Trump Names Stephen Miller White House Chief of Staff Replacing Susie Wiles

Stephen Miller pledged loyalty to President Donald Trump during a Friday evening appearance at Mar-a-Lago, following Trump's announcement that Miller will become the next White House chief of staff on Monday, November 9, 2026.

Miller, currently deputy chief of staff, replaces Susie Wiles, who submitted her resignation on Thursday night after serving in the position throughout Trump's second term. Wiles is moving to Trump's political operation, according to the president's announcement. The staffing change occurred three days after midterm elections in which Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress, dropping at least 44 House seats and seven Senate seats.

Miller, 41, has served as a central architect of administration immigration actions across both terms. His portfolio has included the 2018 zero-tolerance border policy, travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority nations, and an executive push directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest 3,000 people per day. Those enforcement measures were backed by approximately $170 billion allocated by Congress under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July 2025.

Reactions to Miller's elevation divided sharply along political lines. Pete Hegseth and former congressman Matt Gaetz publicly backed the move, while incoming House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Miller a dangerous extremist with American blood on his hands and urged Trump to reverse the appointment. Republican critics and business sectors expressed concern regarding Miller's focus on hardline enforcement following Tuesday's election results, where a Fox News exit survey indicated 58 percent of voters believed federal immigration enforcement had gone too far.