The scrutiny of the incoming White House chief of staff's lobbying interests intensifies.

During his first term, President-elect Donald Trump went through four White House chiefs of staff, all of whom unsuccessfully attempted to regulate who had access to the president.

The incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, will be responsible for safeguarding the president from individuals looking to exploit the White House for their own personal gain. However, progressives are criticizing Wiles for her past as a corporate lobbyist and are expressing apprehension that her appointment indicates Trump is not serious about fulfilling his pledge to "drain the Swamp."

Trump's decision to appoint a corporate lobbyist as head of his administration signals that he is putting the White House up for sale, according to Jon Golinger, a democracy advocate for Public Citizen, a non-profit, progressive consumer advocacy group. Public Citizen released a report authored by Golinger on Friday that outlines Wiles' lobbying disclosures and highlights her work on behalf of various special interests.

Between November 2017 and April 2024, Wiles was a registered lobbyist for 42 different clients, some of whom were controversial, according to Public Citizen. These included Republic Services, a waste management company that has not yet cleaned up radioactive nuclear waste from its dump; The Pebble Partnership, a Canadian copper and gold mining company that wants to build a mine in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, which opponents say would harm the environment; and Swisher International, a tobacco company that opposed federal regulations of candy-flavored cigars.

Golinger stated that a lobbyist with a history of contentious representation and numerous potential conflicts of interest should not come close to the Oval Office, let alone be appointed as White House Chief of Staff.

Trump transition spokesman Brian Hughes defended Wiles from allegations that her past work as a lobbyist would affect how Trump manages the White House.

"Susie Wiles is known for her unwavering integrity and dedication to service, both in and out of government. This is why she was chosen to serve President Trump in the White House."

Pat Summerall's daughter, Wiles, will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff in American history.

The veteran political strategist, who is 67 years old, co-led the president-elect's 2024 campaign and is widely recognized for running a more disciplined operation than her previous two attempts. Trump has praised her as "tough, smart, innovative, and universally admired and respected."

A Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump's campaign in the state in 2016 and 2020, Wiles has a decades-long political career that began as former President Reagan's campaign scheduler for his 1980 presidential bid.

Wiles managed both Rick Scott's 2010 campaign for Florida governor and Jon Huntsman's 2012 presidential campaign.

In 2016, after Trump's victory, Wiles joined Ballard Partners, a Florida-based lobbying firm founded by Brian Ballard. The firm opened a D.C. office and quickly became successful, earning over $70 million in lobbying fees during Trump's first term by representing various corporate clients, according to federal disclosures.

Some of Wiles' clients included General Motors, a trade group for children's hospitals, home builders, and the City of Jacksonville, Florida.

She represented foreign clients, including Globovisión, a Venezuelan TV network owned by a businessman charged in Miami with money laundering.

In 2013, Gorrín purchased the broadcast company and subsequently moderated its anti-government coverage. He appointed Ballard to provide guidance on general government policies and regulations, as well as to disclose any lobbying activities. However, according to the Associated Press, Gorrín aimed to impact the White House's stance on relations between the U.S. and the socialist government of Venezuela.

While Gorrín was Wiles' client, he attempted to gain Trump's favor towards Nicolás Maduro's government. However, Ballard revealed that Gorrín was a fraud and was fired as soon as it was discovered. Gorrín would frequently request that Ballard set up meetings and events, but nothing would ever materialize. It was all a fantasy, and Gorrín simply wanted to use Ballard's firm for his own gain.

In 2018, Ballard dropped Gorrín, who was later charged with using the U.S. finance system to provide Venezuelan officials with private jets, a yacht, and champion show-jumping horses as part of a fake loan scheme. Last month, he was charged again in Miami for siphoning $1 billion from the state oil company, PDVSA.

Wiles was not in charge of managing the company's relationship with Gorrín, according to Ballard, who described her as a highly organized "straight shooter" who is "tough as nails."

"She's the kind of person you'd want in a foxhole," he remarked. "She'll serve the president well."

Despite Venezuela's attempts to win over the Trump administration, the U.S. imposed oil sanctions, closed its embassy in Caracas, and recognized the opposition-controlled National Assembly as the legitimate government. In 2020, Maduro was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on drug trafficking charges.

Wiles lobbied for other foreign clients.

In 2019, she registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent working for one of Nigeria's main political parties for two months. She also lobbied for an auto dealership owned by international businessman Shafik Gabr, who was reportedly involved in a financial dispute over selling cars in Egypt with a subsidiary of the German automaker Volkswagen.

Wiles was also a lobbyist for a multinational gaming company and Waterton Global Resource Management Inc., which sought approval to construct a gold mine on public and private land near Las Vegas, Nevada.

During Trump's 2024 campaign, her lobbying work continued, as federal disclosures filed in April reveal that she worked to influence Congress on "FDA regulations" on behalf of Swisher International, a tobacco company.

Recently, Wiles served as the co-chair for the Florida and Washington, D.C., offices of Mercury Public Affairs, a lobbying firm that represents clients such as AirBnB, AT&T, eBay, Pfizer, Tesla, and the Embassy of Qatar. However, she is not a registered lobbyist for any of these clients.

This report was contributed to by Bradford Betz, Louis Casiano, Paul Steinhauser of Planet Chronicle Digital, and the Associated Press.