Ronna McDaniel Announces Resignation As RNC Chair

“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 wrote in a statement reported by NBC News. “The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition.”

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McDaniel had reportedly indicated on Feb. 6 that she would depart at some time in the future.

Under McDaniel’s chairwomanship, the RNC had launched a program known as “Bank Your Vote” to ensure that Republican voters cast their ballots early in electoral cycles. She had also aggressively pursued lawsuits and efforts to ensure election integrity, amid skepticism of election laws in Democratic-run states.

On Feb. 12, two weeks before McDaniel’s announcement, Trump endorsed Michael Whatley, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, to succeed her as RNC chair and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to become the co-chair. In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, Lara Trump indicated that she would continue early voting efforts and election integrity during her co-chairmanship.

“Some of my proudest accomplishments include firing Nancy Pelosi, winning the popular vote in 2022, creating an Election Integrity Department, building the committee’s first small dollar grassroots donor program, strengthening our state parties through our Growing Republican Organizations to Win program, expanding the Party through minority outreach at our community centers, and launching Bank Your Vote to get Republicans to commit to voting early,” McDaniel said.

“[I’m] willing to put self aside for the sake of building a team and focusing on winning is a big part of being successful. With that in mind, I’m submitting my resignation as Co-Chair, effective upon the election of my successor at the upcoming Spring Training in Houston,” McKissick wrote. He was elected to the role in January of 2023.

McDaniel had reportedly indicated on Feb. 6 that she would depart at some time in the future. She is the niece of Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah — who was the Republican nominee for president in the 2012 election and has been a frequent critic of Trump — and had previously used the surname “Romney-McDaniel.”