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Susie Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, has been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer but plans to continue working while undergoing treatment.
The 68-year-old revealed on Monday that the illness had been detected in the past week. Both she and Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone, saying doctors expect a strong recovery.
“Nearly one in eight women in the United States will face this diagnosis,” Wiles said in a statement. “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.”
The US president, writing on his Truth Social platform, described his aide as “one of the strongest people I know” and said her prognosis was “excellent”. He added that she would be “spending virtually full time at the White House” while undergoing treatment.
Within 20 minutes of Trump’s post, Wiles was sitting alongside the president at a meeting of the Kennedy Center board of trustees in the White House East Room. Wearing a pink jacket, she received embraces from several attendees as she entered.
In opening remarks, Trump said Wiles had already begun treatment for a “minor difficulty” that she would overcome. “She had a diagnosis - you probably saw it - and she’s gonna take care of it immediately as opposed to waiting,” he told the gathering. “I said do it immediately because with that particular ailment, the faster the better.
“That’s the only thing I know about it. The faster that better. She’s going to do it immediately, so she just started actually and she’s going to be in great shape. The prognosis there is excellent, beyond excellent. But who needs it, right? Who needs it?”
Wiles is a polarising figure in Washington, praised by Republicans for bringing discipline to Trump’s White House and derided by Democrats as an enabler of his worst impulses.
She has been one of Trump’s most trusted political advisers for nearly a decade. A veteran Republican strategist and former Florida lobbyist, she ran Trump’s successful 2016 campaign operation in Florida and later managed his 2024 comeback campaign.
Since his return to office in January 2025, allies say she has imposed greater order on a White House long known for turbulence, while allowing the president considerable freedom to operate on his own terms.
Despite her central role in Washington, Wiles has generally avoided the public spotlight. She attracted rare attention late last year after a candid interview with Vanity Fair in which she offered unusually sharp assessments of senior administration figures including vice-president JD Vance and attorney general Pam Bondi. Trump later dismissed the article as a “hit piece” and reaffirmed his confidence in her.
Medical experts note that early detection significantly improves outcomes for breast cancer patients. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 300,000 women in the US will be diagnosed with the disease this year.
For now, however, Wiles has made clear she intends to remain at the centre of power in Washington.
“I am encouraged by a strong prognosis,” she said, adding that she was “deeply thankful” for the support of the president as she undergoes treatment and continues in her role.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, posted on X: “Lifting my friend Susie up in prayer as she begins her treatment and wishing her a speedy recovery! I’m grateful to work alongside her and for her continued dedication to serving our country.”
But James Blair, a White House deputy chief of staff, sought to politicise the diagnosis with a string of baseless claims about Democrats and the deep state: “Susie led President Trump’s team through illegitimate indictments, domestic spying by the former administration, rigged federal prosecutions, illegal law enforcement raids, general lawfare, assassination attempts, & more,” he wrote. “As with the rest, she will win this battle with grace.”
