Trump appoints Stephen Miller White House chief of staff in place of Susie Wiles

US President Donald Trump has appointed Stephen Miller White House chief of staff. He will replace Susie Wiles in the post. Trump announced the decision on Friday, 6 November, on the social network Truth Social, saying that Miller would take up his duties on Monday, 9 November.

Trump called Miller one of his most trusted advisers. Until now Miller has been deputy chief of staff.

Wiles is moving to the president's political headquarters. Trump wrote: "Susie Wiles, who has done an excellent job, will move to Trump's political headquarters. I want to thank her for her service as chief of staff – she handled her duties wonderfully!" Wiles herself, according to the outlet, called working in the Trump administration the honour of her life.

The appointment came three days after the Republican Party's defeat in the midterm elections. According to reports, the Democrats won a majority in both chambers of Congress. In the US Democratic Party, Trump's decision to appoint Miller was seen as the White House preparing for a confrontation with the Democrats.

Since 2025, Miller has served as White House deputy chief of staff for policy and as a national security adviser. As recently as February 2026, he was shaping the White House agenda as an adviser to Trump.

According to Reuters, Miller grew up in liberal Santa Monica, California, but became known as a supporter of conservative views while still a student at Duke University. In the Republican Party he began calling for limits on immigration early, in the 2010s, when this was not yet mainstream.

According to Reuters, he was one of the main architects of the administration's tough migration policy and argued for detaining up to 3000 illegal migrants a day. He also proposed banning migrants from Muslim-majority countries from entering the US and opposed the reunification of migrant families on US territory. Miller also took part in shaping US policy toward Venezuela and publicly supported the annexation of Greenland.

In an interview with CNN, Miller said: "We live in a world governed by strength, coercion and power. These are the iron laws of the world" (translation). According to a Ukrainian outlet, he believes that international norms and diplomatic agreements should not constrain American power when US interests are at stake. Miller has also criticised Volodymyr Zelensky and stated that Kyiv must take Washington's interests into account when seeking an end to the conflict.

The Atlantic's headline predicts that Miller will be a chief of staff who "will smash skulls".