Trump Tightens His Hold Over the RNC

What’s happening: Donald Trump’s allies fired over 60 high-level RNC staff across the United States, executing a plan to rid the Republican Party leadership of opposition to Trump’s MAGA movement.

Why it matters: Replacing RNC staffers with those loyal to Trump’s ideals will, in the short term, ensure a close working relationship between Trump’s campaign and the RNC to achieve the former president’s re-election. In the long term, it will ensure that Trump’s America First ideas remain central to GOP platforms, regardless of whether or not he wins in November.

The changes: Michael Whatley, former chair of the North Carolina GOP, is now heading up the RNC, while Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, was made co-chair. Chris LaCivita, a senior advisor on the Trump campaign, was made chief of staff. Reporting indicates the digital and finance teams may be moving to Florida to be nearer to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s base of operations.

• “Streamlining”: LaCivita described the staff cuts as being “designed to eliminate duplication” between the RNC and the Trump campaign.

Unprecedented control: No non-incumbent president has ever had this much control over the levers of power in their party. But Trump’s situation is unique: no president in living memory has attempted to make such a comeback, and no Republican has ever been nominated by the GOP for president three times in a row.

Varied reactions: While many conservatives are celebrating the RNC changes, some Republicans who are less aligned with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have mixed feelings. One former Trump aide urged GOP supporters to “stop donating” to the RNC, describing the organization as merely a “Trump legal defense fund.”