Who Is Michael Whatley, Trump's Choice to Lead the RNC?

Amid growing confusion as to whether Ronna McDaniel would actually be stepping down as chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Donald Trump appeared to put an end to speculation Monday night by releasing a slate of endorsements for her replacement.

As RedState reported last week, Trump's choice for the new RNC chair is Michael Whatley, who currently chairs Republican Party of North Carolina.

Announcing his endorsement of Whatley, Trump cited his strong record on promoting election integrity:

The RNC MUST be a good partner in the Presidential election. It must do the work we expect from the national Party and do it flawlessly. That means helping to ensure fair and transparent elections across the country, getting out the vote everywhere – even in parts of the country where it won’t be easy – and working with my campaign, as the Republican presumptive nominee for President, to win this election and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
For these reasons, I think my friend Michael Whatley should be the RNC’s next leader. Michael has been with me from the beginning, has done a great job in his home state of North Carolina, and is committed to election integrity, which we must have to keep fraud out of our election so it can’t be stolen.

Despite being a traditionally conservative state, Whatley is considered to have done a great job in managing the party's prospects in North Carolina, where they hold a supermajority that has allowed them to override the vetoes of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper on key issues such as election integrity.

As well as chairing the state party, Whatley serves as general counsel for the national RNC, a position he was appointed to in February 2022, despite having never formally practiced law.

According to his bio on the RNC website, Whatley is a North Carolina native who before becoming chairman of the party worked as a federal law clerk. He was also a senior official in the George W. Bush Administration, as Chief of Staff for US Senator Elizabeth Dole, as a Senior Advisor to the Bush-Cheney Campaign, Florida Recount and Transition Teams, and the Trump-Pence Campaign and Transition Teams.

Whatley's experience with the 2000 Florida recount that eventually handed George W. Bush the presidency may be of particular interest to Trump, given the very real prospect of another disputed election in which both refuse to concede.

He is also understood to be personally loyal to Trump. He actively backs Trump's claims that the 2020 presidential election was heavily influenced by fraud and under his leadership the party censured former North Carolina Senator Richard Burr after he voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial.

However, Whatley is not popular in all circles. Last July, he was sued by his own party members over allegations that there were "irregularities" in the voting process for his own re-election and flouting of various rules that he himself had written. Among their complaints was the use of a mobile voting app that did not show the voter's location (NCGOP bylaws require the delegate to be physically in the room to vote) and malfunctioned repeatedly as opposed to paper ballots.

The lawsuit stated:

At the very least, the NCGOP’s Vice Chair is sitting in a position of power having not been elected in accordance with the Party’s Plan of Organization and the State Convention Rules. The current NCGOP Chair was elected through a process that defied the on-floor, in-person voting requirements set out in the State Convention Rules, calling the Party leadership’s legitimacy into question, much less the NCGOP’s own public pronouncements regarding election integrity.

Others, meanwhile, have attempted to paint Whatley as an establishment figure given his history of working with the Bush administration:

Kevin McCarthy is not MAGA. He's a grifter.

Tim Scott is not MAGA. He's a Glitch McConnell guy.

Michael Whatley is not MAGA. He's a Bushie.

These are terrible choices to staff President Trump.
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) February 13, 2024

I find it both adorable and sad that people think Trump is going to back an America First GOP Chair.

He wants NC GOP Chair Michael Whatley for the job.

Whatley’s pedigree is the Bush 43 admin, Bush-Cheney campaign, and CoS for Elizabeth Dole.

No one is more establishment.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) February 7, 2024

If you thought Ronna McDaniel was #GOPe swamp, wait til you meet Michael Whatley...

"Prior to his service with the Republican Party, Chairman Whatley served as a federal law clerk, senior official in the George W. Bush Administration and as the Chief of Staff for US Senator…
— Rick Shaftan -- Neighborhood Research and Media (@Shaftan) February 13, 2024

Trump's nominee to run the RNC, Michael Whatley, has been in Republican politics for 40 years.

A former Bush campaign staffer and administration official.

The type of guy who if anyone but Trump had endorsed him, would be absolutely despised by Trump's base.
— Sunny (@sunnyright) February 13, 2024

RINO RNC MEMBER FROM NORTH CAROLINA MICHAEL WHATLEY IS ATTEMPTING TO RUN FOR RNC CHAIR

HE IS A SWAMP CREATURE & THE MALE VERSION OF RONNA ROMNEY MCDANIEL—AND NOT TO BE TRUSTED

CALL EVERY RNC MEMBER & DEMAND THEY VOTE HELL NO ON WHATLEY!!!
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) February 7, 2024

Although Trump's endorsement will inevitably carry significant weight, there are no guarantees that Whatley will assume the role. Under RNC rules, members have the chance to vote to elect the chairman via a voting process. As reported by RedState's Jennifer Van Laar, RNC members who spoke to RedState said nothing had been confirmed until the body meets after the South Carolina primary later this month.