Michael Whatley, Lara Trump elected to RNC leadership roles

Whatley, general counsel to the national committee, has been chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party since 2017.

Michael Whatley, right, and Lara Trump were on the campaign trail together in this Feb. 26, 2020, photo posted to his state party chairman Facebook page. On Friday, March 8, 2024, Whatley was named chairman of the Republican National Convention and Trump co-chairwoman. (Michael Whatley NCGOP Chair/Facebook)

(The Center Square) — North Carolinian Michael Whatley has been unanimously voted chairman of the Republican National Committee at a Friday morning meeting in Houston.

Whatley, chairman of the state party, will succeed Ronna McDaniel. He’s been favored for the position by former President Donald Trump, the lone remaining candidate for the party’s presidential nomination.

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of the nation’s 45th president, was unanimously voted co-chairwoman.

McDaniel earlier announced her intention to step aside in keeping with past protocols.

Whatley, general counsel to the national committee, has been chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party since 2017. He was reelected to a fourth term last month. Lara Trump is married to Eric Trump, the former president’s third son. She has previously had multiple TV roles and led the Trump-Pence Women’s Empowerment Tour.

In a social media post, Whatley said, “We are already well on our way to making Joe Biden a one-term president, and I look forward to working with every Republican to deliver victories up and down the ballot!”

 

Alan Wooten