President Donald Trump is publicly standing behind Susie Wiles. One of her predecessors thinks she’ll leave the White House after the midterms anyway.
Former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney predicted Sunday that Wiles will depart after November’s elections — while pushing back on suggestions that she has lost her grip on the president’s inner circle.
“If she leaves, and I think she probably will, it’s not necessarily because she’s fallen out of favor with Trump,” Mulvaney told NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” according to The Hill.
“It’s just a natural sort of time to make that change,” he added.
The prediction lands amid mounting reports about potential replacements and a POLITICO story that reportedly sent Trump into a fury. But Mulvaney’s assessment came with a distinction: Wiles could leave on her own terms while still wielding considerable influence.
The Report That Reportedly Set Trump Off
The latest round of speculation escalated after POLITICO reported that Trump had privately sounded out allies about possible replacements for his chief of staff.
According to Mediaite’s account of POLITICO’s reporting, aide Natalie Harp printed Thursday’s Playbook newsletter and handed it to Trump.
The president reportedly “blew up” over the negative headlines about Wiles. Three people familiar with the episode described a “freakout,” while Wiles and her allies worked the phones to contain the fallout.
POLITICO also reported that Trump made additional calls about Wiles after reading the story, according to a person with direct knowledge.
Trump has forcefully rejected suggestions that his chief of staff is on the chopping block.
“TOTAL FAKE NEWS Politico doesn’t care about facts, integrity, or honest journalism — it’s why I kicked them out of the White House!” he said in a statement quoted by The Hill.
“Susie Wiles is my loyal and longest serving Chief of Staff — there is a reason for that. She has been with me since the beginning, is my trusted advisor, and has my COMPLETE confidence.”
A Press Secretary’s Exit Fuels The Chatter
The hiring and rapid departure of press secretary Katie Zacharia added fuel to questions about Wiles’s standing.
According to The Hill, reports suggested Wiles had distanced herself from Zacharia’s appointment. Mulvaney offered his own theory about how that became public.
“I think she probably leaked it out that she was not involved in the hiring of Katie Zacharia,” he said.
That was Mulvaney’s speculation, rather than an established account of a leak.
POLITICO subsequently reported that Wiles helped arrange Zacharia’s appearance with Sean Hannity, whose questioning put the new press secretary’s credentials and troubled debut under a brighter spotlight.
Fox News disputed that account, telling The Hill that Hannity controls his interviews and that Wiles and White House spokesperson Danielle Alvarez had nothing to do with the booking.
Mulvaney viewed the reports of Wiles’s possible involvement in Zacharia’s downfall as a sign that the chief of staff still carries weight inside the administration.
Potential Successors Begin Circling
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Friday that Stephen Miller, Lee Zeldin and Bill Pulte had begun positioning themselves for the job should Wiles depart.
The same report included a crucial caveat: Wiles had given aides and allies no indication that she planned to leave.
