On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that campaign senior advisor Susie Wiles will be his White House chief of staff.
In a statement obtained by USA TODAY, Trump was thankful to Wiles following his win over Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Day.
“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 the statement. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again.”
Serving as Trump’s de facto campaign manager, Wiles will make history by becoming the first woman to hold the title of White House chief of staff.
The 66-year-old Florida political consultant is a somewhat mysterious figure, rarely seen front and center on the campaign trail or heard from in public.
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"She hates the limelight," John Delaney said earlier this year to USA TODAY. Delaney is a longtime friend and employed Wiles when he was the Republican mayor of Jacksonville, Florida.
Ahead of her high-profile position in Trump's administration, here's what to know about Wiles.
Wiles has been described as a big reason for Trump’s political comeback to the White House. In 2018, she helped another Republican win when she steered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to his first term in 2018.
With Wiles on board for the campaign's final month, DeSantis narrowly eked out the closest victory of any governor in Florida history.
DeSantis pressured Trump to fire Wiles from his 2020 campaign in Florida, which he did. This came after DeSantis blamed Wiles of leaking a now controversial fundraising memo, which detailed charging lobbyists in order to play golf, among other things, with the governor.
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