Susie Wiles

Susan Summerall Wiles (born May 14, 1957) is an American political consultant who served as co-chair of Donald Trump's successful 2024 presidential campaign, having previously worked on his 2016 campaign, as well as Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign. She was chosen by president-elect Trump to serve as the 32nd White House chief of staff in the second Trump administration, set to begin in January 2025. She will be the first woman to hold the position.

Early life and education

Born and raised in New Jersey, Susan Summerall was one of the three children of Pat Summerall and his wife Kathy Summerall. Pat played gridiron football in the National Football League (NFL) as a placekicker and later became a successful sportscaster, announcing a record 16 Super Bowls.

Wiles graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in English language.

Career

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

In the 2016 presidential election, Wiles ran the Trump campaign's operations in Florida. During the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election, Wiles was reportedly deputized by Trump to help Republican Ron DeSantis' campaign for Governor. In his victory speech, DeSantis described Wiles as the "best in the business". However, "rising tensions between the duo" led to her dismissal as a top advisor to DeSantis in 2019. 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. She described working for DeSantis as the "biggest mistake" of her entire career.

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

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. 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.

In the 2023 federal indictment of Trump for mishandling classified documents, a person was mentioned but not named labeled "PAC Representative", to whom Trump is alleged to have shown a classified map concerning a military operation. According to ABC News, sources have said that the person was Wiles. After the indictment, ProPublica documented an increase in payments to Wiles and the hiring of her daughter as part of a pattern of other Trump staffers who have been subpoenaed as part of an investigation into Trump receiving significant financial benefits. She 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.

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.

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

Personal life

Wiles was married to Lanny Wiles, a Republican consultant, with whom she relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1985. The couple divorced in 2017. Wiles has two daughters and identifies as an Episcopalian.