How will Chief of Staff Reince Priebus navigate life in the age of Steve Bannon?
New York — Reince Priebus — the Republican Party chairman from Wisconsin who helped engineer Donald Trump's stunning presidential victory last week — was tapped on Sunday to become White House chief of staff.
In his victory speech early Wednesday, Trump praised Priebus, 44, and the RNC, calling the GOP chairman a "superstar."
"I'll tell you Reince is really a star and he's a really hard-working guy," Trump said.
Priebus, raised in Kenosha County and a close ally of House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville, has strengthened the RNC's infrastructure since being elected its head, shoring up fundraising that had languished during the tenure of his predecessor, Michael Steele.
Sunday's announcement caps a stunning rise for Priebus, who has methodically climbed from GOP chairman of Kenosha County to Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District, then state chairman, RNC general counsel to national chairman and now the position that some say is the second most important job in the world.
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The U.S. president's chief of staff is the gatekeeper who runs a White House team and decides what issues are brought to the president — it's a 24/7 job. President Barack Obama often said that the only decisions that reached his desk were the difficult ones no one else could make.
As the news spread Sunday afternoon, Wisconsin politicians and political operatives weighed in on Priebus' new job.
Gov. Scott Walker tweeted: “Reince will be an outstanding Chief of Staff! Congrats to our fellow cheesehead!”
"Reince has proven to be a tireless worker in resurrecting the Republican Party and delivering historic results. I have no doubt his leadership will serve Donald Trump and our nation well," said Stephan Thompson, a GOP consultant and senior adviser to Walker.
Joe Zepecki, a Democratic strategist from Wisconsin who served in the Obama White House during his first term, said Priebus will have his hands full because of the complexities of the job and because his new boss has never served in the military or in an elected position.
"I sincerely do wish him well. I wish him luck. It's important the president-elect has a team he can work with. It's all of our hope that the president-elect will be successful because when the president succeeds, the country succeeds. It requires a steady hand on the tiller, and I hope Reince is up to the challenge," said Zepecki, who was communications director for Mary Burke's 2014 gubernatorial campaign in Wisconsin.
Priebus, whose Twitter banner image is of the bright red lighthouse off the coast of Kenosha, was chairman of Wisconsin's Republican Party from 2007 to 2011 before he was tabbed for the national position.
Priebus was raised in Kenosha, graduating from Tremper High School in 1990 and majoring in English and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he was president of the College Republicans. He earned a law degree at the University of Miami and returned to Wisconsin to work for the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich. In 2004, he ran for the state Senate, losing to incumbent Democrat Robert Wirch, 52% to 48%.
Three years later he was elected chairman of Wisconsin's Republican Party, helping the GOP in 2010 elect a Republican governor and control both the state Senate and Assembly. The next year he became chairman of the Republican National Committee.
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As RNC chair, Priebus has been a highly successful fundraiser. But he had to confront widespread doubts, discord and turmoil within the GOP over the Trump nomination. In a late March interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Priebus pushed back on the notion that his party was headed for doom and defeat in 2016.
“What is everyone going to say when we steamroll our opponents on the other side of the aisle? Everyone is going to be scratching their heads because they're expecting something bad to happen. No — nothing bad is going to happen,” Priebus said.
In an interview before the party’s July convention, he said, "Analyzing the outcome of November in June is a fool's errand. I wouldn't be doing this job if I wasn't optimistic. I am optimistic. I think Hillary Clinton's going to lose and the Republicans are going to win."
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Not only was he right, but his home state of Wisconsin went Republican in the presidential election for the first time in 32 years, thanks in part to his directing party resources to the state. And his home county of Kenosha voted Republican for president for the first time in 44 years.
Trump also considered campaign CEO Steve Bannon for the slot but announced that the former Breitbart News executive would serve as chief strategist and senior counselor for the administration.
“I am thrilled to have my very successful team continue with me in leading our country,” Trump said in a statement. “Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory. Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.”
RNC member Steve King of Wisconsin, a longtime friend, said he couldn't think of anyone better to serve as Trump's right-hand person.
“Let’s face it. Trump has been elected in a difficult time. People are demonstrating in the streets. Reince is a guy that has spent much of his adult life mediating … and advising and counseling people at all levels. He’s going to be good at this. He’s going to form, I think, the best possible relationship with the Hill,” said King, referring to the close relationship between Priebus and Ryan.
Amid the extraordinary rift that developed between Ryan and Trump in the campaign, Priebus sought to prevent the relationship from completely deteriorating.
“He kind of mediated that,” said King, who said the choice of Priebus “can only augur well … for the relationship between the Hill and the White House.”
On Sunday, Ryan tweeted "I'm very proud and excited for my friend @Reince. Congrats!" Ryan and Priebus have known each other since the late 1990s, when Priebus was a GOP activist and Ryan was running for Congress.
Priebus was sometimes derided by Trump backers as a member of the GOP establishment. King disputed that label, notwithstanding Priebus’ status as the longest-serving RNC chairman.
“He’s not part of the establishment. He’s a kid from Kenosha, Wisconsin, whose roots are there in Wisconsin, who only for the last six years has held a national political post,” said King.
Former state Democratic chair Mike Tate, who served opposite Priebus when Priebus was state GOP chairman, said he thought this was a stabilizing choice for Trump. Tate said that although he and Priebus disagree about many things, he thought Priebus was a good man.
“It’s fair to say Americans have no idea what we’re going to get from Donald Trump as president,” said Tate. “I know that it’s sort of the du jour thing to always criticize someone on the other side, but … while I viscerally disagree with the direction of the Republican Party and I’m devastated by Hillary Clinton’s loss in this race, Reince has a core set of principles. … He’s a good choice for the job.”
Priebus brought a sense of humor to his service at the RNC through the tumultuous 2016 nominating fight, often joking, when asked how difficult his job was, that he wasn’t yet “pouring Bailey’s on my cereal.”
Priebus has "been one of the closest allies of President-elect Trump and he's stood beside him even during the toughest times of his" campaign, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said of his former college roommate last week. "I know Reince. He's a fantastic person. He's a great tactician and if Donald Trump offered him the job of White House chief of staff, he'd be smart to do so."
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
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