Ronna McDaniel offers Trump her resignation as RNC head

Image source, Getty Images

By Madeline Halpert

BBC News, New York

Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is considering stepping down after the South Carolina Republican primary.

She told Donald Trump at a meeting on Monday at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate that she will do whatever is best for the party, including resigning.

However, no concrete plan for her departure was agreed, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

It comes after Mr Trump hinted that Ms McDaniel should leave her post.

"I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me," he told Fox News on Sunday.

"I think she did OK, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now, there'll probably be some changes made."

Mr Trump chose Ms McDaniel to lead the party in 2017 after she served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

She has faced pressure to resign over the party's poor performance in recent elections and lacklustre fundraising.

Asked by conservative network Newsmax on Monday whether Ms McDaniel should step down for these reasons, Mr Trump said: "Well, I think she knows that. I think she understands that."

The RNC had one of its worst fundraising years in a decade in 2023, raising $87.2m (£69.1m) compared to the Democratic National Committee's $119m, according to recent FEC filings. Campaign finance disclosures also showed the RNC had only $8m left in the bank and $1m in debt.

Mr Trump, the frontrunning Republican presidential candidate, has maintained a close relationship with Ms McDaniel in the past. But he reportedly became irate with her after she declined to cancel TV debates that gave a platform to his would-be challengers within the party.

Referring to Ms McDaniel as a "friend", the former president wrote on his social media site Truth Social on Monday that he would announce recommendations for the RNC after the South Carolina primary scheduled for 24 February.

Both Mr Trump and Ms McDaniel plan to speak again in the aftermath of that vote.

Ms McDaniel was overwhelmingly re-elected to serve as RNC chair in 2023 despite the party's underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm elections.

She served as the head of the Michigan RNC when Mr Trump narrowly won the Midwestern state in the 2016 election.

Ms McDaniel is the niece of Republican Senator Mitt Romney. Her mother, Ronna Romney, unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 1996.

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