As Donald Trump pours it on with his claims of a “rigged” Republican nominating process, the GOP Rules Committee that gathered in Hollywood, Fla., this week has rejected a pre-convention rules change that would have dictated how a nominee is chosen at a contested convention.
According to The Hill, the committee earlier today avoided a high-profile battle to change the format, rejecting a proposal to simplify the rules and instead standing with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus in his insistence that no alterations should be made prior to the July convention in Cleveland.
The committee adjourned just one hour after it began without making any changes, including one that could have made it more difficult for party leaders to nominate a “white knight” candidate — someone not currently in the race who could take on Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Here’s more from The Hill:
Committee members repeatedly warned against provoking the ire of (primary election) voters …
“We are basically in the seventh inning of the ball game and it’s not right to change the rules of the ball game in the middle,” Georgia committeeman and Rules Committee member Randy Evans said.
“This is a very hotly contested election and any change that we make will be viewed with a large degree of cynicism.”
The RNC’s Rules Committee doesn’t have the final say on the convention rules — that’s left to the delegates elected to the convention rules committee. But the standing committee can make temporary changes to the rules that would need to be agreed on by the convention delegates.
