Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said Tuesday that she is considering running for chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, opening a new front in her increasingly public criticism of the Republican Party’s machinery. The Florida Republican said she has a “bone to pick” with the RNC.
Luna has been one of the few members of Congress willing to say so openly. In February, she called the Office of Congressional Ethics a “joke,” saying it had so much dirt on members of Congress and does nothing with it until elections come around. She also told Politico that the GOP is held captive by special interests.
Her comments come after a weekend in which she had to knock down a different wave of speculation. On X, Luna said some people had asked her to be Speaker of the House, but she said she was “completely honored that so many people are asking me, floated me, or have said that I would be a great Speaker of the House.” She then added that she did not know where the rumor started, had never spoken to any member about a run for Speaker and had never considered even running for the post.
The RNC post would be a different kind of fight, but it would fit the line Luna has already drawn. Her criticism has not been limited to one ethics office or one election cycle; it has aimed at the way the party is run and who it answers to. That makes her possible interest in the committee chairmanship more than a passing remark. It places her in direct reach of the structure she has been attacking.
What remains unclear is whether Luna’s latest comments are the start of a serious bid or another sign that she is testing the boundaries of her role inside the party. For now, she has said enough to make one thing plain: she is not just complaining about the Republican establishment anymore. She is considering trying to run it.
