(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Since the beginning of her work as Republican National Committee chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel’s pay more than doubled—a fact that has put her in hot water in this week’s election.
In her first year, McDaniel was paid $122,582. According to Just the News, that quickly increased to $146,048 in 2018, then $285,498 in 2019.
In 2020, when Republicans ran a losing race all around, McDaniel was paid $410,640. The following year, her pay was $396,592 and in 2022 she made $258,431.
McDaniel’s later salaries are massive sums compared to what her predecessor, Reince Priebus, received in his time as chairman.
During his first year in 2011, Priebus received $152,874. His rates went up four years later, when he took home $201,619 in 2015, $257,782 in 2016, and $57,232 in 2017.
Historically, the salary of the RNC chair starts in the low to mid-one hundred thousand range.
“Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has a base salary that is comparable to previous chairs,” a spokesperson for the chairwomen explained. “Any bonuses are vetoed upon by the Budget Committee based on metrics like fundraising.”
Reporters also discovered that McDaniel has a chronic spending issue—using the committee’s money.
In the 2021-22 fiscal year, the RNC spent more than $500,000 on private jets, $64,000 on retail clothing and attire, and $321,000 on floral arrangements for banquets and dinners.
A trip to Lululemon set the RNC back $5,000 in 2022, being classified as an “office expense”. Also listed as “office expenses” were two trips to Madison Square Garden in 2017 totaling over $9,000.
The exorbitant spending and high-paying salaries may be catching up with McDaniel as the election for the new chair approaches.
Her opponents, former Trump 2020 campaign legal advisor Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, promise to be fierce competitors.
McDaniel, who faced calls to step down after a series of losses, argues that her focus is building party infrastructure.
Dhillon alleges that the committee has overspent on “frivolous expenditures that don’t win elections,” mostly as a result of McDaniel’s leadership.
Both candidates have received major endorsements for the position.
