Trump Names Stephen Miller Chief of Staff as Susie Wiles Steps Down
Stephen Miller, architect of Trump's immigration agenda, will replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff days after Republicans lost Congress.
President Donald Trump has named Stephen Miller, his longtime adviser and the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, as his next chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles in the most prominent staff change since Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Trump announced the move on Friday on Truth Social, his social media platform, and several outlets, including Fox News and Al Jazeera, reported that Miller takes over on Monday.
What happened
Wiles handed in her resignation on Thursday, according to CBS News and Al Jazeera, which reported that she did so in the Oval Office and that the president accepted it. A White House official told Fox News the decision was “very amicable” and that the resignation was submitted Thursday night.
In his announcement, Trump described Miller as “one of my most trusted advisors” and praised Wiles, writing that she had “done a great job,” Fox News reported. Trump said Wiles would move to his political organization rather than leave his orbit entirely, according to the Associated Press, as published by PBS NewsHour. Speaking to reporters, the president said he “wanted to make a change,” adding that “sometimes in life, you have to make moves,” CBS News reported.
Wiles posted her own statement shortly after the announcement. “Today is my last day as White House Chief of Staff,” she wrote, calling the job “the honor of a lifetime” and pointing to border security, tax cuts and economic growth as accomplishments. She added that while her role was changing, her commitment to the president “and the mission” would not, according to Fox News and the AP.
The change came hours after Trump told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he expected to make some personnel moves after the election losses. Asked whether he would fire anyone, Trump answered, “I do, yeah. Little bit,” while also saying, “I love my Cabinet,” CBS News reported. The network said Trump had asked advisers that week whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should stay, though in the interview the president expressed confidence in him. The full interview is scheduled to air Sunday.
Who is Stephen Miller
Miller is one of Trump’s closest and longest-serving aides. He joined Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter and adviser, and earlier worked for Jeff Sessions, the former Republican senator from Alabama who became Trump’s first attorney general, according to the AP. In the current administration he has held a broad portfolio as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, and he is widely regarded as a principal architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies, including its enforcement crackdown.
Fox News reported that Miller also helped develop plans for executive actions that do not require congressional approval, a tool that could take on greater importance once Democrats control Congress in January.
Administration officials welcomed the pick. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, called Miller “a Trump OG” who had been with the president “since the very beginning,” according to Fox News and Al Jazeera. Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that he looked forward to continuing to work with his “good friend” Miller, and Vice President JD Vance thanked Wiles for her “friendship and service,” Fox News reported.
Democratic response
Democrats signaled that the appointment would draw scrutiny. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee and its likely incoming chair, said Trump was “doubling down” days after voters rejected his presidency, Al Jazeera reported. Garcia said Oversight Democrats would keep investigating what he described as Miller’s misconduct, called him “the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids” and told him to “lawyer up.” The administration has defended its immigration enforcement as lawful, and Miller had not publicly responded to those remarks in the reports reviewed.
Al Jazeera reported that Democrats are widely expected to open investigations into Miller once they take control of the House and Senate. As of Friday, Democrats had won 253 of the 435 House seats with 27 races still uncalled, and had gained seven Senate seats, with contests in Alaska and Mississippi still being counted, according to the outlet.
Background on Wiles
Wiles, a veteran Republican strategist who helped run Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and oversaw his 2024 return to the White House, was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. Her roughly 21 months in the job made her the longest-serving of Trump’s chiefs of staff across both terms, Fox News reported; he went through four in his first term, according to the AP.
Her tenure included a breast cancer diagnosis she disclosed in March, followed by treatment; she later indicated she was cancer-free. Fox News noted she also faced controversies, including her presence in a Signal group chat in which Hegseth shared details of planned strikes in Yemen, which the administration said did not include classified information, and interviews with Vanity Fair in December 2025 in which she offered blunt assessments of Trump and other officials.
What comes next
Miller’s appointment arrives as Trump enters the final two years of his term facing a Democratic Congress for the first time since his return to office. Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer left their posts, CBS News reported, but the president has otherwise kept his team largely intact. Whether further changes follow, and how Miller’s expanded role affects the administration’s dealings with a divided government, remain open questions. Al Jazeera noted it was not immediately clear how the new post would change Miller’s influence over the president.
