MAGA Republicans rage at Ronna McDaniel over RNC failures

Infighting and funding woes are causing chaos in the Republican National Committee.

Ever since Republicans failed to produce a “red wave” of victories during the 2022 elections, some conservatives within the party have had their knives out for RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel. Challenges, like those from conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell and right-wing lawyer Harmeet Dhillon, have included allegations that McDaniel and RNC leaders misused funds for personal luxuries and failed to invest the group’s resources properly (one example they cited was that the RNC pays the chair’s rent; that’s an arrangement, however, that former Chair Reince Priebus told Yahoo News is “normal and routine”). McDaniel told The Washington Post in November that fundraising is low because “there’s more donors just fully committed to their candidate right now.”

Although the earlier MAGA mutiny was quashed after McDaniel was re–elected to a fourth term last year, it’s having a resurgence this week.

Last Friday, right-wing outlet The Washington Times published a story, citing anonymous sources, saying the RNC had taken out a line of credit as the 2024 presidential campaign heats up. Politico also reports this week that the RNC’s “executive committee this month authorized the potential use of the credit, though a spokesperson said the RNC approves lines of credit as an annual precautionary measure.”

The timing of the Washington Times story sure was curious, just ahead of a conference hosted in Las Vegas this week by the political arm of the far-right, Trump-loving organization Turning Point USA. The “Restoring National Confidence” (or R.N.C.) summit was promoted as an opportunity to “hold the RNC accountable” and “show the RNC how to effectively lead.” Charlie Kirk, one of the founders of Turning Point, was among those who opposed McDaniel’s re-election in 2023, and his group’s conference seemed to have a similar goal of making her life difficult. It certainly platformed people, like Lindell and Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who have been deeply critical of her.

McDaniel even theorized back in 2022 that Kirk and Turning Point want to “take over the RNC.“ By the look of things, it’s hard to disagree.

But this week, the MAGA movement’s pressure on McDaniel hasn’t been confined to Kirk’s conference. On Monday, the Trump-linked failed House candidate Laura Loomer claimed that a “grass-roots ambush” would meet McDaniel at the RNC’s winter meeting on Tuesday (also in Las Vegas) to accuse the organization’s leadership of financial irresponsibility. 

Loomer is a conspiracy theorist and self-described Islamophobe, so take her statements with a grain of salt. But she does seem to be part of a growing chorus of criticism that McDaniel is facing — the MAGA mutiny lives on, evidently. That’s not ideal for a political party under any circumstance, and certainly not in an election year.