President Donald Trump has named Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration crackdown, as White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles effective Monday, November 9. The move comes days after Republicans lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump announced the change on Friday, November 6, calling Miller "one of my most trusted advisors" and telling reporters, "Stephen's been with me from the beginning." Miller, 41, has served alongside Trump since the start of his political career and is widely seen as one of the most influential figures in the administration.
Wiles will move over to the Trump political operation. Trump praised her work, writing that she "has done an outstanding job" as chief of staff.
The appointment drew swift criticism from Democrats. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna described the elevation as a retaliatory move against immigrant communities, while other Democratic leaders framed it as an "act of vengeance" following the midterm results.
Trump also signalled more changes could follow. In a "60 Minutes" interview recorded hours before Wiles was replaced, he told correspondent Ross Douthat that he plans to make "maybe a few changes" to his Cabinet, adding, "I love my Cabinet. I think they're good, but I'll be doing maybe a few changes." The full interview airs on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the president posted a defiant black-and-white portrait of himself on Truth Social, captioned "MR. VETO", signalling he is ready to use the presidential veto against Democratic-backed bills. "It's the power of veto. It's one of the stronger powers that a president has," he said, though he added, "I don't want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything."
On foreign policy, Trump said the United States would decide whether to restart military operations against Iran, while also insisting the confrontation was "not a war". He also confirmed new limited US strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island. In a separate development, the Trump administration withdrew its lawsuit seeking to block California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters.
Sources: Indian Express, New York Post, Reuters, The Hindu BusinessLine, The Tribune.
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