Donald Trump replaces White House chief of employees Susie Wiles with hardliner Stephen Miller
Wiles was considered the last remaining moderating influence on Trump’s White House staff. Miller, a loyalist who has been in Trump’s orbit since the first term, has been accused of pushing a white nationalist agenda through Trump’s administrations
Miller is one of Trump’s most hardline and loyal advisors(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump has replaced chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, the far-right anti-immigration hardliner behind his mass deportation efforts.
Wiles was considered the last remaining moderating influence on Trump’s White House staff. She was the gatekeeper to the Oval Office, and upon her appointment in 2024, vowed to keep the “clown car” out of his ear.
Miller, a loyalist who has been in Trump’s orbit since the first term, has been accused of pushing a white nationalist agenda through Trump’s administrations. It follows a dramatic night of heavy losses for the President’s Republican party in the midterm elections.
Wiles said it had been “the honour of a lifetime” to serve as Trump’s chief of staff.
“I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First,” she said. “While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will.”
Announcing the news on Truth Social, Trump said: “Mr. Stephen Miller, the current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Trump Administration, and one of my most trusted advisors, will become the Chief of Staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026.
“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!”
The appointment of Miller, previously a deputy Chief of Staff for domestic policy, to the most senior staff role at the White House will be a blow to those hoping Trump would see out his term with a lower profile.
He was the first to falsely brand Alex Pretti, the nurse shot and killed by ICE agents in Minnesota in February, a “domestic terrorist” and an “assassin”.
Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia, at the time, described Miller online as “a deranged, bloodthirsty bigot, and his policies put lives at risk every day he remains in power.”
Behind the scenes, he has been a major proponent of Trump tearing up the norms of the Presidency and the guardrails in place to protect American democracy. He has publicly called for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act in order to use troops to violently put down protests.
He has also floated revoking “habeas corpus” rules, which allow incarcerated people to force a the government to justify their captivity, because it would slow down his plan to summarily deport tens of thousands of people.
