President Donald Trump on Friday named longtime adviser Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles in the biggest personnel shake-up of his second term — a decision that came just three days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections.
Trump announced the move in a post on Truth Social, calling Miller "one of my most trusted advisors" and saying he will take over as chief of staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026. Wiles, who has served as chief of staff since the start of Trump's second term, will move to the president's political operation.
Miller, 41, has been at Trump's side since the 2016 presidential campaign and currently serves as deputy chief of staff for policy and as the president's Homeland Security adviser. He has been the driving force behind the administration's hardline immigration and deportation agenda, and his promotion signals that Trump has no intention of softening his approach despite the election rebuke.
Wiles, 69, was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. She submitted her resignation on Thursday evening, according to people familiar with the matter, and Friday was her last day in the role. She had come under fire from former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and other allies of the president's MAGA movement in the days after the midterm defeat.
The shake-up follows a bruising midterm election in which Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. Republicans lost at least 41 seats in the House and at least seven in the Senate, according to The Wall Street Journal, in a result widely read as a verdict on Trump's second term.
Trump, who has kept a lower public profile since the election, departed the White House on Friday for Florida, where he is scheduled to speak at a technology conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Before leaving, he praised Miller, whose elevation puts one of the administration's most powerful and controversial figures at the top of the West Wing.
Miller's appointment also sets up a confrontation with the incoming Democratic Congress, which has vowed investigations into the Trump administration. As chief of staff, Miller will be at the centre of the White House's response as Democrats take control of both chambers next year.
Sources: USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Associated Press.
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