Lara Trump Launches RNC Bid

As expected, Lara Trump on Tuesday launched a bid to be the next co-chair of the Republican National Committee. Her father-in-law Donald Trump wants her in the role after current chair Ronna McDaniel, who lost Trump's support, announced she will step down on March 8. McDaniel's co-chair, Drew McKissick, is also stepping down. Trump wants the North Carolina Republican party chair, Michael Whatley, to replace McDaniel and act as co-chair with Lara Trump, and he wants his own 2024 campaign senior adviser, Chris LaCivita, as RNC chief operating officer. Whatley launched his campaign Monday, Politico reports. The outlet notes that behind the scenes, the RNC and the Trump campaign are already merging their efforts, "effectively putting the party apparatus under Trump's roof."

"I promise you that I will be laser-focused on election integrity, voter turn out, and ensuring every dollar spent goes towards winning!" Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, said in her announcement, per the New York Post. She added that Whatley "will do an incredible job! It will be my honor to work alongside him for the future of this country." She also wrote a letter to the 168 members of the RNC, who will hold a leadership election on March 8. In it she said, in a nod to her father-in-law's baseless claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, that the RNC should "build and activate the most effective battleground state election integrity program Republicans have ever had." (More Lara Trump stories.)