McDaniel may leave RNC chair after South Carolina primary

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel may step down from her post after the South Carolina primary election, multiple outlets reported Tuesday night. 

McDaniel has faced pressure from party figures who have expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the RNC and its lack of finances heading into a 2024 general election. 

In a statement to The Hill, RNC spokesperson Keith Schipper said, “Nothing has changed. This will be decided after South Carolina.”

The Republican primary there is Feb. 24.

McDaniel has spoken with former President Trump about her resignation, according to The New York Times, which first reported on the news. They met Monday at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Fla. 

On Sunday, Trump said he expected to see “some changes” when asked about McDaniel. 

“I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me. I think she did OK initially in the RNC,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. “I would say, right now, there will probably be some changes made.”

The RNC’s fundraising dipped in 2023. The committee raised $87.2 million in 2023, but ended the year with $8 million left, according to its year-end filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called on McDaniel to resign during the third GOP debate, publicly slamming the chairwoman for the recent election losses the party has suffered.

“We’ve become a party of losers, at the end of the day. It is a cancer to the Republican establishment. I speak the truth. I mean, since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022. No red wave; that never came. We got trounced last night in 2023,” Ramaswamy said. “And I think that we have to have accountability in our party.”