The Republican Party planned to divert funds away from its presidential candidate Donald Trump and instead focus on down-ballot candidates, according to a party official informed of the decision, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

That meant the party planned to try to mobilize voters to support its House and Senate candidates even if those voters intended to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a marked shift in its previous strategy, the report said.

The Wall Street Journal report can be read here.

This followed a slew of Republican leaders and candidates saying they could no longer back their party's presidential nominee in light of a newly publicized 2005 audio clip from a hot mic recording in which Trump was caught making crude comments about women, appearing to brag about sexually assaulting them.



The Trump campaign and the Republican Party didn't immediately return CNBC's emailed requests for comment, which were sent outside office hours.

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