Members Republican National CommitteeIn a vote that was never in doubt, on Friday Chairman Michael Whately was re-elected to continue leading the National Party Committee.
“This organization must be the tip of the spear,” Whatley said, speaking after the unanimous vote at the Republican National Committee's annual convention. “As your president, I promise you that this organization will be the tip of the spear to protect Donald Trump.” This year's meeting was held in the country's capital before Monday's opening President-elect Trump.
Whatley, a longtime Trump ally and a key supporter of Trump's election integrity efforts, had been serving as general counsel of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, and was appointed by Trump last March as chairman as the former president clinched the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. . Whatley succeeds Ronna McDaniel, the longtime chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, whom Trump no longer supports.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, Whatley said his mission to move forward with the 2025 elections and the 2026 midterms is on track.
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Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley was unanimously re-elected at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2025. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“It's really important for us to make sure that Trump voters become Republican voters,” Whatley told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, being held in the nation's capital.
Republicans achieved major victories in the November elections President-elect Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking to regain the White House, as the Republican Party flips control of the Senate from the Democrats, and maintains its narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
Whatley, who was interviewed Thursday on the eve of the official Republican National Committee chairmanship vote, said the GOP needs to “consolidate those gains” made in the 2024 election.
“We will go right back to the building blocks that we had during this election cycle, which is get out the vote and protect the ballot,” Whatley emphasized.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley orders the Republican National Convention to be held on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The RNC chairman noted the “lessons we've learned.” 2024 session “About going after low-propensity voters, making sure we're reaching out to every voter and bringing in new communities,” which he said helped Republicans make “historic gains among African American voters, among Asian American voters, among Hispanic voters, voters Young men and women voters.”
Speaking two days before the president-elect's inauguration, Whatley asserted that once Trump is in the White House, “we'll go right back to the Republican National Committee. We'll roll up our sleeves and get to work. We've got two gubernatorial races… that we'll be working on in '25.” “
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But “everything is focused on 26,” when the party defends its House and Senate majorities, “because that will determine, from an agenda perspective, whether we have two years to work with it or four,” Whatley said. America needs us to have a four-year agenda.”
“What we're going to do is make sure we're registering voters,” Whatley said. “We will… reach out to the people we need to attend.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Whatley gives an interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, on January 16, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Referring to the 2024 presidential election, he said, “It's the same basics.”
But he noted that “it's not just seven swing states” and that the 2026 contests “will certainly be a very intense election cycle.”
While Democrats disagree, Whatley described today's Republican Party as “the party of common sense… the party that will fight for every American family and for every American community.”
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Referring to former Democrats Robert Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who were nominated by Trump to serve in his second administration, Whatley pointed to “the fact that we have two former Democratic presidential nominees who will serve in the House.” “The president's government, and this shows you that this is a logical agenda, a logical team, and we will move forward with it.”
In December, Trump asked Whatley to continue through the 2026 cycle as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
“I think we'll be able to talk when we need to talk,” Whatley said when asked if his lines of communication with Trump would be limited now that the president-elect is back in the White House. He added, “We will support the president and his agenda. This does not change. What changes is his ability from the White House to actually implement the agenda that he was promoting in his election campaign.”
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The winter meeting included a recent appearance at the Republican National Committee by co-chair Lara Trump. The president-elect's daughter-in-law is stepping down from her position.
She stressed that it is critical that the Republican National Committee seize “the opportunity that voters have given us” to “continue expanding the Republican Party brand.”
The elder Trump is term-limited and will not be able to run for election again in 2028. Vice President-elect Senator J.D. Vance He is likely to be considered the front-runner for the 2028 Republican nomination.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (L) 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 Ozcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Whatley reiterated what he told Fox News Digital in December, that the Republican National Committee would remain neutral in the upcoming race for the GOP nomination and that the party “got a great seat.”
“You think about the talent on the Republican side of the aisle right now, our governors, our senators, our congressmen, the people who will serve in this administration. I love the fact that the Republican Party is going to be 'set up to have a great nominee in '28.”
Unlike the Democratic National Committee, which upended the traditional in the 2024 cycle presidential nomination calendar, The RNC made no major changes to its starting lineup, keeping the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary as the top two contests.
In response to a question about the 2028 calendar, Whatley reiterated to Fox News that “I haven't had any conversations with anyone who wants to change the calendar, so we'll wait and see what that looks like as we move forward. We're on schedule.” “Republican National Committee meetings this week and a number of conversations with people, but it's not a big push.”
“I don't think the calendar change helped Democrats at all,” Whatley said. “And I think making sure we operate our system the way we always have, is going to be critical.”
