Trump suggests North Carolina GOP Chairman Whatley as Ronna McDaniel successor at RNC: Source

Former President Donald Trump is recommending North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley to take over the Republican National Committee, a source familiar confirmed to the Washington Examiner.

The soonest Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel would potentially depart from the RNC would be after the South Carolina Republican primary on Feb. 24, according to reports. Trump telegraphed a shake-up was coming in an interview that aired Sunday.

“I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me. I think she did OK, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now, there’ll probably be some changes made,” Trump said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.

A source told Fox News that “a change” in RNC leadership would take place after the Palmetto State’s primary and that Whatley was Trump’s recommendation due to his efforts against election fraud.

The North Carolina GOP did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner.

As speculation over McDaniel’s future with the party continues to swirl, RNC spokesman Keith Schipper said in a statement Tuesday, “Nothing has changed. This will be decided after South Carolina.”

Former President Donald Trump, left, is welcomed by Michael Whatley, chairman of the North Carolina GOP, before he speaks at the North Carolina Republican Convention Saturday, June 5, 2021, in Greenville, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Seward) The RNC did not provide additional comment on the news of Trump’s Whatley recommendation.

Whatley has been a proponent of increased election security and integrity measures. One person familiar with the plan told the New York Times that Whatley was “a stop the steal guy.”

Months after Trump’s electoral loss to President Joe Biden in 2020, Whatley continued to introduce him as “our president.”

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While Trump will promote the North Carolina Republican as the best choice for McDaniel’s successor, he will still need to be elected by the committee members who have been divided about leadership. McDaniel won reelection last year with 111 votes. Her closest competitor was California Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, who received 51. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell also campaigned for the role but only got four votes.

The faction of committeemen and women recently attended an “alternate RNC meeting” last month, which overlapped with the RNC’s winter meeting. According to Turning Point Action, which put on the event, roughly 50 to 70 committee members were in attendance.

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