The Republican National Committee could move next week to declare former President Donald Trump the “presumptive 2024 nominee” for the party’s presidential nomination.
A draft resolution anointing Trump, obtained by NBC News from two sources, has been circulated among RNC members who may vote at the winter meeting in Las Vegas.
The resolution claims, in part, that “all the evidence negates the possibility of a mathematical path to the 2024 Republican nomination for any candidate other than our presumptive nominee, President Trump.” The document also states that the RNC is “impartial [supported] nationwide caucus/primary processes to ensure a level playing field” and sponsored “robust, issue-focused” debates to help GOP voters evaluate the field. (The resolution excludes the fact that Trump missed all of those debates.)
“BE IT RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee hereby declares President Trump as our presumptive nominee for President of the United States for the year 2024, and hereby enters full general election mode, welcoming supporters of all candidates as valued members of Team Trump 2024.” it is said in the resolution.
trump, In a Thursday night Truth Social postHe called on the RNC to oppose the introduction of the resolution, although he claimed there was enough support to pass it.
“While I greatly appreciate the Republican National Committee (RNC) wanting to make me their PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE, and while they have more than enough votes to do so, I feel for the sake of PARTY UNITY they should not move forward. That’s the plan, but I have to do it the ‘Old Fashioned’ way and end the process at the ballot box,” Trump wrote.
Trump called the party unites around his candidacy After his decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday night. But his former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has vowed to continue his campaign. get angry from him.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has telegraphed her desire to rally around Trump if he continues to dominate early caucuses and primaries.
“If President Trump makes a strong speech tonight, it’s a clear message to our core constituents,” McDaniel said. Statement to NBC News Before New Hampshire’s results come out on Tuesday. “Republicans know that unless we unite as a party behind our candidate, we cannot defeat Biden.”
After Trump’s victory on Tuesday, McDaniel told Fox News: “I look at the map and the road ahead and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley.”
“I think there’s a message from the voters, it’s very clear: we have to unite around our last candidate, which will be Donald Trump,” he said.
Asked for comment Thursday, RNC spokesman Keith Schipper said McDaniel did not propose resolutions.
“Resolutions like this are put forward by members of the RNC,” Schipper said. “It will be taken up by the Resolutions Committee and they will decide whether to send this resolution to be voted on by the 168 RNC members” at our annual meeting next week.”
Notice of Resolution – This was first reported by The DispatchThe Maryland committeeman, who noted that he was introduced by David Bossie, a close Trump ally, quickly drew complaints from other corners of the RNC.
Bossie did not respond to a request for comment.
RNC member Oscar Brock of Tennessee said he caught wind of the resolution Thursday afternoon and felt it “definitely defeats the purpose” of RNC rules around presidential primaries.
“The rules specifically say you’re not a guy until you get 50% plus one of the delegates required for the convention,” he said, adding, “I think we’re going to be more open to letting more people have their say in the process before we call it over.” “
Committeeman Bill Palatucci of New Jersey, who helped lead a super PAC supporting Chris Christie’s presidential campaign, called the proposal “insane.”
“This is an insult to grassroots activists who have waited four years for a chance to participate in the nomination process,” he said.
U.S. Virgin Islands GOP Chairman Gordon Ackley, whose caucuses will nominate a presidential candidate on February 8, also rejected the offer.
“Unfortunately, other Republicans want to deprive their constituents of the opportunity to listen and vote.” Ackley wrote in X. “No matter who you support, there’s a process to follow.”
A spokesman for Haley rejected the proposed resolution Thursday.
“Who cares what the RNC says? “We will let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who will be our party’s nominee, not a Washington mob,” the spokesman said. “If Ronna McDaniel wants to help, she can host a debate in South Carolina if she’s not worried that Trump can’t handle being on stage with Nikki Haley for 90 minutes.”
A source familiar with Republican Party rules noted that the term “presumptive nominee” carries no official meaning or resource under party rules. While the resolution calls for the RNC to go into “full general election mode,” it doesn’t require the party to take specific, tangible steps to help Trump.
There is precedent for a party to announce a “presumptive candidate” and begin significant work on unifying the campaign and national party before the summer. In late April 2012, then-RNC Chairman Reince Priebus announced Mitt Romney as the party’s “presumptive nominee”, adding that the nomination was “beyond confirmation. This is a complete merger where the RNC is putting all of its resources and energy behind Mitt Romney.” According to the Los Angeles Times. However, the race for the GOP nomination was well ahead by this point, with nearly all of Romney’s rivals dropping out.
The same source, who is familiar with the party’s charter, added that the decision on the pooling of those resources is within the authority of the party chairman. While the resolution itself doesn’t lead to any formal changes in resources, the result will be a statement from RNC members about how they might want McDaniel to behave in the coming weeks or months — a task the former president has been caught between. Haley, the favorite for the GOP nomination and the runner-up who won almost 30% of the delegates allocated in the first two races of the nomination.
RNC member Brock of Tennessee said passing the resolution would be tantamount to disenfranchising millions of primary voters before Haley drops out of the race. He added that while it’s traditional for the RNC to put together a group of resolutions and pass them all on the same vote, it’s highly likely that this one will stand alone, apart from any other resolutions the party tries to pass next week.
“There could have been other discussions about other issues,” Brock said. “But they went straight to the back.”