Trump-loyal head of Republican Party to step down: report

Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican Party since 2017, plans to step down, The New York Timesreported on Tuesday.

"Ms. McDaniel has faced months of pressure, a campaign from Trump-allied forces to unseat her, and growing dissatisfaction and anxiety in the Trump camp about the strained finances of the R.N.C. as the general election cycle begins early," reported Maggie Haberman, Shane Goldmacher, Jonathan Swan, and Annie Karni.

Indeed, previous reports indicated former President Donald Trump himself was working to push her out, as his allies fretted over the RNC's money troubles and their long string of election losses.

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McDaniel had been facing problems for a while, including a significant challenge in her last election from Trump-aligned lawyer Harmeet Dhillon.

"Mr. Trump is then likely to promote the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, Michael Whatley, as her replacement, according to several people familiar with the discussions," said the report. "Under the arcana of the committee’s rules, however, Mr. Trump cannot simply install someone. A new election must take place, and Mr. Whatley could face internal party dissent."

"Mr. Whatley has baselessly claimed that election security efforts from Republicans in North Carolina stopped Democrats from cheating. He is also currently the general counsel at the Republican National Committee and has endorsed efforts to develop new voting laws," noted the report. "Mr. Trump and his associates have made focusing on election security a signature point they plan to push in a general election. There has been no evidence of widespread fraud related to the 2020 voting, and Mr. Trump’s allies lost dozens of court challenges."