He withdraws a proposal from the Republican National Committee that would have called for Trump to be announced as the presumptive nominee

(CNN) — The draft resolution of the Republican National Committee (RNC) that would have formally announced Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for 2024 was withdrawn this Thursday amid disapproval from the former president.

David Bossie, a Maryland Republican National Committee committeeman who recently endorsed Trump and introduced the resolution, withdrew it, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Trump said on his social media platform Thursday that the Republican National Committee should not move forward with the resolution, saying he appreciated the effort but opposed it “for the sake of party unity” and wanted to “end the process.” “

His statement came amid concern among Trump allies that the resolution could anger Republicans as Trump tries to play against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a source close to the former president said.

Trump’s campaign initially allowed the resolution to go ahead, and the former president himself was on board until the backlash began, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

While the former president would still need to meet the delegate requirements needed to win the nomination, if the resolution were to pass, he would have access to the RNC’s data operations, benefit from fundraising with the RNC, and have everyone’s support. Committee’s ground operations. It would also have meant the committee would have endorsed Trump and effectively opposed Haley, an unprecedented break from the party’s previous approach to the nominating process.

The resolution, which was reviewed by the RNC on Thursday, was proposed by David Bossie, a Maryland RNC committee member who recently endorsed Trump. The resolution was first reported by The Dispatch on Thursday. A draft of the resolution was independently obtained by CNN.

“The Republican National Committee hereby declares President Trump as our presumptive 2024 nominee for President of the United States and hereby proceeds in full general election mode welcoming supporters of all candidates as valued members of Team Trump 2024,” the resolution said. is .

An RNC spokesperson said in a statement that the resolution is only a resolution and not the committee’s current position.

“Resolutions like this are introduced by members of the Republican National Committee. Chair McDaniel is offering a resolution,” Communications Director Keith Schipper said in a statement. Whether or not to send it to be voted on by the 168 members of the RNC.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks after predicting the winner of the New Hampshire primary at the Sheraton Nashua on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 in Nashua. Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Haley’s campaign ignored the resolution and said GOP Chairwoman Rona McDaniel should host the debate before the South Carolina primary in late February.

“Who cares what the Republican National Committee says? We will let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who our party’s nominee should be, not a group of Washington insiders,” Haley spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement. If Ronna McDaniel wants to help, she can host a debate in South Carolina, unless she’s also worried that Trump won’t be able to stand on stage with Nikki Haley for 90 minutes.”

The resolution comes days after Trump defeated Haley by more than 30,000 votes in New Hampshire following his decisive victory in the Iowa caucuses. The victory led to many prominent figures in the Republican Party rallying around Trump and calling for Haley to drop out. The presidential race. Earlier this week, McDaniel told Fox News: “We need to unite around our ultimate nominee, which is Donald Trump.”

Current RNC rules require Trump to win 1,215 delegates to become the party’s official nominee. As of Thursday, CNN estimated that Trump has 32 delegates while Haley has 17.

Several members of the Republican National Committee were discussing the resolution during a conference call Wednesday night, according to a Republican with knowledge of the call.

This post has been updated.