WASHINGTON ― With its incumbents facing primary challenges backed by a former president complaining about “disloyalty,” the Republican establishment has quietly created a new tool that will allow it to raise money jointly for its three main committees.
“United to Win” was added as a new joint fundraising entity of the Republican National Committee in a Thursday filing to the Federal Election Commission. The group will be able to accept donations to be split among the RNC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
With Democrats now controlling both chambers of Congress as well as the White House, all three GOP committees have been outraised by their Democratic counterparts so far in 2021, according to FEC filings. The NRSC pulled in $1.7 million less than the Democratic Senate committee, while the NRCC raised $1.5 million less than the Democratic House committee.
Even the Democratic National Committee has outraised the RNC by $1.9 million so far, although Republicans were boosted by $7.6 million raised in December and transferred in this year from a joint committee operated with former President Donald Trump ― who took in tens of millions of dollars on the false promise that he would use the money to fund legal challenges to his election loss and to help two Republicans in Georgia’s Senate runoffs.
In the end, Trump’s “Save America PAC” spent money for neither effort, and the $76 million he raised is available for him to spend however he wants, including on personal expenses or as a salary for himself.
One of the ways he has threatened to spend it is against the 10 House Republicans and the seven GOP senators who voted to impeach him for inciting the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol ― a riot that resulted in the deaths of seven people, including three police officers.
GOP officials declined to comment on the exact purpose of United to Win. However, the GOP congressional committees have historically protected their incumbents against primary challengers as well as helping them win their general elections against Democrats.
Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost by 7 million votes, by encouraging his supporters to intimidate his own vice president and Congress into rejecting the Electoral College votes that Democratic nominee Joe Biden won in certain states. The plan failed when Vice President Mike Pence refused to do what Trump demanded. Trump responded by denouncing Pence, which further enraged his mob, leading many of them to chant “Hang Mike Pence” as they roamed the Capitol on Jan. 6 looking for him.