Behind the RNC's anti-Trump revolt
After losing both chambers of Congress during Trump\u2019s presidency and after waging a disappointing campaign to recapture them in 2022, the Republican Party is having a lot of intra-party feuds.\nThis week, the post-election search for new leadership moved to the Republican National Committee. Right now, there\u2019s no agreed-upon leader of the party, so like the recent battles in the Senate and the House, the RNC election has turned into a fight to define the GOP\u2019s future.\nAnd once again, Donald Trump is at the center of the debate.\nPlaybook co-author Rachael Bade flew to Orange County, California, to watch the fireworks at the RNC\u2019s winter meeting, where the three-time incumbent chair Ronna McDaniel faced a challenge from conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon.\nTo understand what this fight is all about, Rachael had breakfast with Bill Palatucci, a longtime party member who is also a close ally of Chris Christie\u2019s and a loud critic of Donald Trump.\nIn this week\u2019s episode, Palatucci explains how the Dhillon-McDaniel contest isn\u2019t just about the RNC chairmanship \u2013 it's about who will lead the Republican Party into 2024 \u2014 and beyond \u2014 and why the GOP could languish for a very long time depending on the outcome.\nRyan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Bill Palatucci is an RNC national committee man for New Jersey.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Brook Hayes is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices