US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that his campaign manager Susan Summerall Wiles will serve as White House chief of staff when he takes over as president next year.
Trump said in a statement that Wiles “had just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history” and was “strong, smart, innovative and universally admired and respected.”
“It is a well-deserved honor for Susie to become the first female chief of staff in U.S. history,” he continued. “I have no doubt she will make our country proud.”
Wiles, 67, is the first woman named White House chief of staff.
The Trump transition team is currently working to elect senior members of the incoming Republican administration, including the heads of all 15 executive departments, starting on January 20, including the secretaries of state and defense.
During his victory speech this week, Trump called Wiles an “ice girl” as he stood behind him on stage.
The president-elect said she operates primarily “behind the scenes,” but she is considered one of the most feared politicians in the United States.
“Suzy will continue to work tirelessly to make America great again,” he added in Thursday’s statement, referring to his oft-repeated campaign slogan.
Introduction by politics earlier this year Susie Wiles is described as a formidable but little-known figure.
Less than a year after Wiles began working in politics, she joined Ronald Reagan’s campaign on the eve of his 1980 election.
She went on to play a key role in political change in Florida, where she lived.
In 2010, she appointed Rick Scott, a businessman with little political experience at the time, as governor of Florida in just seven months. Scott is now a U.S. Senator.
Wiles met Trump during the 2015 Republican presidential primary and became a co-chairman of his Florida campaign. In 2016, he went on to win the state over Hillary Clinton.
Two years later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put her in charge of his successful gubernatorial campaign, describing Wiles as “the best in the business.”
Wiles joins Chris LaCivita, a veteran of Republican politics with decades of experience, on the Trump campaign.
The two worked with Trump to develop a winning presidential primary strategy.
The 67-year-old grandmother, the daughter of the late American football player and broadcaster Pat Summerall, said in her Politico profile that she came from a “traditional” political background.
“Early in my career, things like decorum were important and there was an expected level of decorum,” she said, describing the Republican Party as being very different from the party it was decades ago.
“So I know the Republican Party is different today,” she said, referring to the Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP).
“In order to accomplish what we’re trying to do, we have to accept some changes.”
The chief of staff is considered the top aide to the president and plays a vital role in every presidential administration.
They are essentially White House managers, responsible for assembling the president’s staff. The Director leads the staff through the Executive Office of the President and oversees all daily operations and staff activities.
They also advise the president on policy issues and are responsible for guiding and overseeing policy development.
