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The widely expected move clears the way for Donald Trump to hand-pick the next leaders of the Republican organization.
WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will step down as head of the organization after Super Tuesday, according to reports from the New York Times and other national news outlets.
The widely expected move clears the way for Donald Trump to hand-pick the next leaders of the group.
In a statement, McDaniel said she would be resigning at the RNC’s spring training in March.
“I have decided to step aside at our spring training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a chair of their choosing,” McDaniel said. “The R.N.C. has historically undergone change once we have a nominee, and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition. I remain committed to winning back the White House and electing Republicans up and down the ballot in November.”
Despite McDaniel’s statement, the New York Times reported it has been “many years” since a party chair vacated the post during an election year.
Super Tuesday, the primary election day when 16 states vote for the presidential nominees, is likely when GOP frontrunner Donald Trump will secure his place as the presumptive nominee.
He has beaten former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, the only major opponent still in the race, in every state to hold a contest so far, including her home state.
Super Tuesday is set for March 5, three days before McDaniel plans to step down.
Trump has already nominated Michael Whatley, the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party and the national committee’s general counsel, to replace McDaniel. He has also put forward his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair.
Trump has a history of placing family members in high-ranking positions. During his first term as president, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner were both high-profile aides with a significant amount of influence in the White House.
McDaniel’s decision to step down is not a surprise. Reporting has circulated for weeks that she told Trump she planned to leave shortly after the South Carolina primary, which was held over the weekend.
For months, she has been the target of a pressure campaign by some of Trump’s allies in the right-wing news ecosystem, attempting to force her from her post. Her detractors focused their frustration on the party’s lackluster performance in 2022, blaming her leadership of the RNC over the former president and the candidates he backed.
McDaniel was the first woman to chair the RNC, rising to the position in 2017. Despite the attacks from allies, Trump himself has rarely criticized McDaniel, calling her a “friend” in a post on social media after the meeting where she reportedly told him she would resign.
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