For the first time in American history: Trump chooses a female White House chief of staff

The quiet Wiles, 67, will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff

Reuters

November 8, 2024, 11:20 am

Last modified: November 8, 2024, 11:50 am

Susie Wiles reacts as Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks after the early results of the 2024 US presidential election at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, November 6, 2024. Photo: Reuters

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President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that Susie Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will become White House chief of staff, handing a top position to a political operative who helped Republicans win the election.

The appointment was the first of what is expected to be a flurry of personnel announcements as Trump prepares to return to the White House on January 20.

As the president’s gatekeeper, the chief of staff usually exercises great influence. The person manages the White House staff, organizes the president’s time and schedule, and liaises with other government departments and lawmakers.

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The quiet Wiles, 67, will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative and universally admired and respected,” Trump said in a statement.

“I have no doubt she will make our country proud.”

Trump has been sequestered at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, since defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election.

He is considering a wide range of people for top positions in his administration, including many well-known figures from his 2017-2021 presidency, four sources said.

Wiles, a Florida-based political strategist, and fellow campaign manager Chris LaCivita are credited with running a more disciplined operation for Trump’s third presidential bid compared to his previous campaigns.

Trump thanked them both during his victory speech on Wednesday.

“Susie likes to stay in the back, I can tell you that,” Trump said as she stood at the back of the stage.

“We call her the Ice Girl.”

Several people who worked with Wiles said in interviews Thursday that she would provide Trump with stability and wise counsel in the White House.

During his 2017-2021 term, Trump met with four chiefs of staff — an unusually high number — as they struggled to rein in the famously undisciplined president.

“Susie is a strong woman and a true leader with a proven track record of getting things done,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell.

Wiles previously worked on Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign and helped Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, win the 2018 election. She was a senior adviser on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 bids.

Trump chose Wiles over former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who is close to Trump and has been a frequent visitor to Mar-a-Lago.

Sources said McCarthy had been in the fray as well as Brooke Rollins, former acting director of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council.

A fierce Trump ally, Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, is being considered to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a source familiar with the matter said.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who was acting intelligence chief during Trump’s first term and was with him when he recently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in New York, is being considered for secretary of state.

Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan, is also being considered for that position, the sources said.

Hagerty, asked by CNN if he was being considered for a role in Trump’s administration, said: “I’ll leave the speculation to the speculators.”