Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event at the Grand River Center on August 25, 2015, in Dubuque, Iowa. | Getty Trump, RNC enter joint fundraising pact After denouncing money in politics, GOP nominee’s agreement could allow donors to give nearly $450,000 each.

Donald Trump, transitioning to the general election, has entered into a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee that would allow donors to contribute nearly $450,000 each.

The agreement, which was finalized Tuesday evening, enables Trump to directly raise money for the RNC and for nearly a dozen state parties. It designates two fundraising committees, the Trump Victory and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee.


Trump Victory is a fundraising agreement between the Trump campaign, the RNC, and the state Republican Parties in Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The Trump Make America Great Again Committee, meanwhile, is an agreement between the Trump campaign and the RNC.

The deal was hammered out over the last week by RNC finance chair Lew Eisenberg and Trump campaign finance chair Steven Mnuchin. Eisenberg is slated to chair Trump Victory.

Whether Trump succeeds in raising big checks remains to be seen: He has repeatedly attacked the GOP donor class, saying they have too much influence in politics. Yet as he gears up for a likely showdown with Hillary Clinton, Trump now finds himself cultivating those same financiers.

“We are pleased to have this partnership in place with the national party,” he said in a statement. “By working together with the RNC to raise support for Republicans everywhere, we are going to defeat Hillary Clinton, keep Republican majorities in Congress and in the states, and make America great again.”

The statements of organization for the two Trump joint committees had yet to be posted publicly on the Federal Election Commission’s website, so it could not be immediately determined how the money would be divided between the component party committees and Trump’s campaign.

But in order for the Trump Victory committee to be eligible to accept maximum donations of $449,400, as indicated in the Trump campaign’s statement announcing its formation, it seemed likely it would have to include donations to special national party funds created in 2014 for conventions, legal expenses and headquarter-building improvements.

Those funds can’t be spent directly on campaign-related activities, which could pose a challenge to the campaign and party.

