Trump appoints hardliner Miller as Chief Of Staff after midterm election defeat

Politics

By Linda Ikeji
7 November 2026, 12:40 am

US President Donald Trump has appointed Stephen Miller as White House chief of workers, changing Susie Wiles following the Republican Party’s heavy losses on this week’s midterm elections. Miller, 41, has been a number one determine behind Trump’s immigration insurance policies, serving as deputy chief of workers for coverage and homeland safety adviser.

Asked on Friday, November 6, why he had changed Wiles, Trump instructed reporters: “I wanted to make a change.” “Sometimes in life you have to make moves,” he added. The appointment adopted Trump’s repeated assurances earlier than the elections that there was “zero chance” he would change Wiles. A White House official instructed AFP that she resigned on Thursday evening.

Announcing the change on Truth Social, Trump described Miller as “one of my most trusted advisors”. He stated Wiles would transfer to his political operation and praised her work on the White House. “I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff. She has done a great job!” he wrote.

Miller’s promotion drew robust criticism from Democrats, who secured congressional majorities within the midterms. “Stephen Miller is the architect of the most barbaric, inhumane policies of this administration. Trump couldn’t have made a worse choice,” Chuck Schumer wrote on X.

“Our Democratic majorities will fight him every step of the way.” Miller performed a central function in growing the mass deportation programme that turned a defining coverage of Trump’s second time period.

He confronted widespread criticism after immigration brokers fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January, incidents that triggered mass demonstrations. The administration’s enforcement operations additionally drew scrutiny over masked brokers and confrontations with members of the general public. White House communications director Steven Cheung welcomed Miller’s appointment, describing him as a longstanding Trump ally.

“He will help the Administration deliver on monumental victories for the rest of this historic second term,” Cheung stated. Wiles, 69, was the primary girl to function White House chief of workers. Trump nicknamed her the “ice maiden” for her efforts to take care of self-discipline within the West Wing.

For a lot of the previous two years, she had helped restrict the workers turnover and inner disputes that characterised Trump’s first administration. She additionally just lately introduced that she had obtained the all-clear following breast most cancers. In a press release on X, Wiles confirmed that Friday could be her ultimate day as chief of workers. “Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honor of a lifetime,” she stated.

“I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First.” Prominent supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again motion welcomed the appointment. Right-wing commentator Jack Posobiec posted, “It’s Miller Time,” borrowing a widely known American beer slogan.