The Hill's Evening Report — McDaniel wins bitter battle to stay RNC chair

View Online  Evening Report Friday, January 27 ©  Greg Nash McDaniel wins bitter battle to stay RNC chair Ronna McDaniel has been reelected as chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), ending a bitter effort to oust her.   McDaniel, who took over as chair in 2017, defeated her main rival Harmeet Dhillon by a 2-to-1 margin, 111 votes to 51. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who was also running for the position, got four votes.   Dhillon, who was a legal adviser to former President Trump's 2020 campaign, mounted a broad challenge to the sitting GOP chair, seeking to funnel frustration over the party's lackluster performance in the fall midterms.   Top figures on the right such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Fox News host Tucker Carlson praised Dhillon, though McDaniel kept a lock on a majority of the RNC's 168 voting members to win another two-year term.   And despite the "red wave" never materializing last year, McDaniel said she still views the 2022 cycle as a success because Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is no longer House speaker after the GOP eked out a razor-thin majority. Democrats still control the Senate.   "Under Ronna's leadership, we retired Nancy Pelosi and ended Biden's socialist agenda in the House of Representatives," RNC member David Bossie said. "The RNC needs experienced and proven leaders and that's what we have in Ronna McDaniel."   McDaniel was first selected for the post by Trump after he won the 2016 presidential election. Trump didn't wade into the leadership battle this year, but DeSantis this week called for "new blood" and voiced support for Dhillon.   Trump and DeSantis are widely seen as frontrunners for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination.   McDaniel welcomed the two challengers to join her on the stage after the results were announced Friday. She thanked them for their campaigns and vowed to unify the fractured party.   "The race for chair of the RNC has never been about blame," committee member Robin Armstrong of Texas said of his support for a change in leadership. "It has always been about putting together the strongest team to win elections for Republican candidates at every level." Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Elizabeth Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. CATCH UP QUICK Police body camera footage and a 911 call from the October attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi has been released. DirectTV has dropped Newsmax from its lineup. The conservative network is now alleging political bias. Chevron Corp. posted record profits of $35.5 billion last year, more than double those of 2021. NEW THIS AFTERNOON 🎥  Memphis braces for release of footage from Tyre Nichols beating The city of Memphis, Tenn., is preparing to release video footage in the beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died after a police traffic stop earlier this month.   The video is expected to come out after 7 p.m. ET — timed to be released after regular school and work hours.   Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said in a statement this week that the "incident was heinous, reckless and inhumane" and warned that the video is difficult to watch.   Ben Crump, an attorney for Nichols's family, called the video "appalling" and "violent."   Five officers have been fired and charged in Nichols's death.   Family members during a press conference on Friday urged the public to remain calm when the video is released.   "We want peaceful protests," stepfather Rodney Wells said. "That's what the family wants. That's what the community wants."   The Memphis Police Department has been providing updates via its YouTube page. Stay tuned to The Hill tonight for full coverage. WHITE HOUSE 👉  Klain leaving White House, Zients to be new chief of staff President Biden has tapped Jeff Zients to take over as chief of staff when Ron Klain leaves the White House next week.   The news, officially announced on Friday, comes after reports last week that Klain would be leaving after serving as chief for Biden's first two years in the White House.   "Next week, the White House will host an official transition event to thank Ron for his tireless work and officially welcome Jeff back to the White House in this role," Biden said in a statement.   Zients previously served as Biden's coronavirus response leader. CONGRESS 🛢️  House passes bill aimed at limiting presidential releases of oil The House has passed GOP legislation that would restrict President Biden's ability to release oil from the country's emergency supply.   The bill passed in a largely partisan 221-205 vote.    It would require the federal government to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for new oil and gas production in exchange for tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.    The bill, which hasn't received a vote in the Senate, contains an exception for "severe energy supply interruptions." IN OTHER NEWS ©  AP ✈️  FAA identifies contractor involved in outage The Federal Aviation Administration says tech contractor Spatial Front was involved in the outage to the flight safety system that disrupted thousands of flights earlier this month.    The agency also has updated Congress on the contractors that work on the Notice to Air Missions system.  🎓  By the numbers: Biden administration breaks down student debt More than 26 million people representing all 50 states applied or were automatically declared eligible for the Biden administration's now-challenged student debt relief program.   The program was put on hold last fall over legal challenges. The Supreme Court is slated to hear a pair of cases and is expected to rule this summer on whether it can go forward.   According to figures from the Biden administration, California and Texas, also had the highest number of applications, while Wyoming had the fewest. 🏛️  Federal judge blocks California misinformation law A federal judge has temporarily blocked a California law that aims to slow the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, calling it "unconstitutionally vague."    A group of five doctors and two nonprofit advocacy groups sued the state over the measure in November after California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the legislation into law.    Under the law, disseminating misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19 to patients would be deemed "unprofessional conduct" for health care providers.  📺  Replay: The Hill chats with White House economic adviser The Hill's Sylvan Lane chatted Friday with Heather Boushey, a member of President Biden's Council of Economic Advisers, about the economy.   "We've created about 11 million jobs since the president took office, and that's an enormously significant accomplishment," she said. "We've made so much progress on the pandemic."   You can watch a replay of the discussion here. PUNDIT CORNER "Affordable child care key to getting people back to work" — Taylor Maag of the Progressive Policy Institute. (Read here)   "Tanks for Ukraine: Too little, too late is not good enough" —  Dov S. Zakheim, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. (Read here) 🗓  COMING UP President Biden will travel to Baltimore on Monday to tout infrastructure.   The Senate returns at 3 p.m. Monday, and the House comes in at noon.   House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will speak at the National Press Club's newsmaker series at 10 a.m. Monday. Stay Engaged That's it for this week! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you next week. Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.