Stephen Miller, Trump’s hardline aide, takes charge of White House after midterm rout
- Miller, architect of immigration crackdown, was Wiles’s deputy.
- Trump calls Miller one of his “most trusted advisors”, praises Wiles.
- Wiles resigned on Thursday, will move to Trump’s political operation.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has replaced White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, elevating a longtime loyalist and architect of his hardline domestic policies to the administration’s top operational role after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.
The shake-up puts Miller, one of Trump’s most influential advisers, in charge of steering the president’s agenda as he prepares to face a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and Senate, along with an expected wave of congressional investigations.
White House officials told Reuters that Miller’s appointment signals Trump’s intention to pursue an aggressive approach to domestic policy and politics rather than moderate his course following the Republican election defeat.
Trump announced the appointment in a social media post on Friday, describing Miller as “one of my most trusted advisors” and praising Wiles for doing “an outstanding job”. He said the change would take effect on Monday, November 9.
Wiles, who submitted her resignation on Thursday night, will move to Trump’s political operation, according to a White House official.
Miller, who served as deputy chief of staff under Wiles, was a key figure in Trump’s first administration from 2017 to 2021. He returned to the White House in 2025 and wielded considerable influence over the president’s domestic agenda, particularly immigration policy.
He is widely regarded as one of the chief architects of Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, which included setting a target of 3,000 arrests a day. Federal immigration agents subsequently expanded enforcement operations to include migrants who had lived in the United States for decades.
Miller’s elevation comes as Trump faces growing political pressure following the midterm elections, in which Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress, leaving Republicans with a reduced ability to advance the president’s legislative agenda.
The election setback followed a period of declining public approval ratings for Trump. He had expressed dissatisfaction with his political and communications operations in the run-up to Tuesday’s vote and told aides this week that the White House needed to be “more aggressive” as Democrats prepared to take control of Congress, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Allies of Wiles in the White House began raising concerns with others on Wednesday about the possibility of her replacement, the person said.
“He’s rewarding those most loyal to him. He’s not changing course,” another White House official told Reuters.
Wiles, a longtime Trump political adviser, had served as his chief of staff since the beginning of his second term in January 2025. She was the first woman to hold the position and was credited with bringing discipline to Trump’s political operation and White House team.
