A new Daily Beast (DB) report has revealed some insights into the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) financial woes. According to figures and analysis by the DB, the RNC is hemorrhaging money, an issue that could escalate into a cash crisis at the worst possible time – election year. Let’s take a look at the details.
RNC Financial Struggles
Last year, the RNC was battling major financial issues. Fundraising letdowns, heavy spending, poor financial management, which included multiple state Republican parties going bankrupt, and Trump’s hefty legal bills all amounted to a dire year for the RNC’s coffers.
Now, however, according to the RNC, they have a sizable war chest on hand – over $11 million.
Although it’s nothing compared to the Democrat’s funding and the RNC’s own funding in the 20202 election period—where they raised almost $80 million—it’s a big chunk of cash. With upcoming fundraisers and recent donations, the RNC seems to be on the right path to solving the financial issues that plagued it last year.
Analyzing the Numbers
However, the DB reports that it’s not all as it seems. According to their analysis, there are a lot of holes beneath the RNC’s numbers.
Apparently, funding that the RNC is using in their figures cannot be used for political spending as it’s being directed to their “Cromnibus” accounts – accounts that are segregated and used purely for building maintenance, booking conventions, legal stuff, etc. These are individual accounts.
Donors can donate directly to Cromnibus accounts and essentially help the RNC with their admin costs. The kicker is that the money in these accounts is legally unable to be used for political campaigning.
The RNC is pushing more money into these accounts than political spending. According to the DB, of the $22.3 million the RNC has raised this year, $8 million has gone into Cromnibus accounts – over 35%. None of that money can be used in politics.
2020’s Huge Funding Success
It’s a far cry from 2020 when their Cromnibus accounts received less than 10% of their almost $80 million in donations. For every $3 the RNC raised, $1 went into the “Legal” Cromnibus accounts, amounting to around $4 million this year.
Luckily for the RNC, they can use this funding on Trump’s legal bills – which is where a sizable void is occurring.
But it’s also being directed to other legal ventures – like their election integrity task force, which aims to “ensure coverage, transparency, and that the highest level of integrity is upheld before and on Election Day across our Nation.”
This will involve a massive team of poll observers tasked with supervising in-person voting and “thousands of lawyers to challenge ballots and bring lawsuits.”
National Republican Congressional Committee’s Support
Much of the $4 million they’ve raised for legal business has come from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which donated a flat $2 million in support of the election integrity task force. The rest has been sourced from wealthy, high-flying Republican donors.
Trump’s legal bills have been a source of controversy within the RNC. Senior Republicans have been ardently opposed to using party money to pay for Trump, and the party did announce previously that it wouldn’t donate any more money to his personal bills. However, Trump has now worked out a deal with the RNC to help pay his legal bills.
Typically, a donation to Trump would go straight to the RNC. Now, however, donors’ money will first be sent to Trump’s campaign, then to the Save America PAC (which has paid over $50 million of Trump’s legal fees), and then to the RNC.
Donor Dynamics
Donors’ contributions are capped at $6000 for Trump’s campaign, $5000 to Save America, and the rest to the RNC. Effectively, any donation of about $6000 will be going to fund Trump’s legal bills before reaching the RNC. This has, in a sense, pigeon-holed the RNC. Their options are running dry with limited funding and the potential for more financial issues to crop up before the November elections.
As the RNC’s political funding typically goes to smaller Republican nominees and governmental races, senior members are beginning to worry about how the party will perform outside of Trump’s run for the White House.
All eyes are on the November elections, which will show us in detail how the RNC is faring.
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