White House chief of staff Susie Wiles confirmed Monday that she has breast cancer, hours after President Donald Trump announced it and said she will stay in her role as she gets treatment.
“Nearly one in eight women in the United States will face this diagnosis,” Wiles wrote on X. “Every day, these women continue to raise their families, go to work, and serve their communities with strength and determination. I now join their ranks.
“I am grateful to have an outstanding team of doctors who detected the cancer early and are guiding my care, and I am encouraged by a very good prognosis.”
Trump announced the news on social media moments before he met with Kennedy Center board members to discuss his plan to close the institution for renovations for two years. Wiles sat next to him wearing a pink blazer, the color associated with breast cancer awareness.
“Susie Wiles is an incredible Chief of Staff, a great person, and one of the strongest people I know but, unfortunately, she has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, and has decided to take on this challenge, IMMEDIATELY, as opposed to waiting,” Trump wrote in the post.
Wiles has held the role since Trump took office again in January 2025, having managed his 2024 campaign. Prior to that, she served as the CEO for Trump’s Save America PAC, established in 2020. She has also worked on Republican campaigns for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.
Wiles spoke candidly in revealing Vanity Fair interviews published in December, admitting that she disagreed with many of Trump’s decisions, including initiating tariffs, seeking retribution against his political enemies and pardoning violent rioters who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. She also characterized the president as someone who “has an alcoholic’s personality.”
Despite the uproar over the story, Trump and his Cabinet members defended Wiles: Vice President JD Vance, for instance — who Wiles told Vanity Fair has been “a conspiracy theorist for a decade” — characterized the remarks as a joke between friends. Wiles called the articles a “hit piece.”
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.