President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff and the architect of his hard line immigration agenda, will become White House chief of staff on Monday, replacing Susie Wiles in the first major staff shakeup since Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections.
Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, calling Miller “one of my most trusted advisors.” He said Wiles, who “has done an outstanding job,” will move over to the Trump Political Operation. The White House confirmed that Miller will be the 33rd person to hold the chief of staff job, the post that controls access to the president and runs the White House staff day to day.
A change forced by the midterms
The switch comes three days after Democrats won control of the House and the Senate in the November 3 midterms, a result that ended Republican control of Congress for the last two years of Trump’s term. CNN reported that the move is the first big personnel change since the vote, and that Trump had voiced fury at the strategy that led to the losses, according to people familiar with the matter. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump praised his new pick: “Stephen’s been with me from the beginning. He gets it.” He also hinted that more changes could follow, saying, “I’ll be doing maybe a few changes. I don’t want to mention who.”
Wiles gave Trump her resignation on Thursday night, a person familiar with the events told the Associated Press. She confirmed in a statement on X that Friday was her last day as chief of staff, calling the job “the honor of a lifetime” and saying that while her role was changing, her commitment to the president never would. You can follow the fallout in our News coverage.
The first woman to hold the job
Wiles, 69, co-managed Trump’s 2024 campaign and became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff when his second term began in January 2025. She was also the longest-serving chief of staff of his presidency. Trump went through four people in the job during his first term, while Wiles held it for close to two years and was known for a low public profile and a tight grip on the West Wing.
Her exact duties in the political operation have not been spelled out. Her departure also comes months after she said she no longer showed evidence of breast cancer, following treatment for the disease she first disclosed in March, the Associated Press reported.
What Miller’s promotion signals
Miller, 41, has been in Trump’s circle since the 2016 campaign, where he worked as a policy adviser and speechwriter, and he served as a senior adviser in the first Trump White House. In the second term he has been deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, and the driving force behind the administration’s immigration crackdown, from mass deportations to tighter limits on legal immigration. CNN reported that his reach has grown over the past year to cover wide areas of domestic policy.
Miller welcomed the job in a post on X, writing that he was “honored beyond words” to serve as chief of staff. The reaction from Democrats was sharp. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Trump has learned nothing from his historic defeat.”
For Trump, the choice reads as a refusal to change course. USA Today noted that elevating the architect of the policies at the center of the campaign signals the president is not ready to retreat from his agenda, even as he prepares to face a Democratic Congress in January. Miller starts work on Monday.
Sources: Associated Press; CNN; NPR; Reuters; USA Today.