President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named co-campaign chair Susie Wiles as his White House first chief of staff, one of the most important non-elected posts in Washington.
She will be the first woman to serve in that role.
Wiles, a 67-year-old Florida native, is one of the most respected operatives in Republican politics. Along with helping helm Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, she worked as his state director in Florida during the previous two contests.
“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 Thursday. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative and is universally admired and respected.”
Trump called his 2020 campaign “successful,” even though he lost the race to President Joe Biden. For years, he has continued to make baseless claims about that election being stolen.
Prior to joining Trump’s team, Wiles helped lead Rick Scott to victory as governor of Florida in 2010. He is now a U.S. senator. Wiles was also brought in to help save the 2018 campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who won that race after initially floundering.
After Trump’s resounding victory Tuesday over Vice President Kamala Harris, there was an overwhelming sense that Wiles was the frontrunner to be White House chief of staff.
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“If she wants it, it’s hers,” a Trump adviser told NBC News on Thursday morning. “Her standing with Trump and what she just pulled off [winning by a huge margin], makes it an easy choice if she wants it.”
Turns out Wiles wanted the position, and now her role as de-facto chief of staff will become official as the work of building a new administration begins.
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Wiles is the daughter of famed American football player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, and has her professional roots planted in Republican politics going back to the 1970s.
She started as assistant to Jack kemp in the House in 1979, served as a personal secretary to former Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan during the Reagan administration, and spent significant time earlier in her career in Jacksonville, Fla., where she served as a top staffer to Republican mayors John Delaney and John Peyton.
She entered Trump’s orbit ahead of the 2016 election cycle when Trump was looking for someone to help him navigate Florida’s at times choppy political waters. He was plunging into a crowded pool of Republican candidates that included former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio.
“I’m told you know something about Florida,” Trump told Wiles when they first spoke on the phone, NBC News reported in March.
That phone call was followed up by Wiles making a trip to Trump Tower in New York City. He eventually hired her.
Since then, she has generally been a part of his inner circle. Beyond working for DeSantis in 2016, a relationship that ended on a bad note, Wiles has also worked in the private sector for the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, and Mercury, a public affairs firm. She remained with Mercury throughout the 2024 presidential contest.
Wiles did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night on her new position.
Response to Wiles’ hire as chief of staff was overwhelmingly positive from Republicans.
“Congratulations to Susie!” Rick Scott, her former boss, posted on X. “She is the perfect person for this role. She has been a friend since I ran back in 2010 when she ran my first race for Governor.”
“She knows how to build a great team, is a true leader, a trusted advisor, and a brilliant tactician,” he added.
“Susie is the best,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on social media. “Very well deserved.”
Trump Jr. is seen as a final gatekeeper for administration jobs, NBC News reported Thursday, so his approval is seen as an important indicator.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
