the enablers

Susie Wiles

White House Chief of Staff

On how she runs the White House

“We will not tolerate second-guessing.”

Trump calls her the “Ice Maiden.” Susie Wiles built the disciplined, leak-free operation his chaotic first term never had, and runs a West Wing where dissent is not welcome. Axios put her role plainly: Trump decides what he wants, and she turns it into reality.

How she runs it

On her own West Wing

I don't welcome people who want to work solo or be a star. My team and I will not tolerate backbiting, second-guessing, or drama.

To Axios · January 2025

The first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, Wiles is Trump's most trusted operator, a loyalist who stayed with him through his post-January 6 exile. She demanded control over who reaches the Oval Office before taking the job, and runs a West Wing where dissent is treated as disloyalty.

Sources: Axios

The power behind the desk

The most powerful woman in Washington

It's not about me.

Accepting an award · 2026

She keeps one of the lowest profiles in the administration and insists it isn't about her. It is: she is the gatekeeper who controls access to the president and the operator who turns his impulses into executed policy. Where his first term leaked and lurched, hers moves like a machine, which is what makes the rest of this list effective.

Sources: Washington Examiner