We haven’t heard much in the way of cabinet picks for the new Trump administration. Everyone is waiting to see where Tulsi Gabbard or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might fall in the mix.
However, Donald Trump did make one announcement on Thursday that is turning some heads in Washington and exploding some heads in the media.
The way Politico describes Susie Wiles, Trump’s campaign co-chair and newly named Chief of Staff come January, is more of a selling point than an area of concern: “She’s a Washington outsider, having spent much of her career in Florida politics.”
Well, no kidding. The ultimate Washington outsider picked another Washington outsider to run the White House and get things done.
Although, calling wiles an outsider is not entirely correct as she has worked for several prominent Republicans dating back to the days of Reagan:
In addition to working for Rep. Jack Kemp (N.Y.), Wiles was a scheduler for former President Ronald Reagan and worked in Reagan’s Labor Department.
Since then, she has worked for Republicans across the ideological spectrum. She was deputy director of operations for the vice presidential campaign for the Bush-Quayle ticket in 1988, and Wiles was co-chair of Romney’s Florida advisory council during his 2012 presidential bid.
She also ran Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly managed former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, once Trump’s chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, called Wiles a “great choice” for chief of staff.
When she joined Trump’s 2016 bid for the White House as co-chairwoman of Florida, Wiles encountered skepticism from some fellow Republican operatives. But she explained to the Tampa Bay Times at the time that she felt none of the other Republicans running for the White House represented the kind of change she felt Washington needed.
“I said, ‘I don’t want this to continue.’ I think it seriously will damage our republic and who among that group can really have the fortitude to shift what I’ve seen happening over all these years?” Wiles said.
Wiles also learned early on to brush aside some of Trump’s more boorish traits and inflammatory rhetoric.
“I will tell you this: The Donald Trump that I have come to know does not behave that way, and the lens that I look at him through, I don’t see any of that. I see strengths, I see smarts, I see a work ethic that is unparalleled,” she told the Tampa Bay Times in 2016. “I blanch sometimes. But, again, it’s not the Donald Trump that I have come to know.”
For the Trump 2024 campaign, Wiles was a firm and calm figure in the middle who brought discipline and direction to an environment that can be difficult to manage:
Then Wiles entered the picture. After Trump hit a political low in 2021 — having lost not just reelection, but the support of some Republicans after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol — he hired Wiles to oversee his comeback.
Since then, Trump’s third bid for office has been described by campaign pros on both sides of the aisle as a particularly professional operation, despite Trump’s own tendencies to embrace chaos. And Wiles has even had success reining in Trump, stepping in at times to get him back on message or to see why some of his decisions could be tremendous political liabilities. She has encouraged Trump to tone down his rhetoric about losing the 2020 election and to urge his supporters to vote by mail.
Wiles “just has a master ability to manage multiple things of significance simultaneously,” Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager with Wiles, said in an interview Thursday, “which makes her, from a management standpoint, the perfect pick.”
The New York Post pointed out that Wiles’ ascenion to the top is history making in several ways as she will be the first woman elevated to one of the most powerful jobs in the executive branch:
President-elect Donald Trump tapped campaign co-chair Susie Wiles to become his White House chief of staff Thursday, the first woman picked for the coveted and powerful role.
Wiles, nicknamed the “Ice Maiden,” is widely credited as being one of the chief architects of Trump’s victorious presidential campaign.
“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, 78, said in a statement.
Over at CNN, the resident conservative commentator Scott Jennings gave Wiles a glowing review when the news broke on Thursday afternoon:
JUST IN: Donald Trump’s campaign manager Susie Wiles has been named Chief of Staff.
She is the first female Chief of Staff in history.
Wiles has been credited for running what is seen as Trump’s “most sophisticated and disciplined campaign.”
“She is someone who makes Donald… pic.twitter.com/8fqf4gAPH0
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 7, 2024
On the campaign trail, Wiles was mostly a background figure busy steering the ship and focusing on message. She did make a recent post on X firing back at Mark Cubin’s boneheaded assertion that Donald Trump is afraid of strong, independent women:
I’m told @mcuban needs help identifying the strong and intelligent women surrounding Pres. Trump. Well, here we are! I’ve been proud to lead this campaign. Complimented by @Linda_McMahon,Chair for Transition Policy and @LaraLeaTrump,RNC Co-Chair. pic.twitter.com/X7y9q3WsG8
— Susie Wiles (@susie57) October 31, 2024
Checkmate, Wiles.
Trump will be well-served by carrying his disciplined campaign structure into the often chaotic environment the West Wing.
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