Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign has been watching and is becoming engaged in some of the races for spots on the RNC's Platform Committee to keep the party's platform from going too far to the right on hot-button issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, according to sources close to the issue.
The committee includes one man and one woman from each state and territory.
It is not unusual for people most closely aligned with a president to get key convention roles, a source told NBC News."I know there are probably some people upset at us, but these positions are generally set aside for those who have been helpful to the president," the official said. "That includes this kind of stuff."
Newsmax has reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment.
At this point, the party's 66-page platform outlines the RNC's position on several issues, including marriage, abortion, the Federal Reserve, and police reform.
Changes to the party platform are usually made every four years and coincide with the presidential race, but the RNC changed nothing during the 2020 election, skipping reforms for the first time in more than 150 years.
The decision, due to complications of holding meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, angered several conservatives and moderate Republicans calling for changes.
Meanwhile, the committee's leadership, picked earlier this month, are Trump supporters.
Executive Director Randy Evans served as Trump's ambassador to Luxembourg; Russ Voight, Trump's Office of Management and Budget, is policy director; and Ed Martin, who heads the conservative groups Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Center, was named as deputy policy director.
Several people they interviewed by NBC said they back what the Trump campaign is doing because he is the presumptive nominee, but they also said there are debates being waged over abortion and the definition of marriage as the party's convention, set for July in Michigan, approaches.
"The campaign is really getting into it and involved this year in [platform committee] races in states," a veteran Republican operative who has worked in the past for the RNC told NBC News. "There is a sense among them that the platform should not be pushed too far to the right on a few issues, but I keep hearing abortion and marriage specifically."
Another RNC member said the involvement of Trump allies in the platform committee is "very odd."
"It's definitely out of the ordinary from past experiences; some are concerned that they only want to engage to change or control it," the source, a previous platform committee member said. "I think obviously the [former] president will get what he wants, which is appropriate," added the person, who has previously sat on the RNC's Platform Committees.
"But it's currently a conversation within the party."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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