US President-elect Donald Trump has revealed that he will appoint his campaign manager Susan Wiles as White House chief of staff after he takes office January, in the first big appointment of his upcoming administration. The 67-year-old Florida-based political strategist will be the first woman to serve in this capacity in US history.
The chief of staff oversees the executive office of the US president and is traditionally viewed as gatekeeper to the head of state, managing White House staff and organizing the president’s schedule and meetings.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement announcing the appointment on Thursday.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” he added.
Wiles is widely seen as one of the key figures in Trump’s successful reelection bid and as being responsible for helping keep his campaign more disciplined. Her political career dates back to working as former President Ronald Reagan’s campaign scheduler in 1980. Wiles has since managed several campaigns, including Ron DeSantis’ bid for Florida governor in 2018. She eventually helped Trump beat DeSantis in this year’s election primaries.
Wiles is considered a quiet behind-the-scenes force, as she rarely makes media or public appearances, a fact on which Trump himself has remarked. During his victory celebration in Florida on Tuesday night, Trump said Wiles “likes to stay in the background” and has been called an “Ice Maiden” for it.
Trump ran through four chiefs of staff during his first term in office and has since claimed that his biggest mistake was hiring the wrong people. However, in a Fox News town hall in September he said he had learned who the “right” people are to serve in his administration.
Other roles in Trump’s new administration so far remain a mystery. In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, the president-elect said he doesn’t want his children or family members to serve under him. Previously, Trump told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he was looking to give “influential” positions to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race before dropping out and backing Trump.
Media reports also claimed that Trump was considering New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik for the role of US ambassador to the UN, and former US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell for secretary of state. Trump will begin his second White House term upon inauguration in January 2025.