Michael Steele has given in to his RNC critics who were seeking to curtail his power, the Washington Times reports, agreeing on a set of rules for Steele’s spending as chairman.
Steele has agreed to restore “good governance” rules for contracts and other expenditures, which were instituted after 2004 and were scrapped after the 2008 primary season. In addition, he has agreed to bring in former long-time RNC financial officer Jay Banning — who was fired by Steele last month — to serve as an on-call adviser to the treasurer. Other staffers are also being kept on either payroll or retainer, as well.
As the Washington Times points out: “It represents the first time in memory that rebel members of the Republican Party’s national governing body have successfully taken on the party’s historically powerful national chairman and his loyalists.”
