The Republican National Committee this week will likely vote on a resolution reaffirming support for President Trump as some quarters of the party consider initiating a challenge to his leadership in the 2020 primary.
An RNC member suggested in an email circulated to colleagues on Monday afternoon that a resolution he is proposing has received the blessing of GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Jevon Williams, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, said he worked with senior RNC staff to amend his proposal to satisfy various concerns.
Williams is urging fellow RNC members to support the resolution when they gather Wednesday through Friday for their annual winter meeting, saying failure to do so would send a message that the national party is not fully behind Trump at a critical moment in the 2020 election cycle.
“Now is not the time for equivocation. Words matter,” Williams wrote in his email. “The failure to pass a resolution supporting his re-nomination and re-election will be seen by some as a sign that we would welcome Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney, Larry Hogan or another Never Trumper challenging President Trump in the primaries, caucuses and conventions.”
[Opinion: The challenge for any 2020 primary challenge to Trump]
Trump has the overwhelming support of the Republican grassroots. But some rank-and-file Republicans are unhappy with the president’s leadership, with a loose-knit community of GOP insiders opposed to his re-nomination in 2020 are working on long-shot efforts to unseat him. They’re likely to wait for the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal investigation into Trump’s activities in the 2016 election before making any overt moves.
Some of the Republicans they’re looking to as possible primary challengers include former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
The RNC declined to comment on the Williams resolution. But multiple RNC sources told the Washington Examiner that some type of pro-Trump resolution was likely to receive a vote, and pass, when committee members convene at a resort near Albuquerque.
