Donald Trump has named his campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as his pick for White House Chief of Staff, tasking the loyalist with managing a massive personnel shake-up and other key duties in his return to the office.
The president-elect announced the move in a statement on Thursday, calling her “tough, smart, innovative” and “universally admired,” per The Associated Press. The Florida politics powerhouse has lengthy campaign management experience but hasn’t spent time in the executive branch before.
Wiles is the first formal pick announced to work inside the second Trump administration. She will be the first woman to hold the high-ranking role.
“Susie likes to stay in the background,” Trump said in a Wednesday morning victory speech, adding that he calls Wiles the “ice baby.”
Trump described Wiles as “an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns.”
Trump went through four Chiefs of Staff in his first four years in office, none serving for longer than 18 months. Most notable among them is John Kelly, who claimed earlier this year that Trump praised Adolf Hitler and was “the definition of a fascist.”
Wiles' name appeared in a now-dismissed criminal filing against Trump for hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his first presidency ended. She served as head of his Florida campaign in 2016, flipping the state for Trump and laying the groundwork for it to stay red.
Wiles also worked for a stint with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Wiles called her work getting the former Trump ally elected in the state the “biggest mistake” of her career in an interview earlier this year.
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