Trump hires Susie Wiles as first female White House chief of staff
President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that longtime GOP operative Susie Wiles will be his White House chief of staff, making her the first woman to hold the position.
"Susie is tough, smart, innovative and is universally admired and respected," Trump said in a statement, attributing to her "one of the greatest political victories in American history."
"I have no doubt that she will make our country proud," he added.
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Wiles, 67, has a career in politics extending decades. She first worked as an assistant to former Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., in 1979, and served as former President Ronald Reagan's campaign scheduler during the 1980 presidential campaign. She would go on to work in Reagan's Labor Department.
Wiles is a veteran of Florida politics who helped both Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis secure political victories in the state. She helped DeSantis notch his gubernatorial victory in 2018 while he was still in Congress, and she served as Trump's 2016 Florida campaign director.
She and DeSantis had a falling out, and the governor reportedly convinced the Trump campaign to fire her in 2020, though when DeSantis attempted to secure the 2024 GOP nomination, she became a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign and used her knowledge to aid Trump's battle against his closest contender.
The usually quiet consultant deleted a snarky X post telling DeSantis "Bye, bye," after he suspended his presidential campaign, according to Politico.
She also worked other high-profile GOP campaigns, including for Sens. Rick Scott and Mitt Romney. She also briefly worked for businessman Jon Huntsman Jr. during his presidential bid in 2012.
During his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday morning, Trump expressed appreciation for Wiles and offered her the chance to speak at the podium, though she declined.
"Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you," he said. "The ice baby. We call her 'the ice baby.' Susie likes to stay in the background. She's not in the background."
Wiles is the daughter of the late NFL legend Pat Summerall, who credited his daughter's intervention with his ability to overcome his alcoholism, according to his 2006 autobiography Summerall: On and Off the Air.
Wiles is no stranger to speaking difficult truth to men in power, having had to rebuke her own father to his face in 1992 when he was destroying himself with his addiction.
During an intervention that year involving Susie and some of her father's friends, Summerall reportedly was so enraged that he was unwilling to hear any of them until his daughter admitted to him that she had grown ashamed to share his name. He claimed her words convinced him to go to rehab and get sober, though he ultimately said his Christian faith saved him.
"My thirst for alcohol was replaced by a thirst for knowledge about faith and God. I began reading the Bible regularly at the Betty Ford treatment center, and it became a part of my daily life," Summerall wrote.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
