The campaign that made history has already become an administration that made history.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that Susie Wiles, the co-chair of his campaign, will be his White House chief of staff.
Wiles will be the first female chief of staff in White House history, according to the New York Post.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement.
As someone who has worked with Susie Wiles firsthand, I have the utmost respect for her and commend the President for this fantastic Chief of Staff selection.
Aside from being a phenomenal person, she is a decisive leader who will work daily to execute the President’s… pic.twitter.com/ttPNrE7KZE
— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) November 7, 2024
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again.”
“It is a well-deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud,” Trump said.
Fox News noted that Wiles was summoned to speak at Trump’s victory party, but declined.
“Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby, we call her the ice baby. Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background,” Trump said then. “Thank you, Susie.”
Donald Trump has named his campaign manager Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, making her the first woman in history to hold the role. pic.twitter.com/wADDnZTiKc
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 7, 2024
The chief of staff is “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” focused on those who have held the post, according to the Associate Press. “At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear.”
Whipple said that Wiles has “shown that she can manage Trump, that she works with him and can sometimes tell him hard truths, and that’s really important.”
According to Politico, Wiles led Trump’s Florida campaign in 2016. She later worked for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his successful 2018 campaign.
As someone who has worked with Susie Wiles firsthand, I have the utmost respect for her and commend the President for this fantastic Chief of Staff selection.
Aside from being a phenomenal person, she is a decisive leader who will work daily to execute the President’s… pic.twitter.com/ttPNrE7KZE
— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) November 7, 2024
Wiles was last in Washington during the Reagan administration when she worked in the Labor Department, in the White House as a scheduler and for the late Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of New York.
According to CNN, Wiles is the daughter of former NFL great and later broadcaster Pat Summerall.
CNN said Wiles was Trump’s “de facto chief of staff during his post-presidency and then led his campaign for the entirety of the race.”
