Miller Replaces Wiles as White House Chief of Staff
Trump installs Stephen Miller in the top White House role following his party's midterm losses, dismissing election results as the primary reason for the change.
By Rafael Delgado ·
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Stephen Miller is replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff. The personnel change places a key architect of the administration's hard-line immigration policies in the most influential position in the executive branch. Miller, 41, has served as a top aide since joining Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter. He previously held the post of White House deputy chief of staff for policy.
Wiles, 69, submitted her resignation to Trump on Thursday night. A person familiar with the private conversation told The Associated Press that the discussion took place late in the evening. Trump said on Friday that the decision was not driven by his Republican Party's losses in the Tuesday midterm elections. "Not because of the election. It's just time," Trump said. He added, "Sometimes you change. The election wasn’t my election. I wasn’t on the ballot."
Miller is expected to oversee a broad portfolio while acting as a loyal defender of the president's agenda. He has coordinated with other federal agencies as homeland security adviser and led the administration's anti-fraud task force. Trump described Miller as a "very good" political manager who has been with him from the beginning. The president noted that Miller "gets it" and predicted he would do a great job.
The shift comes as the new Democratic Congress prepares to investigate the administration. Miller is a top target for these probes, and his appointment signals a resistance to a conciliatory approach. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who is set to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee, called the move a doubling down on a presidency that voters recently rejected. Garcia stated in a statement that Miller is the architect of unconstitutional ICE raids. He added, "Stephen Miller should lawyer up."
Wiles was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff for Trump. She is the second woman to lead his presidential campaign to victory, having managed his 2016 and 2024 bids. Wiles was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2026 and later reported that she showed no evidence of the disease. In a post on social media, she said serving the president was the honor of a lifetime. She expressed pride in the administration's work on border security, taxes, and the economy.
During the midterm campaign, Miller criticized Democrats as "extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics" on social media. He also promoted theories about election fraud in California and Alaska. An AP Voter Poll from the midterms found that about 6 in 10 voters said the administration's immigration enforcement actions had gone too far. Most of those voters said they somewhat or strongly disapproved of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement handled its responsibilities.
Wiles left the White House after a tenure marked by both discipline and public candor. In December 2025, Vanity Fair published interviews in which she described Trump as having an "alcoholic's personality." She also criticized then-Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and called Vice President JD Vance a "conspiracy theorist for about a decade." Trump and other aides defended Wiles after the publication. She left the role after overseeing what Trump described as his best-run campaign.
