Who is Susie Wiles? Trump’s new White House chief of staff is a veteran GOP operative.

Donald Trump announced his first personnel decisions for his administration on Thursday, naming longtime Republican political activist Susie Wiles, who has worked on all three of his presidential campaigns, as his White House chief of staff. Wiles will be the first woman to hold the position.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative and widely admired and respected,” Trump said in a statement. He also praised her for helping him win “one of the greatest political victories in American history.”

As a campaign worker, Wiles, 67, is respected by both Republican and Democratic strategists. She co-chaired Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is often credited with bringing order to his chaotic political organization.

She worked on several prominent GOP campaigns, including those of Sens. Rick Scott and Mitt Romney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose resounding 2018 campaign saved them. After a falling out with DeSantis, Wiles joined Trump’s 2024 campaign and subsequently overthrew the governor in the Republican primary.

Wiles, the daughter of late NFL legend Pat Summerall, is considered an effective operative with ties to MAGA leaders and the Republican establishment. According to the New York Times, she also managed to withstand Trump’s leadership style, being the only campaign manager to last through an entire Trump campaign.

And perhaps most important to her political survival, she seems to know when not to question Trump’s decisions. For example, Wiles reportedly tried to get Trump to reconsider allowing far-right agitator Laura Loomer to travel on his plane to public events in September, but ultimately relented, The Atlantic reported:

As White House chief of staff, Wiles will essentially act as a gatekeeper for Trump, organizing his schedule, managing White House staff and coordinating with other departments within the administration.

It’s one of the most powerful positions in any administration — and a notoriously difficult one under Trump: He held four chiefs of staff in his first term, and his longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, recently said Trump fits that definition of a fascist.