Editing Republican National Committee (section)

==History==
The [[1856 Republican National Convention]] appointed the first RNC. It consisted of one member from each state and territory to serve for four years. Each national committee since then has followed the precedent of equal representation for each state or territory, regardless of population. From 1924 to 1952, there was a national committeeman and national committeewoman from each state and U.S. possession, and from [[Washington, D.C.]] In 1952, committee membership was expanded to include the state party chairs of states that voted Republican in the preceding presidential election, have a Republican majority in their congressional delegation (U.S. representatives and senators), or have Republican governors. By 1968, membership reached 145. As of 2011, the RNC has 168 members.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/despite-priebus-lead-rnc-election-still-highly-contested |title=Despite Priebus Lead, RNC Election Still Highly Contested |work=Fox News |date=January 14, 2011 |first=Jake |last=Gibson |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018080239/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/14/despite-priebus-lead-rnc-election-highly-contested/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

While a number of the chairs of the RNC have been state governors, the only person to have chaired the RNC and later become U.S. president is [[George H. W. Bush]]. During Bush's time as RNC chair, [[Spiro Agnew]] was being investigated for corruption, which would later lead to Agnew's resignation as vice president. Bush assisted, at the request of Nixon and Agnew, in getting [[John Glenn Beall Jr.]], the [[U.S. Senator from Maryland]], to pressure his brother, [[George Beall (attorney)|George Beall]] the [[U.S. Attorney]] in Maryland, to shut down the investigation into Agnew. Attorney Beall ignored the pressure.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transcript – Episode 4: Turn It Off |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/msnbc/maddow-bag-man-podcast/transcript-episode-4-turn-it-n935286 |access-date=2023-05-14 |work=NBC News |date=13 November 2018 }}</ref>

In 2013, the RNC began an outreach campaign towards the American youth and minority voters, after studies showed these groups generally perceived that the Republican Party did not care about their concerns.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/video/campaign/288661-rnc-drastic-changes-needed-if-gop-hopes-to-remain-competitive/ |title=RNC: 'Drastic changes' needed if party hopes to remain competitive |first1=Cameron |last1=Joseph |first2=Jonathan |last2=Easley |work=The Hill |date=March 18, 2013 |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-date=September 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926235849/http://thehill.com/video/campaign/288661-rnc-drastic-changes-needed-if-gop-hopes-to-remain-competitive |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the presidency of Donald Trump, the RNC showed staunch loyalty to President Trump, even at times when prominent Republicans did not. Under [[Ronna McDaniel]]'s leadership, the RNC ran ads for [[Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign|Trump's 2020 campaign]] as early as 2018, put numerous Trump campaign workers and affiliates on the RNC payroll, spent considerable funds at Trump-owned properties, covered his legal fees in the Russian interference investigation, hosted Trump's [[Fake News Awards]], and criticized Trump critics within the Republican Party.<ref name="Heersink">{{Cite journal|last=Heersink|first=Boris|date=July 25, 2018|title=Trump and the Party-in-Organization: Presidential Control of National Party Organizations|journal=[[The Journal of Politics]]|volume=80|issue=4|pages=1474–1482|doi=10.1086/699336|issn=0022-3816|s2cid=158762949}}</ref> Two days after the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|January 6th riot at the Capitol]] following the controversial 2020 presidential election results, the RNC held an event where members expressed loyalty to the President.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Martin|first=Jonathan|date=January 9, 2021|title=In Capital, a G.O.P. Crisis. At the R.N.C. Meeting, a Trump Celebration.|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/trump-republican-national-committee.html|access-date=January 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113004801/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/trump-republican-national-committee.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2022, the RNC censured two Republican representatives, [[Liz Cheney]] of Wyoming and [[Adam Kinzinger]] of Illinois, for their participation in the [[United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack|United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol]]; the censure statement described the committee as a "Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse."<ref>{{Cite web|title=RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel says January 6 committee is a 'Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse'|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rnc-chairwoman-ronna-mcdaniel-says-january-6-committee-is-a-democrat-led-persecution-of-ordinary-citizens-who-engaged-in-legitimate-political-discourse/ar-AATtwkN|access-date=February 8, 2022|work=Business Insider|via=MSN|first=Bryan|last=Metzger|date=February 4, 2022|archive-date=February 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208121000/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rnc-chairwoman-ronna-mcdaniel-says-january-6-committee-is-a-democrat-led-persecution-of-ordinary-citizens-who-engaged-in-legitimate-political-discourse/ar-AATtwkN|url-status=live}}</ref> The censure of sitting congressmembers, and particularly the description of the January 6 events as "legitimate political discourse", received bipartisan criticism from politicians and media.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/several-republicans-criticize-rnc-censure-cheney-kinzinger-n1288710|title=Republican criticism of RNC resolution to censure Cheney, Kinzinger grows|last=Finn|first=Teagann|date=February 6, 2022|work=NBC News|access-date=15 February 2022|archive-date=14 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214195525/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/several-republicans-criticize-rnc-censure-cheney-kinzinger-n1288710|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 5, 2022|title=RNC Should Take a Lesson from Mike Pence|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/02/rnc-should-take-a-lesson-from-mike-pence/|access-date=February 8, 2022|website=National Review|archive-date=February 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208125342/https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/02/rnc-should-take-a-lesson-from-mike-pence/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2024, ''The [[Associated Press]]'' reported that under [[Lara Trump]], the RNC had "sought alliances with election deniers, conspiracy theorists and alt-right advocates the party had previously kept at arm's length."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Linderman |first1=Juliet |last2=Mendoza |first2=Martha |date=May 22, 2024 |title=Lara Trump is taking the reins and reshaping the RNC in her father-in-law's image|work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/lara-trump-rnc-leadership-election-reshaping-gop-a407d7edbfb37739abc590540b2f206d|access-date=May 23, 2024|archive-date=May 23, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523120259/https://apnews.com/article/lara-trump-rnc-leadership-election-reshaping-gop-a407d7edbfb37739abc590540b2f206d|url-status=live}}</ref> It also noted the prevalence of election deniers had increased among top Republican officeholders and RNC officials as part of a larger [[election denial movement in the United States]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Riccardi |first1=Nicholas |last2=Mascaro |first2=Lisa |date=May 21, 2024 |title=Election deniers moving closer to GOP mainstream, report shows, as Trump allies fill Congress|work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/congress-election-lies-2024-certification-president-460cde281d48e62e09e24c7573d6a9ff|access-date=May 23, 2024|archive-date=May 21, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521145524/https://apnews.com/article/congress-election-lies-2024-certification-president-460cde281d48e62e09e24c7573d6a9ff|url-status=live}}</ref>