President-elect Donald Trump has named campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff – the first woman to hold the high-profile position.
Wiles has decades of political experience and is widely credited for running what was seen as Trump’s most disciplined campaign.
She also ran his 2016 and 2020 campaigns in Florida.
Trump expressed his “tremendous appreciation” for Wiles during his victory speech in Florida on Wednesday.
He called her the “ice maiden” and said how she likes to “stay sort of in the back”, out of the spotlight.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement.
“It is a well deserved honour to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
This is Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration.
Based in Florida, Wiles has a long-running successful career as a campaign manager and political strategist.
She ran Trump’s campaigns in Florida in 2016 and 2020, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ successful campaign in 2018.
She also worked on Ronald Reagan’s campaign before his 1980 election.
The 67-year-old was seen by Trump aides as someone who could guide his moods and impulses without necessarily restraining him.
Trump publicly praised her leadership on the campaign trail, saying he was often told this was his “best-run campaign.”
Chris LaCivita, who along with Wiles served as Trump’s de-facto campaign manager, described her as being able to manage “any ego that comes her way”.
“Susie is just functionally built differently because she has that rare commodity to be able to work on so many different important issues simultaneously,” he said.
“She can manage really any ego that comes her way. And she doesn’t do it by any other way other than just being very straightforward and on top of the details.”
He added: “The most important commodity in politics is honesty and loyalty and Susie has both in copious amounts.”
Successful chiefs of staff serve as the president’s confidant, help execute a president’s agenda and balance competing political and policy priorities.
They also heavily determine who the president spend their time with and who they speak to.
While Wiles has no experience working in the White House, she does have a close relationship with the president-elect.
Trump went through four chiefs of staff during his first administration.
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.
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