Republican National Committee Member Pushes for Neutrality and Legal Bill 

A Republican National Committee (RNC) member is working to slow down Donald Trump's attempt to take over the organization. This is being done by pushing to keep the committee neutral until Trump becomes the official presidential nominee and by avoiding picking up his legal bills. The RNC's upcoming March meeting in Houston will consider two draft resolutions that are being circulated by Henry Barbour, a national committeeman from Mississippi.

Resolutions before the presidential primary

Barbour's proposed resolutions aim to maintain neutrality throughout the presidential primary and avoid taking on additional staff from any of the active campaigns until a candidate has the needed delegates to become the nominee. Additionally, the resolutions state that the organization will not pay the legal bills of any candidate for federal or state office but will instead focus its spending on efforts directly related to the 2024 election.

Barbour has reported that the support for the resolutions among RNC members is increasing. However, he is yet to obtain the required co-sponsors, and any resolutions would ultimately be non-binding.

This effort arises after Trump publicly called to replace the RNC's current leaders and install one of his senior campaign advisors and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in top roles. Lara Trump suggested earlier that the GOP voters would support the committee paying her father-in-law's legal bills, as he faces a series of criminal and civil indictments. However, Trump's senior campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, stated that the RNC would not pay Trump's legal bills.

Barbour emphasized that the RNC's primary focus should be on winning elections, and as such, RNC funds should be allocated solely to political expenses and not legal bills. The RNC had been paying some of Trump's legal bills for New York cases that began during his presidency. However, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel announced in November 2022 that the RNC would cease payment once Trump became a candidate again and started running for the 2024 presidential election.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is Trump's last major challenger in the GOP primary and facing him in her home state's contest, expressed her belief that a family member or campaign manager should not be leading the RNC. She urged the RNC to consider the best interest of the entire Republican Party, not just one person.

The resolutions proposed by Barbour were first reported by The Dispatch, and they are set to be discussed at the RNC's upcoming meeting in March. The outcome of the meeting and the broader implications for the RNC's stance and Trump's influence on the organization will be closely monitored.