Donald Trump, the recently elected president of the United States, has declared that Susan Summer Wiles, his campaign manager, will be the White House Chief of Staff when he becomes office in 2019.
In his statement, Trump said Wiles played a key role in his achieving “one of the greatest political victories in American history” and described her as “tough, smart, innovative, and respected globally.”
Trump said in a statement that Wiles was “tough, smart, innovative, and respected globally” and that she assisted him in achieving “one of the greatest political victories in American history.”
Wiles, who is sixty-seven years old, is the first female White House chief of staff.
5 Essential Facts About Susie Wiles
Susie Wiles: Campaign Veteran, Newcomer to Governing
Wiles was a prominent figure in Florida politics for decades before she helped win campaigns for both Trump and Ron DeSantis.
She’s credited with rescuing DeSantis’s struggling 2018 gubernatorial campaign when he was a little-known congressman. Wiles later parted ways with DeSantis, persuading Trump’s team to fire the Florida governor before his 2020 re-election campaign. She didn’t hold back—this year, she used her insider knowledge of DeSantis to counter him in the GOP presidential primary. Wiles rarely posts on social media, but on the day DeSantis ended his presidential bid, she posted a now-deleted message on X: “Goodbye, goodbye.”
Before working with Trump, Wiles had decades of experience in both local and national campaigns. She also worked in private-sector lobbying for Ballard Partners and Mercury. Earlier in her career, she served as Chief of Staff to Jacksonville’s mayor and held junior roles with members of Congress and the Department of Labor.
A Strategist for Republicans from Romney to Scott
In addition to working for Rep. Jack Kemp (N.Y.), Wiles served as a scheduler for former President Ronald Reagan and worked in Reagan’s Department of Labor.
Since then, she has supported Republicans across the ideological spectrum. She was Deputy Director of Operations for the Bush-Quayle vice presidential campaign in 1988, and during Romney’s 2012 presidential bid, she co-chaired his Florida Advisory Council.
Wiles also ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly managed former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, once Trump’s key rival for the GOP presidential nomination, called Wiles an “excellent choice” for Chief of Staff.
When Wiles joined Trump’s 2016 bid for the White House as Florida co-chair, some fellow Republican activists were skeptical. However, she explained to the Tampa Bay Times that none of the other Republicans running represented the kind of change Washington needed.
“I told them that I didn’t want this to go on. I believe it would be extremely detrimental to our country, and who among these people has the guts to reverse what I have seen for so long? Wiles spoken.
Initially, she learned to overlook some of Trump’s more outrageous traits and controversial statements.
I’ll tell you this: that’s not how I perceive Donald Trump, and that’s not how the Donald Trump I know acts. I see strengths, I see intelligence, and I see a work ethic that’s unmatched,” she told the Tampa Bay Times in 2016. “But again, this isn’t the Donald Trump I’ve come to know.”
Wiles Transformed Trump’s Chaos into Order
Trump’s 2016 campaign, his White House years, and his failed 2020 run all shared some chaotic traits: infighting, backstabbing, leaks, and a cast of controversial characters who made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Then Wiles entered the picture. After Trump’s political low in 2021—when he lost not just the re-election but also some Republican support following the January 6 Capitol storming—he hired Wiles to oversee his comeback.
Since then, Trump’s third White House bid has been described by campaign experts on both sides as notably professional, despite Trump’s tendency for chaos. Wiles has succeeded in keeping Trump on track, sometimes steering him back to the message or helping him see why certain decisions could be significant political liabilities. She has encouraged Trump to tone down his rhetoric about losing the 2020 election and to promote mail-in voting to his supporters.
“Wiles has a talent for managing multiple critical priorities at once,” said Chris LaCivita, who worked alongside her as co-campaign manager, in an interview on Thursday. “That makes her an ideal choice from an organizational standpoint.”
She is a longtime lobbyist
While running Trump’s campaign, Wiles also lobbied for the tobacco company Swisher International. Wiles is a leader at the lobbying giant Mercury, whose clients include SpaceX, AT&T, and the Embassy of Qatar (though she isn’t registered to lobby for these clients). Since joining Trump’s current campaign in 2022, Wiles lobbied Congress on “FDA regulations” between 2023 and early 2024. Public disclosures show that Mercury received $120,000 from Swisher for her work during this period. Mercury ended its relationship with Swisher earlier this year.
In a statement, Mercury CEO Karen Mahoney congratulated Wiles on her appointment, saying, “This is great news for the country. Susie has been an invaluable colleague. We’re all proud of her and wish her the best.”
Daughter of Legendary Sportscaster Pat Summerall
Wiles grew up in New Jersey and is one of three children of Summeral. Her first job in politics was as an assistant to the late Jack Kemp, who was a teammate of Summeral’s during his football career with the New York Giants.
Summeral, a former alcoholic, credited Wiles for her calm demeanor and decision to seek treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic. In his memoir, he wrote, “I wasn’t there much for my children, but Susan’s letter made it clear that even in my absence, I was causing them pain.”
When Summeral passed away in 2013 in Dallas, Wiles described her father as “an extraordinary man and a wonderful father.”
Additionally, one of Wiles’ colleagues mentioned her connection to Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, a U.S. Navy officer who led the 1850s expedition to Japan and is credited with breaking the country’s isolation and opening it up to trade and diplomatic relations with the West.
