The head of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, is planning to resign from her position after the South Carolina primary later this month. 

The stunning news caps off months of building frustrations with the RNC's leadership under McDaniel, who had recently come under criticism from President Trump.

The New York Times reported that Trump would like Michael Whatley, the North Carolina GOP chair and a backer of his stolen election claims, to take McDaniel's job.

“Ms. McDaniel had been considering leaving before the end of her term for some time, according to multiple people familiar with the matter,” the Times added.

McDaniel to step down

McDaniel reportedly discussed resigning with Trump during a cordial meeting at Mar-A-Lago on Monday.

Trump later told his followers on Truth Social that he would "be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth." He described McDaniel as a "friend."

A spokesperson for the RNC stressed that the discussions about McDaniel's future were preliminary.

"Nothing has changed. This will be decided after South Carolina," RNC spokesperson Keith Schipper said.

McDaniel has faced mounting backlash from Trump's Republican base, with many blaming her for the party's recent string of electoral losses.

Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has also grown frustrated with the RNC over poor fundraising and lackluster efforts to secure elections against voter fraud, particularly during the 2020 "mail-in" election.

The RNC had one of its worst fundraising years in 2023, ending with just $8 million in cash on hand.

A party of losers?

Ahead of the news of McDaniel's ouster, Trump had hinted at significant changes.

"I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me, I think she did OK initially in the RNC. I would say right now there will probably be some changes made," Trump told Fox News.

The GOP narrowly gained back the House in 2022 despite a political climate seen as hugely favorable to the party, which led to premature predictions of a red wave.

Despite criticism, McDaniel survived a vote to oust her from leadership last year.

But Republicans underperformed again in November, leading former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to call for McDaniel's resignation in a televised debate in which he described her as part of a "cancer" eating the GOP.

"We’ve become a party of losers," Ramaswamy said at the time.