Republicans are praising President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to make Susan Summerall Wiles his next White House chief of staff.
Wiles, who served as Trump’s 2024 campaign senior adviser, is a veteran Republican operative who joined the former president’s team after serving as a top adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. She is credited by many as playing a key role in propelling Trump to his second victory, and will be the first woman to ever serve as a White House chief of staff.
Trump recognized Wiles’ important role in a statement on Thursday, saying that she “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.”
Among those who praised Wiles’ appointment was Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who has been a staunch supporter of Trump.
“Susie Wiles becoming Chief of Staff is MASSIVE,” Kirk wrote to X. “She risked her entire political career and potentially becoming a victim of the Biden-Harris lawfare regime for her country. A true patriot. This is a GREAT move for MAGA and America.”
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
CNN political commentator Scott Jennings, a former aide to President George W. Bush, said during an appearance on The Lead with Jake Tapper Thursday that Wiles was a “great pick” by Trump, adding, “She’s universally respected in the party.”
“The organization of the campaign, and the fact that he stuck with the leadership team all the way through, I think, is a testament to just what a great job that she did,” Jennings said.
“Being the first female chief of staff in the White House, I think is a huge marker for both President Trump and the Republican Party, so, I think … if she can bring the kind of discipline and organization to the White House that she just ran this campaign with, Donald Trump has got a really good chance to get off to a great start and begin achieving objectives right out the way,” he added.
Other Republicans made gibes at the comment made last week by billionaire Mark Cuban, a staunch supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign who said during an appearance on ABC’s The View that Trump does not surround himself with “strong, intelligent women.” He later apologized for the statement.
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the House GOP Conference Chair, said on X that a week after Cuban “said President Trump doesn’t surround himself with strong intelligent women … President [Trump] makes history by naming Susie Wiles the first woman White House Chief of Staff BECAUSE she is strong, intelligent, and hardworking. Great decision.”
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst also mocked Cuban’s statement, writing on X in response to Wiles’ appointment, “Another strong, intelligent woman working with President Trump to make America great!”
Wiles has been described in the past as the “ice maiden” in politics. Politico Magazine published a story in April describing her as “the most feared and least known political operative in America,” highlighting her role as one of the most influential voices in Trump’s campaign.
“Certainly, she’s one of the most consequential people in American politics right now,” former Florida GOP Congressman Carlos Curbelo told Politico.
“There is nobody, I think, that has the wealth of information that she does,” added Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio in Politico’s report. “Nobody in our orbit. Nobody. She touches everything.”
Trump’s first administration saw a record rate of turnout among senior-level advisers. The former president had four chiefs of staff during his four years in office. His longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, said he considers Trump a fascist and accused the former president of repeatedly praising dictators during his first term, including Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler.
