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Daughter-in-law Lara Trump
Photo: Alex Brandon / dpa
To underpin his influence in the Republican Party, former US President Donald Trump is relying on his family: his daughter-in-law Lara Trump has been elected co-chair of the Republican Party.
The majority of the Republican National Committee (RNC) voted for her and Michael Whatley.
The head of the Republicans in the US state of North Carolina takes over the RNC chairmanship.
He is a close confidant of former President Trump and supported the 77-year-old, among other things, in the claim that his victory in the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him through massive fraud.
During her inaugural speech in Houston, Texas, Lara Trump explained that it was now about winning the upcoming presidential election and said: "It's about good versus evil." The 41-year-old previously appeared on the right-wing US broadcaster » Fox News” appeared as a political commentator.
In his speech, Whatley emphasized the goal of achieving Republican majorities in both chambers of the US Congress.
In November, all seats in the House of Representatives will be re-elected, as will a third of the seats in the Senate.
The Democrats currently have a slim majority in the Senate and the Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
At the end of February, RNC predecessors Ronna McDaniel and Drew McKissick announced their resignations.
Trump had previously pushed for a change in Republican party leadership and recommended Whatley and his daughter-in-law for the posts.
It was expected that the party would follow suit.
Among other things, the RNC organizes the nomination party conference, at which the delegates formally elect the Republican presidential candidate after the primary elections.
In the presidential election in November, nothing stands in the way of a new duel between Trump and the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden after Nikki Haley withdrew from the Republican primary campaign.
eru/dpa/AFX/Reuters