GOP Poised to Select Milwaukee as 2024 Convention Site

WASHINGTON — A site selection panel has selected Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the host city for the 2024 Republican National Convention.

The panel’s pick isn’t the final word, however, as the full RNC must approve the selection committee’s choice at its summer meeting in Chicago, Illinois, August 2-5.

“Today, the Site Selection Committee voted to recommend Milwaukee to host the 2024 Republican National Convention and it is a testament to the forthright and professional behavior embraced by Milwaukee’s city leaders throughout the process,” said RNC Senior Advisor Richard Walters in a written statement.

“A final decision will be made by Chairwoman [Ronna] McDaniel and the full RNC in the coming weeks,” he said.

The decision came after Nashville, Tennessee’s, Metro Council removed legislation from its agenda last week that would have kept it in contention as a possible alternate choice.

Without the legislation — a draft agreement between the city and the Republican Party on everything from public safety to private security — the RNC couldn’t get a $50 million federal security grant to host the event.

The Milwaukee Common Council approved a similar draft agreement with the Republican National Committee by a vote of 13-0 on June 1. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed the agreement that very same afternoon, vaulting the city ahead of all other contenders.

According to the Associated Press, Nashville’s monthslong quest to host the convention hit a roadblock earlier this month when the Democratic-leaning city’s metro council expressed opposition to hosting the event.

The Nashville 2024 Host Committee had been hoping the draft agreement would be refiled and the council would consider it later this month, but Nashville Mayor John Cooper and others continued to express concerns about security issues and the economic trade-off of largely shutting down an already bustling downtown for convention activity.

In a statement, the Nashville 2024 Host Committee said it asked Cooper’s administration to withdraw the draft agreement proposal to “allow for additional time to address multiple concerns and objections expressed by Metro Council.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue