COLUMBIA, S.C. — A prominent Republican National Committee member is proposing two resolutions that would put some distance between the national party and former President Donald Trump — at least for a little longer.
The first resolution, by longtime member Henry Barbour of Mississippi, would ban the national party from coordinating with Trump or raising money with his campaign until he wins enough delegates to become the party’s presumptive nominee.
The draft resolution reads in part: “The Republican National Committee and its leadership will remain neutral throughout the Presidential election and will not hire additional staff from any active presidential campaign until a candidate is clearly established by reaching 1,215 delegates.”
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Although Trump has won all the Republican primaries and caucuses so far, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley has insisted that he plans to stay in the race for a while longer.
There is Trump already suggested his current campaign co-manager, Chris LaCivita, is taking over the reins as the RNC’s chief operating officer. The proposed resolution, if passed by the RNC’s 168-member body, would slow Trump’s team’s effective takeover of the RNC.
Unlike the Biden campaign and the DNC, the Trump campaign and the RNC have yet to establish a joint fundraising committee, which would allow the two entities to better coordinate and develop their mutual financial interests.
The Trump campaign released a statement Saturday disapproving of Barbour’s event.
“The first is over and it’s the sole responsibility of the RNC to defeat Joe Biden and take back the White House,” LaCivita said. “Republicans cannot stand by and let this happen.”
Late last month, there was another RNC member issued a resolution Declaring Trump the party’s “presumptive” nominee. After some controversy — and Trump himself saying on social media that the RNC shouldn’t have accepted it — the member withdrew it.
Barbour is also proposing a second resolution barring the RNC from paying Trump’s legal debts. If passed, it would announce: “The Republican National Committee will not pay the legal bills of our candidates for any federal or state office, but will direct our expenses to efforts directly related to the 2024 election cycle.”
Before a campaign rally for Trump on Friday, LaCivita also pledged that the RNC would not pay Trump’s legal expenses if the campaign and the RNC combined efforts.
“No,” LaCivita responded repeatedly when asked about the potential use of the funds.
“We brought these two resolutions to make sure there is a serious debate to protect the substantive process while there are still two competing candidates and to prevent the RNC from paying the legal bills of any political candidate unrelated to the election cycle,” Barbour said. statement to NBC News on Saturday.
RNC members will meet in Houston on March 7 and 8, when they could potentially vote on two resolutions.
It is also unclear when Ronna McDaniel will step down as chairman. In early February, Trump urged him to be Replaced by Michael WhatleyAn RNC member from North Carolina, but it’s up to McDaniel to resign or have RNC members remove him from office.
Whatley accompanied Trump on his plane from South Carolina to Washington for the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, according to a source familiar with their travels.
RNC members can also vote for new party leadership in Houston.
But there’s another potential complication facing Trump allies trying to take over the RNC: If McDaniel steps down, Trump-endorsed Whatley could face a challenge from the current RNC co-chair. Drew McKissick for the top spot in the party.
Asked in an interview with NBC News on Saturday whether he would drop his bid for the presidency, McKissick publicly refused to take such an effort off the table, though he acknowledged who the Republican Party’s nominee would be. a big word in the matter”.
“I stand with the team when it comes to this,” McKissick said. “It’s about putting together who’s going to be in the best slot to do what we need to do to win, and the candidate has a big say in that.”
There’s McKissick has already reached out to other RNC members to gauge their interest in supporting him as RNC Chair. A year ago, McKissick easily defeated Whatley, who at the time also had Trump’s backing, in the RNC vote to become the party’s co-chairman.
McKissick declined to say whether he would endorse Whatley’s bid for RNC chairman, instead calling the North Carolina Republican a “good friend” and acknowledging Trump’s role in ultimately determining RNC leadership.
“When you start building a team for a presidential campaign and the RNC, things come together once you have a candidate. Once you have a likely candidate, things start to come together,” McKissick said. “So it comes down to leadership.”