Susie Wiles Bio
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. She is the first woman to hold the position in United States history. A University of Maryland, College Park graduate, she built a decades-long career in Republican politics before stepping into the senior West Wing role.
Known for her quiet discipline and field-tested instincts, Wiles has managed or advised a series of high-profile Republican campaigns, including Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2024 efforts and Ron DeSantis’s 2018 gubernatorial bid. She has been described by national outlets as one of the most influential strategists in modern American political consulting.
Early Life and Background
Susan L. Summerall was born on May 14, 1957, in Lake City, Florida, the first child of Pat Summerall, a professional football player who later became a television sportscaster for CBS Sports, and Katharine Jacobs. After the 1958 NFL season, the family returned to Lake City before relocating to the Bronx the following year for Pat’s career with the New York Giants.
The Summeralls lived in Stamford, Connecticut, before moving to a home in Saddle River, New Jersey, in 1967. In his autobiography, Pat Summerall acknowledged that Katharine largely raised the children on her own while he focused on his broadcasting career. Susan grew up as an Episcopalian, played basketball and tennis, ran track and field, and was a member of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
She graduated from the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, New Jersey, in 1975, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1978. Her early exposure to politics came through her father’s network in professional sports, which included future political figures.
Path to US Politics
While attending the University of Maryland, Wiles began working as a receptionist for New York representative Jack Kemp, a connection made through her father’s years with the New York Giants. She later became an aide in his office. During the 1980 presidential campaign, she joined Ronald Reagan’s scheduling office, an experience that introduced her to senior-level campaign operations.
After Reagan’s victory, Wiles moved into the White House Office of Scheduling and Advance and later worked as a personal secretary for Secretary of Labor Raymond J. Donovan. In 1984, she married Lanny Wiles, whom she had met during the Reagan campaign, and the couple eventually settled in Jacksonville, Florida, where she shifted her focus to local Republican politics and government.
Through these early assignments, Wiles developed the operational discipline and behind-the-scenes management style that became her hallmark. Her progression from scheduling aide to senior campaign operative laid the groundwork for decades of work in Florida and national Republican politics.
Susie Wiles Career
Early Career (1978–1992)
Wiles started in Washington as a staff assistant to Jack Kemp before moving into Reagan’s 1980 campaign and the White House. She worked on Reagan’s 1982 trip to Europe and served Secretary of Labor Raymond J. Donovan before leaving government by 1984 to join her husband in Florida.
In Jacksonville, she ran public relations for Mayor Jake Godbold, worked as the district director for Tillie Fowler’s 1992 congressional campaign, and held leadership roles in local chambers of commerce. These assignments established her reputation as a steady, detail-oriented manager within Florida Republican circles.
Jacksonville and Florida Politics Breakthrough (1992–2015)
In 1995, Wiles joined the administration of Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney as director of communications and intergovernmental affairs. She became deputy chief of staff in April 1996 and, in November 1997, was named the city’s first female chief of staff, helping drive the Better Jacksonville Plan and the Preservation Project.
After leaving Delaney’s office in 2000, she held senior roles at APCO Worldwide and in the administration of Mayor John Peyton, overseeing early literacy, St. Johns River restoration, and anti-crime initiatives. In April 2010, she was named campaign manager for Rick Scott’s successful gubernatorial run, a victory that elevated her profile in statewide Republican politics.
Following Scott’s win, she briefly served as national campaign manager for Jon Huntsman Jr.’s 2012 presidential campaign before resigning after less than a month amid an internal dispute with strategist John Weaver. She later co-chaired Mitt Romney’s Florida advisory council and served as an advisor and policy director for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.
Trump and DeSantis Era (2015–Present)
In October 2015, Wiles was named a Florida campaign chairwoman for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and, in September 2016, became his Florida campaign manager. Her ground-game strategy helped deliver the state for Trump, after which she joined Ballard Partners in Washington, D.C., as a lobbyist.
In September 2018, she was hired to lead Ron DeSantis’s faltering gubernatorial campaign, a decision that helped reset his candidacy and contributed to his eventual victory. She later directed Republican Party operations in Florida and rejoined the Trump orbit in 2020 as an unpaid advisor to Republican National Convention organizers.
Following Trump’s 2020 loss, Wiles was named to lead his fundraising apparatus, including Save America. She managed his post-presidential travel, fundraising, and endorsements for the 2022 midterms and was credited with strategic victories such as Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial win in Virginia. After Trump launched his 2024 campaign, he divided the campaign manager role between Wiles and Chris LaCivita, with The New York Times calling her perhaps the most significant voice in the effort.
White House Chief of Staff Era (2025–Present)
Following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, he named Wiles as his White House chief of staff on November 6, 2024, making her the first woman to hold the post. She helped shape early personnel decisions, including the selection of David Warrington as White House counsel and the staffing structure of the Presidential Personnel Office.
In February 2025, Wiles was involved in negotiating the prisoner exchange between Alexander Vinnik and American schoolteacher Marc Fogel. That same month, Trump fired the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and named Wiles among his replacements. She has also been a central figure in the Trump administration’s interactions with major news organizations and in managing internal West Wing dynamics.
Notable Events and Milestones
Wiles’s career-defining moments include engineering Donald Trump’s 2016 win in Florida, rescuing Ron DeSantis’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and serving as a senior architect of Trump’s 2024 presidential victory. Her 2024 appointment as the first female White House chief of staff stands as a historic milestone in United States political history.
Susie Wiles Career Wins
Across more than four decades in Republican politics, Susie Wiles has compiled a record of campaign victories at the local, state, and national levels. Her wins span mayoral administrations, gubernatorial races, and presidential campaigns, reflecting a consistent ability to deliver in high-pressure environments.
Presidential and Gubernatorial Highlights
Wiles served as campaign manager for Rick Scott’s successful 2010 Florida gubernatorial campaign and as a senior strategist behind Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2024 presidential wins in Florida. She also led Ron DeSantis’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign to victory, helping transform a struggling bid into a decisive Republican win. In 2021, she was widely credited with guiding Glenn Youngkin’s successful Virginia gubernatorial campaign.
Other Wins and Achievements
Wiles’s additional accomplishments include managing Republican National Committee operations in Florida, leading successful 2022 primary efforts such as the ouster of Representative Liz Cheney, and serving as a senior advisor to Jacksonville mayors John Delaney and Lenny Curry. Her first female chief of staff appointment in Jacksonville in 1997 and her 2025 White House appointment both stand as pioneering achievements for women in United States political leadership.
Susie Wiles Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Wiles is the daughter of Pat Summerall, the legendary NFL kicker and longtime CBS Sports broadcaster, and Katharine Jacobs. Her father’s career in professional sports connected the family to influential figures, including New York Giants teammate Jack Kemp, whose congressional office gave Wiles her first political job. This unusual bridge between professional athletics and Republican politics shaped her early entry into public service.
Personal Life
Wiles married Lanny Wiles in 1984 after meeting him on the Reagan campaign, and the couple had two children before divorcing in 2017. She has maintained a low public profile about her personal life, focusing her public identity on her professional roles and political work in Jacksonville, Florida, and Washington, D.C.