New Delhi: In his first major decision after being elected as the next US President, Donald Trump has announced the appointment of his loyalist and poll strategist Susie Wiles as his Chief of Staff (CoS).
She will be the first woman in American history to hold the critical post in the White House. Until the recent appointment of Susie Wiles, this role had been exclusively held by White men, marking her as a notable exception in a historically homogenous line of Chiefs of Staff.
The White House Chief of Staff is traditionally viewed as the president’s top aide, responsible for managing the Office of the President and overseeing all daily operations and staff activities. The CoS plays a critical role in shaping and directing policy and is typically the president’s closest adviser.
Wiles, 67, comes with over four decades of experience as a political strategist but has never worked in Washington.
The Florida veteran is credited with managing Trump’s “most disciplined” election campaign and being one of the few to thrive in Trump’s demanding and often unpredictable working environment and has survived Trump’s chaotic management style.
She has been serving as the CEO of the Save America leadership political action committee (PAC) since 2021 and a senior adviser to Trump since 2016.
In Florida, she managed Trump’s campaigns in 2016 and 2020 and previously led Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ successful campaign in 2018 before a falling-out led her to Trump’s camp. Her work for Trump is considered pivotal to his electoral success, with the President-elect praising her as “tough, smart, and innovative.”
Trump highlighted her as “an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” and emphasised that she is “universally admired and respected”.
“It is a well-deserved honour 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’s statement said.
President Donald J. Trump Announces Susan Summerall Wiles as White House Chief of Staff pic.twitter.com/rzU3Zj6d0j
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 7, 2024
Republican insiders have largely welcomed Susie Wiles’s appointment as Trump’s chief of staff, recognising her as a trusted and seasoned ally of the former president.
US Vice President-elect J.D. Vance celebrated the news, saying Wiles would be a “huge asset” to the White House, having proven her value on Trump’s campaign. “This is great news,” Vance posted on ‘X’. “Susie was a huge asset to President Trump on the campaign and will be a huge asset in the White House. She’s also just a really good person. Onward!”
This is great news. Susie was a huge asset to President Trump on the campaign and will be a huge asset in the White House. She's also just a really good person. Onward! pic.twitter.com/Yj1aLYK4So
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 7, 2024
However, some see potential challenges in Wiles’s transition to the White House.
Writer and journalist Chris Whipple pointed out that while Wiles has demonstrated an ability to manage Trump effectively, occasionally advising him with difficult truths, her lack of recent Washington experience could be a drawback.
“On the plus side, she’s shown that she can manage Trump, that she works with him and can sometimes tell him hard truths, and that’s really important,” Whipple told the Associated Press. “On the minus side, she really has no White House experience and hasn’t really worked in Washington in 40 years. And that’s a real disadvantage.”
Trump’s campaign manager
Trump’s 2024 campaign under Wiles was touted as the “best-run campaign” as she even stepped in to keep the wheel running during the Republican leader’s multiple criminal trials.
However, she is known to keep a quiet profile and shun the spotlight. Reports observe her to avoid any time on the mic. “It’s a shock when she shows up in pictures,” a profile of her by Politico read.
Wiles, the eldest of three children and now a grandmother, describes herself as traditional and someone who does not curse. She claims to be a moderate even taking on tasks typically assigned to campaign volunteers.
“If we leave the conference room after a meeting and somebody leaves trash on the table, Susie’s the person to grab the trash and put it in the trash can,” Chris LaCivita, a Trump campaign co-chair, observed.
Wiles is known to have worked behind the scenes to support several Republican candidates, including presidents, mayors, and governors—most of them based in Florida. She is also known to have personal equations with candidates, making herself indispensable to their campaigns.
Early in her career, Wiles worked for Republican Representatives Jack Kemp in the 1970s and Tillie Fowler, later holding positions in the offices of Jacksonville Mayors John Delaney and John Peyton. She worked in Washington in the 1970s, and later on with Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaigns in the 1980s and in his White House, in the role of scheduler.
Her work has included pivotal roles in the campaigns of Rick Scott, whom she helped elect as Florida governor in 2010, transforming a businessman with little political experience into a now-serving U.S. Senator. She also briefly managed former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.’s 2012 presidential campaign.
By early 2020, Wiles was at a personal and professional low, Michael Kruse, senior staff writer at Politico, observed as he claimed that both Trump and Wiles needed each other.
Her success in Trump’s 2016 and 2020 Florida campaigns ultimately led to her becoming Trump’s de facto Chief of Staff for over three years. In this capacity, she developed links with prominent figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk, positioning herself as a critical conduit for Trump’s alliances. She shares a close relationship with Trump who calls her an “ice baby” as he described her to be a significant support behind the scenes.
“She’s his most important adviser. She’s his de facto campaign manager. She has been in essence his chief of staff for the last more than three years,” Politico said.
President Trump’s first tenure was marked by several top officials and secretaries departing from their posts in the first two years. He is now keen on hiring “loyalists” for his second presidency. Trump, who once promised to hire “only the best people”, has since expressed that his biggest regret was hiring individuals he now considers unsuitable for his administration in his first tenure as president.
Trump cycled through four chiefs of staff during his first four-year term, a position known as the president’s closest aide and essential advisor. His first chief, Reince Priebus, served just 192 days before John F. Kelly took over, becoming the longest-serving of Trump’s chiefs with over a year and five months in the role. Mick Mulvaney then served as acting chief for just over a year, followed by Mark Meadows, who held the position for 295 days until the end of Trump’s term.
The inconsistency in the chief of staff role is not unique to Trump’s presidency; several administrations have seen similar changes. President Joe Biden had two chiefs during his four-year term, while President Obama had five over his eight years in office. Since John Steelman was appointed as CoS in 1946 under President Truman, the average tenure has been approximately 2.6 chiefs of staff per president.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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