Washington (CNN) Facing a crowded field of Democrats clamoring to oust him, President Donald Trump raised more in the first three months of this year than in any other fundraising period since he entered the White House as he builds a re-election apparatus without any modern precedent.

Trump raised $30.3 million during the January-to-March fundraising quarter and spent just $8.8 million, a sharp drop from his campaign's heavy spending at the end of 2018 when he crisscrossed the country, working to boost Republican congressional candidates in the midterm elections. The fundraising surge and curtailed spending left the President atop a nearly $40.8 million campaign war chest, a report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission shows.

In an unprecedented move, Trump's aides also have moved to consolidate their control over the national party, giving them sway over the spending decisions of the Republican National Committee. Taken together with the war chests of the party and an affiliated committee, Trump and the party started April with more than $80 million in cash reserves.

No Democrat comes close to Trump's fundraising.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, making his second bid for the presidency, outraised the Democratic field with $18.2 million, filings show. He started April with $26.6 million in remaining cash, scattered among three campaign accounts, according to his campaign and Federal Election Commission filings.

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