Trump campaign shrinks Corey Lewandowski's role

In early March, Lewandowski ceded authority over many hiring decisions to a lower-ranking staffer. In recent days, the campaign’s press office has been overruling his decisions about issuing credentials for campaign events. Going forward, Trump’s just-named convention manager, Paul Manafort, is expected to take a leading role not just in the selection of delegates, but in the remaining primaries themselves, according to three people on or close to the campaign.

The shift is, in part, a natural outgrowth of the campaign’s maturation. But according to sources close to the campaign, it’s also at least partly the result of long-simmering concerns among some members of Trump’s inner circle about Lewandowski’s lack of national experience, his perceived unwillingness to challenge Trump and his brash temperament.

Those concerns got renewed attention this week, when Lewandowski was charged by police in Jupiter, Fla. with criminal battery related to a March 8 altercation with a reporter then working for the conservative Breitbart News.

“I’m not saying Corey’s going to be fired or anything because I don’t think he’s going to be, at least not at this juncture,” said a person involved in Trump’s campaign. “But Mr. Trump’s listening to other people now. The crew’s expanding. The inner circle is not what it used to be.”