Trump Names Miller Chief of Staff Three Days After Midterm Rout

On Friday, Trump named Stephen Miller White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles three days after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress.

Currently the deputy chief of staff, Miller is one of the president's most trusted advisers, Trump said in the announcement.

Wiles has overseen White House operations since the start of Trump's second term. Trump said she’d move over to the Trump Political Operation and thanked her for her service.

The first woman to serve as chief of staff, she was 69. She ran Trump's successful 2024 campaign, imposing order on a chaotic operation and curbing leaks.

On Thursday night, Wiles submitted her resignation, a White House official said.

Wiles also handled diplomacy, meeting at the White House in August 2025 for 40 minutes with Kang Hoon-sik, who was then South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's chief of staff, and becoming an important line of communication with Seoul.

The announcement came three days after Democrats secured majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections. Trump's public approval ratings had fallen near record lows before the vote, and he’d said the White House needed to be "more aggressive", according to a person briefed on the matter.

1. TuesdayMidterms

   Democrats win majorities in both the House and the Senate.

2. Thursday nightResignation

   Wiles submits her resignation, according to a White House official.

3. FridayAnnouncement

   Trump names Miller as chief of staff.

4. Monday, November 9Start date

   Miller takes over the White House operation.

At 41, Miller has served Trump longer than most aides and is among the few who worked in both his first and second terms. He entered the 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter and previously worked for Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

He has shaped the administration's strict approach to immigration and has had substantial sway over its domestic agenda. In the first term, he drove the family separation policy and the travel ban on Muslim-majority countries.

The immigration crackdown he led aimed for 3,000 arrests a day. He also played a major role in efforts to overhaul the federal bureaucracy, resulting in tens of thousands of civil servants losing their jobs in 2025.

The appointment showed Trump had no intention of rethinking his policies and was instead rewarding his most loyal aides, a White House official said.

Miller weathered disputes that cost other officials their jobs. Earlier this year, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens, were killed by federal immigration officers; Kristi Noem was subsequently removed as homeland security secretary, and Border Patrol official Greg Bovino was sidelined. Miller remained in his post.

In his own statement, Miller set out the task ahead, saying he would fight to support the president and defend the Republic.

This week, Trump said he was open to working with Democrats on Capitol Hill. Several White House officials viewed Miller's elevation as a possible sign of a more confrontational approach.

Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to Mike Pence, then vice president, during Trump's first term, said the president was getting someone devoted to him and that the choice did not point to high hopes for bipartisan legislation.

Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to become Democratic speaker of the House, wrote on X:

Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is likely to lead the Senate majority, said Trump had learned nothing from his historic defeat and that Democratic majorities would fight Miller every step of the way.

Chris Whipple, author of The Gatekeepers, said the choice showed a president with only one speed.

On X, David Axelrod said the appointment would douse hopes that Trump might pivot to working with the incoming Congress.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth celebrated on social media with the words "Patriots in control". CNN senior political commentator and conservative Scott Jennings said Miller's rise shouldn’t be mistaken for a change in the president's priorities, since staff serve the president.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed early this week found 36 per cent approved of the immigration crackdown, while 54 per cent disapproved.

In Texas, Latinos backed Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who was challenging Governor Greg Abbott, by 65 per cent, CNN Voter Polls found. About two-thirds of Latino voters said the administration's immigration actions had gone too far; among them, nearly 9 to 1 favoured Democrats.

Immigration was crucial to the vote for a little more than a third of voters nationwide, 36 per cent, and Republicans won the lion's share of them.

Accounts of the defeat differ. One attributes the Republican loss of Texas to Latino defections over immigration enforcement; another traces the midterm losses in part to the economic fallout from the Iran war.

During the second Trump administration this year, Pam Bondi, who served as attorney general, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer have all left their posts.

Trump hasn’t disclosed plans for another reshuffle, but Miller's appointment has prompted questions about whether more administration personnel will change.

Trump is barred by the Constitution from seeking another term. His White House time ends in January 2029.

Miller takes over on Monday, November 9, 2026.