U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering whether to replace White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and has consulted allies about potential successors, according to POLITICO.
Among the issues reportedly drawing Trump’s attention are questions surrounding the lobbying work of Wiles’s daughter, Katie Wiles, who is a partner at Continental Strategy, a lobbying firm that signed a contract in February to represent Republika Srpska in the United States for $35,000 per month.
The company has stated that Katie Wiles did not lobby U.S. officials on behalf of the Bosnian Serb entity. It said her August visit to Republika Srpska was related to separate business involving strategic communications support for an American company.
The controversy has also intensified following reports that Susie Wiles met at the White House with Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite Presidency and an ally of Milorad Dodik. According to a White House official, the meeting was arranged by Alex Garcia, a Continental Strategy partner registered as a lobbyist for Republika Srpska.
Trump has faced similar questions over reports that political advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair were paid to assist Dodik’s political camp ahead of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trump has said he would examine whether any conflicts of interest exist.
Potential replacements for Wiles reportedly include Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff, Bill Pulte, Kevin McCarthy and New York Yankees president Randy Levine. However, Trump has publicly expressed confidence in Wiles, and the White House has rejected reports of divisions within the administration.
The developments are drawing renewed attention to efforts by Republika Srpska’s leadership to strengthen its political connections in Washington and secure support from the Trump administration.
The central question is whether private lobbying interests and political relationships are influencing access to the White House and whether the administration’s ethics safeguards are sufficient to prevent conflicts of interest.
