All posts tagged "susie wiles"

Powerful White House insider demands 'grownup' take over as Trump's press secretary: CNN

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has reportedly made clear her new criteria for picking a new press secretary.

On Thursday, CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reported that Wiles has laid out what she's seeking in the person she hires to replace outgoing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who will leave at the end of August.

"One of the things that I was told by a number of sources is that Wiles has said that she is looking for a 'grownup,' somebody who understands the job and is also professional in that job," Holmes said. "It's one thing to just stand at the podium and attack, but they also want somebody who can work with reporters behind the scenes to actually try and shape the narrative."

Leavitt announced earlier this month that she's leaving her role to focus on her family. CNN conservative pundit Scott Jennings has been reported as an early favorite, and he reportedly met with Wiles about the job over the weekend.

"I'm told this came at the request of the White House," Holmes said about Wiles' meeting with Jennings. "This really was, for all intents and purposes, a preliminary meeting. This was the two of them meeting face-to-face for the first time as Susie Wiles is really starting this process to find a new press secretary."

Holmes reported that the decision of who will replace Leavitt will be up to Wiles and President Donald Trump. Wiles' meeting with Jennings was her "laying out exactly what she wanted from a press secretary and introducing herself to Jennings," Holmes said.

"There's a belief in the West Wing that she backs Jennings," Holmes added. "But I did get some pushback from that, essentially saying it was too early to determine that the chief of staff had backed anyone."

Wiles is asking, "Can he do all the closed-door legwork that has made Karoline so effective? No one knows," Holmes said. "It's not so much about Jennings. It's so much about Karoline Leavitt leaving, and again, the critical role she has played."

Susie Wiles' 'pet' protege 'on thin ice' after meager donation: report

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' protege is on the chopping block after she made a $10 campaign donation, according to The Daily Mail.

According to a Thursday article, insiders claim that President Donald Trump has been demanding the firing of Morgan DeWitt-Snow since late July. DeWitt-Snow's crime was donating $10 to former Vice President Mike Pence to help him get to the presidential debate stage in 2023.

DeWitt-Snow, a 29-year-old de facto head of the Presidential Personnel Office, is known inside the White House as "Susie's pet" because of her close relationship to Wiles, who is "fond of her," The Daily Mail reported. When Trump called for DeWitt-Snow's firing, Wiles stepped in and "came to the rescue," according to The Daily Mail.

As the head of the PPO, DeWitt-Snow is responsible for recruiting, selecting, and vetting candidates for roles in the federal government, according to The Daily Mail. Six sources say that despite Wiles' intervention, she's still on "thin ice" and is "hanging by a thread," as she faces pressure over her slow hiring and vetting of candidates.

"It's a disaster over there. It's like a failed state," a source told The Daily Mail about what it's like in the PPO, adding that it's plagued with infighting and complaints from frustrated cabinet secretaries. "People are taking forever to get people hired and vetted."

A White House official told The Daily Mail that DeWitt-Snow made the contribution after one of her friends "begged her" to make the $10 donation.

When The Daily Mail reached out for comment, the White House denied that DeWitt-Snow is close to getting fired. However, The Daily Mail noted that Trump had explicitly blacklisted anyone tied to Pence.

"It would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us people who worked with, or are endorsed by...Mike Pence," a Truth Social post by Trump at the beginning of his second term read.

Top Trump handler's grip slips as she battles health scare: report

One of President Donald Trump's closest aides has been losing her pull with him, according to reports on Friday.

Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who has reportedly often been a voice keeping some of Trump's worst impulses under control, has been losing her grip over the president, insiders told The Daily Beast.

"Much of the credit for the more disciplined Trump 2.0 has gone to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, but her influence over the president is said to be waning, especially since she kept up a heavy workload while being treated for early-stage breast cancer, which was diagnosed in March," The Beast reported.

Wiles and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have often been the ones to speak up against Trump and say "no."

In an explosive Vanity Fair story in December, Wiles referred to Trump as having an "alcoholic's personality," saying he has carried himself as though there is "nothing he can't do."

The concerns about Wiles come as Trump's White House sheds staff at a striking pace. Four aides have resigned in recent weeks, and more departures are expected. On Friday, deputy national security adviser Andy Baker, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, became the latest to announce his exit. Baker, who had a hand in earlier negotiations with Iran, leaves with that war still raging.

The turnover has outpaced the early stretches of the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations, according to one analysis. Wiles herself was reported earlier this year to be weighing the November midterms as an off-ramp, frustrated by Trump's promotion of Bill Pulte to acting director of national intelligence, though she denied that friction with the president was driving her out.

Wiles has not given a public update on her health since disclosing her diagnosis. The Beast also reported that Trump may not replace Leavitt.

Susie Wiles makes surprise Capitol Hill cameo amid 'brewing tensions' between insiders

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill Thursday, meeting privately with top Senate Republicans to try to end a stalemate.

President Donald Trump's agenda has stalled in Congress with his SAVE America Act, third budget package, and Todd Blanche's confirmation all hitting roadblocks, Politico reported.

So, Wiles went to have a "candid" chat with Republicans "amid brewing tensions between Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and as the midterms loom," according to Politico.

Several insiders described the encounter between Trump's top aide and GOP leaders.

"This was her attempt to say to Thune and [Senate GOP Whip John] Barrasso [that] 'A lot is stalled in the Senate. SAVE/reconciliation ... nominations ... what can we do?' a person familiar with the private discussion said via text," a source told Politico under condition of anonymity.

Thune apparently told Wiles, who has been referred to as a "strategist by nature," that he wants to help push Trump's agenda when the Senate has enough votes, another insider said.

"The account of Wiles’ visit was confirmed by a third person familiar with the meeting,"

According to Politico, "a fourth person familiar with the meeting said it was about reconciliation, the SAVE America Act and the filibuster, among other topics, adding that nominees were not a focus of the meeting. The person pointed to the Senate’s overwhelming record of approving the president’s picks, even as Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general hung in the balance Thursday evening."

It's unclear whether Wiles' conversations will help move Trump's agenda forward, and more could be clear by next week, sources said.

"While the president remains focused on the one issue [the SAVE America Act] creating a major bottleneck, she will be instrumental in getting the rest of the administration’s agenda moving again," a source close to the White House told Politico.

Susie Wiles and Kash Patel orchestrate White House phone seizure during intense leak probe

FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles "helped personally orchestrate" an investigation into who leaked information about President Donald Trump's Qatari-gifted airplane and its security shortcomings — demanding some officials turn over their phones, according to a new CNN report published Wednesday.

Trump was apparently furious that information about the plane, which was meant to be used as Air Force One, went public. Investigators were reportedly seeking information from officials who traveled with the president.

A source told CNN that as the investigation was underway, at least one federal agency contacted its employees via email to warn that if they were contacted by outside agencies or groups requesting information or devices, then they should contact their agency's attorneys.

"The sources said Patel — who had been preparing to travel to Chicago — was diverted to the White House on Friday to take a hands-on role in running the probe, which became public early the next morning when the New York Times reported that the Justice Department had issued subpoenas to four of its journalists who reported on security concerns surrounding the new plane," CNN reported.

"Patel posted up in an office next to Wiles’ for roughly seven hours, as the two established what one source referred to as a 'war room' in the West Wing," according to CNN.

Not all White House officials were asked to turn over their phones.

"The effort reflects the extent to which the White House was willing to exert control over a law enforcement investigation — a significant breach of the Justice Department’s historic independence, though one that has become somewhat common in Trump’s administration," CNN reported.

Susie Wiles caught off guard by Trump's close relationship with aide: report

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was reportedly stunned by the relationship between President Donald Trump and one of his closest aides, according to The Daily Beast.

Trump has apparently told those in his inner circle that his executive assistant Natalie Harp, 34, will "never leave" him, The Beast reported. She has worked closely with the president and has been referred to as "the human printer." The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Harp was "the driving force" behind Trump's inflammatory comment shared on his Truth Social platform, including the racist video that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First lady Michelle Obama as apes and the AI-generated image of Trump as Jesus, which was later removed on the platform.

The nature of the relationship has left Wiles, another one of Trump's closest allies, with questions, according to New York Times White House correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in their new book "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump."

"When Trump was in quasi-exile at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Harp joined him on the golf course and supplied him with a stream of positive news stories and social media comments," The Beast reported.

Harp also wrote Trump letters that the president kept in personal areas, including one that said "You are all that matters to me."

"As the year progressed, he kept jamming more gold pieces onto the mantel," Haberman and Swan wrote. "When Trump asked White House residence staff what they thought of the glittering display, most responses were muted, but his devout aide Natalie Harp would gush with delight."

"The situation was so bizarre that Trump’s future chief of staff Susie Wiles asked herself, 'Where am I?' according to Haberman and Swan," The Beast reported.

Susie Wiles 'on her last leg' amid White House turmoil: political experts

Susie Wiles is running out of patience with Trump amid mounting White House turmoil, a couple of political experts said.

Dean Blundell, a Canadian political commentator, detailed what insiders had told him about the Trump White House Chief of Staff during an interview with ex-GOP operative Steve Schmidt. Wiles was rumored to be looking for the exit, but she and other White House officials shot down the claim, which came from a Daily Mail report based on insider insight.

"Susie Wiles is on her last leg," Blundell said, sharing what sources told him. "She just doesn't want to be associated with this stuff anymore."

The Daily Mail reported that Wiles was mostly upset about the appointment of Bill Pulte as the acting Director of National Intelligence. Blundell said that it's telling for her to be "this disgusted by his pick for DNI," and suggested that her frustrations went beyond that.

"You don't have to look too far for the damage that this family is doing, not just in the United States, but also in Albania," Blundell said, referring to the protests over Ivanka Trump's planned resort.

Schmidt gave his two cents, saying, "If you held a gun to my head and make me guess what happened here, I would say that Susie Wiles probably threatened to quit."

Dead Air: Happy birthday, loser with Steve Schmidt & Dean Blundell by Steve Schmidt

Read on Substack

Todd Blanche may have torpedoed his own AG nomination with Epstein stunt: analysis

A damning New York Times report released on Wednesday raised new concerns about Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and his involvement with the Epstein files.

Blanche has come under fire over his role in "attempting to kill off the Epstein firestorm," just days after President Donald Trump formally nominated his former personal lawyer for permanent attorney general, The Daily Beast reported. Now, doubts were raised over whether he could be the top leader of the Justice Department ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing — and whether he could maintain his independence.

"Opponents argue he is not fit for the job, pointing to his handling of the Epstein files, which identified numerous victims but kept the names of potential co-conspirators hidden, as well as other controversies, such as Trump’s $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' slush fund and the backroom deal giving the president immunity from continuing IRS audits," The Beast reported.

The bombshell reporting from Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan is part of an upcoming book and includes multiple revelations about what happened within the Trump administration and includes Blanche's involvement as the then-deputy attorney general under former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

"Blanche and other Trump aides—including Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Communications Director Steven Cheung and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt—held a panicked meeting in the Situation Room in July last year, desperate to quell the MAGA civil war that had erupted over the administration’s failure to release the Epstein files," according to The Beast.

In the meeting, Blanche reportedly offered two potential options.

"The first was to petition Federal District Courts in Florida and New York to unseal grand jury testimonies related to Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous sex trafficking crimes, as these were unlikely to contain any new information, and therefore, releasing them was unlikely to damage Trump," The Beast reported.

Blanche likely knew that getting a federal judge to unseal grand jury material would be a tough move, The Beast reported.

"The second option was to have a Justice Department official interview Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, and release the transcript," according to The Beast.

Blanche apparently volunteered to sit down with Maxwell. He has described her attorney, David Oscar Markus, as "a friend."

Jaws drop as new Trump admin Epstein details go public: 'Sheer panic'

The internet was stunned on Wednesday after explosive reporting from two New York Times reporters revealed how the Trump administration panicked as the Justice Department released the Epstein files.

In an excerpt from the upcoming book from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” the reporters detailed what happened behind-the-scenes as former Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly infuriated the Trump team over meeting with right-wing influencers about the Epstein files, while Chief of Staff Susie Wiles believed that the Jeffrey Epstein controversy would eventually pass.

The reporting also revealed that Vice President JD Vance convened an urgent Situation Room meeting to address the unfolding crisis after the DOJ denied there was an Epstein client list — infuriating MAGA — and told top administration officials, "This is a huge problem."

Public figures and media experts reacted to the revelations.

"Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan report that sheer panic over sordid facts surrounding the conduct of both Donald and Melania Trump have left the White House in a state of complete panic for over half a year. Suppressing the files and diverting attention from them led to commencement of a war," Scott Horton, Harper's Magazine contributing editor and lecturer at Columbia Law School, wrote on Bluesky.

"DOJ had already closed the Epstein file. No client list. Death ruled suicide. The Situation Room meeting wasn't about accountability. It was about stopping a MAGA civil war before the WSJ published a birthday letter Trump had been trying to bury. The performance of transparency. Not the thing itself," political commentator and Substack writer Mike Young, who has more than 15,000 followers, wrote on X.

"BIG excerpt out from new @maggieNYT and @jonathanvswan book 'Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump'...apparently WH staff were terrified about the release of a document alleging Trump had a 'predilection for nipples' and abused those of an Epstein victim," Tommy Vietor, co-host of Pod Save America and former spokesperson for President Barack Obama and the National Security Council, wrote on X.

"A must read by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan," actress and activist Mia Farrow wrote on X.

White House quickly tries to stomp out story of Susie Wiles' reported departure plans

White House officials have responded to reports that Susie Wiles is planning to ditch her role as Trump's chief of staff.

"Total bull—," wrote the official White House Rapid Response account. "Another fake hatchet job from a wannabe reporter peddling anonymous sources who don't actually know anything."

The Daily Mail reported that Susie Wiles is plotting a post-midterms exit because she was insulted by Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

Similarly, White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair denied the story, writing that it's "both absurd and totally false" in a post on X.

"The self-serving are working overtime today," he blasted, as other MAGA accounts echoed his denial.