The hottest ticket in town is about to be Susie Wiles’ cell phone number.
There are many reasons why Trump chose Wiles, who will be the first woman to hold the job, as his chief of staff. She largely eschews the spotlight — except for when she’s hitting back at Mark Cuban for saying Trump doesn’t have “strong, intelligent women” around him. It’s a trait that has made her an effective operator and helped keep her in Trump’s good graces. (When Trump called her onstage to speak at his victory party, she politely declined. “Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background,” he said.)
She is one of the few top officials to survive an entire Trump campaign and was part of the team that put together a far more professional operation for his third White House bid — even if the former president routinely broke through those guardrails, anyway.
People close to Trump note that she agreed to help the former president back in March of 2021 when he was at a political low point, and he respects her opinion. Plus, she is the rare person in Trump’s world who is widely admired, trusted and respected by lawmakers and young staffers alike.
5 things to know about her, at a glance:
- Her experience is in running campaigns — not the government.
- She’s worked for a spectrum of Republicans, from Mitt Romney to Rick Scott.
- She turned Trump’s dysfunctional political universe into something organized.
- She is a longtime lobbyist and her clients included the tobacco company Swisher International while simultaneously running the Trump campaign.
- She is the daughter of legendary sportscaster Pat Summerall.
What some of the Trump surrogates have said:
- Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who remains in touch with Trump, recently advocated for Wiles on the “Guy Benson Show,” saying she would be a “great chief of staff and should do the job.”
- Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative podcaster and Turning Point USA founder who campaigned extensively for Trump, agreed in a post on X: “Susie Wiles ran Trump’s best campaign of the three. … She’s disciplined, she’s smart, and she doesn’t seek the limelight. She would make an incredible chief of staff.” He was quickly backed up by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, where Wiles rose through the ranks as an operative.
- “Susie is the only one who can do it,” said one Trump adviser who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “Susie is the one that everyone respects.”
A version of this report first appeared in West Wing Playbook, your guide to the preparations, personnel decisions and policy deliberations of Donald Trump’s presidential transition. Sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday.
