By Jonathan Swan @ Axios.com, 4 hrs. ago

[....] The back story: In a White House with a strong political operation, there'd be a big shot acting as the main strategist — marshalling party leaders across the country, controlling the Republican National Committee and ensuring the biggest donors in the conservative movement are ready for the epic fights ahead. That's more like the role Karl Rove or Ken Mehlman played for George W. Bush.

Instead, Trump has Stepien — a former aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and an experienced operative, but one of the quietest men in Washington. He's virtually unknown to conservative groups and has little sway inside the White House, and none whatsoever on Capitol Hill.

• When I texted a senior figure at a powerful conservative outside group to ask him about Stepien, he called back and admitted he needed to Google his name before responding.
• "Nobody knows what the f--- he's done or is doing to advance the president's agenda politically," a senior administration source told me. "There's no follow through on initiatives."
• Stepien seems to have little sway over the RNC chairwoman, Ronna Romney McDaniel. She often deals directly with the president and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
• "Stepien's not the guy you pick up the phone and call," said a leader of a conservative outside group. "It just seems like the office is a non-entity. At most they monitor things. It's a completely passive operation."

As a result [.....]