Days after Republicans surrendered control of Congress in the midterm elections, US President Donald Trump announced that Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff. Miller currently serves as White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

According to reports, Wiles formally submitted her resignation to Trump on Thursday evening. Trump commended Wiles in a Truth Social post, confirming she will continue to work within his political organisation.

A seasoned strategist and longtime Trump adviser, Wiles was both the first woman ever to hold the chief of staff position and Trump’s longest-serving appointee in that role, unlike his first term when he had changed chiefs of staff four times. Her departure comes several months after she confirmed she showed no remaining evidence of breast cancer following medical treatment, a health challenge she publicly disclosed in March 2026.

Miller, a longtime Trump aide

Miller, a long-standing member of Trump’s inner circle, is widely recognised as the architect of the administration's hardline immigration agenda.

Earlier in his career, Miller was a veteran Capitol Hill aide who worked for former Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions before joining Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016. Sessions was the first sitting senator to endorse Trump’s initial bid and went on to serve as his first attorney general.

As one of the president's closest and most enduring confidants, Miller originally joined Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter. He is a fierce defender of Trump and his "America First" doctrine. His appointment suggests a probable surge in executive orders and unilateral actions during the remaining two years of Trump’s term.

Throughout the midterm campaign, Miller frequently launched sharp partisan attacks against Democrats, describing them on social media as "extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics" while promoting unsubstantiated claims regarding election fraud in California and Alaska.

However, the aggressive border policies closely associated with Miller proved to be a bane for Republicans during the recent midterm cycle. According to the AP Voter Poll, around six in ten voters felt the administration's immigration enforcement had gone too far, expressing that they "somewhat" or "strongly" disapproved of the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted its operations.

Miller played a key role in the Trump administration's anti-fraud task force monitoring public benefit programmes, as well as the controversial decision to suspend Microsoft and other employers from an employment-based green card programme. Miller also previously served as White House homeland security adviser.