In mid-March, after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) shackled and herded 238 immigrants onto transport planes and flew them to a notoriously brutal Salvadoran prison. According to Trump, the men were members of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang, but the evidence was sketchy (often based... See more

“I’m not an enabler. I’m also not a bitch,” said Susie Wiles. “I guess time will tell whether I’ve been effective.”

Musk triggered the first true crisis of the Trump presidency and an early test for Wiles. Trump’s chief was shocked when the SpaceX founder eviscerated USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. “I was initially aghast,” Wiles told me. “Because I think anybody that pays attention to government and has ever paid attention to... See more

In Wiles’s view, RFK Jr.’s shock treatment of HHS is warranted. “He pushes the envelope—some would say too far. But I say in order to get back to the middle, you have to push it too far.”

“First and foremost, she brings no ego,” says Blair. “And that is the starting point from which just an immense amount of power flows. There’s so much ego and testosterone around her, there wouldn’t be any room for hers anyway.”

“I don’t think there’s anybody in the world right now that could do the job that she’s doing,” Rubio said of Wiles. He called her bond with Trump “an earned trust.”

At the same time, Trump has waged war on his political enemies; pardoned the January 6 rioters, firing nearly everyone involved in their investigation and prosecution; sued media companies into multimillion-dollar settlements; indicted multiple government officials he perceives as his foes; and pressured universities to toe his line. He’s redefined... See more

Photographer Christopher Anderson.