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Susie Wiles

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Susie Wiles
Portrait of Susie Wiles
Wiles in 2020
White House Chief of Staff
Designate
Assuming office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump (elect)
DeputyDan Scavino
Stephen Miller
James Blair
Taylor Budowich
SucceedingJeff Zients
Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Jacksonville
In office
1995–2000
MayorJohn Delaney
Personal details
Born
Susan Summerall

(1957-05-14) May 14, 1957 (age 67)
Lake City, Florida, U.S.[1]
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lanny Wiles
​
​
(m. 1985; div. 2017)​
Children2
Parent
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)
Nickname

Susan Wiles (née Summerall; born May 14, 1957) is an American political consultant who served as Co-chair of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, having previously served as CEO of Trump's leadership PAC Save America, and as Co-chair of his 2016 campaign in Florida. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Wiles began her career working for New York Congressman and future Republican Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp. She then worked as a campaign scheduler on Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign. In 1995, while working for Congresswoman Tillie Fowler, she was appointed Chief of Staff to Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney – the first woman to hold the position. She wielded significant influence over the Government of Jacksonville during her tenure and would later advise Mayor John Peyton from 2004 to 2009.[3]

She served as campaign manager of Rick Scott's successful 2010 gubernatorial campaign, defeating incumbent Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary and incumbent Chief Financial Officer of Florida Alex Sink in the general election. In January 2011, Wiles was hired as campaign manager of Jon Huntsman Jr.'s 2012 presidential campaign. She left the campaign in July 2011 after establishing a Ponte Vedra Beach-based consulting firm with former Jacksonville Jaguars player Tony Boselli.[4] After the first election of Donald Trump, she became a Senior Advisor for Ron DeSantis's successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign. She would later describe working for DeSantis as the "biggest mistake" of her entire career.[5]

On November 7, 2024, she was selected by President-elect Trump to serve as the 32nd White House Chief of Staff in his second administration, set to begin in January 2025. She will be the first woman to hold the position in U.S. history.

Early life

[edit]

Susan Summerall was born on May 14, 1957, in New Jersey,[6][7] as one of three children of Pat Summerall and his wife Kathy Summerall. Pat played football in the National Football League (NFL) as a placekicker and later became a successful sportscaster, announcing a record 16 Super Bowls.[8][9]

Wiles graduated from The Academy of the Holy Angels in 1975.[10] Wiles also graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in English language.[11]

Career

[edit]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[3]

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.[4]

Wiles also ran Tallahassee, Florida-based lobbying firm Ballard Partners for close to a decade,[12] but left in September 2019, citing "a nagging health issue".[13]

Lobbyist

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A report from Public Citizen found that Wiles was a registered lobbyist for 42 different clients between November 2017 and April 2024. Clients include companies involved with hazardous waste concerns, such as Republic Services and Pebble Partnership, the tobacco company Swisher, Globovisión, and the country of Nigeria.[14]

Work for Donald Trump

[edit]
Wiles with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House, November 2024

In the 2016 presidential election, Wiles ran the Trump campaign's operations in Florida.[15] During the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election, Wiles was reportedly deputized by Trump to help Republican Ron DeSantis' campaign for Governor.[16] In his victory speech, DeSantis described Wiles as the "best in the business".[17] Wiles was set to help Trump's 2020 campaign but 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.[18] She described working for DeSantis as the "biggest mistake" of her entire career.[19] When asked about the events that took place on January 6, 2021, Wiles said "I didn't love it, but I don't think he caused it."[20]

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.[21] Under her leadership, Save America PAC has covered legal fees for several current and former Trump staffers involved in legal proceedings against the former president.[22]

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.[16] 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.[23]

In the 2023 federal indictment of Trump for mishandling classified documents, Trump is alleged to have shown a classified map concerning a military operation to a person without security clearances referred to as "PAC Representative".[24] ABC News identified the person as Wiles.[24][25]

After the indictment, ProPublica documented an increase in payments to Wiles as part of a pattern of Trump staffers who received financial benefits after being subpoenaed in the investigation into Trump.[26] Wiles 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.[26]

In the final months of the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump reiterated that 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 Wiles describes herself as a "moderate" Republican.[27][28]

Two days after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, Wiles was selected as his new White House Chief of Staff.[29]

Personal life

[edit]

Wiles was married to Lanny Wiles, a Republican consultant, with whom she relocated to Ponte Vedra Beach, a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida, in 1985.[9][27] The couple divorced in 2017.[8] Wiles has two daughters and is a member of The Episcopal Church.[27][30][31]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Florida This Week | Nov 15 | 2024 | Season 2024 | Episode 46 | PBS KVIE".
  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. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Alberta, Tim (July 10, 2024). "Trump Is Planning for a Landslide Win". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  6. ^ ""First-Ever in US History": Trump Picks a Woman White House Chief of Staff".
  7. ^ "Susie Wiles, the first woman White House chief of staff, is from New Jersey". North Jersey.com. November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  11. ^ Wiles, Susie (March 3, 2023). "Susie Wiles". LegiStorm.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.[third-party source needed]
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Schorch, Peter (September 17, 2019). "Citing health issue, Susie Wiles leaves Ballard Partners". Florida Politics. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  14. ^ "Meet Susie Wiles' Controversial Corporate Lobbying Clients". Public Citizen. November 15, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "Daughter of political consultant Susie Wiles resigns from White House post". The Florida Times-Union. February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Adams, Myra (August 11, 2022). "Opinion: The most powerful Republican you don't know". TheHill.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Isenstadt, Alex; Dixon, Matt (September 17, 2019). "Trump campaign cuts ties with top adviser in Florida". Politico.com. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Alberta, Tim (July 10, 2024). "Trump Is Planning for a Landslide Win". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Hinchliffe, Emma; Ajemian, Nina (November 11, 2024). "What to know about Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles". Fortune. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  21. ^ Palmeri, Tara; Daniels, Eugene; Lizza, Ryan (April 1, 2021). "Politico Playbook: There's a new honcho atop Trumpworld". Politico. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "Trump's super PAC has helped foot his legal bills. That might end soon". Politico. April 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Palmeri, Tara (January 21, 2022). "POLITICO Playbook: Suspicious Trump weighs dual endorsements". Politico.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Who is Susie Wiles, a key Florida power player and Trump advisor tied to indictment?". The Florida Times-Union.
  25. ^ "Top Trump campaign aide identified as key individual in classified docs indictment: Sources". ABC News.
  26. ^ a b 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.
  27. ^ a b c Kruse, Michael (April 26, 2024). "The Most Feared and Least Known Political Operative in America". Politico. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ Sheth, Sonam (November 7, 2024). "Trump names Susie Wiles, known as 'ice maiden,' his chief of staff". Newsweek. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  30. ^ Cockerell, Claudia (November 8, 2024). "How 'ice maiden' Susie Wiles became the most important woman in Washington". The Standard. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  31. ^ "Meet Susie Wiles, the 'ice maiden' behind Trump's win - and his new chief of staff". The Independent. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
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