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RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel announces resignation after Trump criticism
WASHINGTON — Ronna McDaniel said Monday that she will step down next month as chairwoman of the Republican National Committee following former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of a new slate of leaders to direct the party.
McDaniel’s decision followed Saturday’s South Carolina primary and came less than two weeks after Trump endorsed North Carolina GOP chairman Michael Whatley to be the next chairman of the RNC, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to be co-chair and top campaign aide Chris LaCivita to be the party’s chief operating officer.
McDaniel’s decision was first reported by The New York Times.
In a statement, McDaniel said it had been an “honor and privilege” to serve as chairwoman for seven years.
“Some of my proudest accomplishments include firing Nancy Pelosi, winning the popular vote in 2022, creating an Election Integrity Department, building the committee’s first small dollar grassroots donor program, strengthening our state parties through our Growing Republican Organizations to Win program, expanding the Party through minority outreach at our community centers, and launching Bank Your Vote to get Republicans to commit to voting early,” she said.
“I have decided to step aside at our Spring Training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a Chair of their choosing,” she added. “The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition.”
Trump hand-picked McDaniel after the 2016 election to serve as RNC chair as Reince Priebus left the post to become his first chief of staff at the White House. She was re-elected to a fourth term in January 2023, fending off challenger Harmeet Dhillon.
McDaniel, 50, was the second woman to lead the RNC. She previously was chair of the Republican Party in Michigan, where she oversaw Trump’s successful 2016 effort in the state.
Trump told Fox News this month that “some changes” were likely at the RNC when he was asked about McDaniel’s performance.
“I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me. I think she did OK initially in the RNC,” Trump said in the interview. “I would say right now there’ll probably be some changes made.”
Scrutiny of McDaniel’s leadership at the RNC ramped up among party activists after the midterm elections in 2022, when Republicans lost several critical Senate and governors’ races. Grassroots activists and conservative influencers upset with McDaniel’s leadership coalesced around Dhillon’s effort to unseat her. But McDaniel offered a show of force ahead of the party’s winter meetings last year, unveiling a list of more than 100 RNC members who backed her for another term, and she easily defeated the challenge.
Criticism of McDaniel’s leadership is focused on her handling of party finances and grassroots efforts. The party’s latest disclosure with the Federal Election Commission showed it was facing a cash crunch, with less than half as much money in the bank as the Democratic National Committee reported at the end of 2023.
Speaking to reporters in Beaufort, South Carolina, last week, Lara Trump was asked whether the RNC would help to pay Trump’s legal bills as he faces prosecution in four jurisdictions across the country.
“Well, I said every penny will go to making sure Donald Trump will be the 47th president, to ensuring that we have great candidates to expand our lead in the House and to take back the Senate,” she said, adding about providing funding for his legal expenses, “I actually don’t know where they stand on that.”
“Well, I think that his legal bills have already been covered at this point,” she said when pressed further.
LaCivita told reporters later in the week that the RNC will not use party funds to cover Trump-related legal expenses.
Calls for change at the RNC ramped up ahead of the party’s winter meetings in Las Vegas this month. Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and a co-founder of the right-wing group Turning Point USA who led the charge to oust McDaniel last year, held a nearby conference dubbed the “Restoring National Confidence” summit — a clear shot at the party.
Some saw the focus on McDaniel’s performance as a way for conservatives to redirect anger on the right over Trump’s recent electoral failings, particularly in the midterms, after he elevated a number of candidates who embraced his false claims about the 2020 election and ended up losing key statewide races in swing states.
Behind closed doors last winter, two RNC members working on the party’s internal review of what went wrong during the previous year’s elections argued over whether the results had more to do with bad candidates or a lack of financial backing from the RNC. Tyler Bowyer, an RNC committeeman from Arizona who is also a top Turning Point executive and spoke at the group’s summit last week, argued it was the money, while Henry Barbour, an RNC committeeman from Mississippi who co-chaired the autopsy effort, argued the losses were because of candidate quality.
Ultimately, two people familiar with the party’s thinking told NBC News last year that a final report was unlikely to be made public, though a draft copy was leaked, and it did not mention Trump.
After Trump secured commanding GOP victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, it was time for the party to rally around him as the “eventual nominee,” McDaniel told Fox News following the New Hampshire primary.
Days later, a Trump ally and RNC committeeman proposed a resolution to be considered at the party’s winter meetings that would declare Trump the party’s presumptive nominee. But after pushback, Trump himself called for the resolution to be scrapped.
Trump’s rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, seized on the short-lived effort, referring to it repeatedly on the trail in South Carolina. She has said it showed the party is “clearly not” an honest broker.
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Reigning champion Argentina escapes with remarkable World Cup victory over Egypt
Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during their World Cup match against Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
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They looked beaten. And out. Argentina, the defending World Cup champion and No. 1-ranked team, was down 2-0 late against Egypt.

Then, in a span of 13 remarkable minutes, Argentina scored not once, not twice, but three times, capping a comeback for the ages and leaving Egypt stunned and shellshocked.
For much of the game in Atlanta, Egypt was in control, hobbling Argentina early. The Egyptian attack began almost immediately with a stunning header goal delivered by Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute. After that, Egypt’s defense closed ranks, making it practically impossible for Argentina to equalize.
It was downhill from there for the Argentines: team captain Lionel Messi failed to convert a penalty kick, and in the 67th minute, Egypt got a second goal from Mostafa Ziko (after an earlier Egyptian goal had been disallowed after a video review). It looked like Argentina was finished. On the brink of elimination.
But no one told the Argentine players that.
In the 79th minute, Lionel Messi began doing his thing. He fired a cross near the Egyptian goal, and Cristian Romero headed it in. Messi was not done. Four minutes later, he powered a shot past the Egyptian keeper. It was his eighth goal of this tournament, the most of any player. The score was 2-2.
Then, in stoppage time, yet another Argentina header and another goal, this time from Enzo Fernandez.
“This is the World Cup for you,” said Messi after the game. “It wasn’t easy to come back from two goals down. But as I always say, this group never gives up. We always try to fight until the end.”
French referee François Letexier speaks with Egypt forward Mohamed Salah during the World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta.
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Afterward, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan complained about the French referee and the officiating. “I am not convinced. I am not convinced with this outcome. I’m not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match,” said Hassan in a post-match news conference. “We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.”
“We would have deserved to earn this win, but we are leaving with honor, with pride, regardless of this defeat,” said Hossan.
African soccer teams have been the stars of this World Cup. Morocco has yet to lose a game. Cape Verde qualified for the first time in its history and stymied Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Argentina barely beat them in a nail-biter of a match.
For Egypt, getting this far in the tournament is historic in itself: it’s the first time the team has made it this far. For Argentina, it was a terrifying yet relieving victory: several players, including Messi himself, cried after the game.
Next, they move to the quarterfinals and will play the winner of today’s Switzerland-Colombia match.
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Top Senate Democrats push Trump-affiliated companies for answers about IRS settlement
Top Senate Democrats are pushing for answers on whether a provision in a controversial settlement agreement between President Trump and his own administration applies to companies co-founded by or affiliated with the Trump family.
As part of a deal struck in May by the Justice Department to resolve a lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump, the Internal Revenue Service is permanently barred from pursuing claims against Mr. Trump, his oldest sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization based on prior tax returns.
In a one-page document signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and dated May 19, the Justice Department said the defendants in the president’s lawsuit — the IRS and the Treasury Department — are “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from “prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims” arising from tax returns filed before the settlement took effect. Blanche also wrote that the settlement applies to “parties including trusts, parent, sister, or related companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries.”
Now, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden of Oregon are pushing 11 businesses and organizations with ties to the Trump family to get answers for the “significant questions” the settlement raises relating to the tax audit provision, and whether the companies are included in the deal.
“Under the guise of a so-called legal settlement, the Trump administration has attempted to decree that the President, his family, and their entire business empire — potentially including entities with even the vaguest ‘affiliation’ to the family — are to face zero consequences if they have committed a range of financial crimes or misdeeds — regardless of the severity of the violation,” the senators wrote in letters transmitted to the companies Monday night.
The letters were sent to mining company Kaz Resources, defense firm Powerus, cryptocurrency companies World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin, robotics startup Foundation Future Industries, investment firm 1789 Capital, private aviation company Tag Air, and prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi.
All of the companies either were founded by Mr. Trump and his two adult sons, or list members of the Trump family as advisers, board members, or partial owners. Donald Trump Jr. sits on Polymarket’s advisory board and 1789 Capital, where he’s a partner, has invested in Polymarket. Days before Mr. Trump took office for his second term, Kalshi also announced Trump Jr. would be a strategic adviser.
The Democrats, who are in the minority, lack subpoena power, so Mr. Trump, his children and his companies can’t be forced to answer the questions posed by the senators.
According to recent financial disclosures, the president earned more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency ventures alone last year, including from his meme coin business and World Liberty Financial, his family’s cryptocurrency firm.
Separately, the senators also asked the Trump Organization in a separate letter if it believes it has “immunity from all audits, civil penalties or federal prosecution” for any crimes that could have occurred before the settlement.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which is majority owned by a trust that lists Mr. Trump as the sole beneficiary and operates the Truth Social platform he uses daily, also received a letter from the Democratic senators.
“The public deserves transparency about the scope of this get-out-of-jail free card for Trump-aligned businesses, and about whether you intend to rely on this settlement as a free pass for any possible violations of the law,” the senators continued in their letter, which also seeks any communications that executives at the companies have had with the Justice Department and White House leading up to or after the settlement was signed.
The settlement was announced months after Mr. Trump and two of his sons and the Trump Organization accused the IRS and Treasury Department of unlawfully allowing a government contractor to leak tax returns to media outlets in 2020.
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson said “the IRS routinely provides releases as part of resolving taxpayer reviews and audits. This settlement follows that same standard practice.”
The spokesperson did not provide specific information about which companies are covered by the audit provision, or whether the Trump Organization and Trump family are the only entities covered by that addendum.
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The U.S. men’s run at the World Cup ends with a 4-1 Round of 16 loss to Belgium
Charles De Ketelaere #17 of Belgium celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the World Cup Round of 16 match against the United States on Monday in Seattle.
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SEATTLE — This time was supposed to be different.
The U.S. men’s national team came into this FIFA World Cup with a lineup full of players with key roles in Europe’s top leagues. They had the name-brand coach — Mauricio Pochettino, of Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea fame. And they had homefield advantage, with every game on U.S. soil for the first time in three decades.

For weeks, the hype seemed like it might be real: The team’s three wins over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were the most ever by a U.S. men’s squad in a World Cup. A new generation of American fans filled stadiums by the tens of thousands and tuned in on TV by the tens of millions.
But in the end, the Americans’ exit was the same as it ever was: Eliminated yet again in the Round of 16 at the hands of a European team — this time, Belgium, by a score of 4-1.
From the moment they stepped onto the Seattle field, the U.S. was outclassed by their opponent, No. 9-ranked Belgium. Countless turnovers and defensive lapses were seized on by the Belgians, who needed only nine minutes to take a 1-0 lead.

Then, once the Americans equalized on a free kick by midfielder Malik Tillman, Belgium scored yet again in barely a minute of play. Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere scored both his team’s first-half goals.
After halftime, came an embarrassing nail in the coffin that silenced the Seattle sellout crowd for good — a 57th minute roll-in by Hans Vanaken after a slip-up by goalkeeper Matt Freese outside of the penalty area left the goal unguarded. Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku added a stoppage-time goal to seal the final score at 4-1.
Malik Tillman #17 of the United States celebrates scoring his team’s only goal during their World Cup match against Belgium. In what was one of the few bright spots of the game, the U.S. pulled even with Belgium at 1-1. The tie lasted less than two minutes before Belgium scored again.
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“It stinks,” said U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams. “Tonight was not a good performance overall. It’s not what we look to achieve. There [were] a lot of things that we could have done better.”
The U.S. had entered Monday’s game under a cloud of controversy around their striker Folarin Balogun, who was shown a red card in last week’s Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. An automatic one-game suspension was set to sideline Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer at the World Cup, for Monday’s game.
Then, the day before the game, a FIFA disciplinary panel took the highly unusual step of delaying Balogun’s suspension by a year to allow him to participate. Then, news broke that President Trump had personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to encourage him to review the red card.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it would protest Balogun’s inclusion in the lineup. But even at full strength, the U.S. were never real contenders in Monday’s game.
U.S. defender and team captain Tim Ream said the controversy swirling around the team had no impact. “We were fully focused on us as a group and as a team and fully focused on the game and not really worrying about what was being said or debated in the outside world.”
Belgium will advance to the quarterfinals for the third time in the past four World Cups, where it will face Spain on Friday in Los Angeles.
Mauricio Pochettino, Head Coach of the United States, walks down the touchline during the Round of 16 World Cup match between the USA and Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
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