The Republican National Committee issued mass layoffs Monday — the first day its new leadership team assumed power under Donald Trump’s handpicked hierarchy.
Every RNC regional and state political director was told to resign but given the option to reapply, a source close to the GOP organization told The Post.
The staffers received emails notifying them of their end date — March 31 — explaining Chairman Michael Whatley was reevaluating the structure of the operation, which now features fellow top newcomer and Trump daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair.
“Chairman Whatley is in the process of evaluating the organization and staff to ensure the building is aligned with his vision of how to win in November,” the missive said. “During this process, certain staff are being asked to resign and reapply for a position on the team.”
The abrupt house-cleaning included top staffers such as RNC Political Director Elliot Echols, who had been in the position since 2021, two sources familiar with the situation told The Post.
“I just saw a department head with a red folder say goodbye to staff and collect their things and leave,” an RNC staffer said, also noting that “political and data were the two departments facing heavy cuts.”
In all, around 60 staffers across various departments are expected to be laid off, according to Politico, which was the first outlet to report the move.
“For the regional political directors and state political directors, it’s really unprofessional, since so many campaigns and political entities are in-cycle and staffed up at this point, the source griped. “There aren’t a lot of jobs to fill. Also very unfair to the staff who may be stuck in apartment leases or now without health care. Many of these are 20-somethings.”
The move marks the efficiency with which the new Trump-backed team is moving to rework the RNC in accordance with the wishes of the presumptive GOP nominee.
Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel announced her resignation from her post after Trump won the South Carolina primary, as the former president had suggested.
“I will do everything possible to re-elect President Trump in November,” McDaniel said in her resignation speech in Houston on Friday. “And I ask all of you out there who worked so hard during this primary season or supported another candidate, that you come in and join me in supporting our president as well.”
Whatley and Lara Trump were unanimously voted into power at the RNC’s spring meeting in Houston. Both candidates were backed by Trump and ran unopposed for their respective posts, with RNC members telling The Post that the outcome was expected and that they agreed that supporting a Trump-backed team would lead to the best results.
The leadership team stressed that every dollar would go towards “winning.”
Lara Trump has also floated that RNC funds may be used to cover her father-in-law’s mounting legal expenses.