Michael Whatley, an ally of Donald J. Trump who took over the Republican National Committee last week, celebrated a series of major changes at the committee in a memo on Thursday, declaring that the party will be “a unified operation and a united front” with Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
Mr. Whatley was unanimously elected chairman of the committee on Friday, with Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, as his co-chair. A whirlwind of changes soon followed, completely reshaping much of the party apparatus.
On Monday, the new leadership team gutted the committee and cut ties with more than 60 officials, including senior staff. On Tuesday, Christina Bobb, a self-described 2020 election denier and conspiracy theorist on Mr. Trump’s legal team, said she would join as lead election integrity lawyer.
“I am very pleased to say that my first week as chairman of the Republican National Committee has been a great week,” Mr. Whatley began the memo sent to members of the RNC and obtained by The New York Times.
Mr. Whatley also announced that the RNC was “merging operations with the Trump campaign,” adding that James Blair, a Trump campaign aide, would wear dual hats as political director for both the committee and the Trump campaign.
That announcement formalized a merger that had been underway since Monday, when it was reported that much of the party’s activities would move to Palm Beach, Florida, the Trump campaign’s base.
Charlie Spies, a Republican attorney and one of Mitt Romney’s top fundraisers during his 2012 presidential campaign, will also take on the position of senior adviser to the RNC, according to the memo.
As some Republicans have expressed concerns that Mr. Trump would use committee money to pay his legal bills, Mr. Whatley said the RNC must “make sure that every penny of every dollar is spent on one thing: winning seats in the House of Representatives.” , win Senate seats and win the presidency.” Before taking over as co-chair, Ms. Trump had said she was open to the idea of the committee paying Mr. Trump’s legal fees.
Mr. Whatley’s memo also set the goal of “developing the most effective election integrity program ever to protect our elections.” Ms. Bobb, who now leads that effort, has spent years tirelessly promoting false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump, first as an anchor at the far-right One America News Network and continuing after she became a lawyer for Mr. Trump. Bill McGinley, who served as Cabinet secretary during the Trump administration, will also join the team as an outside election integrity advisor.
One of the election integrity team’s goals will be an “aggressive, proactive effort to ensure it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat,” according to Whatley’s memo. The memo mentions challenges to some election rules put in place for the 2020 election, suggesting the national party supports conservative efforts to tighten election laws as well as efforts by Trump allies to challenge large numbers of voter registrations in critical battleground states could, before the 2024 election.
The RNC sued Michigan on Wednesday to make cuts to the state’s voter rolls, arguing that they are “overcrowded with ineligible voters.” Mr. Whatley highlighted that lawsuit in the memo and said there were “many more” to come.
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2024-03-15 13:59:02
www.nytimes.com
