announces last day as RNC chair will be March 8
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel will step down effective March 8, she announced in a statement early Monday.
McDaniel had told former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, a few weeks ago that she would step aside after the South Carolina primary, which was on Saturday.
Although the RNC will hold an election among its body to determine the next leader, Trump has already announced his choices: Michael Whatley has been tapped to be the new chair and Lara Trump, Trump's daughter-in-law, will stand for election for co-chair. A Trump senior campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, is expected to be appointed as chief operating officer.
McDaniel said in her statement that she will step aside on March 8 to allow the RNC to elect a new chair at its spring meeting in Houston. The news of her departure was first reported by The New York Times.
RNC co-chair Drew McKissick also announced his resignation on Monday.
McDaniel, who previously served as Michigan Republican Party chair, has been chair of the RNC since 2017, and won reelection for a fourth term in January. But 2023 was the party's worst year for fundraising in a decade, and the party entered 2024 with just $8 million in its coffers, its lowest cash on hand since 2014, according to FEC reports.
Although McDaniel had been an advocate for Trump, he has chosen even more loyal allies to take over. Trump's pick to take over, Whatley, currently serves as chair of the North Carolina Republican Party and the national committee's general counsel, and LaCivita is a senior Trump campaign adviser.
If Trump secures the nomination on Super Tuesday, March 5, he will have access to the RNC's data and ground operations, as well as its fundraising arm and legal fund.
–Olivia Rinaldi contributed to this report.