[ad_1]
Susie Wiles, who co-chaired what was widely touted as Trump’s most disciplined campaign of his three terms as president, was named the next White House chief of staff this morning.
The longtime political operative from Florida, whom Trump affectionately calls “Ice Baby,” will become the first woman in the role.
Susie Wiles helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history and was an integral part of my 2016 campaign and successful campaign, Trump said.
“Susie is strong, smart, innovative and admired and respected everywhere.”
According to a CNN source, she set conditions for accepting the role, including controlling who could reach the Oval Office, after a group of informal advisers, family, friends and others roamed the West Wing during Trump’s first term.
“A clown car cannot enter the White House at will,” the source said.
– And he agrees with her.
Her appointment came less than two days after Trump supporters began vying for positions in the next administration.
Almost immediately after it became clear he was headed for reelection, phones began ringing in the president-elect’s orbit, and conversation at several dining tables in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom turned to who would serve Trump’s second term.
Those hushed discussions have now turned into an all-out battle taking place directly from the terrace of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Almost every table was filled on Wednesday night (Thursday AEDT) amid maneuvering over who sat where and how close their table was to where Trump usually holds court, at a table behind a velvet rope, two people told CNN.
Onlookers spotted Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Barrack and Trump’s transition co-chairs, Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, hanging around the club.
Trump spent part of the day reviewing names Lutnick had previously floated in the months leading up to the election, though some questioned whether Trump would rely solely on his recommendations.
Who was with Donald Trump on stage during his victory speech?
Those seeking top jobs have already been working the phones trying to forge alliances with others also hoping to secure a spot in the Trump administration.
Several have even booked flights to Florida to secure time to meet with Trump in the coming days, when many decisions are expected to be made.
As he narrows down the choices, Trump has already crossed several options off the list, according to several people familiar with the chaotic but aggressive process underway.
Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York who is chairwoman of the House GOP conference, is being considered as the next US ambassador to the United Nations.
The race for chief of staff was one of the biggest battles, and Brooke Rollins, who served in Trump’s first term and runs the America First Policy Institute, was eyeing the role.
She dropped out of the running for the role after it became clear it would pose a serious power struggle with Wiles, but is still expected to take on some role in the Trump administration.
Trump was encouraged to move to the chief of staff position more quickly than he did in 2016 during a chaotic transition, when he waited nearly two weeks to name Reince Priebus.
Having a chief of staff would allow there to be a center of power that people could go to instead of calling Trump directly.
How the world’s newspapers reported on Trump’s election victory
However, one person noted that Trump himself has named the people he wants to see in key positions in recent days.
Sources close to the former president said that because of superstition, Trump often refused to participate in lengthy conversations about who would be appointed to the administration before the election.
Trump is eager to reward those who have stood by him over the past two years, and in recent private conversations he has made it clear that he will seek to accommodate those who have — even if their views don’t necessarily align with his own.
Before Trump announced Wiles as chief of staff, Joe Biden addressed the nation for the first time since the election.
The outgoing US president has promised a peaceful transition between administrations and encouraged Americans to continue fighting for the country of “our dreams”.
“You can’t love your country only when you’re winning,” he said.
“You cannot love your neighbor only when you agree.
“One thing I think you can do regardless of who you voted for is to see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans, turn the temperature down.”
‘I lied’: The confession of the American rapper in the election for Trump causes controversy
He was also full of praise for Kamala Harris, saying she “has the backbone of a stick and she’s got great character, real character.”
Trump said he had spoken with Biden since the election and that the two would have lunch together “soon.”
Meanwhile, CNN called Nevada for Trump, bringing him closer to a full sweep of the seven battleground states and leaving Arizona as the last state to call.
The race for control of the House of Representatives remains in the balance, although Republicans have won more seats than Democrats and are confident of retaining their majority.
[ad_2]