Harmeet Dhillon 'Not Seeking' to Replace Ronna McDaniel as RNC Chair

Harmeet Dhillon has confirmed she is "not seeking" to replace Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

McDaniel, who has served as the RNC chairwoman since 2017, has been criticized for funding issues within the GOP governing body, as well as for the Republicans losing multiple elections since 2020, leading to calls for her to resign from her role.

In November 2023, the GOP governing body reported its lowest bank balance at that point in any year since 2016, disclosures to the Federal Election Commission showed. With $9.96 million in spending money, the RNC had less than half the $21.35 million it reported in the year former President Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Dhillon, the former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party, and a National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California, said: "Each version of RNC Game of Thrones I hear is worse than the last one.

"To be clear, I'm not seeking the chair position. We had an election, I lost, shook the victor's hand, and offered my support. But there are plenty of folks gunning for it.

"Happy where I am. I love the law!"

Dhillon declined to comment on this story when approached via email by Newsweek on Tuesday.

Dhillon's decision marks a change from last year when she ran for the position against McDaniel. The Trump lawyer secured the endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis but received just 51 ballots from committee members, less than half of the 111 votes that McDaniel received.

Despite not facing a challenge from Dhillon, McDaniel is still under pressure from various Republican figures including Trump, who on Monday suggested she should step aside from her role.

When asked Monday night by Newsmax's Rob Schmitt about whether it is "time for Ronna McDaniel to step aside," he replied: "I think she knows that, I think she understands that."

Trump also signaled he was distancing himself from McDaniel on Sunday during an interview on Fox News. "I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me," Trump said. "I think she did OK, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now there'll probably be some changes made."

Professor in international politics at University College Dublin Scott Lucas told Newsweek that Dhillon's decision indicates "absolute turmoil within the Republican National Committee and not just amongst establishment Republicans."

He added that Dhillon may think she won't be the person to beat McDaniel, but her decision may more likely be because "she just doesn't want to get involved in the mess."

He said: "What you are seeing is the Republican Party fracturing at the state level and of course we are seeing that descent at national level and there are some people who even though they are hard-right, and Dhillon is hard-right on a variety of issues.

"They just don't see anything positive coming out of the mess that's going to come, which doesn't mean that this is a fight back necessarily against what Trump is doing. It just may be there are a number of people who will just sit on the sidelines and watch this descent into chaos."

He added that Trump may be counting on McDaniel "to pledge absolute loyalty to him" and if she does, he may protect her from removal.

"But the first time that he's upset about her about any perceived slight or that she isn't supporting enough, then this will start all over again," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to Donald Trump's representatives via email for comment.

Update 2/6/24, 8:55 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.