Trump Has Chosen Susie Wiles as His Chief of Staff — Is There a Mr. Chief of Staff?
"How did I get the job? Because I have earned it. I don’t think it has anything to do with Susie."
Published Nov. 7 2024, 10:20 p.m. ET
President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time in putting together his administration. Two days after getting re-elected, President-elect Trump has chosen Susie Wiles as his White House Chief of Staff, reports the Associate Press.
This is a historical decision as Susie is the first woman to ever hold this position.
Susie was previously operating as Trump's defacto campaign manager which many believe was seen as his "most disciplined and well-executed campaign."
It makes perfect sense that she would then be elevated to head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, which is a cabinet position. With this power comes great responsibility.
We don't typically define women by their partners, but it never hurts to ask about one's husband. Here's what we know about Susie's home life.
Susie Wiles is sans husband, but she was married once upon a time.
Not much is known about Susie's marriage to ex-husband Lanny Wiles. The two met while working for Ronald Reagan, where Susie had been since 1980. Lanny was described as a "renowned Republican campaign advance man," which means this was a conservative match made in heaven.
The couple moved to Jacksonville, Fla. in 1985, per the Tampa Bay Times. According to CNN, they divorced in 2017. If Lanny's LinkedIn page is to be believed, he started his own government consulting company in January 1995 and has been there ever since.
Susie Wiles's daughter was let go from the White House.
In January 2017, The Florida Times-Union reported that Susie Wiles's daughter, Caroline Wiles, had accepted a position at the White House as deputy assistant to the president and director of scheduling. Caroline was 30 at the time with a resume that included positions with Gov. Rick Scott’s office, JaxChamber, and the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.
She graduated from Episcopal High School and attended Flagler College.
ProPublica reported that Caroline was the fourth-highest-paid staffer, with an annual salary of $222,000. A campaign official told the outlet this included a monthly housing stipend.
When asked by ProPublica about how she got the job, Caroline responded, "How did I get the job? Because I have earned it. I don’t think it has anything to do with Susie."
One month after it was announced that Caroline would be joining Trump's White House, Politico revealed that she was not legally able to work there. Evidently, Caroline failed the extremely thorough background check which "includes questions on the applicant's credit score, substance use, and other personal subjects."