WASHINGTON — Republicans have done poorly in three straight elections, but that hasn’t stopped Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel from tripleing her salary, to $400,000 a year, since she was hand-picked for the post by President Donald Trump.
McDaniel, who is now seeking a fourth term, had been the chair of the state party in Michigan — a “housewife,” in her own words — when Trump anointed her chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2017 to replace Reince Priebus, who left the post. role to join the Trump White House as chief of staff.
He earned $122,582 in his first year, according to a HuffPost review of Federal Election Commission filings. This rose to $146,048 in 2018 and, despite the “blue wave” that gave Democrats control of the House in November, they saw their income nearly double to $285,498 in 2019.
In 2020, the year Republicans lost the White House and Senate, McDaniel was paid $410,640. He made $396,592 in 2021 and $358,431 in the first 11 months of 2022. The year-end payout won’t be announced until the RNC files its year-end statement later this month.
“Chairman Ronna McDaniel has a base salary comparable to her previous chair, and any bonuses the Budget Committee chooses are based on metrics like fundraising,” said Emma Vaughn, spokeswoman for McDaniel’s re-election effort.
However, a HuffPost review shows that McDaniel’s new salary is higher than his two previous RNC seats.
Michael Steele made $114,839 in 2009, his first year, and earned $136,959 in 2010. He was paid $18,733 in 2011, the year he was fired.
Priebus was paid $152,874 that year, a figure that remained roughly the same through 2014. He earned $201,619 in 2015, $257,782 in 2016 and $57,232 in 2017 — most of which appeared to be bonus payments the previous November.
RNC officials also indicated that McDaniel raised $1.5 billion over six years, allowing him to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to Senate and House committees, as well as all 56 state and local parties.
He further pointed out that Republicans picked up two Senate seats in 2018 and 16 House seats in 2020 before taking control of the House in 2022, albeit by a slimmer margin than expected.
McDaniel is facing an aggressive challenge from California RNC member Harmeet Dhillon, who is a lawyer for Trump’s coup attempt and whose firm has also received $1.3 million from the RNC since shortly after he appeared at a White House function in 2019.
Dhillon, who has based his candidacy on the RNC’s record of losses during McDaniel’s tenure, did not respond to HuffPost’s questions.
A major RNC donor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said McDaniel’s total loss does not seem out of line given the responsibility – despite the party’s recent win-loss record.
“The job was not fun, and at least he was normal and decent,” said the donor.
Jim Dicke, RNC member from Ohio, said that McDaniel deserves what he has made. “I think compensation is important. The chair is a 24/7/365 job, and I don’t find that inappropriate,” he said.
One RNC member who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that McDaniel’s salary was out of step with the party’s performance in the election, which was the fault of the RNC member. “We have rubber-stamped,” said the member, referring to McDaniel’s compensation package.
Neither Dhillon nor McDaniel have now blamed the Republican crowd for what they personally recognize as the reason for the election loss: Trump himself, who, while popular with the GOP base, has long alienated key swing voters.
In 2018, Democrats picked up 40 seats in the House, overcoming a large deficit and handing control of the chamber to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Voters threw out Trump in November 2020, and two months later, Georgians elected Democrats in two Senate rounds that the president effectively sabotaged by telling voters the election was rigged. And in 2022, the Republicans failed to meet the expectations of a “red tsunami” after the candidate who won the nomination by agreeing to spread the election continued Trump lost to the Democrats in the primary race.
The RNC leadership has a two-year term, so the chairman elected at this month’s winter meeting in Dana Point, California, will be the national party leader who will run for president in 2024.