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WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles stepped into a new role on Monday amid rumors she was on the rocks with President Trump, with a powerful new ally at her side.
Wiles, nicknamed “the Ice Maiden,” will serve as co-chair of first lady Melania Trump’s new task force on women’s health.
Seated in the first seat of the front row of the Rose Garden ceremony, Wiles beamed as President Trump praised her: “As many of you know, Susie recently won her battle against a very tough opponent, breast cancer.”
“She’s tough,” he added. “She’s a tremendous fighter.”
Wiles stood on stage in her aviator sunglasses as both Trumps signed the executive order creating the task force, accepting one of the pens used in the signing as a gift from the president.
She didn’t speak, but her message was clear: reports of her political death have been greatly exaggerated.
It was a week ago that Wiles was fighting reports her tenure as chief of staff was in trouble after Trump hired Katie Zacharia as his press secretary — a major staff position — without her input and staff were squabbling about who would take the blame if Republicans got trounced in the November midterm election.
Being subject of Washington’s favorite parlor game of musical staffers is never pleasant, but the president himself defended her, saying there “zero chance” of her firing and that she was “going to be here for a long time.”
A month ago she was still battling breast cancer.
But Monday’s outlook was sunnier. Wiles is now cancer-free as of September and was literally at the center of the new White House initiative.
“I am especially grateful for first lady Melania Trump’s leadership in championing women’s health,” Wiles wrote on social media after the event.
“This is deeply personal to me. Having gone through breast cancer myself, I know firsthand the importance of early detection, medical research, and quality care.”
“I am grateful to the President and First Lady for their commitment to helping women live longer, healthier lives.”
Teaming with the first lady is also a smart move. Melania Trump is one of few people that can influence the president, using her power quietly to shape policy and decision-making.
And it gives Wiles someone who is close to the president in her corner after many of the campaign staff who followed her to the White House have left the West Wing, including former deputy chief of staff James Blair, former head of the Office of Legislative Affairs James Braid, White House counsel David Warrington and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Staff bonded during the 2024 campaign as they went through the political trenches and Wiles purposely brought many of them to the White House to build a strong, cohesive team that already knew and trusted one another. Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and communications director Steven Cheung are two campaign staffers remaining in power West Wing positions.
First lady Melania Trump reached out to Wiles when the chief of staff was in breast cancer treatment, and the two have a cordial relationship.
Women’s health is an issue they agree on. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Wiles is credited with returning the Trumps to the White House and instilling a sense of stability in the West Wing.
“Susie Wiles is the first woman to serve as White House Chief of Staff,” -Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to Trump, told The Post. “As a recent breast cancer survivor, she brings both historic leadership and hard-won personal experience. I can’t think of a better person to help support our first lady’s incredible initiative”
Wiles told Fox News that going through breast cancer treatment was “brutal and unrelenting,” but staying on the job helped.
“Work gave me somewhere else to put my mind,” she said. “It reminded me that I was still myself and that cancer was something I was going through, not the entirety of who I was.”