Spies' resignation a slight blow, though Trump RNC takeover appears nearly complete

Republican National Committee Chief Counsel Charlie Spies resigned his position after roughly two months last week.

His hiring prompted concern from Trump supporters in light of his prior statements on election fraud and Trump, more specifically. The short turnover, meanwhile, has appeared to highlight lingering divisions over Trump himself and the direction of the GOP.

Though so-called “RINOs” remain a complication for MAGA efforts to reform the GOP, the RNC’s current management has conducted an extensive personnel overhaul, bringing in Trump-aligned figures at multiple levels of its operation and nearly cementing the former president’s grip on the party.

The Trump RNC takeover

Former RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel had enjoyed generally good relations with Trump and he mostly offered supportive words amid mounting calls for her resignation over the party’s electoral failures and sluggish fundraising.

McDaniel did ultimately step down, however, enabling Trump to put his closer supporters in key posts. Replacing McDaniel in March was former North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley, whom Trump backed for the post.

His daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was also installed as the RNC’s co-chairwoman while Trump campaign advisor Chris LaCivita was tapped to become the RNC’s chief of staff.

Reports swiftly emerged of extensive personnel cuts at the RNC. Others, moreover, indicated that RNC officials had begun asking prospective hires about their views on Trump’s election fraud claims, potentially signaling an effort to onboard employees who support the Trump-aligned leadership’s possible messaging.

Spies’s resignation

Spies’s hiring, however, appears to have come despite those efforts. Spies had advised former Florida Govs. Jeb Bush and Ron DeSantis, both of whom challenged Trump in different primaries. He had also made statements casting doubt on Trump’s election fraud claims.

His resignation, on the surface, appears to have been amicable, with both the RNC and Spies himself ascribing his departure to time commitment concerns.

“Working full time at the RNC wasn’t the right fit with my law firm client commitments, but I will remain focused on getting President Trump and Republicans at all levels elected in November,” Spies told CNN.

“Charlie approached RNC chief of staff Chris LaCivita about potential time commitment conflicts and it was agreed that while we appreciate and value Charlie’s expertise and professionalism he could not do this role full time and still maintain the obligations to his law firm practice that he has spent years successfully building,” RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said.

Reports, however, have suggested that his resignation followed significant disagreements with RNC leadership. Trump’s own reaction to Spies’s resignation, moreover, appears to lend credence to claims of a less amicable split.

“Great news for the Republican Party. RINO lawyer Charlie Spies is out as Chief Counsel of the RNC. I wish him well!” Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social.

Trump himself has previously worked with former rivals

Hiring or supporting a former critic, even a vocal one, is par for the course with Trump himself, however, as he has previously sought to bury the hatchet with establishment Republicans who have criticized him, albeit to mixed results.

During the 2016 Republican Primary, Trump often suggested that the RNC itself was biased against his candidacy, leading to several tense clashes with party leadership throughout the process. After winning the presidency, however, he brought former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus into the cabinet as his first chief of staff. He lasted half a year.

Trump also lent his support to then-former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2018 Utah Senate bid, despite prior public disagreements during the 2016 Republican primary, in which Romney did not participate. While in office, however, Romney twice voted to impeach Trump.

Not all such instances have led to poor results, however. Trump notably endorsed Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance in the 2022 GOP primary, sending him to frontrunner status despite Vance’s prior support for the “Never Trump” movement. He has since emerged as a potential running mate for Trump and has been a vocal supporter of his agenda in the upper chamber.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meanwhile, became a relatively strong supporter of Trump in the Senate after the pair exchanged considerable barbs during the 2016 Republican Primary. The pair have occasionally feuded despite the general reconciliation, notably bickering over abortion policy last month.

The RNC is working closely with the campaign

With Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee, the RNC has unsurprisingly begun working more directly with his campaign on fundraising, policy, and election integrity efforts. Trump’s election claims have often proved a dividing line for his MAGA supporters and traditional Republicans.

The RNC did, notably, file an election integrity lawsuit in March, while Spies was still in his post. That suit was directed at Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whom the GOP alleged worked to undercut absentee voting safeguards.

The RNC’s partnership with the campaign on such matters appears to signal the party’s commitment to a pivotal issue for Trump and his supporters, even in the face of possible tension with more moderate Republicans.

Last month, Trump and the RNC unveiled a plan to send more than 100,000 people to watch the polls in the November general election. The figure marks a doubling of the 50,000 that the RNC pledged to send in 2020.

"The RNC is hiring hundreds of election integrity staff across the map – more than ever before because our Party will be recruiting thousands of more observers to protect the vote in 2024,” Lara Trump said at the time.

"Ramping up" fundraising

McDaniel left the RNC amid scrutiny of her fundraising efforts and headlines about the party’s financial woes.

Under the Trump-aligned leadership, however, the party has opened a joint fundraising account with the Trump campaign and worked to bolster its intake.

"Our campaign, working together with the RNC, has been steadily ramping up our fundraising efforts, and our March numbers are a testament to the overwhelming support for President Trump by voters all across the spectrum," Trump campaign co-manager Susie Wiles said in April.

The RNC and Trump campaign collectively brought in more than $65 million in March through such efforts.

Just the News sought comment from the RNC who did not respond by presstime.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X.