Susie Wiles and the Discipline Behind Trump's White House

Her disciplined leadership has produced a highly effective White House operation.

Susan Wiles is the first woman to serve as White House Chief of Staff, a historic milestone that has shattered long-standing barriers in American politics. She has achieved this distinction while demonstrating exceptional effectiveness in one of the most demanding and high-pressure roles in government.

Chosen by President Donald Trump for her proven ability to execute his vision while imposing discipline and structure, Wiles is an ideal match for a results-driven administration defined by relentless pace and tireless energy. Her steady, unflinching leadership complements Trump’s nonstop work style, enabling her to manage extraordinary demands without faltering. Her appointment also symbolizes the broadening of opportunity within the Republican Party and the MAGA movement, inspiring a new generation of conservatives and ensuring the party continues to attract top-tier talent essential for long-term success.

Wiles has played a pivotal role in Trump’s political victories across multiple election cycles, beginning with her management of his highly successful Florida campaigns in 2016 and 2020—critical wins that helped secure the presidency and sustain political momentum.

In 2024, serving as co-campaign manager alongside Chris LaCivita, Wiles transformed the campaign into a disciplined, results-oriented operation. Her strategic leadership outmaneuvered primary challengers, including Ron DeSantis in his home state of Florida, where her deep roots proved decisive in securing key endorsements and dismantling rival operations. These victories did more than return Trump to the White House—they cemented MAGA as a durable, institutionalized political force.

I have known Susie since we both worked on Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. She later worked for Congressman Jack Kemp during his challenge to George H. W. Bush, and successfully guided the campaign of political outsider Rick Scott – who went on to become one of Florida’s most effective governors and a United States senator.

She also led Donald Trump’s Florida campaign to victory in 2016, overcoming internal resistance within the campaign itself and delivering a critical upset against Hillary Clinton.

In 2018, Congressman Ron DeSantis secured the Republican nomination for Governor largely on the strength of Donald Trump’s endorsement. At the time, DeSantis was lagging badly in both fundraising and polling behind the presumed frontrunner, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. Because DeSantis’ nomination was essentially a media-driven phenomenon, his campaign lacked a true ground operation or grassroots infrastructure. As a result, the former Navy JAG officer entered a highly competitive general election against the charismatic and politically savvy African American mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum.

Susie Wiles was brought in at the President’s recommendation and successfully guided Ron DeSantis to victory by a margin of just 25,000 votes out of 8.9 million cast. After DeSantis became governor, Wiles worked for the governor’s PAC, the Florida Republican Party, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, and later Ballard & Partners in public affairs and lobbying.

For reasons that have never been fully explained, DeSantis later turned on Wiles with a sense of vengeance, even insisting that Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale, shut down Wiles’ early efforts on President Trump’s reelection campaign.

Yet when President Trump decided to launch what would become the greatest single comeback in American political history, he once again turned to Wiles—this time as a seasoned manager to take the helm. Wiles joined legendary Republican pollster and strategist Tony Fabrizio and field general Chris LaCivita, who together helped produce the media and organizational strategy behind Trump’s historic victory.

As White House Chief of Staff, Wiles has imposed order, discipline, and professional staffing to best serve the President. Having known President Trump personally for over 50 years, I can say with certainty that Susie Wiles understands him completely. She knows when to push back and when not to, and she executes his final decisions with precision and loyalty.

Unfairly, Wiles has borne the brunt of frustration from some supporters who are dissatisfied with events within the Trump administration—often being blamed for issues she neither controls nor influences. Much of this misplaced anger reflects a misunderstanding of President Trump himself. Donald Trump is not a traditional politician; he is not managed, scripted, or handled.

Serving him effectively—given his freewheeling style—is no easy task. Yet Wiles has done so while helping elevate a powerful Cabinet, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio, in particular, has emerged as a reinvigorated force—aggressively confronting communism and narco–drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere while protecting U.S. interests abroad.

RFK Jr.’s historic alliance with President Trump was skillfully facilitated by Wiles, who was an early supporter of the extensive research and writing on diet and health by Calley Means. She recognized early the political and cultural power of uniting MAGA and MAHA forces and has strongly supported the reforms advanced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

It is also Wiles who empowered a rigorous investigation into the integrity, reliability, and security of electronic voting machines under the leadership of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. There are credible claims that incontrovertible evidence exists showing infiltration, manipulation, and interference by both Venezuelan and Chinese actors.

Just as Gabbard declassified documents related to the Russia collusion and seditious conspiracy narratives, it is now possible that she will prove electronic voting machines used in the 2020 and 2024 elections were neither secure nor trustworthy—an effort enabled by Susie Wiles’ leadership.

Among the more absurd claims circulating about Wiles are allegations that she served as a lobbyist for Pfizer or other pharmaceutical firms. In reality, while working at Mercury LLC—a firm in which she held no equity—her work focused largely on defense and transportation clients in Florida. She has no affiliation with the World Economic Forum and is most certainly not a globalist.

Wiles is enormously effective on behalf of the President because she understands him. Yet the Washington echo chamber continues to amplify selectively edited, out-of-context hit pieces—most notably a Vanity Fair article that appears to be the work of a duplicitous reporter who omitted key context and ignored numerous statements allegedly made by Wiles.

Notably, nearly every Cabinet member, along with RFK Jr., publicly expressed support for Wiles as White House Chief of Staff. Perhaps most telling was the strong endorsement from Donald Trump Jr., who recognized Wiles’ indispensable role in President Trump’s success.

At its core, the role of Chief of Staff is akin to the CEO of the White House. While the President sets the vision, the Chief of Staff ensures daily operations function smoothly to make that vision a reality. Responsibilities include hiring and firing staff, overseeing hundreds of employees, resolving disputes, coordinating with Cabinet secretaries and Congress, enforcing discipline, and minimizing leaks, infighting, and chaos.

This role is especially critical for President Trump, whose relentless work ethic regularly involves 10- to 12-hour days filled with more than 20 meetings, nonstop public engagement, and rapid-fire decision-making. Despite this intensity, the mainstream media continues to push hollow narratives about stamina and health—claims contradicted by Trump’s proven ability to deliver results.

President Trump maintains a higher level of daily media interaction than his predecessors, often through informal exchanges and direct outreach. By filtering distractions, Wiles channels his boundless energy into productive outcomes, ensuring focus on top priorities rather than trivial matters.

Through her steady leadership, Wiles has brought unprecedented order to Trump’s second-term operation—standing in stark contrast to the turbulence of his first term. She has been widely praised for streamlining processes, enforcing loyalty, curbing unauthorized media contact, and advancing the administration’s agenda with efficiency.

Many now regard Susie Wiles as the administration’s powerhouse second only to President Trump himself. Her disciplined leadership has produced a highly effective White House operation, driving rapid progress on key priorities and helping ensure that President Trump’s second term becomes the most productive in modern American history.

In short, the Chief of Staff is not the public face like the Press Secretary nor a policy specialist like Cabinet members. They are the behind-the-scenes enforcer who keeps the White House functioning smoothly and without drama—allowing the President to lead. The job is grueling, with an average tenure of less than two years due to burnout. Yet Wiles’ achievements in campaign management, White House operations, and party unification have delivered tangible victories. Her continued leadership—and mentorship of rising figures—will be essential if Republicans are to dominate American politics in the decades ahead.