After helping engineer Donald Trump’s improbable and overwhelming victory in the presidential race, the president-elect’s modest colleague appears as campaign manager Susie Wiles. A front-runner to become his White House chief of staff, according to six sources familiar with the discussions within the campaign.
In a world of fractured rivalries, advisers credit Wills’ ability to win Trump’s respect and land big names. If elected, Wiles would be the first female White House chief of staff in history.
“He commanded a ton of respect and loyalty among the staff. He doesn’t play games. And he means what he says: In the campaign, he said we check egos at the door and hold everyone to him,” said one campaign official who, like others in this article, spoke on condition of anonymity to speak publicly. not authorized to speak on the record. “The concept of a rival team is not applied here.”
“Susie is as good as they get,” said a second Trump campaign official. “He ran a great campaign and won the respect of everyone, including Democrats who recognized his talent. He would appoint a great chief of staff and serve at the president’s pleasure. After all, it’s his White House.”
A third Trump campaign official said Wiles already serves as de facto chief of staff and staffers widely want him to take the job. An extensive staff meeting is being held at campaign headquarters on Thursday, which will be chaired by Wiles.
The thinking among advisers is that if Trump makes a strong appeal to Wiles, he will get the job — and he is widely expected to.
“If he wants it, it’s his,” said an adviser familiar with the discussions. “The fact that he stood by Trump and what he just helped pull off [winning by huge margins]makes it an easy choice if he wants to.”
Another Trump adviser said the job was up to Wiles if he wanted it. NBC News has reached out to Wiles for comment.
“If he really wants to, I’m not sure how competitive it will be,” the familiar adviser said.
Trump is famously superstitious and has stayed away from a plan for the next administration that began in the final months of the campaign. But planning now begins in earnest, and choosing who will lead his operation will be one of the most important issues as he hopes to embrace a broad agenda.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump’s transition team said his victory “provides a mandate” for an agenda that “puts the working men and women of our nation first.”
“As he selects the best people to join his team and the best policies to implement, his transition team will ensure that President Trump’s common-sense agenda is implemented from Day 1,” said Howard, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, of his transition. two advisers chosen to lead. Lutnick and Linda McMahon, a Cabinet member during the first Trump administration and a business executive.
The daughter of famous American football player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, Wiles led the team through assassination attempts, a change at the top of the Democratic ticket and a drop in the polls.
“He would be everybody’s number one choice, but that’s his decision,” the first campaign official said.
The 2024 campaign marked the first time Trump hasn’t changed his primary campaign leadership team throughout the race, a dynamic he even hinted at while name-checking Wills, who helped secure his victory in once-purple Florida, when he told reporters Tuesday. in 2016.
“Some people have said this is the best campaign they’ve ever seen, but you have to win to make that stick,” Trump said during the poll. “My team… most of them are the same players – as you know, Suzi.”
Trump, who praised Wiles during his victory speech on Tuesday, shared her nickname and hinted at her major behind-the-scenes work: “We call her the ice girl. Suzy likes to be in the background — she’s not in the background.”
“I think many of the president’s closest allies really see the value that their partnership creates,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. “They complement each other perfectly.”
Trump’s transition leaders are his longtime friends and allies: Lutnick, who joined him frequently in the final weeks of his campaign, including after he returned to Butler, Pennsylvania — and McMahon, a former official in his first administration.
Other names being actively considered for the White House chief of staff position include Brooke Rollins, a former top White House aide to Trump who now heads the Trump-backed America First Policy Institute, and former House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
It should be noted that Rollins made a keynote speech last month at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, where Lutnik spoke. during appearance On Fox News on Thursday, McCarthy said he would not be chief of staff and called Wiles “he would do a great job.”
Rollins and McCarthy all have ties to Trump, but only one candidate has the staff’s professional respect and loyalty, a campaign official said.
“And this is Susie,” the person added.