WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� With her selection as 's incoming White House chief of staff, veteran Florida political strategist Susie Wiles moves from a largely behind-the-scenes role of campaign co-chair to the high-profile position of the president's closest adviser and counsel.
She's been in political circles for years. But who is Wiles, who is set to be the first woman to step into the powerful role of White House chief of staff?
She has decades of experience, most of it in Florida
In the 1970s, she worked in the Washington office of New York Rep. Jack Kemp. Following that were stints on Ronald Reagan's campaign and in his White House as a scheduler.
Wiles then headed to Florida, where she advised two Jacksonville mayors and worked for Rep. Tillie Fowler. After that came statewide campaigns in rough and tumble Florida politics, with Wiles being credited with helping businessman Rick Scott win the governor's office.
After briefly managing Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's 2012 presidential campaign, she ran Trump's 2016 effort in Florida, when his win in the state helped him clinch the White House.
She has a history with Ron DeSantis
Two years later, Wiles helped get Ron DeSantis elected as Florida's governor. But the two would develop a rift that eventually led to DeSantis to urge Trump's 2020 campaign to cuts its ties with the strategist, when she was again running the then-president's state campaign.
Wiles ultimately went on to lead Trump鈥檚 primary campaign against DeSantis and trounced the Florida governor. Trump campaign aides and their outside allies gleefully taunted DeSantis throughout the race 鈥� mocking his laugh, the way he ate and accusing him of wearing lifts in his boots 鈥� as well as using insider knowledge that many suspected had come from Wiles and others on Trump鈥檚 campaign staff who had also worked for DeSantis and had had bad experiences.
Wiles had posted just three times on X this year at the time of her announcement. Shortly before DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race in January, Wiles made a rare appearance on social media. She responded to a message that DeSantis had cleared his campaign website of upcoming events with a short but clear message: 鈥淏ye, bye.鈥�
She shuns the spotlight 鈥� most of the time
Joining up with Trump's third campaign in its nascent days, Wiles is one of the few top officials to survive an entire Trump campaign and was part of the team that put together a far more professional operation for his third White House bid 鈥� even if the former president routinely broke through those guardrails anyway.
She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning.
But she showed she was not above taking on tasks reserved for volunteers. At one of Trump鈥檚 appearances in Iowa in July of last year, as the former president posed for pictures with a long line of voters, Wiles grabbed a clipboard and started approaching people waiting to get them to fill out cards committing to caucus for Trump in the leadoff primary contest.
鈥淚f we leave the conference room after a meeting and somebody leaves trash on the table, Susie鈥檚 the person to grab the trash and put it in the trash can,鈥� said Chris LaCivita, who served as campaign co-chair along with Wiles.
Another of her three posts on X this year was in the closing days of the campaign, clapping back after billionaire Mark Cuban remarked that Trump didn鈥檛 have 鈥渟trong, intelligent women鈥� in his orbit. After Wiles鈥� selection as White House chief of staff, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Trump backer, quipped on X that the president-elect had chosen a 鈥渟trong, intelligent woman鈥� as his chief of staff.
She can control some of Trump's worst impulses
Wiles was able to help control Trump鈥檚 worst impulses 鈥� not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it. At one point late in the campaign, when Trump gave a widely criticized speech in Pennsylvania in which he strayed from his talking points and suggested he wouldn't mind the media being shot, Wiles came out to stare at him silently.
Trump often referenced Wiles on the campaign trail, publicly praising her leadership of what he said he was often told was his 鈥渂est-run campaign.鈥�
鈥淪he鈥檚 incredible. Incredible,鈥� he said at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month, noting that Wiles was the daughter of Pat Summerall, the football player and sportscaster.
Will she have staying power?
In his first administration, Trump went through four chiefs of staff 鈥� including one who served in an acting capacity for a year 鈥� in a period of record-setting personnel churn.
A chief of staff serves as the president鈥檚 confidant, helping to execute an agenda and balancing competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends their time and to whom they speak 鈥� an effort under which Trump chafed inside the White House.
Trump has repeatedly said he believes the biggest mistake of his first term was hiring the wrong people. He was new to Washington then, he has said, and didn鈥檛 know any better.
But now, Trump says, he knows the 鈥渂est people鈥� and those to avoid for jobs.
___
Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Zeke Miller in Washington and Jill Colvin in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
___
Meg Kinnard can be reached at
Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press
