Ronna McDaniel Faces 'End of the Line'

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel faces "the end of the line," Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon has said.

Writing on social media, Bannon, a frequent McDaniel critic, shared an article claiming Trump was distancing himself from the RNC head and added: "Ronna has come to the end of the line."

Newsweek has contacted the RNC and Bannon by email to comment on this story.

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 Trump won the presidential election.

As well as Bannon, Trump, the GOP frontrunner, has also appeared to distance himself from McDaniel when asked about her job performance. "I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me," Trump said on Sunday during an interview on Fox News. "I think she did okay, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now there'll probably be some changes made."

Newsweek has also contacted a Trump representative by email to comment on this story.

Bannon has amped up his criticism of McDaniel recently. Speaking to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on The Charlie Kirk Show, last week, Bannon said the Republicans were not united because of "horrible leadership" at the RNC.

He said the RNC needs to change. "If there's not changes coming out of the RNC in this meeting, then I think it is going to be tough," he said. "President Trump will win, but it's going to make it so tough."

Conservative commentator Laura Loomer also previously criticized McDaniel for not standing with Trump during the Iowa caucus in January. McDaniel and the RNC faced immense pressure to use the group's finances to back the former president after he won the first Republican primary vote by a landslide.

Speaking to Newsweek, Todd Landman, a professor of political science at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said pressure was "building" on McDaniel to resign.

"After the New Hampshire primary, Ronna McDaniel effectively jumped the gun in suggesting that the party simply declare Donald Trump as the nominee for president," he said.

"This idea was quickly quashed and appeared somewhat ironic given the many statements members of the party have made about electoral interference. The primaries had only just begun with one in Iowa and one in New Hampshire.

"There is a key primary in South Carolina this month, home state to former governor and challenger Nikki Haley, while March 5 will see Super Tuesday with numerous primaries. The electoral logic is to let these primary contests play out and assess the position of candidates at that time. Nikki Haley has stated that she is still in the race at least until Super Tuesday.

"Donald Trump and his allies have now turned against Ronna, with Trump signaling that it is time for her to go. Her position is not helped by the financial woes currently being experienced by the RNC. There is thus building pressure for her to resign and have new leadership to secure stronger outcomes for the party between now and the November election."