The Republican National Committee (RNC) has a new leader now that former chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has stepped aside, and committee members cast their votes at the group's spring meeting in Houston, Texas, on Friday.
North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley won that unanimous vote and will take the reins of a party struggling to undo the financial advantage of its Democratic counterpart as the November general election approaches.
Whatley has served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party since 2019 and also serves as general counsel of the RNC. He was hand-picked by former President Donald Trump for the position and has strongly supported the latter's repeated claims that his 2020 election loss to President Biden was due to massive voter fraud.
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North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley speaks during the North Carolina Republican Party Convention at the Koury Convention Center on Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A source told Fox News Digital last month that Whatley was selected specifically because he was “very powerful in voter fraud” that year. That same source also told Fox that Whatley “kept fraud down” in the state, “despite having a strong Democratic governor.”
The source added that Trump is focused on ensuring that votes in the 2024 general election are “secure.”
Before working with the Republican Party, Whatley served as a federal law clerk, a senior official in President George W. Bush's administration, and chief of staff to former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R.N.C. He also served as a senior advisor to the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, the Florida transition and recount teams, as well as the Trump-Pence campaign and transition teams.
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Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel listens to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., address an election night party at The Westin Washington hotel in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman and former Republican National Committee committeeman Chris Ager, who attended Friday's meeting in Houston, told Fox News Digital that Whatley was “a good choice” to lead the party.
“People at the Republican National Committee know and like Mike Whatley, so he's a good choice, and Lara Trump is a trusted advisor to the president, so why not give her the tools she needs to do the job? If you trust those people, give them what they need to get that victory in November,” he said.
Whatley will be joined by Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who was also chosen by unanimous vote to serve as co-chair.
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Laura Trump speaks at the NCGOP state convention with former US President Donald Trump on June 5, 2021 in Greenville, North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Trump is also installing campaign adviser Chris LaCivita as Republican National Committee chief of staff. LaCivita, a veteran Republican strategist and veteran of the Republican National Committee, will continue to maintain his role as one of two top advisers who will run Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
The moves solidify Trump's takeover of the RNC and effectively cement the reality of the past eight years: the Republican Party is Trump's party.
The Republican National Committee meeting, which was scheduled for recent weeks, came the same week that Trump swept 14 of the 15 GOP primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday, bringing him that much closer to officially securing the nomination. 2024 Republican presidential election.
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Newly elected RNC Chair Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump on stage at the RNC Spring Meeting in Houston, Texas, on March 8, 2024. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
It also comes just two days after Trump's last rival for the nomination, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race.
Trump's takeover of the Republican National Committee is far from controversial. It is traditional that, as the presidential election cycle moves from primaries to general elections, the presumptive nominee of the party out of power takes control and merges operations.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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