Susie Wiles

Susan L. Wiles (née Summerall; born May 14, 1957) is an American political consultant and lobbyist who has served as the 32nd White House chief of staff since January 2025.

Wiles graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1978. While attending university, she began working for New York representative Jack Kemp. Wiles later worked for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign in his scheduling office, in the White House Office of Scheduling and Advance, and for Raymond J. Donovan, the secretary of labor. Wiles served as the district director for Tillie Fowler's 1992 campaign to represent Florida's fourth congressional district. She worked within the administration of Jacksonville mayor John Delaney and served as his chief of staff from 1997 to 2000. Wiles later served in John Peyton's administration.

In the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election, Wiles worked as Rick Scott's campaign manager. After Scott's victory, she served as Jon Huntsman Jr.'s campaign manager for his presidential campaign, though she resigned after less than a month amid a dispute with John Weaver. In October 2015, Wiles was hired as a Florida campaign chairwoman for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. She became his campaign manager for Florida in September 2016. After Trump won that year's presidential election, Wiles moved to Washington, D.C., to lead Ballard Partners with Brian Ballard. In September 2018, she was hired to lead Ron DeSantis's campaign for the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election.

In 2021, Wiles was appointed to lead then-former President Donald Trump's fundraising apparatus, including Save America. She assumed a dominant role in Trump's political activities in between his first and second presidency, including his travel, fundraising, and endorsements in the 2022 elections. After Trump announced his presidential campaign in November 2022, Wiles was named as his campaign manager alongside Chris LaCivita. After his victory in the 2024 election, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Wiles would serve as his White House chief of staff. She is the first woman to hold the position.

Early life and education

Susan L. Summerall was born on May 14, 1957, in Lake City, Florida. She was the first child of Pat Summerall and Katharine Jacobs. Pat was a professional football player before becoming a television sportscaster in 1962. After the 1958 NFL season, the Summeralls returned to Lake City. They moved to the Bronx the following year for the 1959 season, living temporarily in the Concourse Plaza Hotel. Pat suffered from alcoholism; in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2010, he stated that his drinking problems began after he retired following the 1961 season and started working for CBS Sports.

The Summeralls lived in Stamford, Connecticut for three years before moving into a large home in Saddle River, New Jersey, in July 1967. In his autobiography Summerall: On and Off the Air (2006), Pat stated that Katharine "raised our children virtually on her own" and that he had "failed them as a father in the most critical years" in favor of his sports career. Summerall played basketball and tennis, as well as ran track and field. She was a member of the Girl Scouts of the USA troop that her mother ran. Summerall is an Episcopalian. She graduated from the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, New Jersey, in 1975 and from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1978.

Career

Staff assistant (1978–1984)

In May 1978, Summerall began working for New York representative Jack Kemp as a receptionist and later an aide, from her father's connection to him; Pat and Kemp had played for the New York Giants in 1958. She continued to work for him by the following April. Summerall worked for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign in his scheduling office. By May 1981, she had worked in the White House Office of Scheduling and Advance. By 1984, she married Lanny Wiles, whom she had met while working for Reagan's campaign. They had two children before divorcing in 2017. In one of her final assignments, Susie helped Reagan prepare for a ten-day trip to Europe in June 1982. By then, she had become a personal secretary for Raymond J. Donovan, the secretary of labor. She left her position by 1984.

Early campaign, staff, and public relations management (1992–2015)

The Wileses moved to Ponte Vedra Beach in 1985. That year, Wiles worked for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and led Jacksonville mayor Jake Godbold's public relations team. After the birth of her second child, she went on sabbatical. By 1988, she had been living in Arcadia, where she was a member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce of DeSoto County and received an honor for co-leading the organization's women's forums that year. Wiles returned to work that year as the head of campaign scheduling and advance work for Dan Quayle. In May 1991, the Wileses filed for federal bankruptcy protection after a failed hotel development deal in North Carolina indebted Lanny. She served as the district director for Tillie Fowler's 1992 campaign to represent Florida's fourth congressional district. After the campaign, she ran Fowler's local offices.

In 1995, Wiles began working as Jacksonville mayor John Delaney's director of communications and intergovernmental affairs. In April 1996, Wiles became his deputy chief of staff, and in November 1997, she became the city's first female chief of staff. Wiles was key to the Better Jacksonville Plan and was the point person on the Preservation Project. Her tenure was marked by concerns that she had controlled the flow of information reaching Delaney. Wiles resigned in November 2000 to enter the private sector. She told The Florida Times-Union that her exit would allow her to spend more time with her family and to leave a "high-pressure job". Wiles became the chief operating officer of The Vestcor Companies the following month, but left after less than a month. In February 2001, she became a vice president at APCO Worldwide, a public affairs firm.

By March 2003, she had become a spokeswoman for Mike Weinstein, and later for John Peyton, Delaney's eventual successor. She began serving as Peyton chief of special initiatives and communications in August. Wiles oversaw Peyton's key initiatives, including early literacy, restoring the St. Johns River, and an anti-crime program. In June 2008, she stepped down to spend time with her family and travel. By February 2009, Wiles had worked for Republic Services; concurrently, Peyton sought a US$750 million proposal for Waste Management to continue operating Jacksonville's landfill. She resigned from her position in response to a request from Peyton. In October, Wiles joined IF Marketing & Advertising, a marketing firm founded by former Jacksonville Jaguars player Tony Boselli that was set to open an office in Jacksonville. Additionally, Boselli and Wiles ran Ballard Partners's Jacksonville office by July 2011. She assisted in Mullaney's mayoral campaign for the 2011 election.

In April 2010, Rick Scott announced that he would run for governor of Florida in that year's gubernatorial election. Wiles joined Scott's campaign a week later as his campaign manager. After Scott's victory in November, she served as his transition legislative liaison. After Scott's inauguration in January 2011, Wiles led a political action committee in advance of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr.'s possible presidential campaign. In June, Huntsman named Wiles as the national campaign manager for his 2012 campaign. The following month, she left Huntsman's struggling campaign, telling the Miami Herald that "it was just time". Wiles's decision was viewed by The New York Times as "the first serious sign of concern" for the campaign. According to Politico, John Weaver, a strategist for Huntsman, had an internal feud with Wiles and forced her ouster. Wiles later supported former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in his presidential campaign, becoming a co-chair of his Florida advisory council in December. She served as the interim director of the Jacksonville Civic Council from February to September 2013. Wiles was a senior advisor to mayor Lenny Curry and served as his initial policy director. She lobbied for the tobacco company Swisher.