Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, grew emotional Wednesday night while reflecting on the challenges women face raising a family and taking on leadership roles.
In a discussion on work-life balance at an event highlighting the CNN series Badass Women of Washington, the mother of two teared up as she talked about missing baseball games and doctors’ appointments.
“I don’t know if you can have it all,” she said, sitting on a panel featuring other high-profile women in politics and moderated by CNN’s Dana Bash.
“I don’t want to cry. It’s hard to have it all,” she continued, wiping away tears. “But we have to do it because it’s women like us who have young kids who don’t step up. If we don’t take these leadership roles, our voices won’t be heard.”
Romney McDaniel was chair of the Republican Party in Michigan and helped deliver a key victory for Trump’s campaign when he won the Wolverine State in November. She was tapped to succeed Reince Priebus as RNC chair, becoming the first woman to get the position in decades.
Politics runs in her blood — both her mother and grandmother ran for the Senate, not to mention her uncle, Republican Mitt Romney, who ran for president in 2012.
The job requires long days with constant travel. While Romney McDaniel now works in Washington, her kids are still at home in Michigan.
“It’s important for me as a mom to be here and show other women that moms can do this,” she said.
Laughing off her tears, Romney McDaniel quipped, “That’s my first time crying in DC.”
