Trump Has Picked His Next Chief of Staff: It's a Name That Helped Him Obliterate Kamala Harris

The campaign that made history has transitioned into an administration that is breaking new ground.

On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump named Susie Wiles, his campaign co-chair, as his White House chief of staff.

According to the New York Post, Wiles will be the first woman to hold the chief of staff role in White House history.

“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 stated.

Trump described Wiles as “tough, smart, innovative, and… universally admired and respected,” adding that “Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again.”

“It is a well-deserved honor 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,” Trump said.

Fox News reported that Wiles was invited to speak at Trump’s victory event but opted not to.

“Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby, we call her the ice baby. Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background,” Trump joked at the time. “Thank you, Susie.”

Chris Whipple, author of The Gatekeepers, a book about those who have served as chief of staff, emphasized the significance of the role, calling it “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” as quoted by the Associated Press. “At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear.”

Whipple noted that Wiles has “shown that she can manage Trump, that she works with him and can sometimes tell him hard truths, and that’s really important.”

Per Politico, Wiles led Trump’s Florida efforts during the 2016 campaign and later helped Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis secure his position in the 2018 election.

Wiles’s previous experience in Washington dates back to the Reagan administration, where she worked in the Labor Department, served as a scheduler at the White House, and held a position with the late Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of New York.

As reported by CNN, Wiles is the daughter of former NFL legend and broadcaster Pat Summerall. She was described as Trump’s “de facto chief of staff during his post-presidency” and managed his recent campaign throughout the race.