So back in January, I flew out to Dana Pointe, California and met up with my colleagues,

Caitlin O'Keefe and Luke Vanderplugue.

We're headed to the Waldorf Astoria that is the host hotel for the Republican National

Committee's Winter Meeting.

And that's basically where the leadership of the inside of the Republican Party will

hear out the candidates and then make a selection for the next R&C chair.

And that's all happening at this very bougie, very exclusive, very expensive hotel in Orange

County and that's where we're headed.

Right, like minimum $900 a night.

Like minimum.

The meeting we were here for is not a highly publicized event.

In fact, its members would rather the media not show up at all, but it seemed like the

place to go.

It's the first Republican meeting of the year and I think what we're trying to do here

is figure out how honestly our Republicans reckoning with their midterms losses.

Because while the committee had a clear agenda for the week, they're debating about whether

a new chair is necessary for the party to move forward in a positive direction.

It all felt tied up in this much larger story about the party and the fractures that have

formed after the midterms.

After targeting Kevin McCarthy in the speaker fight, the grassroots had now turned on the

R&C chair, Rana Romney McDaniel.

She's the niece of Mitt Romney, though she rarely uses the Romney name these days.

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