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Susie Wiles

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Susie Wiles
Wiles in 2020
32nd White House Chief of Staff
Incoming
Assuming office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump (elect)
SucceedingJeff Zients
Personal details
Born
Susan Summerall

(1957-05-14) May 14, 1957 (age 67)[1]
New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lenny Wiles
​
​
(m. 1985; div. 2017)​
Children2
Parent
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)
Nicknames

Susan Summerall Wiles (born May 14, 1957) is an American political consultant who served as co-chair of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. She was chosen by President-elect Trump to serve as the 32nd White House chief of staff in the second Trump administration set to begin in January 2025. She will be the first woman to hold the position.

Early life and education

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Born and raised in New Jersey, Susan Summerall was one of the three children of Pat Summerall and his wife Cheri Summerall. Pat played in the National Football League (NFL) and later became a well known sportscaster.[4][5] Susie graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.[6]

Career

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In 1979, Wiles was hired as an assistant for Representative Jack Kemp. In 1980, she joined Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign as a campaign scheduler.[4]

In the 1990s, Wiles served as a chief of staff to John Delaney, who was then serving as mayor of Jacksonville. Wiles also worked for U.S. Representative Tillie Fowler.[5]

From 2004 to 2009, she advised the mayor of Jacksonville, John Peyton. In the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election, Wiles was credited with helping elect businessman Rick Scott. Considered an "outsider" at the time, Scott previously had few connections with the Florida Republican Party.[7]

In January 2011, Wiles was hired as campaign manager for former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman Jr.'s presidential campaign. While on the Huntsman campaign, she and former Jacksonville Jaguars player Tony Boselli launched a Ponte Vedra Beach-based consulting firm. Wiles left the campaign in July 2011.[8]

Wiles also ran Tallahassee, Florida-based lobbying firm Ballard Partners for close to a decade,[9] but left in September 2019, citing "a nagging health issue".[10]

Work for Donald Trump

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In the 2016 presidential election, Wiles ran the Trump campaign's operations in Florida.[11] During the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election, Wiles was reportedly deputized by Trump to help Republican Ron DeSantis' campaign for Governor.[12] In his victory speech, DeSantis described Wiles as the "best in the business".[13] However, "rising tensions between the duo" led to her dismissal as a top advisor to DeSantis in 2019.[4] According to the reporting from Politico, the tie to Wiles, who had "played a key role in... 2016", was cut "at the urging of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis" to allow him "to install his own allies in the state party", a move "widely seen as a setback to the president's re-election campaign" in that battleground state.[14] She described working for DeSantis as the "biggest mistake" of her entire career.[15]

In March 2021, Wiles was chosen as CEO of Trump's Save America PAC. In April 2021, Politico described Wiles as the "new honcho atop Trumpworld", noting that she would wield authority over former 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien and key aide Justin R. Clark.[16] Under her leadership, Save America PAC has covered legal fees for several current and former Trump staffers involved in the many legal proceedings against the former president.[17]

In August 2022, she was described as effectively Trump's "chief of staff" in the run-up to the 2022 midterm election and his 2024 presidential campaign announcement.[12] Alongside individuals such as businessman Peter Thiel, Wiles pushed Trump to endorse Blake Masters in the 2022 Senate election in Arizona, who lost the election.[18]

In the 2023 federal indictment of Trump for mishandling classified documents, a person was mentioned but not named labeled "PAC Representative," to whom Trump is alleged to have shown a classified map concerning a military operation.[19] According to ABC News, sources have said that the person was Wiles.[19][20] After the indictment, ProPublica documented an increase in payments to Wiles and the hiring of her daughter as part of a pattern of other Trump staffers who have been subpoenaed as part of an investigation into Trump receiving significant financial benefits.[21] She denied knowing that it was best practice for witnesses in an investigation concerning their boss or client to not appear like they are receiving special treatment and denied ever talking to Trump about her testimony.[21]

In the final months of the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump reiterated that Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita were the two people running the campaign after a spat with Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski. In 2024, Politico and The Guardian reported that Susie Wiles describes herself as a "moderate" Republican.[22][23]

Two days after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, Wiles was selected as his new White House Chief of Staff.[24]

Personal life

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Susie Wiles was married to Lenny Wiles, a fellow Republican political consultant, with whom she moved to Jacksonville in 1985.[5] The couple divorced in 2017.[4] She has two daughters.[4] Wiles is an Episcopalian.[7][8][22]

Following Trump's inauguration in 2017, her daughter Caroline Wiles was hired by the White House as deputy assistant to the president and director of scheduling.[25] The Washington Post noted that Caroline Wiles had an "unusual background for a senior White House official", noting that her sole educational qualification was an incomplete degree from Flagler College. Caroline Wiles became the fourth-highest-paid staffer on the 2024 Trump campaign, making $222,000.[21] A further investigation revealed that Caroline Wiles had legal issues stemming from driving while intoxicated in both 2005 and 2007.[26] Caroline Wiles ultimately left the White House in February 2017 after failing a background check by the FBI.[11]

References

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  1. ^ ""First-Ever in US History": Trump Picks a Woman White House Chief of Staff".
  2. ^ Henderson, Cameron (November 6, 2024). "Susie Wiles: 'De-facto leader' of the Trump campaign tipped to be White House powerbroker". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Spady, Aubrie (November 7, 2024). "Susie Wiles, the 'ice baby,' is a top contender for Trump's chief of staff, sources say". Fox News. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Orr, Gabby; Contorno, Steve (August 8, 2022). "She helped Trump win Florida twice. Now she could lead his expected 2024 campaign". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Adam C. (October 23, 2016). "Florida campaign manager Susie Wiles says the Donald Trump she knows is not the one critics rip". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Wiles, Susie (March 3, 2023). "Susie Wiles". LegiStorm.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.[third-party source needed]
  7. ^ a b Larrabee, Brandon (November 6, 2010). "Susie Wiles: 'The insider' who backed 'the outsider' Rick Scott". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Dixon, Matt (July 22, 2011). "Jacksonville's Susie Wiles resigns as campaign manager for GOP presidential candidate". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  9. ^ Filkins, Dexter (June 27, 2022). "Can Ron DeSantis Displace Donald Trump as the G.O.P.'s Combatant-in-Chief?". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  10. ^ Schorch, Peter (September 17, 2019). "Citing health issue, Susie Wiles leaves Ballard Partners". Florida Politics. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Daughter of political consultant Susie Wiles resigns from White House post". The Florida Times-Union. February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Adams, Myra (August 11, 2022). "Opinion: The most powerful Republican you don't know". TheHill.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Flegenheimer, Matt; Haberman, Maggie; Bender, Michael C. (April 18, 2023). "DeSantis Tried to Bury Her. Now She's Helping Trump Try to Bury Him". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Isenstadt, Alex; Dixon, Matt (September 17, 2019). "Trump campaign cuts ties with top adviser in Florida". Politico.com. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  15. ^ Alberta, Tim (July 10, 2024). "Trump Is Planning for a Landslide Win". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  16. ^ Palmeri, Tara; Daniels, Eugene; Lizza, Ryan (April 1, 2021). "POLITICO Playbook: There's a new honcho atop Trumpworld". POLITICO. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  17. ^ "Trump's super PAC has helped foot his legal bills. That might end soon". Politico. April 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Palmeri, Tara (January 21, 2022). "POLITICO Playbook: Suspicious Trump weighs dual endorsements". Politico.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Who is Susie Wiles, a key Florida power player and Trump advisor tied to indictment?". The Florida Times-Union.
  20. ^ "Top Trump campaign aide identified as key individual in classified docs indictment: Sources". ABC News.
  21. ^ a b c Faturechi, Robert; Elliott, Justin; Mierjeski, Alex (June 3, 2024). "Multiple Trump Witnesses Have Received Significant Financial Benefits From His Businesses, Campaign". ProPublica. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Kruse, Michael (April 26, 2024). "The Most Feared and Least Known Political Operative in America". Politico. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  23. ^ Singh, Maanvi (November 8, 2024). "Susie Wiles: 'tough, smart' operator who led Trump back to the White House". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  24. ^ Sheth, Sonam (November 7, 2024). "Trump names Susie Wiles, known as 'ice maiden,' his chief of staff". Newsweek. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  25. ^ Palmeri, Tara (February 16, 2017). "White House dismisses 6 over failed background checks". POLITICO. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  26. ^ Boburg, Shawn; O'Harrow Jr., Robert (March 30, 2018). "Office that vets Trump appointees plagued by inexperience". Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
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