Will there be a last-ditch effort to unseat Donald Trump at the convention?

Even though the Republican National Convention is officially underway, with presumptive party nominee Donald Trump all set to be coronated, there's a sliver of hope for the remaining #NeverTrump voters in Cleveland: Republicans looking to stage an anti-Trump coup have acquired enough signatures to force a ballot on convention rules, Politico reports.
The last hope for #NeverTrump holdouts lies in a technicality — that is, delegates haven't officially voted for Trump as the GOP nominee yet. The reason it's "presumptive" is because enough people in enough states voted for Trump in the Republican primary contest, theoretically binding enough delegates to mark their ballots for Trump at the convention and grant him the nomination.
Except, of course, if anti-Trump warriors can change the GOP rules. Last Thursday, the rules committee of the Republican National Committee rejected a proposal to do just that; Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, an outspoken #NeverTrump supporter, led the charge to enable "votes of conscience" that would free Trump-bound delegates from voting for the mogul if it went against their personal morals. And despite a ruling last week by a federal judge that freed Trump-bound delegates in Virginia to vote with their consciences, such delegates are still bound by party rules.
Subscribe to 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.
But if this new initiative — forced to the floor after anti-Trump Republicans gathered a sufficient number of signatures to necessitate a vote on convention rules — succeeds, the stipulation that pledged delegates vote according to their state's election results could be abandoned in favor of a "conscience" vote, which many interpret as freeing Trump-bound delegates from actually voting for him. And while it's "highly unlikely" the #NeverTrump faction actually wins the rules vote, Politico notes, the rebel delegates "hope to… prove what they've long claimed: that a significant section of the party still doesn't support the presumptive nominee."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Why some people remember dreams and others don't
Under The Radar Age, attitude and weather all play a part in dream recall
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Hotel seal
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
New FBI Director Kash Patel could profit heavily from foreign interests
The Explainer Patel holds more than $1 million in Chinese fashion company Shein
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricing
Speed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firings
Speed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talks
Speed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security files
Speed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretary
Speed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffs
Speed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case
speed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published