Republicans close to former President Donald Trump are divided on whether to call for Florida's Christian Ziegler to resign as the state's Republican Party chairman as he deals with the fallout of a rape accusation against him.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), speaking on behalf of Trump in Iowa Friday, told NBC News that his party "would be better served with different leadership in the Republican Party." Ziegler has called the allegations against him "false" in an email to state Republicans earlier this month.

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Gaetz himself was the subject of a sex trafficking investigation by the Department of Justice, which ultimately did not result in charges.

"Given my experience, I tend to wait for the facts to come out before rendering judgment," Gaetz had said last week.

But the firebrand Florida Republican changed his tune, joining with Republican heavyweights in the state in Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) in calling on Ziegler to resign.

"I think it's time to move on and select a different leader," he added in his Friday comments.

According to a leaked police affidavit that has not been verified by the Sarasota police, Christian and his wife, Bridget, intended to have consensual sex with the alleged victim.

The alleged victim contends she tried to cancel the encounter when she learned that Bridget would not be coming, but Christian showed up at her apartment and assaulted her.

Ziegler has leveraged former President Donald Trump's silence as a justification for his refusal to step down during the investigation.

Other loyalists to the former president, such as Steve Bannon and Corey Lewandowski, have supported Ziegler's move to stay in power, pitting Gaetz against others within Trump's circle.

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The leadership of the Florida Republican Party is holding an emergency meeting in Orlando on Sunday to weigh possible disciplinary actions for Ziegler, including reducing his salary and role in the party.

However, Ziegler cannot be removed entirely from his position at the meeting.