Long Valley Native Tapped To Lead Trump's Campaign

LONG VALLEY, NJ - President Donald Trump tapped former Gov. Chris Christie campaign manager and Long Valley native Bill Stepien to be his new campaign manager, replacing Brad Parscale.

"I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump campaign manager," Trump posted tp social media. "Both were heavily involved in our historic 2016 win, and I look forward to having a big and very important second win together."

According to the Associated Press, Trump and Parscale's relationship had been increasingly strained, with the president annoyed by the publicity Parscale had garnered in the role. But the final straw appeared to be a Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally last month that drew an unexpectedly low crowd of about 6,200 people after Parscale had bragged that more than a million people had requested tickets. The president was furious.

The shakeup comes as Trump has been struggling in his reelection campaign against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, with the nation facing health and economic crises during a pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 Americans.

News of the shuffle was delivered to Parscale on Wednesday afternoon by White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, the AP reported.

Stepien is a Long Valley native, having graduated from West Morris Central High School and received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University. He worked for Republican State Senator Anthony Bucco and served as campaign manager for former Republican State Representative Bill Baroni, according to his bio.

Stepien also served as campaign manager Christie's 2009 and 2013 campaigns and served as Deputy Chief of Staff until his removal in January of 2014 in the midst of the "Bridgegate" scandal. At the time Christie said he "lost confidence" in Stepien. Federal officials did not indict Stepien during the subsequent investigation, and he was removed as a defendant in a civil lawsuit over the lane closures.

For his part, Parscale will remain with the Trump campaign as a senior adviser, and he will oversee digital and data strategies.

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