RNC convention planning 'full speed ahead' in Milwaukee despite looming leadership shakeup

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee appears set for a major leadership change with just months until the 2024 election, but top party officials insist the nominating convention in Milwaukee this summer will all go according to plan.

Reince Priebus, the convention host committee’s chairman, suggested Wednesday that planning for the convention would continue as usual despite Ronna McDaniel’s imminent departure from her post as RNC chair. McDaniel reportedly told former President Donald Trump this week she would step aside amid growing angst from some in the GOP.

“The RNC has done a great job building inroads and support from the community in Milwaukee — I’m confident that they’ll continue that great work,” Priebus said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“Regardless of how the leadership issue shakes out,” he added, “the MKE 2024 Host Committee is full speed ahead with fundraising and organizational efforts for Wisconsin to play national host to a great convention, and so that our partners have the tools they need to succeed.”

More: Milwaukee's compact footprint a key consideration for Republican National Convention planning

McDaniel’s planned departure after the South Carolina presidential primary at the end of the month, first reported by the New York Times, is regardless a major shift for the party. McDaniel played a key role in bringing the convention to Milwaukee and touted her ties to the city when she ran for reelection last year.

McDaniel was elected to lead the RNC in 2017. She was reelected in January 2023 after facing opposition from California lawyer and committee member Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, both ardent supporters of Trump.

More: Joe Biden, Donald Trump deadlocked in new Marquette Poll of Wisconsin voters

That opposition came as McDaniel faced backlash from conservatives in the party who largely blamed her for the party’s reelection setbacks since Trump assumed office — from Republicans losing the House in 2018 to the presidency in 2020 to failing to retake the Senate in 2022.

Trump, according to the Times, plans to promote North Carolina Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley to replace McDaniel. Whatley has echoed Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

Still, some Republicans, like Priebus, have dismissed the impact the leadership change could have on Milwaukee and the presidential nominating convention, set for July 15-18.

An RNC source told the Journal Sentinel that Republicans continue to fundraise and “put the pieces in place for a successful convention. I don’t think it matters much who is in the chair to do that.”

Part of that expected stability is due to the months of work the RNC has already put into the convention. GOP staff is in Wisconsin, and the committee has been working with businesses and hotels in preparation for the event. Both local and federal officials have also begun to take into account security considerations.

“Conventions are logistical hurdles,” the source said. “Where we’re at in the logistical process, we’re so far down the path, I think, that this really might affect the tone and the tenor of the party’s organizing, but I don’t think it’s really going to affect the logistics of the convention.”

They added: “I don’t think there would be a big difference in what a convention for the nominee will look like depending upon who the chair is.”

Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Milwaukee Democratic Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said in a statement: “The City has always had a professional, respectful, and productive relationship with Ronna McDaniel and all the people involved in planning this summer's convention. We are confident those positive interactions will continue.”

A spokesman for the Trump campaign did not respond to a Journal Sentinel interview request last month on the former president’s plans for the Milwaukee convention. A follow-up email on Wednesday also went unanswered.

But as news of McDaniel’s planned departure broke Tuesday night, a spokesman for the RNC sought to tamp down those rumors.

“Nothing has changed,” RNC spokesman Keith Schipper tweeted. “This will be decided after South Carolina.”

Alison Dirr contributed from Milwaukee.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: RNC convention planning 'full speed ahead' despite leadership shakeup