Top RNC official resigns in wake of spending scandal

Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay resigned Monday, an RNC official confirmed to the Ballot Box.

The move came a week after The Daily Caller reported that the committee reimbursed a California-based consultant some $2,000 for a bill at a bondage-themed Los Angeles nightclub.

The payment has re-ignited criticism of RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who critics say has allowed spending to run out of control.

McKay’s resignation was part of committee’s attempt to tighten its internal accounting procedures, the official said. He is the second RNC staffer to depart in the wake of the reimbursement scandal.

RNC deputy chief of staff Mike Leavitt will take over the job full-time, an RNC official said. 

In a statement, Steele said he was doing “everyting in my power” to ensure that the RNC uses all of its resources in the best possible fashion.

He said Leavitt had been picked as chief of staff because of his experience workind for Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign in 2007 and for his work with Bob McDonnell, the Republican who won Virginia’s governor’s race last year.

Leavitt also worked on Steele’s unsuccessful 2006 Senate race.

“The members of the Republican National Committee entrusted myself and every staffer to lead the loyal opposition against the destructive Obama agenda, build a stronger Republican party and win elections,” Steele said. “This is a role I take with the utmost seriousness.”

This story was updated at 9:05 a.m.