Following Trump’s endorsements of the likely future RNC leaders, some GOP members expressed concerns about the RNC funds and their potential use in Trump’s legal problems, Politico reported. The publication spoke to several senior Republicans, and here is what they had to say.
Most will “go along” with Trump’s ideas
Henry Barbour, a Mississippi committeeman, told Politico that he assumed “most RNC members will go along” with Trump’s ideas for the Republican committee “unless there is a play to use RNC funds for President Trump’s legal bills.”
Another RNC member spoke up
Oscar Brock, an executive committeeman for the Tennessee Republican Party, confirmed that the budget RNC passed a couple of weeks ago did not include Trump’s legal expenses. Still, if changes were suggested, he said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for the committee to pay the legal bills for things done outside the work of the committee.”
It is all “manufactured”
Chris LaCivita, adviser to Trump’s campaign, said that these concerns about the RNC paying for Trump’s legal fees are “manufactured.” LaCivita said Trump uses his super PAC and contributes his own money to pay off his lawyers.
In 2022, the RNC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Trump’s legal bills
Politico reported that in 2021 and 2022, the RNC spent 2 million dollars to cover Trump’s legal bills. According to ABC, in October and November of 2021, the RNC spent 720,000 dollars of donor money to law firms representing the former president.
It is not forbidden
Talking to ABC News, Brendan Fischer, federal reforms director at nonpartisan government ethics group Campaign Legal Center, said that no strict laws prohibit the RNC from paying Trump’s lawyers. Still, that is very rare.
However, it is “unprecedented”
Fischer elaborated that it was “unprecedented” for the committee to pay for private legal bills, especially “when those legal expenses arise out of an investigation into activity that preceded Trump’s time in the White House, and when Trump is sitting on millions of his own PAC funds.”
A former Republican representative called it “disheartening”
Francis Rooney, a former GOP representative, told ABC News in 2022, “It is very disheartening to see RNC donors funding Trump’s legal bills.” The ex-lawmaker retired due to his anti-Trump stance, which was not welcomed among most Republicans. He now writes for notable publications, including Politico, The Hill, and more.
Trump’s choices for RNC leadership
Trump endorsed Michael Whatley as future RNC chairman. The lawyer is the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party and Trump’s close ally, who earned the nickname “Stop the Steal guy” following his election denial remarks.
Whatley’s co-chair would be Trump’s daughter-in-law
Under Trump’s arrangement, LaCivita would maintain his current role leading Trump’s campaign and become the RNC’s chief operations officer. Whatley’s co-chair would be Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, the former president’s second son.
Lara Trump’s promise
During an interview on Newsmax, Trump’s daughter-in-law said, “The RNC needs to be the leanest, most lethal political fighting machine we’ve ever seen in American history.” She added, “Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC – that is, electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country.”
The Haley campaign blasted the efforts
following Trump’s announcement, Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, said Trump was “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” Nikki Haley stated, “Now he has decided he has fired the RNC chair, he’s named who’s going to be the new RNC chair, his daughter-in-law will be the co-chair, and he is making his campaign manager the officer that runs the party. “
LaCivita and Trump claim it is all about election integrity
Trump’s top campaign adviser commented on the possible changes, “President Trump made perfectly clear that the number one priority of the RNC was to stop cheating. And that will be reflected in the budget, and that will be reflected in personnel, and that will be reflected in activity.”
“Extreme MAGA fanatics”
Democratic National Committee spokesman Director Alex Floyd said, “Trump is making it clear that the GOP is the home for insurrectionists and extreme MAGA fanatics,” adding, “Whatley already threatened our democracy once before when he spread lies about the results of the 2020 election. Now, Trump is rewarding him in just the latest display that democracy will be on the ballot this November.” Read the full report on Politico.
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