Republican Party says it'll keep using Trump's name

The Republican Party plans to keep using former President Donald Trump's name in their marketing material, a GOP lawyer said on Monday, despite a request by Trump last week to stop doing so.

Trump's lawyers had sent a cease-and-desist letter on Friday to the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional and Senate campaigns, ramping up tension between Trump and the GOP.

A Trump adviser said on Saturday that he was sensitive to the use of his name for branding purposes, and was irked that the three groups have supported Republicans who voted to impeach him over the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In their response, the RNC's top lawyer said Trump "reaffirmed" party leadership over the weekend that he approves the current use of his name.

The party also argued it had QUOTE "every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected political speech."

A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

But in a statement late on Monday, Trump declared "No more money for RINOS," or "Republicans in Name Only."

He added QUOTE "They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base."

Trump instead urged supporters to donate to his own Save America super PAC to raise money for handpicked Republican candidates in the 2022 congressional elections.

Some of them are expected to challenge Republican incumbents Trump considers disloyal.