Top RNC lawyer resigns after less than 2 months

Republican National Committee chief counsel Charlie Spies has resigned after less than two months on the job, party officials confirmed.

Spies, a longtime Republican election attorney, was brought on to the committee in March, amid a Trump-campaign-led overhaul of the committee. But over the following weeks, former President Donald Trump privately expressed anger over Spies’ hiring, as some allies began to tell him about the attorney’s past work for two former primary opponents — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

“Charlie approached RNC chief of staff Chris LaCivita about potential time commitment conflicts and it was agreed that while we appreciate and value Charlie’s expertise and professionalism he could not do this role full time and still maintain the obligations to his law firm practice that he has spent years successfully building,” RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

Spies was to play a key role at the committee, including in helping to oversee an expansive deployment of lawyers across battleground states. The Trump campaign and RNC have announced plans to utilize more than 100,000 attorneys and volunteers at election sites, describing it as “the most extensive and monumental election integrity program in the nation’s history.”

Spies is one of the most prominent campaign attorneys in the Republican Party, having worked for a number of candidates, political committees and super PACs.

But in the weeks that followed his hiring, Spies came under fire from some Trump allies. “Hearing Charlie Spies might be fired from the RNC very soon,” Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump activist, wrote on X in early April.

“Working full time at the RNC wasn’t the right fit with my law firm client commitments, but I will remain focused on getting President Trump and Republicans at all levels elected in November,” Spies said.

Spies’ departure was first reported by NBC News.

The Trump campaign effectively has merged its operations with the RNC, with both entities essentially sharing responsibilities across a range of departments.

Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel stepped down from her post in early March and was succeeded by Michael Whatley, a former North Carolina GOP chair. Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, became the committee’s co-chair.