President-elect Trump on Wednesday invited Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley to continue steering the GOP’s national party committee.
And Whatley quickly accepted, saying he is “honored for the opportunity to continue as Chairman of the RNC and work nonstop to help President Trump Make America Great Again!”
The former and future Republican president, pointing to his convincing White House victory in last month’s elections, as well the GOP’s flipping of the Senate and holding onto its fragile House majority, said Whatley had done “an OUTSTANDING and HISTORIC JOB in running” the RNC.
And Trump announced that “I have asked Michael to return as Chairman of the RNC to continue to build our Party, and be a trusted partner as we Make America Great Again, and ensure Free and Fair Election.”
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Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley stands for a Fox News Digital interview, on Oct. 1, 2024 in New York City. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
In March, as he clinched the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Trump named Whatley to succeed Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair. Whatley, a longtime ally of the former president and a major supporter of the former president’s election integrity efforts, had served as RNC general counsel and chair of the North Carolina Republican Party. Trump also named his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as RNC co-chair.
After first winning the White House in 2016, Trump picked McDaniel to steer the national party committee, and she became the longest serving chair in modern times. But earlier this year, Trump essentially pushed McDaniel out the door by repeatedly urging changes at the committee – after lackluster party fundraising and his opposition to the RNC’s presidential primary debates.
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Trump, in his social media post, said Whatley “is a smart, tough lawyer who put together a completely unprecedented ELECTION INTEGRITY OPERATION that protected the Vote all across America, and a GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN that delivered the Votes we needed in every Battleground State.”
President-elect Trump gestures after speaking during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
And he argued that “Michael and Lara transformed the RNC into a lean, focused, and powerful machine that will empower the America First Agenda for many years to come.”
Trump, whose immense grip over the GOP is stronger than ever, urged that “Republicans everywhere should support him [Whatley] as he continues his mission at the RNC.”
Whatley, responding minutes later in a social media post, thanked Trump “for the trust he has placed in me to continue our important work at the @GOP.”
“As long as I am Chairman, the RNC’s priorities will remain the same: get out the vote, protect the ballot, and raise the money we need to elect Republicans up and down the ticket,” he pledged.
RNC co-chair Michael Whatley calls the Republican National Convention to order on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Whatley pointed to the “crucial fights ahead,” which he said included “supporting President Trump’s cabinet nominees and preparing for the 2026 midterms, to our ongoing fight for election integrity across America.”
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But Trump, in last month’s elections, outperformed many down-ballot Republicans in key Senate and House races. And the RNC, going forward, will need to work to ensure that Trump voters continue to support the party’s candidates even though the term-limited Trump won’t appear on the ballot ever again.
