Select Campaign Manager As White House Chief Of Staff, Trump: Tough, Smart, Innovative

JAKARTA - United States President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announcedIONal Wiles, one of his campaign managers, will become White House Chief of Staff.

The appointment is the first of a series of staff announcements Trump hopes to make as he prepares to return to the White House on January 20.

As a doorkeeper for the president, the chief of staff usually has a big influence. The person manages White House staff, regulates the president's time and schedule, and maintains contact with government departments and other lawmakers.

Wiles (67) will be the first woman to serve as chief of staff of the White House.

"Susie is tough, intelligent, innovative, and admired and universally respected," Trump said in a statement.

"I'm sure he will make our country proud," he added.

Trump has been alone at his Mar-a-Lago club at Palm Beach, Florida, since beating Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday's election.

He is considering a large number of people for important positions in his government, many of whom he has known since his term as president in 2017-2021, said four sources.

Wiles, a long-standing political strategist in Florida, and another campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, is considered to have run a more disciplined operation for Trump's third presidential candidacy compared to previous campaigns.

Trump thanked the two of them in his winning speech on Wednesday morning.

"Susie likes to stay behind, believe me," Trump said, as he stood at the back of the stage.

"We called him an ice girl," he continued.

Some of the people who worked with Wiles said in an interview on Thursday he would provide stability and wise advice to Trump at the White House.

Trump replaced four chiefs of staff - an extraordinary amount - during his 2017-2021 term, as they struggled to control the president who is known to be undisciplined.

"Susie is a strong woman and a true leader with a proven track record in solving various things," said Florida-based Republican consultant David Johnson.

Wiles previously worked on the campaign of the late president Ronald Reagan in 1980 and helped Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis win elections in 2018. He served as senior adviser in Trump's 2016 and 2020 candidacy.