#NeverTrump efforts wane in advance of GOP convention Monday

The Republican National Convention is slated to begin Monday in Cleveland, Ohio, and the prospect of an effective effort to avoid officially nominating Donald Trump looks increasingly unlikely.

Most of the plans to disrupt a Trump nomination center on the Rules Committee and parliamentary procedure, aiming to release delegates from the obligation of voting for the candidate their state's primary or caucuses endorsed. "I'm not going to let the Rules Committee think that they're relevant," said Kendal Unruh, a delegate from Colorado who is part of the "Free the Delegates" campaign. "I'm not going to empower them anymore. The power has been and will continue to be in the hands of the delegates."

#NeverTrump plotting will continue through Sunday night, but rebels face an uphill battle now that GOP leadership has aligned with Trump's team and supporters. "This convention is going to be a unifying convention," Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort told The Washington Post. "[T]he distraction of the rules fight and the platform fight were just distractions. They were never threats."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up