According to a Republican insider familiar with the matter, former President Donald Trump is set to endorse North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley as the successor to Ronna McDaniel in leading the Republican National Committee (RNC) Politico reports.
Alongside the endorsement for Whatley, Trump is also expected to throw his support behind his daughter-in-law Lara Trump for the role of RNC co-chairwoman.
Trump is set to push for Chris LaCivita to be the chief operating officer of the RNC, as revealed by an anonymous GOP operative authorized to speak candidly. LaCivita will continue as the co-campaign manager for the Trump campaign as well. These personnel adjustments would come into effect once the new RNC Chair is in place.
Trump’s endorsement does not guarantee that the two will be appointed to the positions. If McDaniel steps down, as it is anticipated that she will after the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24, the committee will need to hold a vote among its members. However, it is likely to be a mere formality, with party members expected to align with Trump’s preferences for the leadership roles.
In his new role, LaCivita would split his time between Trump’s headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida, and the RNC offices in Washington, D.C. A former executive director of the Virginia GOP who consulted with the RNC during the 2016 election, LaCivita’s focus will be on directing the committee’s efforts toward battleground states.
“Mr. Trump’s team plans to meld the R.N.C. with his campaign as much as possible, a change from 2016, when he was the insurgent nominee whose team was often at odds with the party’s stalwarts, and from 2020, when he was the incumbent president with a team that allocated core functions to the party committee. This time, his team is aiming for as little daylight between the two entities as possible, according to several people briefed on the matter,” The New York Times reports.