WASHINGTON (AP) — As the new White House chief of staff, one of Susie Wiles’ tough challenges will be overseeing the buffet line of powerful interests that want something from Donald Trump.
It is a world she knows well. She lobbied for many of them during Trump’s first presidency.
Trump was first elected on a promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington. But his transactional approach to the presidency instead led to a lobbying boom that showered allies including Wiles with lucrative contracts, empowered wealthy business partners and hobbled his agenda after his administration became mired in a series of influence scandals.
As Trump prepares to return to power, his victory is likely to embolden those who think they can win his ear, raising the prospect that his second administration could face many of the same dangers as his first. That will test Wiles’ ability to lead a growing number of powerful figures — including Trump’s children, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and billionaires like Elon Musk — who won’t depend on her for access to the president.
The appointment of a former lobbyist to such an important job “predicts very little for what we’re going to see in the next Trump administration,” said Craig Holman, himself a registered lobbyist for the government watchdog group Public Citizen. Trump didn’t even mention draining the swamp. … He’s not even pretending.”
In a statement, Brian Hughes, a spokesman for Trump’s transition effort, rejected any suggestion that Wiles’ history as a lobbyist would make her susceptible to pressure.
“Susie Wiles has an unmistakable reputation for the highest integrity and steadfast commitment to service both inside and outside of government,” Hughes said. “She will bring the same integrity and dedication as she serves President Trump in the White House, and that is exactly why she was selected.”
Wiles’ task will not be easy
Wiles’ selection as chief of staff was Trump’s first announced appointment after his victory. Wiles co-led the former president’s campaign and was widely credited with running an operation that was far more disciplined than his two previous efforts. Still, she’ll have her work cut out for her. While the job has traditionally involved police officers having access to the president, Trump chafed at such efforts during his first presidency when he toppled four chiefs of staff.
During his recent victory speech, Trump called Wiles an “Ice Maiden” as he praised her as a consummate player behind the scenes. She will be the first woman to ever hold this position.
What is also clear is that Wiles, 67, has successfully managed wayward men over a long career in politics, government and lobbying. Wiles, the daughter of NFL player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, worked for U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp, a conservative icon, in the 1970s, followed by stints in Ronald Reagan’s campaign and as a planner in his White House.
She later moved to Florida, where she advised two mayors of Jacksonville and is credited with helping businessman Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, win the office of governor. After briefly managing Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s presidential campaign in 2012, she oversaw Trump’s efforts in Florida in 2016, when his victory in the state helped him win the White House.
Wiles represented a Venezuelan TV network
Wiles was a partner at Ballard Partners, a regional firm that lobbied for Trump’s businesses in Florida. Shortly after Trump’s election, Ballard settled in Washington and quickly became a dominant player. During Trump’s presidency, he earned more than $70 million in lobbying fees, representing a who’s who of corporate America, lobbying disclosures show.
Many of Wiles’ customers were simple entities with clear objectives: General Motors, a children’s hospital trade group, homebuilders, and the city of Jacksonville, Florida.
One in particular stood out and concerns the ways, subtle or otherwise, in which foreign interests seek to influence American policy. In 2017, Wiles registered as a lobbyist for Globovisión, a Venezuelan TV network owned by Raúl Gorrín, a businessman charged in Miami with money laundering.
Gorrín bought the broadcaster in 2013 and immediately toned down its anti-government coverage. He hired Ballard to advise on “general government policies and regulations,” lobbying disclosures show. But instead of working with the agencies that oversee telecommunications, Ballard’s lobbying efforts were aimed at the White House, which would have little say in regulating a foreign broadcaster in the US. Globovisión paid Ballard $800,000 for a year’s work.
Gorrín worked to help Venezuelan leaders
Brian Ballard, president of the firm, said he is clear that Gorrín’s goals were not limited to the media sector. Gorrín, who owns several luxury properties in Miami, has long positioned himself as a bridge between Venezuela’s socialist government and U.S. officials.
By the time Wiles and a team of Ballard lobbyists represented Globovisión, Gorrín was leading a quiet charm offensive for the government of Nicolás Maduro, which sought closer ties with Trump at a time when the country faced food shortages, violent crime and hyperinflation. It started before Trump took office when Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company, made a $500,000 donation for Trump’s inauguration.
“He was a fraudster and as soon as we found out he was a fraudster we fired him,” Ballard said. “He asked us to set up a lot of things, in LA and DC, and then nothing happened. It was all a fantasy. He just wanted to use our company.”
A few days after Ballard dropped Gorrín in 2018, federal prosecutors unsealed charges against the businessman for allegedly using the U.S. financial system to provide Venezuelan officials with private jets, a yacht and championship show jumping horses as part of a bogus insider lending scheme. to plunder the public treasury. Last month he was indicted for a second time, also from Miami, in another scheme to siphon $1 billion from state oil company PDVSA.
Wiles is described as a ‘straight shooter’
Ballard said Wiles played virtually no role in managing the relationship with Gorrín or several other clients for which she is listed as a lobbyist. But he praised her as someone who is a very organized “straight shooter” and “tough nails” despite her soft-spoken demeanor.
“She’s the type of person you want in a foxhole,” he said. “She will serve the president well.”
During Trump’s first term, Maduro mounted a peace offensive that included trying to hire at least two other lobbyists. However, things got out of hand. In 2019, the White House imposed crushing oil sanctions on the OPEC country, closed the US embassy in Caracas and recognized the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly as the country’s legitimate ruler. Maduro was subsequently indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020 on federal drug trafficking charges from New York.
Gorrín has long denied all allegations and remains on the run. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, he called Wiles a “lady” and said she always acted professionally and humanely.
Ballard called the company’s work for Gorrín a “big mistake.” In the future, Ballard expects access to the White House will be more tightly controlled, just as his company, after a steep learning curve during the first Trump administration, will be able to better vet potential clients to ensure their interests align with the president’s agenda.
“We learned a lot,” he says, “and so did the president.”
Foreign customers
Globovisión was not Wiles’ only client with foreign ties.
In early 2019, she registered with the Ministry of Justice as a foreign agent and worked for two months for one of Nigeria’s main political parties. Another customer was a car dealer of Shafik Gabr, a wealthy businessman who was in a financial dispute over the sale of cars in Egypt with the subsidiary of the German car manufacturer Volkswagen.
Wiles was also a registered lobbyist for the subsidiaries of a multinational gaming company and a Canadian company seeking to build a massive copper and gold mine near Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay.
Wiles was hardly an outlier in Trump’s Washington, where his namesake hotel served as a hub for lobbyists, corporate executives and foreign governments looking to rub shoulders with Trump World figures as they sought the president’s favor.
While much of it was part of normal business in Washington, a number of Trump allies and advisers were investigated and charged with crimes related to their work on behalf of foreign countries and entities.
After becoming Trump’s de facto campaign manager in 2022, Wiles continued to lobby, this time for Mercury, a multinational public affairs and lobbying firm. She most recently represented the maker of Swisher Sweets cigars.
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Goodman reported from Miami and Suderman from Richmond, Virginia.
