Trump picks Stephen Miller as chief of staff after midterm defeat
- Trump announced on Truth Social that Stephen Miller becomes chief of staff from Monday, November 9.
- Miller replaces Susie Wiles, who moves to the president's political operation after Republican midterm losses.
- Democrats criticised the choice; the White House says Miller will push the Trump agenda.
US President Donald Trump has chosen Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff and the driving force behind his tough immigration stance, to run the White House staff from Monday, November 9, 2026.
Trump made the announcement on Friday on his Truth Social platform. He said Miller is among his most trusted advisers and thanked Susie Wiles, the outgoing chief of staff, for what he called an outstanding job.
Wiles will move to the president's political operation. According to CBS News, the BBC's media partner, she handed in her resignation on Thursday night, and three sources said her exit was tied to the Republican Party's losses in the November 3 midterm elections.
In those elections, Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. That gives them power to scrutinise the administration, block parts of Trump's legislative plans and challenge his priorities in the last two years of his term.
Who is Stephen Miller?
Miller has worked closely with Trump since the 2016 campaign, when he wrote speeches. He was a senior policy adviser in Trump's first term and returned to the White House in January 2025 as deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.
He is closely associated with the 2018 policy that separated thousands of migrant families at the US-Mexico border. He also stayed loyal to Trump after the 2020 election defeat.
Wiles, 69, was the first woman to hold the chief of staff job, appointed when Trump began his second term in January 2025. She ran his 2024 campaign and was credited with bringing more discipline to his operations. She said in September that her cancer was in remission, six months after her diagnosis.
Her exit came despite Trump saying last month there was "zero chance" she would be replaced soon. "Susie is here and she's gonna be here for a long time," he said at the time.
In her own statement, Wiles called her time in the administration "the honor of a lifetime" and said her commitment to the president would not change.
Other officials have also left since the midterms, including Justice Department figures John Eisenberg and Jason Reding Quiñones, according to CBS. It is not clear whether Wiles's deputies will keep their jobs.
Reaction in Washington
Democrats criticised the appointment. Congressman Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House Oversight Committee when Democrats take control, said he would keep investigating Miller. He accused the administration of doubling down after voters rejected its agenda — an allegation, not a finding of any court.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the choice, saying no one advocates harder for the Trump agenda and that Miller will help deliver victories for the rest of the term.
What happens next
Miller takes over on Monday, November 9. With Democrats controlling Congress, the White House faces tougher scrutiny of its immigration plans and other policies, and the new chief of staff will be at the centre of that fight.
