Washington — One of Susie Wiles’ vexing tasks as the next White House chief of staff will be cracking down on powerful interest groups that want something from Donald Trump.
It’s a world she knows well. She lobbied for many of them during Trump’s first term as president.
Trump was elected in Washington with a promise to “drain the swamp.” But his transactional approach to the presidency has seen him shower allies, including Wiles, with lucrative contracts, empower wealthy business associates and thwart his agenda after his administration was embroiled in a series of abuse-of-influence scandals. It sparked a lobbying boom.
Now, as Trump prepares to return to power, his victory is likely to embolden those who thought they could listen to him, raising the prospect that his second administration could face the same dangers as the first. . It will test Wiles’ ability to manage a growing number of powerful figures, including Trump’s children, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and billionaires such as Elon Musk. They will not rely on her for presidential access.
Craig Holman, a registered lobbyist with the government watchdog group Public Citizen, said the appointment of a former lobbyist to such an important position “bodes very poorly for what we’re going to see under the incoming Trump administration.” “This time Trump doesn’t even mention ‘draining the swamp.’ … He doesn’t even pretend.”
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump transition effort, said in a statement that he dismissed any suggestion that Wiles’ career as a lobbyist would make her vulnerable to pressure.
“Susie Wiles has an undeniable reputation for the highest integrity and unwavering commitment to service inside and outside of government,” said Hughes. “She will demonstrate this same integrity and dedication as she serves President Trump in the White House. That’s why she was chosen.”
Wiles’ selection as chief of staff was Trump’s first announced hire since he was elected. Wiles co-led the former president’s campaign and is widely believed to have run a much more rigorous operation than his previous two efforts. Nonetheless, she will have her work cut out for her. That mission has traditionally entailed police officers gaining access to the president, but Trump has grown dissatisfied with that effort, shuffling through four chiefs of staff during his first term as president.
In his recent victory speech, Trump called Wiles “Ice Maiden” and praised her as a talented behind-the-scenes player. She would be the first woman to hold that position.
What is also clear is that Wiles, 67, has successfully managed stubborn men over a long career in politics, government and lobbying. Wiles, the daughter of NFL player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, worked for conservative icon U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp in the 1970s and then worked on Ronald Reagan’s campaign and as his White House scheduler.
She later went to Florida, where she advised two Jacksonville mayors, and was credited with helping businessman Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, win the governorship. After briefly managing Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign, she oversaw Trump’s 2016 efforts in Florida, where his victory helped him win the White House.
Wiles was a partner at Ballard Partners, a local firm that lobbied for the Trump Organization in Florida. Shortly after Trump’s election, Ballard set up shop in Washington and quickly became a dominant player, raking in more than $70 million in lobbying fees representing the who’s who of corporate America during Trump’s presidency.
Many of Wiles’ clients were ordinary businesses with clear goals, such as children’s hospitals, home builders and General Motors, the trade group for the city of Jacksonville, Florida.
One in particular stands out that speaks to the ways, subtle or not, that foreign interests seek to influence U.S. policy. In 2017, Wiles registered as a lobbyist for Globovisión, a Venezuelan TV network owned by businessman Raúl Gorrín, who was indicted in Miami on money laundering charges.
Gorrín took over the broadcaster in 2013 and immediately toned down its anti-government coverage. He hired Ballard to advise him on “general government policies and regulations,” according to a lobbying disclosure. But instead of working with the agency that oversees communications, Ballard’s lobbying efforts were trained by the White House. Globovisión had little influence in regulating foreign broadcasters in the United States, which paid Ballard $800,000 for a year of work.
Brian Ballard, the company’s president, said it was clear that Gorrín’s goals were not limited to the media business. Gorin, who owns several luxury properties in Miami, has long served as a bridge between Venezuela’s socialist government and U.S. officials.
When Globovisión was represented by a team of Wiles and Ballard lobbyists, Gorrín was leading a quiet charm offensive for the government of Nicolás Maduro, who sought closer ties with Trump at a time when the country was facing food shortages, violent crime and hyperinflation. It all started before President Trump’s inauguration when Citgo, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, donated $500,000 to Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
“He was a fraud and we fired him as soon as we found out he was a fraud,” Ballard said. “He asked us to prepare a lot of things in LA and DC, but nothing happened. It was all an illusion. “He just wanted to use our company.”
Days after Ballard fired Gorrín in 2018, federal prosecutors filed charges against the businessman for allegedly using the U.S. financial system to supply private jets, yachts and champion show jumping horses to Venezuelan officials as part of a bogus loan scheme perpetrated by insiders. The indictment was made public. It is stealing from the coffers of the state. Last month, he was indicted for a second time, also in Miami, on charges of embezzling $1 billion from state-run oil company PDVSA.
Ballard said Wiles had little role in managing relationships with Gorrín or several other clients for whom she was a registered lobbyist. However, he praised her as a ‘straight shooter’ with great organizational skills and ‘tough as nails’ despite her soft demeanor.
“She’s the type of person you want to be in the trenches with,” he said. “She will serve the president well.”
During Trump’s first term, Maduro engaged in a peacemaking blitz that included attempts to hire at least two different lobbyists. But it was dizzying. In 2019, the White House imposed tough oil sanctions on the OPEC nation, closed the U.S. embassy in Caracas and recognized the opposition-controlled speaker of the National Assembly as the country’s legitimate ruler. Maduro was then indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020 on federal drug trafficking charges in New York.
Gorrín has long denied any wrongdoing and remains a fugitive. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, he called Wiles a “lady” and said she always acted professionally and humanely.
Ballard said the company’s work for Gorrín was a “big mistake.” Ballard expects access to the White House to be more tightly controlled in the future. After a steep learning curve during the first Trump administration, his firm will do a better job of vetting potential clients to ensure their interests align with the president’s agenda.
“We learned a lot. So did the president.”
Globovisión was not Wiles’ only client with foreign ties.
In early 2019, she registered with the Department of Justice as a foreign agent working for one of Nigeria’s major political parties for two months. Another customer was a car dealership owned by Shafik Gabr, a wealthy businessman who was in a financial dispute with a subsidiary of German automaker Volkswagen over car sales in Egypt.
Wiles was also a registered lobbyist for a multinational gaming company and a subsidiary of a Canadian company seeking to build a large-scale copper and gold mine near Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay.
Wiles was no outlier in Trump’s Washington. His namesake hotel has served as a hub for lobbyists, business leaders and foreign governments seeking to rub shoulders with Trump World figures while seeking the president’s favor.
While most of them were part of the normal course of business in Washington, a number of Trump allies and advisers have been investigated and charged with crimes related to their work on behalf of foreign countries and entities.
After becoming Trump’s de facto campaign manager in 2022, Wiles continued lobbying, this time for the multinational public affairs and lobbying firm Mercury. Most recently, she represented the manufacturer of Swisher Sweets cigars.
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Goodman reported from Miami and Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia.
