President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Susie Wiles, a Florida strategist who ran his political operations for nearly four years, as the White House chief of staff for his incoming administration.
It is the first job announcement since Mr Trump won the election on Tuesday, an announcement that his advisers had been eagerly awaiting so that he could begin laying out his choices for the top jobs in government.
In Ms Wiles, Mr Trump has turned to an aide he knows well, has worked closely with him, understands how he works, is close to his family and most members of his current team are loyal to him. She will be the first woman ever to hold the position.
Ms Wiles has shown an ability to survive Mr Trump’s chaotic management style, which has seen him flounder through four chiefs of staff during his first term in office. She worked on Mr Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, but in lower-ranking positions. Mr Trump brought her back to run his campaign in early 2021, shortly after he left office in disgrace after trying to cancel the 2020 election.
‘Susie is strong, smart, innovative and admired and respected by all,’ Mr Trump said in a statement announcing the decision. ‘I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.’
His decision to pick someone from his inner circle contrasts sharply with his choice after he first won the presidency in 2016.
Most members of Mr Trump’s inner circle wanted Ms Wiles to be president.
Her appointment will help move the transition along. In the coming days, Mr Trump will begin reviewing nominees for the most important jobs in the government, including cabinet positions.
Ms Wiles has championed the former president’s efforts to broaden his general election coalition beyond the party’s older white base to attract black and Latino voters who have not traditionally supported Republicans.
She is one of the rare activists who has become close to the leaders of the MAGA movement while maintaining ties with some members of the old-guard establishment that Mr Trump defeated. After her appointment was announced, Republicans praised her on social media ranging from Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor whom Mr Trump defeated in the 2016 primary, to Charlie Kirk, a MAGA influencer who leads the group Turning Point USA.
The role of the chief of staff is extremely important in any White House
He or she traditionally acts as a gatekeeper and drives the president’s agenda. It is often described as the second most powerful job in Washington after the presidency.
But Mr Trump, whose leadership model in his real estate business was based on structural hierarchy, never understood the role and opposed efforts to create a structured process.
Trump aides see hope that Wiles’ selection marks a sign that the president-elect is aiming to build a more cohesive team, though one that will almost certainly remain less conventional than his Democratic or Republican predecessors.
