Delaying the party’s official endorsement of former President Donald Trump as its nominee in the next presidential election is the goal of a draft resolution put forth by a prominent member of the Republican National Committee.
A different resolution is being considered that aims to stop the RNC from paying for Trump’s legal bills. According to NBC News, these events point to a possible division within the party over its support of Trump and the distribution of funds.
Henry Barbour, a national committeeman for Mississippi, was the sponsor of the resolutions.
According to CNN, the backing resolution states: “The Republican National Committee and its leadership will stay neutral throughout the Presidential primary and not take on additional staff from any of the active Presidential campaigns until a nominee is clearly determined by reaching 1,215 delegates.”
Barbour’s vow to maintain neutrality in the face of Trump’s overwhelming victory in the Republican primaries and caucuses seeks to prevent hasty support for his campaign, which could impede his team’s attempts to seize control of the RNC.
NBC News reports that the Trump campaign and the RNC have not established a unified fundraising organization, which prevents coordinated financial efforts in contrast to the Democratic National organization and Joe Biden’s campaign.
The Trump campaign emphasized the need to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden and win back the presidency while criticizing Barbour’s neutrality resolution.
“The primary is over, and the RNC has to defeat Joe Biden and retake the White House,” declared Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign co-manager, who he has stated he intends to appoint as the RNC’s chief operating officer.
LaCivita went on, “Efforts to delay that assist Joe Biden in the destruction of our nation.” “Republicans cannot stand on the sidelines and allow this to happen.”
Barbour’s resolution on legal expenses declares, “The Republican National Committee will not pay the legal bills of any of our candidates for any federal or state office, but will focus our spending on efforts directly related to the 2024 election cycle.”
In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Barbour said, “We brought forth these two resolutions to make sure there is a serious discussion about protecting the primary process while there are still two candidates competing and preventing the RNC from paying the legal bills of any political candidate unrelated to the election cycle.”
The resolutions are scheduled for discussion on March 7 and 8 during the RNC meeting in Houston.
Meanwhile, there are still calls for RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to be replaced by Michael Whatley, raising doubts about her term.
Whatley, the head of the Republican Party in North Carolina, has received Trump’s endorsement to succeed McDaniel.