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Susie Wiles: Who is Trump’s new chief of staff?
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Susie Wiles: Who is Trump’s new chief of staff?

video title, Watch: Trump thanks ‘ice maiden’ Susan Wiles in victory speech

  • Writer, Max Matzah
  • Role, BBC News

When the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, assumes the presidency next year, his campaign manager, Susan Summerall, announced that Wiles will serve as the White House chief of staff.

Trump said in a statement that Wiles “helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history” and was “tough, smart, innovative, and universally admired and respected.”

“It is a well-deserved honor for Susie to be the first female chief of staff in the history of the United States,” he continued. “I have no doubt that he will make our country proud.”

Wiles, 67, became the first woman appointed as the White House chief of staff.

The Trump transition team is currently working to select senior members of the incoming Republican administration, including the heads of 15 executive departments, such as the secretaries of state and defense, starting Jan. 20.

In his victory speech this week, Trump referred to Wiles, who stood behind him on stage, as an “ice maiden.”

The president-elect has said he works mostly “in the background,” but he is known as one of the most feared political operatives in the United States.

“Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” he added in a statement Thursday, referencing her oft-repeated campaign slogan.

Less than a year after Wiles began working in politics, he joined Ronald Reagan’s campaign ahead of the 1980 election.

He went on to play a key role in transforming politics in Florida, where he lived.

In 2010, he succeeded Rick Scott, then a businessman with little political experience, as governor of Florida in just seven months. Scott is now a US senator.

Wiles met Trump during the 2015 Republican presidential primaries and became co-chairman of his Florida campaign. He went on to win the state against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who put him in charge of his successful gubernatorial run two years later, described Wiles as “the best in the business.”

Wiles worked with Chris LaCivita, a veteran of Republican politics who has decades of experience on the Trump campaign.

The duo worked with Trump to create 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 had a “traditional” political background.

“In the early years of my career, things like etiquette were important and there was an expected level of etiquette,” he said, describing the Republican party as significantly different from a few decades ago.

“And I understand that the GOP today is different,” he said, referring to the Republican Party, also called the Grand Old Party (GOP).

“There are changes we need to live with to achieve the things we are trying to do.”

What does the chief of general staff do?

The chief of staff is considered the president’s top aide and plays a crucial role in any president’s administration.

They essentially serve as administrators of the White House and are responsible for assembling a president’s staff. A chief manages the staff through the Executive Office of the President and oversees all daily operations and staff activities.

They also advise presidents on policy issues and are responsible for directing and overseeing policy development.