President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, one of the most important unelected posts in Washington.
She will be the first woman in that role.
Wiles, 67, a Florida native, is one of the most respected operatives in Republican politics. In addition to helping steer Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, she served as his Florida state director during the previous two contests.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my successful 2016 and 2020 campaigns,” Trump said in a statement Thursday. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative and universally admired and respected.”
Trump called his 2020 campaign “successful” even though he lost the race to Joe Biden. For years he continued to make baseless claims that those elections were stolen.
Before joining Trump’s team, Wiles helped Rick Scott to victory as governor of Florida in 2010. He is now a US Senator. Wiles was also brought in to help rescue Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2018 campaign, which won after initially floundering.
After Trump’s resounding victory Tuesday over Vice President Kamala Harris, there was an overwhelming sense that Wiles was the frontrunner to become White House chief of staff.
“If she wants it, it’s hers,” a Trump adviser told NBC News on Thursday morning. “Her support for Trump and what she just accomplished [winning by a huge margin] makes it an easy choice if she wants it.
It turns out Wiles wanted the position, and now her role as de facto chief of staff will become official as the work of building a new government begins.
Wiles, the daughter of famed football player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, has professional roots in Republican politics dating back to the 1970s.
She started as an assistant to Jack Kemp, R.N.Y., in the House of Representatives in 1979, served as personal secretary to Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan during the Reagan administration, and spent much time earlier in her career in Jacksonville, Florida, where she was a was a top official. staffer for Republican mayors John Delaney and John Peyton.
She came into Trump’s orbit ahead of the 2016 election cycle, when Trump was looking for someone to help him navigate Florida’s sometimes choppy political waters. He plunged into a crowded pool of Republican candidates from Florida, including former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio.
“I was told you know something about Florida,” Trump told Wiles when they first spoke on the phone, NBC News reported in March.
That call was followed by Wiles making a trip to Trump Tower in New York City. He eventually hired her.
Since then, she has generally been part of his inner circle. In addition to his work for DeSantis in 2016, a relationship that ended badly, Wiles has also worked in the private sector for lobbying firm Ballard Partners and for Mercury, a public affairs firm. She remained with Mercury through the 2024 presidential election.
Wiles did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her new position Thursday evening.
Republicans responded largely positively to her hiring as chief of staff.
“Congratulations to Susie!” Scott, her former boss, posted on X. “She is the perfect person for this role. She has been a friend since I ran in 2010 when she ran my first race for Governor.
“She knows how to build a great team, is a true leader, a trusted advisor and a brilliant tactician,” he added.
Donald Trump Jr. posted on social media. “Very well deserved. Susie is the best.”
Trump Jr. is seen as the final gatekeeper for administrative jobs, NBC News reported Thursday, so his approval is considered a key indicator.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
