RNC Chair Michael Steele Reportedly Stepping Down

RNC chairman Michael Steele could announce he won't run for reelection as RNC chair on Monday.

Michael Steele's time as Republican National Committee Chairman looks like it will come to an end on Monday, as supporters told Politico.com they expect the controversial politician to step down from his post.

Steele reportedly sent an email to RNC members over the weekend asking them to join him on a conference call Monday evening, where insiders anticipate he will reveal that he is not planning to seek re-election.

The former Maryland lieutenant governor was chosen to lead the RNC in January 2009, shortly after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the 2008 election, including the Presidency.

His term has been marred by a series of scandals and gaffes, and many Republicans have publicly called for his resignation.

Steele's selection by his Party drew snickers from commentators and inspired spoofs on "Saturday Night Live" for being what many saw as an obvious reaction to the election of the country's first black president.

It only went downhill from there.

In 2009, Steele was exposed as charging tens of thousands of dollars per public appearance, which many considered an unsavory use of his position as RNC chair.

He also called the conflict in Afghanistan a "war of Obama's choosing" in July – despite the fact that the conflict began under George W. Bush.

In an attempt to defend Tea Party candidates from their numerous gaffes during the election season, Steele told David Gregory on “Meet the Press” that he didn't fault people for messing up words.

"Folks make mistakes," he said in the October interview. "Lord knows I'm familiar with foot in mouth disease."

His missteps, combined with his poor fundraising ability, caused Republicans to quickly tire of Steele.

While he hasn't told any close allies of his plans to step down, Politico reported, he notably hasn't assembled a known reelection team. If he did, he would face a large pool of candidates seeking to replace him.

"Clearly, the whole Steele administration has really been about promoting Mike Steele for whatever future role he was going to play in the American political debate and not really focused on what the core mission of the Republican Party is," Connecticut Republican Chairman Chris Healy told the Los Angeles Times.

The RNC chairman will be selected at the party's meeting in January.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/12/12/2010-12-12_time_up_for_michael_steele_and_rnc_republican_chairman_rumored_to_be_ending_tenu.html#ixzz17yklnhTz