RNC Chair urges against changing convention rules before Cleveland

WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is urging his colleagues not to recommend any changes to convention rules, leaving it to the convention delegates to address controversies swirling around the party's nominating process.

As drafted for the 2012 Republican convention, the RNC rules would limit the number of candidates who can be considered for the nomination at the convention. Only Donald Trump and Ted Cruz would qualify under the existing rules, but there have been a variety of suggestions for changing the rules to allow other candidates to be considered at the July Republican convention. Ohio Gov. John Kasich would need a rules change to win the nomination.

The RNC rules committee will meet this week in Florida, but Priebus said on CNN's State of the Union that he is urging rules committee members not to tinker with the convention rules.

"I don't think that it's a good idea for us next week - before the convention - to make serious rules changes or recommendations of changes right now," Priebus said. "I think we are in a politically charges environment, I think its too complicated, I think that the RNC rules committee going forward with making rules amendment suggestions — it is not a good idea."

Priebus emphasized that the convention will have its own rules committee that will propose rules for the convention and the full convention must vote to adopt the rules. The RNC "can't actually change anything. Its up to the delegates at the convention. So the recommendations I think just confuse people, I think its a bad idea and the environment, I think, is not conducive to it."