Fox News Politics: The Republican Party after Ronna

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WON AND DONE: Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel won re-election on Friday to steer the GOP through the 2024 general elections. Friday’s vote on the final day of the RNC’s winter meeting brought to an end nearly two months of barbs and accusations amid a major fight for the future of the GOP. McDaniel won the support of 111 committee members who cast ballots in a secret ballot vote for chair, more than the majority of the 168 members needed to secure a fourth two-year term steering the RNC, which is unprecedented in modern times. Read more from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: Ronna McDaniel wins re-election to an unprecedented fourth term chairing the Republican National Committee

BUT —  Right after winning re-election, McDaniel announced that she would not seek another term steering the RNC. WATCH:

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PERILOUS VICTORY: Harmeet Dhillon has a warning for the Republican National Committee. Dhillon, the RNC committee member from California who was unsuccessful on Friday in her bid to unseat longtime national party chair Ronna McDaniel in a high-profile and combustible election, pointed to her grassroots support and warned “if we go back to our homes and ignore this message, I think it’s at our peril. It’s at our peril personally, as party leaders and it’s at our peril for our party in general.” Read more from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Lee Ross: Harmeet Dhillon says Republicans ignore grassroots base at their ‘peril’

DANIELS OUT: Former Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Tuesday that he will not run for the Senate in the Hoosier State, putting an end to speculation that he would enter the race amid GOP Sen. Mike Braun’s decision to run for governor. Daniels, who served two terms as Indiana’s governor from 2005 to 2013, said in a statement that life in the Senate, as well as the necessary requirements for the job, would not be a good fit for him. Read more from Fox News’ Kyle Morris and Paul Steinhauser: Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he won’t run for Senate: ‘It’s just not the job for me’

Former Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday that life in Washington and the Senate is "just not the job for me." 
(Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

SPEAKING OF INDIANA: Freshman Sen. JD Vance of Ohio is backing Rep. Jim Banks in his bid for the GOP nomination for Senate in Indiana. It’s Vance’s first endorsement as Senator. Read more here from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio backs Rep. Jim Banks in Indiana’s Senate GOP primary

AS REAGAN ONCE SAID… Americans see their own government as the top problem facing the nation, while inflation was named as the second-most concerning issue in a new Gallup poll released Monday. The poll found that 21% of U.S. adults see the government and its poor leadership as the top problem, while 15% see inflation as the top problem. Immigration and the economy came in third (11%) and fourth (10%) respectively. Read more from Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie: Americans cite government as top problem facing the nation, inflation second in new poll

ON CAPITOL HILL…

GOP INVESTIGATIONS MOUNT: Sens. Rand Paul and Joni Ernst are launching an investigation into over $5.4 billion in small business loan fraud as the Biden administration prepares to wind down the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. The senators say their inquiry comes after the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee sounded the alarm in a review released Monday that said $5.4 billion in taxpayer funds were dispensed to “fraudsters.” Read more from Fox News’ Kelly Laco: Rand Paul leads investigation into ‘disturbing’ $5.4B in pandemic fraud as Biden moves to end COVID emergency

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stands alongside his fellow Republican senators at a press conference addressing the national debt on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
(Fox Business)

DOCUMENTS DILEMMA: Lawmakers from both parties are frustrated that they have been kept in the dark regarding the contents of classified documents found both at President Biden’s home and that of former President Donald Trump, but the Justice Department says it’s trying to get them something. In a letter sent Saturday to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Vice Chair Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte said the Justice Department was working on getting at least some information for them. Read more from Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer: DOJ tells senators it’s ‘working’ to get them info on classified docs found at Biden, Trump homes

2024 WATCH

PROGRESSIVE BACKLASH: A progressive group was quick to attack Rep. Adam Schiff after he announced his bid for California’s U.S. Senate seat Thursday. Though Schiff has sought to position himself as a fighter against “MAGA extremists” and a champion of progressive values, the group laid into the longtime California congressman for his lack of accountability on former President Donald Trump. Read more from Fox News’ Sophia Slacik and Brandon Gillespie: Progressive group attacks Rep. Adam Schiff for failed record on Trump following Senate campaign announcement

2024 RATINGS: The Cook Political Report released its first predictions for the 2024 election season, dropping new Senate ratings that do not look promising for several members of the Democratic Party while most GOP seats are expected to remain red. The election analysis considers three Democratic seats to be “toss-ups” — held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio — all in states that former President Donald Trump won in the 2020 presidential election. Read more from Fox News’ Aubrie Spady: ‘Retire now or get fired’: Senate predictions spell trouble for Democrats in 2024

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina meets voters in Summerville, South Carolina during his re-election campaign in 2021.
(Tim Scott Campaign )

FUELING SUSPICIONS: Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is heading next month to the state that has kicked off the presidential nominating calendar for half a century. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, will address Polk County Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner on Feb. 22 in West Des Moines, Iowa. This stop and others have fueled speculation about his possible White House ambitions in 2024. Scott, one of the Republican Party’s top fundraisers, easily cruised to re-election in November to what he’s said will be his final six-year term in the Senate. Read more from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: Sen. Tim Scott headed to Iowa in February, fueling more GOP presidential speculation

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