Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump arrives for an election-night watch party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A report published by CNBC earlier in the day said there was a growing number of RNC committee members believing the organization should help pay Trump's legal bills, and, according to one committee member, they represented "more than a majority" of those on the committee.
A proposed resolution to prohibit any funds being used on Trump's legal defense failed to garner enough support to be considered at the RNC's upcoming spring meeting in Houston this week, where the organization's current chair, Ronna McDaniel, is expected to step down from her role.
McDaniel's resignation comes after the RNC began the election year facing a shortage of cash compared to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which held nearly three times the cash-on-hand reported by the former in its filings with the Federal Election Commission.
LARA TRUMP, OUT WITH NEW KIDS BOOK, STRESSES NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR AMERICA AND BEDROCK VALUES
Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, speaks to the media following a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina on February 21, 2024. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)
A number of liberal media organizations reported last month that Lara Trump, during a campaign stop in South Carolina in support of her father-in-law, said she believed Republican voters would "absolutely" be okay with contributions going toward those bills. However, she stated she was not familiar with the RNC's rules on paying such costs, and appeared to be referencing Republicans in general supporting Trump financially, rather than the RNC.
It's unclear, however, how Trump's fundraising apparatus might continue to cover his legal costs after it shelled out nearly $50 million to pay them last year, according to FEC filings, or how that massive outflow, combined with the RNC's money woes, could affect the former president's path to winning in November.
The $50 million spent by Trump's fundraising entities on his legal defense last year goes up to north of $90 million if spending in 2022 and 2021 is included. Combining that with Trump's fundraising costs — which reach nearly half of the $282 million he's raised — his cash burn rate amounts to a whopping 81%, leaving him just $0.19 per dollar raised.
TEXAS DEMOCRAT'S ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION POSITIONS COULD COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM IN BID TO OUST TED CRUZ
President Joe Biden speaks at Abbotts Creek Community Center during an event to promote his economic agenda in Raleigh, North Carolina, on January 18, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The financial struggles of the RNC and Trump campaign have attracted the attention of both the DNC and Biden campaign, who enjoy a joint fundraising agreement, allowing them to raise money collectively and capture a massive advantage heading into the election year.
"The RNC is already cash-strapped and chaotic, and trading one extreme out-of-touch Trump loyalist for another is not going to fix their problem. Donald Trump is going to be their nominee, and they clearly can't afford it financially or electorally," DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd told Fox News Digital, referencing the likelihood Trump's RNC picks could end up in leadership roles.
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"How Trump and his allies burn through what little cash they have is up to them – our campaign is investing our record-setting haul where it counts: reaching out to voters early and often," Biden campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told Fox News Digital.
The RNC did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on X at @BGillespieAL.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaign-rejects-effort-rnc-foot-former-president-legal-bills