Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the power dynamics, personnel decisions and policy deliberations of Donald Trump’s White House.
Inauguration Day reminded everyone what a tough job President DONALD TRUMP’s chief of staff SUSIE WILES will have balancing the new president’s instinct to hold a non-stop Trump show with his desire to implement a more ambitious agenda the second time around.
The president was seemingly everywhere Monday – giving a lengthy post-speech speech that upstaged his own inaugural address, holding an unusual signing ceremony in the Capitol, headlining a political rally at Capital One Arena — all while unleashing a flood of promises.
Wiles has to synthesize that and bring some order to a West Wing that was notoriously chaotic the last time around.
By now, almost everyone in Washington knows who Wiles is. But who are her close deputies?
There are four of them actually, three of whom have served with her since before the campaign. Now, they’re angling to help her implement Trump’s agenda and ensure that the White House and the Republican committees are stocked with MAGA loyalists, according to four people familiar with the internal dynamics and granted anonymity to discuss them.
Given the tough task facing Wiles, their roles will be significant to the success of the administration and the chief of staff.
Wiles’ most trusted confidante is a man you’ve probably never heard of.
A deputy in every sense of the word, ROBERT GABRIEL’s official title is assistant to the president for policy. But unofficially, he’s likely to be Wiles’ main consigliere — continuing his low-profile but high-powered role from the campaign.
Gabriel tends to avoid the public eye and rarely travels, but he sat in on all of the senior staff meetings during the campaign, helping Wiles execute her priorities as she managed Trump’s demands.
Two members of Team Wiles — JAMES BLAIR and TAYLORBUDOWICH — are White House deputy chiefs and have a close alliance. Blair will handle political and legislative affairs and Budowich will manage communications and cabinet affairs.
Over the past several weeks, Blair has been asking people to take specific roles in his org charts and calling around to Republican committees to make sure they’re staffing up with only true Trump loyalists, two of the people said.
In addition to overseeing communications, Budowich will oversee cabinet affairs, office of public liaison and speechwriting — tying together different parts of the White House. Budowich has also been working closely with STEPHEN MILLER to put out policy.
Before joining Trump 2024 as political director, Blair worked under Wiles during several campaigns, including Trump’s successful 2020 campaign in Florida — when Wiles won Trump’s attention. He was also part of the team that left Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ office shortly after he was first elected.
Budowich first started as an adviser to DONALD TRUMP JR. and his ex-fiance KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE and later began working with Wiles for Trump’s political action committee, Save America, before launching his own, MAGA Inc., ahead of the 2024 cycle.
CAMERON SADLER, who was a Republican National Committee staffer supporting senior leadership during the campaign, will be Wiles’ executive assistant.
Their proximity to Wiles will give all four people power. But with that comes intense scrutiny, from both Trump and the public.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY! We’re SOPHIA CAI, IRIE SENTNER and BEN JOHANSEN, your new West Wing Playbook authors.
A little about us: We hail from central Jersey, rural Colorado and Woodstock, New York. Sophia came from Axios, where she covered Trump on the campaign trail. Irie covered breaking news and national politics at POLITICO during the 2024 campaign following a stint in our New York City bureau. And Ben, who’s been a co-author of this newsletter since the fall of 2023, is a Detroit Lions fan who could use your sympathies in this trying time.
Our plan is to cover the White House campus and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door as a town of its own. As the saying goes, personnel is policy.
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POTUS PUZZLER
Which president has both taken the oath of office and administered it?
(Answer at bottom.)
THE BUREAUCRATS
45 BECOMES 47: Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States (despite not placing his hand on the bible) on Monday morning. The inauguration, which was supposed to take place outside amid a sea of Trump supporters, was instead held inside the Capitol Rotunda, where his supporters led a mob four years ago.
“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” Trump declared.
Here are some dispatches from our correspondents reporting from around Washington:
Via DASHA BURNS: The rally-fication of Inauguration Day put on full display Trump’s transformation of Washington and its traditions. It was the Trump show from start to finish.
Over at the Capital One Arena, a diverse lineup of speakers preceded Trump. You had old MAGA (KELLYANNE CONWAY), new MAGA (ELON MUSK), friends (KASH PATEL) and one-time frenemies (GLENN YOUNGKIN) all taking the podium to celebrate the swearing in of the 47th president. The vibe was classic campaign rally, with a raucous crowd, Trump’s go-to tunes and the occasional “wave” rolling through the audience.
“Donald Trump appreciates the showmanship of the presidency and uses it to its full advantage. He understands how to create moments that captivate audiences and right now he’s captivated the country,” a senior White House aide told Dasha.
Via MEGAN MESSERLY: For more than an hour and a half, Trump held court at the congressional luncheon, a glitzy affair in Statuary Hall, where guests noshed on crab cakes, steak and apple terrine, and sipped on wine from California, New Mexico and Virginia.
As Trump remained seated at the head table, a number of lawmakers and others approached him seeking facetime. They included Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and his wife MINDY NOCE, Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa), former DOGE co-leader VIVEK RAMASWAMY, Sen. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.), Attorney General nominee PAM BONDI, Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.), Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.), Google CEO SUNDAR PICHAI and Department of the Interior nominee DOUG BURGUM.
PRIORITIES, AM I RIGHT? At Trump’s inauguration, several tech billionaires — including Musk, JEFF BEZOS, MARK ZUCKERBERG, Pichai and TIM COOK — were seated in front of lawmakers and even some incoming Cabinet officials, showing the influence some of the world’s richest men will have on this administration.
Former Presidents JOE BIDEN, BARACK OBAMA, GEORGE W. BUSH and BILL CLINTON, as well as former Vice Presidents KAMALA HARRIS, MIKE PENCE and DAN QUAYLE were seated on stage alongside Trump and Vice President JD VANCE. Notably, former first lady MICHELLE OBAMA and former second lady KAREN PENCE skipped the ceremony.
Other interesting characters spotted at the Capitol today:
Podcasters JOE ROGAN, JAKE and LOGAN PAUL, THEO VON and KYLE FORGEARD of “Nelk Boys”
UFC Fighter CONOR McGREGOR
New York City Mayor ERIC ADAMS
SPOTTED: Mark Zuckerberg chatting with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller Sunday night at the cocktail portion of the "candlelight dinner" at the National Building Museum, according to a picture obtained by our DANIEL LIPPMAN. (A New York Times profile of Miller last week revealed that the two have had multiple conversations in the last few weeks about Trump’s agenda.)
MIDNIGHT PARDONS: On his way out the door, Biden issued pardons to retired Gen. MARK MILLEY, Dr. ANTHONY FAUCI, Jan. 6 Committee members and multiple members of his own family.
AND THE RESISTANCE BEGINS: Within minutes of Trump taking office, at least three lawsuits were filed in federal court in Washington, seeking to shut down DOGE until it complies with transparency rules related to governmental advisory entities, our JOSH GERSTEIN and KYLE CHENEYreport. The lawsuits allege that the project violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act by giving private individuals roles in the government decision-making process without the public access the law requires.
A fourth lawsuit filed Monday by the Center for Biological Diversity seeks all records from the Office of Management and Budget relating to DOGE.
MEET THE NEW (AND TEMPORARY) TEAM IN CHARGE: Trump, who’s still awaiting Senate confirmations for his Cabinet picks, has named several acting secretaries.
ROBERT SALESSES, a Marine Corps veteran and career official, will serve as acting Defense secretary, our JACK DETSCH and PAUL McLEARYreport.
JAMES McHENRY, a lawyer who specializes in immigration enforcement, will head up the Justice Department as acting attorney general, Gerstein reports.
Career staffer VINCE MICONE will be acting Labor secretary, our NICK NIEDZWIADEKreports.
GARY WASHINGTON, USDA’s chief information officer since 2018, will be the agency’s acting secretary, our GRACE YARROW reports.
HE’S (PRE) CHECKING OUT OF THERE: Trump has ousted DAVID PEKOSKE as head of the Transportation Security Administration, despite initially appointing him during his first term.
OK, IT’S OFFICIAL: Federal agency buildings and official POTUS/VPOTUS social media accounts have transitioned to Trump and Vance. If you search WhiteHouse.gov for the first time (lucky you if you haven’t so far), you’ll be greeted by a Trump hype video featuring a majestic eagle soaring through the sky, the president’s infamous large sharpie and some F-16 fighter jets flying over the White House.
Check it out!
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Agenda Setting
TAKE A DEEP BREATH: Trump wasted no time getting to work this afternoon. Here are all the executive orders he’s announced (or expected to announce) so far.
Declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border
Revive construction of the border wall
End the Biden administration’s “catch and release” policy
Restart the “Remain in Mexico” policy
Temporarily suspend refugee settlement for four months
Energy/climate:
Withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord ... again
Eliminate what the Trump team describes as Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate”
End leasing to wind farms that “degrade our natural landscapes and fail to serve American energy consumers”
LGBTQ+ and diversity protections:
Instruct the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to remove the “nonbinary” and “other” gender options from federal documents, including passports and visas
End “radical and wasteful government DEI programs,” including the federal government’s diversity training initiatives, environmental justice efforts and equity related grants.
’MERICA:
Change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”
Change the name of Alaska’s Mount Denali back to “Mount McKinley,” a nod to former President WILLIAM McKINLEY
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POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER
In 1909, WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT was sworn in as America’s 27th president. Twelve years later, he became the chief justice of the Supreme Court, which means he administered the oath of office for CALVIN COOLIDGE and HERBERT HOOVER during his nine-year tenure, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!
Edited by Noah Bierman, Jennifer Haberkorn and Rishika Dugyala
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