US President-elect Donald Trump has named the first member of his Trump 2.0 cabinet, Susie Wiles, as White House chief of staff. This is a historic first as Wiles will be the first woman in the United States to hold this position.

You may have noticed her recently during Trump’s victory speech at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on November 5, where Trump called her an “ice girl” who “kind of likes to stay at the ‘back “. Wiles was Trump’s campaign manager for the 2024 White House race.

In a statement nominating Wiles, a veteran Florida strategist, to this leading role, Trump said: “Susie is tough, smart, innovative and is universally admired and respected. »

“Susie will continue to work tirelessly to make America great again. It is a well-deserved honor that Susie is the first female chief of staff in U.S. history,” he said.

This appointment is also significant for the image of Trump as “racist and misogynist”. The appointment of Wiles as the first woman to hold such a role constitutes an initial test for his new administration.

Susie Wiles is the daughter of NFL player and sportscaster Pat Summerall. She worked in the Washington office of New York Representative Jack Kemp in the 1970s.

Wiles is a long-time Republican strategist, primarily in Florida, and is widely recognized for her disciplined and effective campaigning in the U.S. presidential election. She co-led the Trump 2024 campaign with Chris LaCivitia.

She didn’t always succeed in keeping Trump from going off-script, but she kept damaging media leaks to a relative minimum and launched a bold and successful strategy to win over some Latino and black voters that led the former president to a decisive victory.

During the 1980 Republican campaign, she also worked with Republican Ronald Reagan. Interestingly, Wiles worked for years with moderate Republicans who had completely different policies than Trump.

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During his later career, Wiles even worked with combative supporters like U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who later became a Trump ally.

She was also a key figure in Ron DeSantis’ successful campaign for Florida governor in 2018.

While Trump referred to her as an “ice maiden” during his victory speech, Wiles is seen as a less enigmatic political strategist.

She rarely gives television interviews and avoids speaking engagements. His personality contrasted with that of LaCivita, who was particularly outspoken.

But, like many successful campaign managers, she can be ruthless when it’s deserved.

(With contribution from agencies)