HOUSTON — The Republican National Committee on Friday elected a new chair to replace Ronna McDaniel, who was forced out by former President Donald Trump.
In a unanimous voice vote, RNC members elected North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley to take the reins of the national organization.
Mr. Trump handpicked Mr. Whatley, who previously served as the RNC’s general counsel.
California GOP Committeeman Shawn Steele lauded Mr. Whatley as a “smart political” choice by Mr. Trump.
“Whatley is a very smart, political choice. He’s not some outsider,” said Mr. Steele, who is married to Rep. Michelle Steele, California Republican.
Ms. McDaniel had been rapidly losing support in RNC circles despite winning reelection last year, which made her the longest-serving RNC chair in modern history. She was endorsed by Mr. Trump for the job when she took over the RNC in 2017.
Mr. Whatley has been involved in GOP politics for a couple of decades.
Before his work at the RNC, Mr. Whatley served as a federal law clerk and senior official in the George W. Bush administration.
He also served as a senior adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign, Florida recount and transition teams, as well as the Trump-Pence transition teams. Additionally, he worked as chief of staff for Sen. Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina Republican.
The RNC has struggled financially over the past several months and Mr. Trump, the presumptive presidential nominee, is facing 91 charges in four separate court cases.
A committeeman proposed a resolution to prohibit the RNC from paying Mr. Trump’s legal bills, but the proposition failed to get enough support to go to a vote at the Houston meeting.
Henry Barbour, a national committeeman from Mississippi, told The Washington Times that his proposed resolution is now “dead” after it failed to receive the required support of two out of three RNC members from at least 10 states. He said it had support in eight states.
Trump campaign officials have said the campaign does not plan to use RNC funds to pay Mr. Trump‘s legal bills.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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