The members of the Republican National CommitteeIn a vote that was never in doubt, chairman Michael Whatley was re-elected on Friday to continue running the party’s national committee.
“This organization must be the tip of the spear. And as your chairman, I promise that this organization will be the tip of the spear in protecting Donald Trump,” Whatley said, speaking after the unanimous vote at the RNC’s annual meeting. meeting, which was held this year in the nation’s capital ahead of Monday’s inauguration President-elect Trump.
Whatley, a longtime Trump ally and strong supporter of Trump’s election integrity efforts who served as general counsel of the RNC and chairman of the Republican Party of North Carolina, was appointed chairman by Trump last March when the former president secured the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. . Whatley succeeded longtime RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, who no longer supported Trump.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNC’s winter meeting, Whatley says his job in the 2025 election and 2026 midterm elections is straightforward.
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Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is unanimously re-elected during the RNC’s winter meeting in Washington DC on January 17, 2025 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“It’s really critical for us to make sure that Trump voters become Republican voters,” Whatley told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNCs’ winter meeting, which is being held in the nation’s capital.
Republicans won big victories in the November elections President-elect Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris is set to win back the White House, with the Republican Party taking control of the Senate from the Democrats and clinging to their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
Whatley, interviewed Thursday on the eve of the formal vote for RNC chairman, said the Republican Party must “consolidate the gains it made in the 2024 elections.
“We’re going right back to the building blocks we had in this election cycle, which was getting out the vote and protecting the vote,” Whatley emphasized.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley orders the Republican National Convention on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The RNC chairman pointed to “the lessons we have learned” in the 2024 cycle “about going after low-propensity voters, about making sure we reach every voter and bring in new communities,” which he said has helped Republicans “make historic gains among African American voters, among Asian American voters, among Hispanic voters, young voters and women voters.”
A few days before the president-elect’s inauguration, Whatley emphasized that once Trump is in the White House, “we’ll go right back to the RNC. We’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I’ve got a couple of gubernatorial races… that we’ll be working on in ’25.’
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But Whatley said, “Everything is focused on ’26,” when the party will defend its majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, “because that, from an agenda perspective, is going to determine whether we have two years to work with or four. And America needs a four-year agenda from us.”
“What we’re going to do is make sure we register voters,” Whatley said. “We’re going to…communicate with the people we need.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Whatley is interviewed by Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNC’s winter meeting on January 16, 2025 in Washington DC (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Referring to the 2024 presidential election, he said that “it’s the same basic principles.”
But he noted that “it’s not just about seven battleground states” and that the 2026 elections “will certainly be a very intense midterm election cycle.”
While Democrats would disagree, Whatley described today’s Republican Party as “a common sense party… this is a party that is going to fight for every American family and for every American community.”
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Referring to former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to serve in the Cabinet of his second administration, Whatley praised “the fact that we have two former Democratic presidential candidates who will serve in the administration.” That shows that this is a common sense agenda, a common sense team, that we want to move forward with.”
In December, Trump asked Whatley to continue as RNC chairman through the 2026 cycle.
“I think we can talk if we need to talk,” Whatley said when asked whether his lines of communication with Trump will be limited as the president-elect returns to the White House. “We are going to support the president and his agenda. That doesn’t change. What changes is his ability from the White House to actually implement the agenda he is campaigning for.”
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The winter meeting included co-chair Lara Trump’s final appearance at the RNC. The president-elect’s daughter-in-law is resigning from her position.
She emphasized that it is critical that the RNC “seize the opportunity that voters have given us” to “further build the Republican brand.”
The eldest Trump has a limited term in office and cannot run for re-election in 2028. Vice President-elect Senator JD Vance will likely be considered the front-runner for the 2028 GOP nomination.
Vice President-elect JD Vance (left) and President-elect Trump, during an election night celebration at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Whatley reiterated what he told Fox News Digital in December, that the RNC will remain neutral in the next race for the Republican nomination and that the party “has a great bench.”
“You think now about the talent on the Republican side of the aisle, our governors, our senators, our members of Congress, people who are going to serve in this administration. “I think it’s great that the Republican Party is set up to have a fantastic candidate going into ’28,” he emphasized.
Unlike the DNC, which turned tradition on its head in the 2024 cycle presidential nomination calendar, the RNC made no major changes to their primary lineup, keeping the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as their first two contests.
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When asked about the 2028 calendar, Whatley reiterated to Fox News, “I haven’t had any conversations with anyone wanting to change the calendar yet, so we’ll see what that looks like as we move forward.” RNC meetings this week and some conversations with people, but it’s not a huge amount of pressure.”
“I don’t think changing the calendar really helped Democrats,” Whatley argued. “And I think us making sure we use our system the way we always have is going to be critical.”
