National Republican Congressional Committee

The NRCC is always chaired by a Republican member of the House, who may serve up to two consecutive terms. It is governed by an executive committee of 11 members, which includes the party's Leader in the House ex officio, and other members elected by the Republican Conference following a House election.

The chairman is elected by the House Republican Conference after each congressional election. The eight elected leaders of the Republican Conference of the House of Representatives serve as ex officio members of the NRCC's executive committee.

The day-to-day operations of the NRCC are overseen by the executive director, who manages a staff involved in campaign strategy development, planning and management, research, digital, communications, fundraising, administration, and legal compliance.

In addition to the chairman, several other members of the House of Representatives aid the efforts of the committee by overseeing various areas important to the NRCC.[1]

The NRCC is broken down into several internal divisions: Executive, Treasury, Research, Political, Finance, Communications, and Digital.[2]

In 2000 and 2002, one-third of the committee's $210.8 million raised was in soft money donations. The committee held record-breaking events featuring President George W. Bush.[10]

After the ban of soft money donations, the NRCC's fundraising sources and techniques have been criticized. For the 2004 election cycle, its top three donors included two Indian tribal clients of Jack Abramoff. Others include gambling interests (also related to Abramoff).[11]

On September 21, 2006, Chairman Tom Reynolds met with lobbyists in Washington, D.C. to warn them to contribute only to Republicans and not to challengers from the Democratic Party because their donations would be tracked and they would lose favors among the Republican members of Congress.[12] Similar activities of the K Street Project occurred when Davis was head of the NRCC; the organization was fined by the Federal Election Commission for transferring funds between PACs for the same candidates in violation of contribution limits.[13]

The NRCC has also offered awards such as "Physician of the Year", "Businessman of the Year", "Columnist of the Year" and "Congressional Order of Merit" to very few individuals each year.[14][15][16][17][18]

In April 2021, it was reported that the NRCC had sent donors prechecked boxes that would automatically sign donors up for repeating donations every month if not unchecked. The NRCC sent this message in tandem: "If you UNCHECK this box, we will have to tell Trump you're a DEFECTOR." The message was removed after The New York Times reported on the tactic.[19]

In 2006, just days before the November 7 midterm congressional elections, there were numerous reports of a series of automated phone calls ("robocalls") being authorized by the NRCC, with the apparent intention to confuse and annoy the supporters of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives.[20] The automated call would typically begin by saying, "Hello, I'm calling with information about ___" and naming the Democratic candidate. If the recipient hung up, the call would be repeated, often several times, thus leading voters to believe incorrectly that the Democratic campaign was harassing them.[21] The NRCC used the tactic in at least 53 competitive House races.[21]

In New Hampshire, the state attorney general's office requested that the NRCC end the robocalls, but many individuals in the state continued to report receiving them.[22] The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent the NRCC a cease-and-desist letter. The DCCC letter cited the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation requiring that a prerecorded telephone call must identify the responsible entity at the beginning of the message, and must include the entity's telephone number. Because the NRCC's calls did not name the NRCC at the beginning and did not provide a contact phone number, the DCCC charged the NRCC with "a pattern of willful noncompliance with FCC requirements".[23]

On March 13, 2008, the NRCC stated that its former treasurer, Christopher J. Ward, had apparently transferred "several hundred thousand dollars" in NRCC funds to "his personal and business bank accounts".[24] An estimated $724,000 in losses were embezzled from the NRCC by Ward between 2001 and 2007.[25] Ward has served as treasurer for 83 Republican committees[26] and has done work for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.[27]

On June 6, 2008, the Department of Justice, in filing a civil forfeiture proceeding against Ward's house, alleged that Ward "made over $500,000 in unauthorized withdrawals" and that he used the money to make his mortgage payments and for home renovation.[28]

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) conducted a probe into disclosure reports submitted by the NRCC during Ward's tenure as treasurer. Guy Harrison, the executive director of NRCC, agreed to pay a $10,000 civil fine and signed a conciliation agreement with the FEC on June 10, 2010.[25]

On December 2, 2010, a federal judge sentenced Ward to 37 months in prison for stealing more than $844,000 from the NRCC and other political fundraising committees for which he worked as treasurer.[29]

• National Republican Senatorial Committee
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

• Official website
• NRCC Business Advisory Council site, referenced as part of the National Leadership Award solicitations.
• Cornell University Guide to the National Republican Congressional Committee Records, 1964?–1971
• Donations to NRCC at OpenSecrets.com
• Donations to NRCC in 2004 from Campaignmoney.com
• Donations to NRCC in 2006 from Campaignmoney.com
• "Worried Over Soft Money, G.O.P. Readies Major Gala", New York Times
• "Politician or telemarketer?" MSNBC Nightly News, December 11. 2003
• Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999–2006 at CapitalEye.com

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