If Donald Trump falls short of a majority of delegates and Republicans face a contested convention this summer, a small group of party insiders will have huge sway over who gets the nomination, NBC News reported.
The RNC Rules Committee decides party regulations and writes the first draft of convention rules, which are finalized by a convention rules committee and submitted to a floor vote. They could, theoretically for example, pass a rule allowing only Trump to run in Cleveland, or a rule enabling new candidates to challenge him.
Interviews with more than a third of the 56 members of the RNC Rules Committee show that most think a contested convention is legitimate when no candidate has a delegate majority, but they disagree about whether there is a concerted effort to use this year's convention to stop Trump.
"Change the rules drastically you will have a problem," said one insider. "You want to have World War III and destroy the party?"
