Bill Stepien

William Stepien is an American political consultant who served as the campaign manager for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign beginning in July of that year. A member of the Republican Party, he was the White House Director of Political Affairs in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018.[1]

Bill Stepien
Stepien in 2022
White House Director of Political Affairs
In office
January 20, 2017 – December 7, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byDavid Simas
Succeeded byBrian Jack
Personal details
Born
William Stepien
Political partyRepublican
EducationRutgers University, New Brunswick (BA)

Stepien managed both of Chris Christie's gubernatorial campaigns and served as his Deputy Chief of Staff before being fired in 2014 after Christie said he "lost confidence" in Stepien's judgment[2] for his role in the Fort Lee lane closure scandal, also known as Bridgegate, in which Stepien approved of the action, meant to embarrass a Democratic mayor.[3] [4]

Early career

Born to a family of Polish and German origin, Stepien graduated from West Morris Central High School[5] and Rutgers University in New Jersey.[6] Stepien began his political career working on Anthony Bucco's 1997 State Senate campaign, and on Bob Franks' 2000 U.S. Senate race. He worked for Public Opinion Strategies and DuHaime Communications before managing Bill Baroni's 2003 bid for New Jersey State Assembly—the only Republican to oust a Democratic incumbent that year.[7]

Stepien served as Political Director of the 2004 Bush/Cheney campaign in New Hampshire, and as Director of the Republican National Committee's 72-Hour Campaign in 2005 and 2006.[7] In 2008, he was a Regional Campaign Manager for Senator John S. McCain's presidential campaign[8] before serving as National Field Director,[9] a role in which he also served for New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign in 2007-08. He also served in the same role for Presidential hopeful Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Campaign.

Campaign and administration

Stepien served as campaign manager in Chris Christie's successful campaign for Governor of New Jersey in 2009.[10] Christie's first major announcement after winning the election was the naming of four top staffers, including Stepien as a Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.[11] In April 2013, Stepien resigned from that position to become the manager of Christie's re-election campaign.[12] His replacement as Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs was Bridget Anne Kelly.[13]

On January 7, 2014, Christie announced that he wanted Stepien to take over the chairmanship of the New Jersey Republican Party from Sam Raia. On January 7, 2014, Christie said, "I’ve asked Bill Stepien to be our new State Party Chairman because no one better understands how to grow our party, communicate our message and, most importantly, win elections... Bill Stepien is the best Republican operative in the country, and New Jersey Republicans will be fortunate to have him leading our Party."[14]

Fort Lee lane closure scandal
Further information: Fort Lee lane closure scandal

On January 9, two days after nominating Stepien for the chairmanship of the New Jersey Republican Party, Christie announced that he had "lost my confidence in Bill's judgment," and he asked Stepien to withdraw his name from consideration.[15] The turnaround was a result of Stepien's work on Christie's re-election campaign, where he became embroiled in the Fort Lee lane closure scandal to the George Washington Bridge. This was enacted by Christie's staff as political retribution toward Mark Sokolich (D) the Mayor of Fort Lee, NJ for his failure to support Christie’s campaign. The closure of the Fort Lee bridge entrance caused massive delays and gridlock in New Jersey traffic including that from Fort Lee. Bridget Anne Kelly (R) Deputy Chief of Staff for Christie and romantically involved with Stepien, Bill Baroni (R) Appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and David Wildstein (R) Appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were all found guilty. Stepien was fired.

In the trial in September 2016 about the lanes closures, federal prosecution witness David Wildstein said that Stepien was aware of the lane closures as they were happening.[16][17]

They eventually discovered that Stepien was also in a romantic relationship with Bridget Kelly, his replacement as Christie's deputy chief of staff. Their relationship lasted until August 2013, as the plan to close the lanes was being implemented.[18] Though their personal relationship was over, Stepien was kept abreast of the lane closures and the intended fallout. It was the emails between Stepien and those involved in the lane closures that sealed his fate. Christie said, "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."[19]

Stepien then received a subpoena to submit documents to the New Jersey Legislature panel investigating the lane closures. In a 19-page letter sent to Reid Schar, Special Counsel to the joint Senate and Assembly committee, Stepien's lawyer cited Stepien’s Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination, noting that in addition to the legislative probe, a federal criminal inquiry into the lane closures was also underway.[20][21]

Judge Jacobson of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled that Stepien was not required to comply with the legislative subpoenas to produce documents since they were written too broadly, and he was also protected under the Fifth Amendment.[22] In May his lawyer also contended that a report produced on behalf of the Governor's Office misrepresented his client.[23][24]

Two months after being fired, Stepien made a "soft landing" at the data and phone bank giant FLS Connect, which hired him to work on sales and strategy.[25][26]

Nassau Strategies

Stepien's firm, Nassau Strategies LLC, is based out of a residential home on Knob Hill Road in Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey. The firm benefited from Christie's chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, as did many other New Jersey-based consulting firms. In December 2013, the RGA paid Stepien's firm $15,000, (~$18,844 in 2022) just a month before Christie cut ties with Stepien.[27] On December 8, 2014, GOPAC made a retainer payment of $6,000 to Nassau Strategies for political strategy consulting.[28][29][30]

Trump's campaign and administration

In August 2016 Stepien was hired to work for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.[31][32][2] Stepien was named the White House political director on January 20, 2017.[33] In December 2018, Stepien and White House Director of Public Liaison Justin Clark were named Senior Political Advisors to the President's re-election campaign focusing on delegate and party organization.[34]

In 2019, Stepien, along with Trump, worked to convince New Jersey Democratic congressman Jeff Van Drew to switch to the Republican Party during the first impeachment of Donald Trump.[35] In December 2019, Van Drew hired Stepien as an adviser to his 2020 re-election campaign.[36] On July 15, 2020, Trump announced Stepien's promotion to campaign manager for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, replacing Brad Parscale.[37]

On October 2, 2020, it was reported that Stepien had tested positive for COVID-19.[38]

Post-2020 career

After the 2020 election, Stepien, along with two former members of the Trump 2020 presidential campaign, Justin Clark and Nick Trainer, formed a political consultancy firm, National Public Affairs.[39][40] As of June 2022, they were managing the campaign of Harriet Hageman, a Republican running against Representative Liz Cheney in 2022.[41]

January 6 hearings

On June 13, 2022, Stepien was scheduled to testify in front of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol Attack, but said he was unable to appear because his wife was in labor. [42][43]

See also

References
  1. "Trump Demotes Brad Parscale, His Campaign Manager". The New York Times. July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. Johnson, Brent, and Susan K. Livio, "7 things to know about new Trump advisor jettisoned by Christie after Bridgegate", NJ.com, August 27, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  3. Gold, Matea; Costa, Robert (January 10, 2014). "Firing of Stepien deprives Christie of a key counselor". The Washington Post.
  4. Matt Katz and Andrea Bernstein (December 16, 2016). "Fired After Bridgegate. Hired by Trump White House?".
  5. "Stepien's Challenge: Morris County Native In The Spotlight As Trump's Campaign Manager". Insider NJ. July 16, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. Corasaniti, Nick; Saul, Stephanie (July 16, 2020). "Bill Stepien Takes Helm of Trump Campaign as a Data-Obsessed Political Fighter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  7. "Two New Jerseyans play key role in Chafee win". Politicker NJ. September 13, 2006. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  8. Martin, Jonathan (April 10, 2008). "McCain finalizing regional team". Politico.Com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  9. Oinounou, Mosheh (July 10, 2008). "McCain Taps Former Giuliani Staffer as Field Director". FOXNews.com. Fox News Channel. Archived from the original on July 11, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  10. Burton, Cynthia. "GOP's Christie Joins Lonegan on Radio", The Inquirer, March 24, 2009. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  11. "Christie names four top aides who will help him get job done". NJ.com. December 4, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  12. Isherwood, Darryl. "Stepien to take over as Christie campaign manager", PolitickerNJ, April 29, 2013. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  13. Chris Christie aide tied to 'Bridgegate' is a longtime government worker", New Jersey Star-Ledger, January 8, 2014. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  14. "Chris Christie campaign manager tapped to lead N.J. Republican party". NJ.com. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  15. "WSJ Live Blog: Christie Addresses Bridge Controversy – Metropolis – WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. September 12, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  16. Mason, Melanie, "'Bridgegate' witness implicates top Trump staffer in plan to snarl traffic", Los Angeles Times, September 26, 2016.
  17. Racioppi, Dustin, "Bridgegate Trial: Former top Christie aide Stepien accused of knowing about lane closure plan", NorthJersey.com, September 26, 2016.
  18. Logiurato, Brett. "Report Claims Two Key Players In Bridgegate Scandal Were Involved In A 'Personal Relationship', Business Insider, March 27, 2014. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  19. Pillets, Jeff, and Melissa Hayes. "Two sides of former Christie campaign guru Bill Stepien: Highly effective but personally abrasive, NorthJersey.com, January 18, 2014. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  20. Grant, Jason (January 31, 2014). "Bill Stepien's lawyer objects to legislative subpoena in bridge scandal, requests its withdrawal". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  21. "Attorney says longtime Christie adviser Bill Stepien will invoke Fifth Amendment". The Washington Post. January 31, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  22. Boburg, Shawn (April 9, 2014). "Judge: Christie ex-aides Kelly, Stepien can withhold documents in GWB probe". The Record. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  23. "Attorney for Christie campaign manager demands retraction on GWB report". May 15, 2014.
  24. "Stepien's attorney says new Christie bridge scandal report bolsters client's claims". March 28, 2014.
  25. Vogel, Ken. "Ex-Chris Christie aide lands at GOP firm", Politico, March 8, 2014. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  26. Berkley, Sheila. "Statement from FLS Connect Partner and President Sheila Berkley, FLS Connect, March 18, 2014. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  27. Haddon, Heather. "Christie Aims GOP Work at N.J. Firms, The Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2014. Accessed: May 2, 2015.
  28. IRS, "Form 8872: Political Organization Report of Contributions and Expenditures", GOPAC Inc, December 31, 2014.
  29. Friedman, Matt (September 2, 2014). "Bridge scandal: Former Christie aide Bill Stepien is working for Republicans again". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  30. Friedman, Matt (May 18, 2014). "National group gives NJ contractors a new way to influence elections". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  31. Haberman, Maggie, and Kate Zernike, "Donald Trump’s Campaign Hires Ex-Christie Aide to Bolster Political Operation", The New York Times, August 26, 2016.
  32. "Is this a reason exiled Christie campaign manager is working for Trump? | The Auditor", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 2, 2016.
  33. Zernike, Kate, and Patrick McGeehan, "‘Abandoned’ in New Jersey, Chris Christie Returns to a Changed Landscape", The New York Times, December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  34. Isenstadt, Alex (January 7, 2019). "Trump campaign moves to stave off mayhem at 2020 convention". Politico. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  35. Jacobs, Ben (December 23, 2019). "Why New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew Ditched the Democrats and Sided With Trump". New York Magazine. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  36. Salant, Jonathan D. (December 27, 2019). "He helped elect Christie and Trump. Now Bill Stepien is trying to return Van Drew to Congress". NJ.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  37. "Trump shakes up campaign team, replaces manager with N.J. political operative". NJ.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  38. Isenstadt, Alex (October 2, 2020). "Trump campaign manager tests positive for Covid-19". POLITICO. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  39. Isenstadt, Alex (December 22, 2020). "Top Trump brass launch campaign firm". POLITICO. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  40. "National Public Affairs | Political Campaign Professionals & Consulting". National Public Affairs. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  41. "Trump aides flock to Cheney challenger's campaign". POLITICO. September 10, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  42. "Jan. 6 panel says Trump campaign chief Bill Stepien unable to testify 'due to family emergency'". news.yahoo.com. June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  43. Gonzalez, Oriana (June 13, 2022). "Ex-Trump campaign manager pulls out of Jan. 6 hearing". Axios. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
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