Bill Stepien is officially Donald Trump’s political director, Save Jerseyans, as confirmed today by the White House:
Buried near the bottom: Former Christie aide Bill Stepien, who was fired over Bridgegate scandal, will be Trump’s WH Policy Director. pic.twitter.com/cALiYzoezO
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) January 4, 2017
There’s a reason why I named him as one of 2016’s big winners.
This is a comeback of Lazarus-like proportions.
Governor Chris Christie led Trump’s transition team until he was unceremoniously bounced (along with most of his retinue) shortly after the election. Christie had fired Stepien from a Deputy Chief of Staff post way back in January 2014 when the Bridgegate scandal broke. Stepien was never indicted or charged unlike his former colleagues, Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni.
Stepien’s head was nevertheless the first to roll given his leadership position in the front office. He was sacked by Christie immediately after being designated as the N.J. GOP State Party’s incoming chairman.
“I was disturbed by the tone and behavior and attitude of callous indifference that was displayed in the emails by my former campaign manager, Bill Stepien,” Christie explained at the time, citing emails exchanged between Stepien and alleged co-conspirators.
“Step,” as he’s known by NJGOP’ers, was recently elevated to serve as Trump’s National Field Director.
Guadagno’s camp now has a hole in the “mastermind” position as her own 2017 effort nears an expected launch.
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