Who is Susie Wiles, Trump's new White House chief of staff?

Susie Wiles, President-elect Trump’s campaign co-chair and a veteran political consultant, was picked as his chief of staff on Thursday. 

“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” he added Thursday. “It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

Wiles will serve next January as the first female chief of staff. She was among the people Trump thanked as he took the stage early Wednesday, just hours before his victory in the 2024 election was officially projected.

"Susie likes to stay sort of in the back. Let me tell you, the ice baby. We call her the ice baby," Trump said.

"Susie likes to stay in the background. She's not in the background," Trump added.

While the strategist typically stays in the background, she emerged last week with a post on social platform X — her first post in nearly two years — defending Trump against comments made by billionaire Mark Cuban that the former president typically doesn’t surround himself with “strong, intelligent women."

“I’m told @mcuban needs help identifying the strong and intelligent women surrounding Pres. Trump. Well, here we are!” Wiles said Thursday on X, her first post there since February 2023.

“I’ve been proud to lead this campaign,” she added, also pointing to the efforts of Linda McMahon, chair for Trump’s transition policy, and Republican National Committee co-Chair Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law.

Wiles currently serves as Trump's campaign co-chair alongside Chris LaCivita, though there had been some speculation that she was seen as a favorite to be Trump's White House chief of staff.

Described by Politico earlier this year as Trump's "most important adviser," Wiles has worked in politics for several decades. She's worked for presidents, mayors, governors and members of Congress, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), and now Trump — in 2016 and again in 2024.

Reuters, citing Wiles's LinkedIn, reported that she also worked as a deputy director during former President Reagan's 1980 campaign and later became a scheduler for his office. She also worked as a consultant in Florida.

Updated at 6:06 p.m. EST.

Filip Timotija contributed to this report.