Trump asks Michael Whatley to remain as RNC chairman
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Michael Whatley at the Fiserv Forum on July 14 in Milwaukee, Wisc. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President-elect Trump said Wednesday that he has asked Michael Whatley to remain chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Why it matters: Whatley was likely to bear much of the blame from Trump if he lost last month. But with his decisive victory, the president-elect wants Whatley to lead the RNC through another term.
Driving the news: Trump in a statement on Truth Social said that Whatley "has been with me since the beginning, and has done an OUTSTANDING and HISTORIC JOB in running the Republican National Committee with the fantastic Lara Trump!"
- Trump called Whatley a "smart, tough lawyer" and touted his work leading the sprawling "election integrity" team, which amassed a network of hundreds of poll watchers and workers ahead of Nov. 5.
- He said that Lara Trump and Whatley "transformed the RNC into a lean, focused, and powerful machine."
Whatley in a post on X thanked Trump for his backing to stay on as RNC chairman.
- "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 said.
- He said that the GOP has "crucial fights ahead, from supporting President Trump's Cabinet nominees and preparing for the 2026 midterms, to our ongoing fight for election integrity across America."
Between the lines: In the final stretch before the election, Whatley emerged as a likely scapegoat for Trump if he lost, Axios' Sophia Cai reported.
- At a rally in North Carolina, the RNC chairman's home state, Trump said to the crowd: "Where are you, Michael? Stand up. We're counting on this guy. I didn't take him from any other state. I took him right from here."
- "So Michael, you better win or you're never going to be able to come back here. He doesn't win, he won't be at RNC and he will no longer be in North Carolina. He'll be looking for a job," Trump added.
Zoom out: Whatley became chair of the RNC in March after Ronna McDaniel stepped down following the committee's worst fundraising year in almost a decade in 2023.
