WASHINGTON — The Republican Party’s rules chairman is accusing other GOP officials of ‘‘a breach of our trust’’ by trying to preserve the party leadership’s power to allow the nomination of a fresh candidate for president.
Bruce Ash, RNC committeeman from Arizona, wrote the harshly worded e-mail to the other 55 members of the GOP rules committee.
The confidential e-mail was written days before party officials gather in Hollywood, Fla., for preliminary discussions about what rules the GOP will use at its presidential nominating convention in July.
Some top Republicans consider the party’s two leading presidential contenders, billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, to be likely November election losers and have discussed how to replace them with alternatives at convention in Cleveland.
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It is possible that no contenders will have the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination, which would produce the first GOP convention without a presumptive nominee since 1976.
Trump has clashed with party leaders over rules that he claims are rigged against him, a charge party leaders deny.
Ash said the convention’s presiding officer could use existing rules to ‘‘unilaterally reopen nominations to allow a candidate to be nominated that is viewed as more acceptable, which is exactly what so many rank-and-file Republicans across America fear.’’
His e-mail did not mention that House Speaker Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, is expected to be presiding officer for much of the convention. Some opponents of Trump and Cruz have suggested that Ryan, his party’s 2012 vice presidential candidate, would be a preferable presidential nominee this year, but Ryan has said he doesn’t want to be considered.
In an e-mail sent hours later, RNC chief counsel John Ryder said the controversial amendment would in fact be included among the items given priority consideration when party officials discuss convention rules this week in Florida.
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But echoing the view of RNC chairman Reince Priebus and some other Republicans on the rules committee, Ryder added, ‘‘Major changes now are dangerous and not a good idea, in my humble opinion.’’
Many Republican leaders have said party officials should not change current convention rules for fear of being accused by the competing presidential candidates of tilting the bylaws to influence the outcome. They have noted that the final decisions on the rules will be made anyway by the convention’s 2,472 delegates, probably on July 18, the gathering’s first day.
When Republicans meet in Florida next week to discuss their rules, Oregon RNC committeeman Solomon Yue wants to propose not running full convention meetings under the rules of the House of Representatives. Instead, Yue wants to use Roberts Rules of Order.
Yue and others say under the Roberts rules, it would be easier for the convention’s delegates to vote to block an effort by the convention’s presiding officer to consider new nominees for president. Under House rules, the presiding officer has more power to make decisions about the proceedings.
Ash said RNC officials have repeatedly asked him and Yue to withdraw Yue’s proposal or even to cancel this week’s GOP rules committee meeting. Ash said he refused.
He said that last Thursday, Ryder ‘‘convened a rules committee whip call to strategize against and led the opposition to the Yue amendment at the chairman’s request.’’
He said during that call, RNC officials acknowledged that Yue’s amendment had been ‘‘pre-submitted’’ by a deadline that would give it priority treatment his week. But the next afternoon, Ash said, the RNC sent an e-mail ‘‘incorrectly stating’’ that Yue’s proposed amendment had not been submitted in time to be included in the agenda for next week’s meeting. That would deprive it of priority consideration.
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‘‘In view of the above, I consider this to be a breach of our trust,’’ Ash wrote.