President Donald Trump announced Friday that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller would be promoted to chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.
Trump revealed the stunning upset just three days after Democrats won a landslide victory in the midterm elections, securing majority control in the House and Senate and scrambling the trajectory of Trump’s final two years in office.
The elevation of Miller, one of the architects of Trump’s controversial mass deportation efforts, is sure to raise the ire of the new class of congressional Democrats, who have already promised to investigate the government’s immigration policies.
Miller will take office starting Monday, Trump said in a Truth Social article, praising his longtime aide as “one of my most trusted advisors.”
Wiles, “who has done an outstanding job, will join the Trump political operation,” the president wrote.
Asked Friday afternoon about the decision, Trump said, “I wanted to make a change.”
“I think Susie did a really good job, a great job. But I just wanted to get there,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for an event in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
“Stephen has been great,” Trump said, adding, “Sometimes in life you have to make moves.”
Wiles resigned Thursday evening, a senior White House source told MS NOW. Wiles told Trump, who was reportedly angry with her over the GOP’s huge election losses, “let me make it easier for you — I’m going to resign,” MS NOW reported.
“Today is my last day as White House chief of staff,” Wiles said in an X-post Friday afternoon. “Serving President Trump at the White House has been the honor of his life.”
“Even though my role is changing, my commitment to the president and the mission will never change,” she wrote.
Senior administration officials were quick to congratulate Miller.
“Patriots in charge,” read a message from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose job security was called into question after some Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, blamed the midterm results on the war in Iran.
Vance also praised Miller on X, saying he “will do great things.”
The official X account for Trump’s political operation celebrated the announcement by posting a black-and-white photo of Miller under the caption “It’s Miller time.”
Meanwhile, Democrats and other critics have spoken out to denounce the selection.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who could be elected House speaker next year, called Miller “a dangerous xenophobic and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands.”
“His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor. Fire him today,” Jeffries wrote on X.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote that Trump “learned nothing from his historic defeat.”
“Stephen Miller is the architect of the most barbaric and inhumane policies of this administration. Trump could not have made a worse choice. Our Democratic majorities will fight him every step of the way,” Schumer wrote.
Others interpreted Miller’s promotion as a sign that Trump, who seemed to express some willingness to negotiate with a blue Congress, would remain rather combative.
“For those who were hoping the @POTUS might pivot to work with the next Congress, Miller’s nomination is a bucket of cold water,” wrote David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
The White House shakeup follows multiple resignations of senior Justice Department officials since Election Day. They include Civil Harmeet Dhillon, an official in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, John Eisenberg, who headed the national security division, and Jason Reding Quiñones, who was in charge of investigating plots linked to Trump’s enemies.
Wiles oversaw Trump’s victorious 2024 presidential campaign and had major influence in his second administration, while remaining largely out of the spotlight. She gained attention in late 2025, when Vanity Fair reported that Wiles admitted that Trump had sought “retaliation” as president and had an “alcoholic personality.”
Trump, and many other senior administration officials, defended Wiles at the time, emphasizing his status in the White House.
Although Wiles is not completely leaving Trump’s orbit, her resignation follows the pattern of other female top officials who left or were fired from Trump’s second administration and then replaced by men.
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