By Nika Shakhnazarova and Melissa Koenig
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced Monday that she will step down in less than two weeks following mounting criticism over her leadership..
McDaniel, 50, said she plans to resign on March 8 — just days before the Super Tuesday primaries, when Republican voters in several delegate-rich states can vote on their party’s presidential nominee.
Her announcement followed weeks of speculation and a week after former President Donald Trump — the party’s clear frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election and the man who picked her for the job — said it was time for her to do so.
McDaniel said it had been “the honor and privilege of my life to serve the Republican National Committee for seven years as chairwoman to elect Republicans and grow our party” — with the first in a list of her proudest accomplishments being “firing Nancy Pelosi.”
“I have decided to step aside at our spring training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a chair of their choosing,” she said.
“The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition,” she said.
Trump, 77, personally picked McDaniel, the niece of two-time Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, to serve as the head of the Republican National Committee following his historic 2016 election.
But criticism ramped up over the past few years over her handling of the party’s finances and failed grassroots efforts to attract voters after Republicans lost Senate seats and governorships in 2022.
At the same time, the RNC had just $8 million in cash on hand as of Dec. 31 — the lowest since it had just over $5 million cash on hand at the end of 2014, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
In contrast, the Trump campaign finished off 2023 with $42 million cash on hand.
The former president and GOP primary front-runner hinted last Monday that McDaniel should vacate her position after the RNC reported decade-low fundraising numbers entering the presidential election year.
“I think she knows that, I think she understands that,” Trump said during a Newsmax interview when asked whether McDaniel should resign after three consecutive election cycles of Republican underperformance.
Trump also teased in a Truth Social post that he’ll be “making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth,” calling McDaniel a “friend” and praising her work in Michigan during his 2016 election victory over Hillary Clinton.
