(CNN) The Republican National Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to withdraw from its participation in the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has long governed general-election presidential debates.
In a statement, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the commission is "biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage."
The commission was formed in 1987 as a nonprofit sponsored by both the Republican and Democratic Parties and has sponsored debates in every presidential election since 1988. The group's co-chairs include former RNC chairman Frank Fahrenkopf.
CNN has reached out to the commission for comment.
Thursday's vote comes after months of signals from the RNC that it sought a break from the commission. In June 2021, McDaniel sent a letter outlining several complaints about the commission's practices, reflecting former President Donald Trump's concerns about the conduct of the 2020 debates.
ThisIsTheNewSleeve on April 14th, 2022 at 17:35 UTC »
Have the debate anyway, same time, same length and just give all the time to the democrats.
sparcap on April 14th, 2022 at 17:04 UTC »
"We no longer feel the need to publicly hear opposing arguments, since we no longer subscribe to a single, shared version of reality."
Smiling_Mister_J on April 14th, 2022 at 17:00 UTC »
RNC unanimously confirms that its platform does not hold up under scrutiny.