White House and Capitol Hill In 2000, Whatley was a member of
George W. Bush's team pursuing the
Florida recount. During
Bush's presidency, Whatley served in the
United States Department of Energy as deputy assistant secretary. In 2004, he became
chief of staff for U.S. Senator
Elizabeth Dole, replacing Frank Hill. In 2007, Whatley became a partner at lobbying firm HBW Resources, where he lobbied for oil and gas industry clients. In 2008, he became executive vice president for the Consumer Energy Alliance; he held the position until 2019. In 2016, Whatley helped Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump campaign and organize rallies in North Carolina. Following the
United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, Whatley refused to blame Trump, saying that only those who participated in the riots bear responsibility. In February 2021, Whatley said, "We certainly saw evidence of voting irregularities, of election counting irregularities in a number of places around the country", and that the reason Trump won North Carolina was his state party's vigilance against Democrats' attempts to cheat. Also in February 2021, the state party voted unanimously to
censure Senator
Richard Burr for voting to convict President Trump during his
second impeachment.
Republican National Committee chair The
Republican National Committee appointed Whatley as its general counsel in February 2023. In February 2024, Donald Trump endorsed Whatley to replace
Ronna McDaniel as chair of the RNC. In March 2024, Whatley was elected as the new chair of the RNC, along with
Lara Trump as his co-chair. Per the North Carolina party's 2022 plan of organization, its vice chair (Susan Mills) served as state chair until a successor was elected. During his tenure as chair of the RNC the Republican party won the presidency as well as a U.S. Senate and House majority in the
2024 United States elections. In January 2025, Whatley was reelected as chair of the RNC.
2026 United States Senate race On July 24, 2025, press reports announced that Whatley would run for
U.S. Senate with
President Trump's support. He vacated his position as chair of the RNC while running for the Senate seat. Whatley supports tax cuts for the middle class as well as no taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security. == References ==