US President-elect Trump names Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff
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US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Nov 7 that his campaign manager Susie Wiles (second from right) will serve as his White House chief of staff.
PHOTO: AFP
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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - President-elect Donald Trump on Nov 7 announced that Ms Susie Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff, entrusting a top position to a political operative who helped him win the election.
The appointment was the first of what is expected to be a flurry of staffing announcements as Trump girds for a return to the White House on Jan 20.
As gatekeeper to the president, the chief of staff typically wields great influence. The person manages White House staff, organises the president’s time and schedule, and maintains contact with other government departments and lawmakers.
Ms Wiles will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected,” Trump said. “I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
“Susie likes to stay in the back, let me tell you,” Trump added, as she stood towards the back of the stage. “We call her the ice maiden.”
Several people who have worked with Ms Wiles said in interviews on Nov 7 that she would provide stability and sage counsel to Trump in the White House.
Trump ran through four chiefs of staff – an unusually high number – during his 2017 to 2021 term as they struggled to rein in the famously undisciplined president.
“Susie is a strong woman and a true leader with a proven track record of getting things done,” said Florida-based Republican consultant David Johnson.
Ms Wiles previously worked on Mr Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign, and helped Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis win election in 2018. She served as a senior adviser on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 bids.
The Republican Trump has been secluded at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, since defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in the Nov 5 election.
Trump is considering a wide array of people for top jobs in his administration, many of them familiar figures from his 2017 to 2021 presidency, four sources said.
Two of the sources told Reuters that Ms Wiles, a long-time Florida-based political strategist, is viewed as trustworthy and gets plaudits for helping to manage Trump’s successful run for the presidency.
Trump chose Ms Wiles over former House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who is close to Trump and has been a frequent visitor to Mar-a-Lago.
Sources said Mr McCarthy had been in contention, as well as Ms Brooke Rollins, who was the former acting director of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council.
Former US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who was an acting intelligence chief in Trump’s first term and was with him when he recently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York, is under consideration for secretary of state.
Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, a former US ambassador to Japan, is also under consideration for that position, the sources said.
Mr Hagerty, asked by CNN about being considered for a role in Trump’s administration, said, “I’ll leave the speculation to the speculators.” REUTERS
