President Donald Trump on Friday handed the White House chief of staff job to Stephen Miller, the architect of his mass-deportation push, pushing out Susie Wiles three days after Democrats seized both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.
The choice puts an immigration hard-liner at the center of the White House just as incoming congressional Democrats prepare to investigate the administration's immigration policies.
Miller starts Monday, Nov. 9, Trump wrote on Truth Social, describing his deputy as one of his most trusted advisors. Wiles, the first woman to hold the post, is moving to the Trump Political Operation, though her duties there have not been spelled out.
Leaving the White House for an event in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Trump told reporters he simply wanted a change. He praised the work of both aides and said that in life, moves sometimes have to be made.
Pressure from inside Trump's camp
Wiles turned in her resignation Thursday night, and a White House official called the decision very amicable. In a Friday afternoon post, she said it was her final day in the job, which she called the honor of a lifetime, and pledged that her commitment to Trump would outlast the change in her role.
Calls for her exit had come from Trump's own orbit. Steve Bannon, his former White House adviser, said Friday that Wiles and the political consultants around her should be removed at once because of the election results.
A fiery reception from Democrats
Caroline Sunshine, a former Trump staffer turned political commentator, also urged Wiles to step down, arguing that her campaign skills had not carried over into governing.
Democrats lined up to condemn the promotion. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a potential speaker next year, branded Miller a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist and demanded that Trump fire him immediately.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the president had learned nothing from his defeat. David Axelrod, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, wrote that the pick was a blow to anyone hoping Trump would work with the new Congress.
Stephen Miller is the architect of the most barbaric, inhumane policies of this administration. Trump couldn't have made a worse choice.
Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader
Wiles' tenure and a wider exodus
Administration allies celebrated. Vice President JD Vance predicted Miller would do great things, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose own standing has wobbled since some Republicans including Vance blamed the losses on the Iran war, hailed the move on X. Miller said he was honored beyond words.
Wiles steered Trump's winning 2024 campaign and spent 21 months as chief of staff, longer than anyone in either of his terms. In his first term he went through four chiefs, with John Kelly lasting about 17 months.
Her tenure drew scrutiny over a Signal chat in which Hegseth discussed planned strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, and over candid interviews published in late 2025 in which she said Trump had pursued retribution and had an alcoholic's personality. She was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in March and declared herself cancer-free in September.
Her exit extends a run of senior women leaving the administration. Press secretary Katie Zacharia was pushed out five days into the job, Kristi Noem lost the homeland security post, Pam Bondi was removed as the nation's top law enforcement officer, and Tulsi Gabbard reportedly quit under pressure.
The White House change also follows a wave of Justice Department departures since Election Day, including civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon, national security head John Eisenberg and Jason Reding Quiñones, who had led investigations into Trump's rivals.
