The World Today
Florida State Senator Joe Gruters was elected unopposed Friday as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, the party's governing body, which once again has a candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump at the top of its leadership.
The committee is currently led by Michael Watley, who has declared his intention to run for the US Senate in 2026. Gruters' selection was formalized during the committee's summer meeting in Atlanta, Georgia's state capital, according to major US media outlets.
Trump has described Gruters as a "warrior" for the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, although the senator has clashed several times with more radical members of the party, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, in fact, rejected Gruters for the position of state finance director in retaliation for his opposition to several measures pushed by the governor, including restrictions on teachers' unions. He is also seen as the author of a bill to limit the governor's power to enforce immigration laws.
Trump, however, applauded Gruters, who was also the committee's treasurer until now, as "a tireless fighter" who has ensured a "fiscally responsible and economically very successful structure."
