TPMDC

Shadegg: Steele Has A Lot To Explain If He Wants To Keep His Job

Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)

On MSNBC this morning, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) said RNC Chairman Michael Steele has a lot to explain about committee expenses if he wants to keep his job. Shadegg also said extravagant expenditures, like a $2,000 nightclub bill, don’t jibe with Republican ideals.

“At this point, I’m not calling for [Steele’s] resignation, but I think there has been excessive spending and I don’t think it’s defensible,” Shadegg said. “The Republican party and its donors need to be doing their best to raise money and spend that money to advance our philosophy and elect our candidates, not for frivolous wastes of money.”

Steele, he said, needs to make amends to the rest of his party.

“He’s got a lot to explain before he can, I think, quite frankly, receive the support of the party to stay in the job,” Shadegg said.

Steele and the RNC have taken heat this week for FEC reports showing money spent lavishly on hotels, private flights and one $2,000 bill at a bondage-themed L.A. nightclub that features topless dancers.

John Shadegg, Michael Steele, RNC

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Senior Associate Editor

Paul Werdel

Associate Editor

Sara Libby

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Carl Franzen

Sahil Kapur

Eric Kleefeld

Eric Lach

Nick Martin

Evan McMorris-Santoro

Ryan J. Reilly

Benjy Sarlin

Front Page Editor

David Taintor

Poll Editor

Kyle Leighton

News Writer

Pema Levy

Video Editor

Michael Lester

Polling Fellow

Tom Kludt

Video Fellow

Clayton Ashley

Publishing Fellow

Christopher O’Driscoll

Research Interns

Michael Brooks

Publishing Intern

Miles Read

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Mary Cadwallader

Bob Edmunds

Bruce Ellerstein

Waldo Tibbetts

Manager, Ad Operations and Sales Support

Versha Sharma

Deputy Publisher

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Technology

Eric Buth

Designer/Developer

Ni Mu

Matthew Wozniak

Tech Fellow

Dennis Cahillane