The Republican National Committee’s new leadership has initiated staff cuts, firing dozens of employees on Monday, March 11, according to Axios. This comes shortly after allies of former President Donald Trump took key roles in the committee, including Michael Whatley as chair and Lara Trump as co-chair.
Whatley’s chief operating officer, Sean Cairncross, mentioned in an email that the new leadership team is aligning the organization with the team’s vision for November’s election, leading to job reevaluations.
Political, data and communications staffers were among those affected. Chris LaCivita, the RNC’s new chief of staff, described the cuts as streamlining efforts to avoid duplication between the committee and the Trump campaign.
Some — like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. — celebrated the moves, while some moderate Republicans expressed concern.
On X, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., posted that the RNC is becoming “Trump’s toilet and slush fund,” and that the changes are “going to do real damage.”
In recent days, the RNC’s financial priorities have been questioned as a growing number of RNC members believe its campaign arm should pay President Trump’s legal bills.
RNC committee member Solomon Yue, R, told CNBC, “more than a majority” of members are in favor of helping Trump with legal expenses in four pending criminal cases and three civil cases.
The support was enough to defeat a proposed resolution which would have banned the RNC from paying Trump’s legal bills.
