White House demands Politico retract stories on chief of staff

White House counsel William Scharf sent a letter on Monday demanding that Politico retract three articles regarding chief of staff Susie Wiles, Fox News reported. Scharf gave the news organization 48 hours to retract the reporting or face consequences. [1]

Fox News reported that Scharf called the three stories demonstrably false and defamatory. The articles included claims that President Donald Trump was considering replacing Wiles and that he had a freakout after Politico published its report. Following the threat, Politico issued a correction and re-examined multiple articles, according to Fox News. [1]

Axios, The Independent, Yahoo, and AOL.co.uk also reported on the White House demands for retractions and an apology. Wiles has served as the 32nd White House chief of staff since January 2025. Politico is an American digital newspaper company founded in 2007 that focuses on coverage of the federal government, lobbying, and media. [8][9][10][11][13][14]

Separately, President Trump planned to host a White House roundtable on cybercrime before traveling to South Carolina, according to the Washington Examiner. During a White House event, Trump called a reporter a sick man while gritting his teeth, the Daily Express reported. [2][6]