NRCC Executive Director Resigns amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

Men walk past the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 17, 2019. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN /
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) executive director John Billings resigned from the committee amid allegations of sexual impropriety with his female colleagues, Punchbowl News reported.

Billings resigned “after complaints from women about improper behavior,” multiple sources close to the matter told Punchbowl News.

Before Billings’ resignation, “a group of women who worked at the committee complained to counsel last week.”

Billings has worked for the NRCC since 2019, and he ran the committee’s Patriot Program during the 2019-2020 cycle before serving as executive director since 2021.

The NRCC reportedly suspended Billings from his position as executive director before he resigned.

The committee confirmed Billings’ resignation, saying, “John Billings no longer works for the NRCC. We don’t comment on personnel matters.”

Billings’ resignation deals a blow to Rep. Tom Emmer, the NRCC chairman who led the committee to an underwhelming performance in last week’s midterm elections.

Despite Billings’ resignation and the GOP’s lackluster midterm performance, Emmer is now running for a leadership position in the expected Republican-led House next Congress.

Emmer is running to serve as the House Republican Whip, despite the fact that votes are still being counted in some states and the GOP has not officially clinched the House majority yet. On Monday, NBC News projected the Republicans would hold on to a slim majority by a 219-216 margin, far below what political analysts expected.

However, Emmer is not letting the midterm results affect his decision to run for Whip. He said the GOP “delivered” in the midterms by regaining control of the House when reporters asked if the GOP’s underwhelming results would influence his decision to run for House leadership.

“I don’t know how we delivered by this is exactly what we thought we were going to do. We are going to deliver a majority, a new Republican majority,” Emmer said.

Still, not everyone in conservative media supports Emmer’s leadership bid in light of Billings’ resignation and the GOP’s performance last week.

“Tom Emmer ran the NRCC into the ground and now this loser wants to run for Whip? He should step aside,” GOP strategist Ashley St. Clair tweeted. “Republicans don’t need to elevate a RINO to House Leadership who oversaw an organization where sexual assault was apparently running rampant. Dems would have a field day!”

“If you fail at your job, you shouldn’t get a promotion,” GOP strategist Ryan James Girdusky said of Emmer.

“Tom Emmer was running a Lincoln Project style sexual assault / harassment operation over at NRCC, he failed to deliver the red wave he promised and now he wants a promotion,” GOP strategist Arthur Schwartz said.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter. 

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