What happened
The new leaders of the Republican National Committee fired more than 60 of the RNC's 200 employees on Monday, in what Politico described as a "bloodbath." New RNC chair Michael Whatley, co-chair Lara Trump, and chief of staff Chris LaCivita — all close allies or family members of former President Donald Trump — were elected Friday.
Who said what
"This is Republicans streamlining," LaCivita said to The Associated Press, explaining that eliminating duplicate jobs would help the Trump campaign and RNC become essentially one organization. "MAGA is now in control of the Republican Party!!" Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on X. "Gutting a committee just before the election seems insane," a former RNC employee said to The Washington Post.
The commentary
The RNC is supposed to help candidates up and down the ballot, and the only real reason to fuse campaign and party is to put the RNC's donations "under the direct control of Trump's family and campaign," TPM's Josh Marshall said. This "bloodbath" will get rid of "the anti-Trump sleeper cells" at the RNC, said Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk. "What Trump and his cronies are about to do is gonna be epic," former RNC intern Sophia Nelson said on X. "The Republican Party will be in ruins by 2025."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Some of the fired RNC staffers were told they could reapply for jobs in the organization, otherwise they must leave by March 31.
-
Political cartoons for November 27Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include giving thanks, speaking American, and more
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
X’s location update exposes international troll industryIn the Spotlight Social media platform’s new transparency feature reveals ‘scope and geographical breadth’ of accounts spreading misinformation
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
-
Trump: Is he losing control of MAGA?Feature We may be seeing the ‘first meaningful right-wing rebellion against autocracy of this era’
-
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: a TimelineIN DEPTH The alleged relationship between deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump has become one of the most acute threats to the president’s power
-
Why is Donald Trump suddenly interested in Sudan?Today's Big Question A push from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince helped
